Monday, September 30, 2013

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/30/13

Ready or not, Michigan will once again be taking the field this Saturday. Fortunately, you won't have to think about that for a little while. Some Monday links for you to pick at:

  • Iowa handed the Gophers a loss with relative easy Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium. The Daily Gopher has a recap, worth reading given Minnesota heads to the Big House this week. I agree with the penultimate paragraph; this was one Minnesota, for the sake of progress as a program, needed to win. 
  • The ESPN Big Ten Blog looks at Week 5, and also compares the end of the first half Philly Brown touchdown to Miller's late game touchdown heave against Wisconsin in 2011. 
  • Jerry Kill defends his decision to not yank QB Philip Nelson in favor of Mitch Leidner (Star Tribune). 
  • Minnesota was an awful 4-for-13 on third down against Iowa, one of several stats in which the Hawkeyes thoroughly dominated the Gophers (TwinCities.com). 
  • Ex-Wolverines in the NFL post at Maize n Brew. Jordan Kovacs watches Breaking Bad, in case you were wondering. 
  • Eleven Warriors talks about Saturday's win over the Badgers; as big as the win was for the Buckeyes, they lost starting safety Christian Bryant to a season-ending ankle injury. 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

A Game of Thrones: No. 4 Ohio State 31, No. 23 Wisconsin 24

If you told me Joel Stave would pass for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Ohio State secondary, I probably would’ve told you the Badgers’ shot at pulling off the upset were pretty high.

Unfortunately for Stave, his one interception of the day allowed the Buckeyes to extend the lead to 31-14 late in the third quarter. Even taking into account the wildly productive connection between Stave and Jared Abbrederis all game long, Wisconsin is not built to operate at such a deficit.

With vague questions lingering about Braxton Miller’s ability to jump back into the action and operate like the fully operational Death Star—and not the partially built one in Episode 6—the opening minutes would prove crucial. Miller quickly dispelled any notions of rust, zinging a laser of a touchdown pass on a skinny post to Evan Spencer, who zoomed by freshman corner Sojourn Shelton as if he wasn’t there.




Later in the quarter, Stave found Abbrederis as the pocket began to collapse around him (who finished with a whopping 207 yards on 10 receptions), resulting in a 36-yard score and Bradley Roby on the ground in the 6'2'' receiver's wake.

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s side of the ball had a rough go of it in terms of getting pressure on Miller. A few minutes after the Abbdrederis score, Miller rolled to his left and rocketed yet another laser, this time to Devin Smith in the corner of the end zone for six.

The Buckeyes added a field goal with 4:33 to go in the second, extending the lead to 17-7 and necessitating a response from the Badgers. Once again, Stave was up to the challenge, as he found Sam Arneson for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 to go in the first half. Entering the half down 17-14, on the road, with Miller looking like he was picking up exactly where he left off, would have been a perfect outcome for the underdogs.

Of course, the half did not end without more fireworks. Miller hit the speedy Philly Brown on a 40-yarder with one second left, sending the Badgers into the half down 10 and perhaps reminding UW fans of Miller's late game touchdown heave in the same stadium two years ago.

Other than Miller’s ability to exploit UW’s vulnerable secondary with ease, the biggest issue confronting the Badgers was the inability to do much on the ground, which is of course where they do their business. Melvin Gordon finished the day with 74 yards on 15 carries, making for a respectable mark of 4.9 yards per carry. However, his longest gain of the day was just 16; for a player who has made a living busting off long gains, the absence of such in this contest was one of several death knells for the Badgers in Columbus.

In even worse news for the Badgers, senior tailback James White managed just 31 yards of his own, albeit on only eight carries. White is no slouch when it comes to making big plays either, as his dynamic touchdown run against Purdue last week showed. Nonetheless, with Gordon unable to shake free, the Badgers needed more tough yardage from their senior back.

With that said, as Michigan fans know, getting production on the ground is contingent upon good blocking. For most of Saturday night, a Buckeye front seven that has been universally deemed talented but young and “raw” stuffed the UW ground game, forcing Stave to beat the Buckeyes through the air.

To Stave’s credit, he often did just that, albeit mostly to just one receiver. On that front, I have to say that although I haven’t seen nearly as much of Penn State’s Allen Robinson—who many deem the best receiver in the conference—it’s difficult for me to say that Abbrederis doesn’t deserve that distinction.

With the Badgers down 10 entering the second half, an early third quarter score would be a healing salve on a 10-point wound that threatened to become fatal.

The Badgers forced a Buckeye punt, but proceeded to go three-and-out after failing to convert on 3rd & 6. Wisconsin's front seven showed its resolve on the ensuing Buckeye drive, giving up three yards on first, second and third down before stuffing Carlos Hyde on 4th & 1. 

Wisconsin thus started their next drive at their own 39, but that field position was immediately squandered. Ohio State linebacker Curtis Grant sacked Stave on first down for a loss of nine. Then, the dam took on its biggest fissure in the game to that point. 

Bradley Roby reeled in Stave's only interception of the game, returning it to the Wisconsin 32. The Buckeyes rushed just four on the play, but Ohio State DE Adolphus Washington badly beat left tackle Tyler Marz to the outside. Washington hit Stave right as he threw, leading to a wobbly duck of a pass to an area of the field with nary a Badger to be found. In truth, you can't even fault Stave for this one; Washington is a great player, but you simply can't get beat like that, especially with the Buckeyes only bringing four. Easier said than done, of course.

Nonetheless, with an opportunity to hold the Buckeyes to just a field goal try, Wisconsin gave up a first down on 3rd & 8 at their own 15. This might not have mattered in the end, but being down two scores instead of three would have been a small victory there heading into the final quarter.

The UW defense had yet another chance to hold the Buckeyes, on third & goal from the one-yard line. Miller pulled the ball from Hyde, and with what appears to be LB Joe Schobert in his face, surgically darted a perfect low ball between Dezmen Southward and Darius Hillary, right into the hands of Philly Brown. 

From there, the game of catch-up took an extra order of magnitude of desperation. 

I don't remember what OSU was doing defensively (and don't have the game in my DVR), but the Badgers finally found some success on the ground, with Gordon and White picking up gains of eight, four, 10 and five on UW's ensuing drive. Following a holding penalty on Bradley Roby, White popped off a 17-yard score to give the Badgers life with 13:47 to go. The 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive was Wisconsin's best of the night. 

Miller started the next Buckeye drive with a 15-yard scamper, an "oh no" moment if there ever was one. The Buckeyes drove down to the Wisconsin 28, where they were met with a 3rd & 4. Backup nose tackle Warren Herring brought Miller down on the play, forcing a punt. As the announcer in Little Giants said: Mr. Momentum may be changing his address. 

The two squads then traded three-and-outs, leaving Gary Andersen's team just 4:38 to score 10 points. Stave completed a big 3rd & 9 pass to Abbrederis (who else) to keep the drive alive. Stave hit Abbrederis again for 23 and Alex Erickson for 11, but the drive fizzled out at the Buckeye 24. This time, placekicker Kyle French put a 42-yarder through the uprights to cut the lead to seven with 2:05 to go. 

Fortunately for Andersen, the Badgers had all three of their timeouts, and he used every single one of them. The Badgers forced a punt, and were left with 1:29 to go 90 yards. Given Abbrederis's big play ability, this wasn't an inconceivable outcome. However, the Buckeyes certainly knew this; as such, Stave would need to connect with his secondary targets if the Badgers were truly going to make the Ohio Stadium crowd sweat in the Columbus night.

After an incompletion on first down, a fumble on second, a completion for 13 yards on 3rd down, the Badgers were met with a 4th & 4 for the ballgame. Stave was not able to target Abbrederis on his first three attempts, and the fourth would be no different; OSU's Doran Grant broke up Stave's attempt to Jeff Duckworth, ending the comeback effort in four efficient downs. 

The Badgers fought hard, but the Buckeyes were simply too much at the skill positions for the leaky UW secondary to handle, and the Badgers ground game never really took off. For the first time all season, the UW offense was without a single 100+ yard rusher. 

If the Badgers are to have a shot at a fourth straight Big Ten title, they will need to win out and hope for two Buckeye conference losses. The way things are going, that seems unlikely; Saturday was likely the coronation of the Buckeyes upon the Leaders division throne. 

Miscellaneous Notes: 
  • Like Michigan, the Badgers' pass rush has been less than fearsome to date. Although Miller was able to avoid trouble a majority of the time, backup NT Warren Herring picked up two sacks on the day. 
  • Chris Borland, the James Laurinaitis of Badger linebackerdom, picked up a whopping 16 tackles in this one (10 solo), including half of a TFL. 
  • The Badgers have to be kicking themselves about OSU touchdown at the end of the first half. Keep them off the board there and perhaps the second half plays out another way. 
  • Kyle French's missed field goal from 32 yards out did nothing to assuage Badgers fans concerns about the placekicking. The miss seemed like a minor footnote of an event at the time, but given that the drive started with a 64-yard reception by Abbrederis (about 47 yards coming via YAC), French's miscue was an ominous moment for a Badger team that was simply looking to hang on as long as possible. 
  • I have to say it again: Jared Abbrederis is as impressive a receiver as any I've seen this season. 
  • From the Buckeye perspective: Miller's ability to move around and maintain velocity on his downfield throws is positively Vick-esque. Anyone who was calling for Kenny Guiton to get the start (I didn't pay enough attention to know if they exist, but, they probably did) feels pretty foolish right now. 
  • Miller's Badger counterpart squashed much of the doubters' sentiments after his performance Saturday night. The lone interception proved costly, but when you figure in the road environment and the absence of the usually robust running game, it's a wonder he only erred once. 
  • At 3-2 (1-1), the Badgers have a much needed bye week coming up before getting Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats at Camp Randall on Oct. 12. As important as Saturday night was for the Badgers, the next one will go a long way toward determining the tenor of the rest of the season for UW. I wouldn't have said this at the start of the season, but the upcoming three-game stretch against Northwestern, at Iowa and at Illinois will prove to be a legitimate challenge. I'm sitting here trying to think what would be an acceptable record there for the Badgers, but I'm not really sure anymore. Is Illinois really as good as they've looked against Cincinnati and Miami (OH)? I don't know, but the Illini's trip to Lincoln this week will do a little bit to answer that question. Many, many points will be scored, that much is certain. 
  • On the other hand, the Buckeyes travel to Evanston this coming Saturday, where College Gameday will be setting up shop. The Wildcats did not exactly impress in their last two victories against Western Michigan and Maine, but Fitzgerald's squad is likely OSU's biggest test until their trip to Ann Arbor, depending on how bullish you feel about Iowa, Illinois (where the Buckeyes play on the road this season) and Penn State, and how down you are vis-a-vis Michigan's recent struggles. Either way, this should be another good one and a major test for a surging Northwestern football program. 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/27/13

Take the week off, Big House. You deserve it. 

It's a sunny, 75-degree, decidedly un-Fall like day here in the Windy City; I guess we'll have to wait a little while longer before football weather arrives. In the meantime, have some links to prepare you for tomorrow's slate of games around the country: 
  • On the injury front for Wisconsin--mentioned in Breaking Points yesterday--Coach Gary Andersen cleared a few things up, but didn't give anything definitive on tight end Jacob Pedersen, a big piece of the Badgers' passing game. Without Pedersen, star receiver Jared Abbrederis is Wisconsin's only dangerous receiving threat. That is not a formula for success against a very good Buckeye secondary, especially with Bradley Roby set to match up against Abbrederis. On the bright side for UW, Peniel Jean will go, meaning freshman Sojourn Shelton won't have to make the start. On the not so bright side, freshman center Dan Voltz will likely make his first start. This game would have been tough enough if the Badgers were completely healthy, but now, I'm thinking my prediction of a UW 7-point loss might have been slightly optimistic in favor of Andersen's squad. 
  • Ron Higgins of NOLA.com talks SEC defense, and why it might not be as great as it has been. 
  • If you're looking for some early season rivalry action, the always underrated Minnesota-Iowa game is your ticket. As always, Floyd of Rosedale is on the line, and the Gophers look to bring that pig back to the Twin Cities. The Daily Gopher has a Q&A with RossWB of Black Heart Gold Pants. 
  • The undefeated Ole Miss Rebels head to Tuscaloosa this Saturday; Roll Bama Roll previews the Bo Wallace-led Ole Miss offense. It's been two weeks now since the Texas A&M game, so I'm not sure this counts as a "trap" game, but the Crimson Tide cannot take this Ole Miss team lightly. 
  • Andrew Gribble of al.com talks to Hugh Kellenberger of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger about Ole Miss-Bama

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Penn State's Shiny, New Pegula Arena

I don't write much about hockey here, but I'm thinking that might have to change with the Big Ten hockey conference's inaugural season. I wrote a bit about the BTN schedule and my excitement for B1G hockey not too long ago. Another update on the hockey front: Penn State's new hockey arena--named after Buffalo Sabres owner and Penn State alumnus Terry Pegula, whose $102 million donation helped make the arena possible--was showed off to the media on Wednesday, 15 days before the first game in the new arena.

Based on this Centre Daily Times article's accompanying picture, I have to say, that looks [Larry David voice] pretty, pretty, pretty good. Then again, for over $100 million, I would certainly hope so.

Excitement seems to be high for PSU hockey in University Park:
The main arena will have an official capacity of 6,014, including 233 standing-room-only tickets. 
The most impressive number Battista gave Wednesday, with a lot of eye-popping numbers mentioned, was that a mere 22 men’s hockey season tickets remain unsold — and they are single seats scattered around the arena. In addition to seats in the main bowl, all 14 suites have been spoken for, all 98 loge seats are gone and all 525 club seats are sold. 
All that remains, in addition to the 22 open seats and 233 standing-room spots, are 200 seats which will be held for single-game sale and visiting team needs. 
The opening game is an even hotter ticket — seats are up for sale on StubHub for as much as $325, and Penn State is already turning down seat requests.
Whether the Nittany Lions can avoid the basement of the Big Ten this season is another issue entirely; either way, if you're a dedicated college hockey fan, a trip to Pegula Arena this season is probably in order.

R
ead more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/09/26/3807653/penn-state-ice-hockey-new-pegula.html#storylink=cpy

Bye Week Breaking Points: Badgers and Buckeyes

With Michigan taking a much needed week off, this is a great week to focus on a big time Leaders division matchup at the Horseshoe between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State, of course, has national title aspirations, while the Badgers are looking to win their fourth Big Ten championship in a row, including their third straight Big Ten championship game victory. Unfortunately for the Badgers, a loss this Saturday will probably prevent them from having the opportunity to play for it.

Were it not for a truly bizarre ending in Tempe (yes, Wisconsin handled it poorly, but there is simply no excuse for the lack of any sort of action by the referees), this would be a meeting of undefeated squads. Alas, that is not the case, but the Badgers are fresh off of a cathartic thumping of Purdue and the Buckeyes had themselves a little tune-up game against FAMU last week to go 4-0.

I've mentioned this here before, but, records aside (i.e. Michigan and Northwestern), I think these are the two best teams in the Big Ten right now. Regardless, this should be a fun game to watch, as this has become an increasingly exciting series the last few years.

A few points bouncing around in my head about this matchup is we get closer to Saturday night:

Braxton Miller rustiness vs. Dave Aranda. With Miller likely to start (despite being listed as a co-starter with Kenny Guiton), rustiness could be an issue for Miller early on. Miller played the opener against Buffalo and just a bit of the first quarter against San Diego State. Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda might look to capitalize early on by trying to confuse Miller with various looks out of the 3-4; B5Q has a nice post on that very thing, highlighting what Aranda did against Purdue last week. The Buckeyes cannot afford to let any Badgers defenders through for clean hits against Miller (as we saw in last year's Michigan game).

UW's three-headed rushing attack vs. OSU rush defense. It's generally fruitless to cite most forms of statistics at this point in the season, but, FWIW, OSU is 9th in rushing defense, allowing just 2.61 yards per carry. Naturally, the Badgers are third in rushing offense, spearheaded by senior James White--who has seemingly been here for (12) years like LL Cool J--and Melvin Gordon*, with freshman 4-star Corey Clement picking up some serious production in Wisconsin's three blowout wins. The Badgers have accomplished this with an offensive line that is good but by no means one of their better lines in recent memory. Gary Andersen's squad had a tough time running up the middle against Arizona State, but found great success on Gordon fly sweeps:



Can they do the same thing against an Ohio State front seven that, before the season, was talented but inexperienced (and now has four games under its belt)? Maybe. Either way, this will be a huge test for Ohio State's linebackers, especially strong side linebacker Joshua Perry and middle linebackers Curtis Grant.

In any case, the Buckeyes haven't exactly faced stiff competition:
What the Badgers bring is a powerful offense than can break a defense’s spirit. Ohio State’s young defensive front has not faced an offense capable of running the football. Buffalo (112), San Diego State (113), California (97) and Florida A&M (107 in FCS) think of the run as an afterthought.
If I had to take a guess, the Badgers will likely have some success early on the Buckeyes defense gets used to the uptick in run game quality. How the Buckeyes responds after that will be the most important facet of this game.

I really liked this boxing-themed lede regarding Ohio State's defense against Wisconsin's rushing attack.

*Gordon's production alone is exceeds that that of 45 FBS teams.

Devin Smith/Philly Brown vs. UW secondary. The secondary was a major concern for the Badgers coming into the season, and in their lone game against decent competition, Arizona State's Taylor Kelly threw for 352 yards (albeit on 51 attempts). Meanwhile, Smith and Brown have to date combined for 32 receptions (16 apiece exactly), 450 yards and seven touchdowns. Smith's 90-yard touchdown reception against Cal was the longest scoring play in Ohio State history. The Badgers have a solid run defense, but can be had over the top. Look for Miller/Guiton to go over the top to take advantage of this weakness.

Joel Stave vs. accuracy. During the offseason, my opinion of the Wisconsin quarterback race, as an outsider, was that Stave was clearly the guy with the most upside and probably the best quarterback on the roster, period. I still think that is true, but after attending last week's game at Camp Randall, I'm starting to understand some of the gripes Badgers fans have re: his accuracy. Stave does well on the short stuff and has a decent arm (as far as I can tell, certainly better than Curt Phillips's arm) but continues to flat out miss open receivers. This was most glaring late in the third quarter, when Stave vastly underthrew Jared Abbrederis downfield. Has Stave thrown it anywhere near Abbrederis's catching radius, the senior receiver likely could have walked to the end zone untouched.

Simply put, if Stave can't stretch the Ohio State defense with his arm, the Badgers are not going to have two 100+ yards rushers, let alone three. I think Stave is a solid quarterback, but if he can't connect deep with Abbrederis--who should be able to get open, even while matched up against Bradley Roby--then the Badgers are doomed to running into stacked fronts with only moderate success at best.

The return of Carlos Hyde vs. Jordan Hall. Although the spotlight has been on Guiton for his performance in Miller's absence, tailback Jordan Hall has quietly put together a stellar stat line while Hyde served out a suspension. Hall has racked up 422 yards and eight touchdowns at 6.2 yards per carry. With that said, Hyde is the more talented player, and it will be interesting to see how he is deployed on Saturday.

With Miller returning from injury, you'd think that Urban Meyer would like to avoid running Miller too much until it's absolutely necessary.

UW nose tackle Beau Allen vs. Ohio State interior offensive line. The enormous Allen (6'3'' 325 pounds) has had to adjust to being the man in the middle in the base 3-4 defense, but it seems he's done an excellent job thus far, especially against Arizona State. The Sun Devils' interior OL couldn't hold off Allen; as a result, they ran for just 2.8 YPC.

The Buckeyes have the pure speed and athleticism to attack the edges, but if the Buckeyes want to have success up the middle, Buckeyes center Corey Linsley and guards Andrew Norwell and Marcus Hall will need to eat their Wheaties. If anything, the Buckeyes might want to loosen up the defense with the pass first.

Wisconsin vs. injuries. I didn't quite realize this until reading this B5Q post, but the Badgers are pretty banged up, to the point that center Dallas Lewallen, tight end Jacob Pedersen and corner Peniel Jean might not even play this week; losing Jean puts some serious pressure on young corner Sojourn Shelton. A freshman Shelton checking either Smith or Brown is not exactly a winning proposition for the Badgers.
---

Really, this is a pretty simple game. Wisconsin will try to run the ball; Ohio State will try to force Stave to beat them. The Buckeyes will look to strike deep against a vulnerable Badgers secondary, while the Badgers will look to make Miller uncomfortable with a wide variety of presnap shifting and blitzes coming from unexpected places. Each team has vulnerable spots on defense (Wisconsin's secondary, possibly OSU's front seven against decent competition), and quarterback play, as it always is, will be crucial, but for different premises. Can Stave make plays downfield when Abbrederis manages to get open? What will Braxton Miller look like after not playing the last nine quarters of OSU football?

Making score predictions is a lot like playing darts with one eye covered; but, we do them anyway, because we like to put a nice little bow of closure atop the things we've written.

Although I've developed a bit of an affinity for Madison, I'm not sure that the Badgers leave Ohio Stadium with a win. Gordon and White should have decent evenings, but I'm not sure I trust Stave to connect on big plays when they're there to be made. I also foresee a big play or two through the air to Smith/Brown for the Buckeyes. Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 20. 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

HTR's Top 25: Week 5

I missed most of Saturday's football slate due to being out and about in Madison for the weekend, so the following is based mostly on what I've read and highlights, for what it's worth. Week 4 wasn't a particularly exciting one, unless you love uncompetitive blowouts or awful football (e.g. Michigan-UConn). As a result, the rankings didn't do much shifting around this week:

Rank
Team
1
Alabama
2
Oregon
3
Ohio State
4
Clemson
5
LSU
6
Stanford
7
Florida State
8
Louisville
9
Georgia
10
Texas A&M
11
Oklahoma State
12
South Carolina
13
UCLA
14
Miami (FL)
15
Oklahoma
16
Wisconsin
17
Northwestern
18
Washington
19
Ole Miss
20
Florida
21
Michigan
22
Baylor
23
Notre Dame
24
Texas Tech
25
Arizona State

  • Very little change this week other than dinging Michigan once again for a poor showing at UConn; No. 21 might be harsh for a 4-0 Michigan team, but after watching the Wolverines the last two weeks, I cannot say that they are a top 20 team. How many of the teams ahead of them in the ranking above do you feel confident about Michigan's chances against?
  • In my mind, Wisconsin is a fringe top 10 team, but that loss--or, what is going down in the record books as a loss--is keeping them out for now. The Badgers have a big opportunity to jump into the top 10 this week should they leave Columbus with a victory. 
  • LSU's Jeremy Hill is quite good at football. This is where we note that Michigan is going to have a monstrous offensive line in 2015 or 2016 and nod our heads. One day Michigan will be able to run the ball like that again...one day. 
  • If this was the NFL, then Kenny Guiton is totally doing his best Matt Flynn impression circa that one time he threw for 480 yards in that one game with the Packers. 
  • This week, top 10 teams played: FIU, Bethune-Cookman, North Texas, New Mexico State, and Florida A&M. Why? What is the point? 
  • Speaking of teams playing no one of consequence, Minnesota is 4-0 after completing its non-conference slate (UNLV, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and San Jose State). With that said, backup QB Mitch Leidner looked pretty good while filling in for injured starter Philip Nelson on Saturday. The Gophers get Iowa this Saturday for their Big Ten opener, an important matchup for both squads. The Hawkeyes looked about as good this past weekend as they have in some time (albeit against Western Michigan), but the Gophers need to win start winning games like this, especially at home. Although Iowa failed to go bowling last season, they did beat the Gophers; as always, Floyd of Rosedale is on the line. 

Monday, September 23, 2013

A Trip To Camp Randall, or "What A Ground Game Looks Like"

Fouad Egbaria

Before Saturday night's game, I had the chance to head to Camp Randall in Madison for the Wisconsin-Purdue game, which kicked off at 2:30. It was my first trip to that stadium, and I have to say, if you ever have the opportunity to go: do it. On a general note, after a few visits this year, Madison is easily my favorite college town not named Ann Arbor.

In Big Ten country, I've now been to Penn State, Ohio State, Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana and Wisconsin. For the purposes of comparison, however, I should note that the trips to Beaver Stadium and the Horseshoe came in 2008, so the environment for those games against a horrendous Michigan team might not have been representative of a typical big game setting.

Saturday's game was Wisconsin's Big Ten opener against the Boilermakers, a 41-10 rout. Purdue's Rob Henry-led offense was so painfully inept that it reminded me of Michigan in 2008. Even the simplest of throws seemed to be a difficult task for Henry, who finished 18-for-36 for 135 yards, good for just 3.8 yards per attempt.

Gary Andersen's squad got off to a bit of a slow start, allowing the Boilers to pick up a pair of first downs on their first drive and then going three-and-out when Wisconsin got the ball. Despite many Badger fans clamoring for sophomore Melvin Gordon to take over the starting role at tailback, James White got the start.

However, on the next drive, it was the Gordon/Jared Abbrederis show. The Badgers went 95 yards in eight plays, powered by Gordon and Abbrederis, finishing with a Gordon five yard run to give UW an early 7-0 lead. Following a Purdue three-and-out, James White took one to the house on 3rd & 1, a 70-yard scamper to put the Badgers up 14-0 late in the first quarter. White put on a pair of slick juke moves a the line of scrimmage and then five yards downfield before turning on the afterburners en route to the end zone (check the replay at 0:34 of the video below).


Purdue showed signs of life to start the second, with a nine play, 55-yard drive capped by a 22-yard touchdown run by Purdue QB Rob Henry. On Wisconsin's next drive, Joel Stave tossed an interception that was returned to the Badgers' 10 yard line. However, after a Pat Muldoon sack on second down, the Boilers managed just a field goal. Unfortuunately for Darell Hazell's squad, that was as close as the game got, as the Boilers failed to score during the final 40 minutes or so of the game.

From a football perspective, the Boilermakers aren't exactly a tough opponent but watching the Badgers run block and then watching Michigan attempt to do the same against UConn was like night and day. UW didn't have much success running between the tackles against Arizona State, but it didn't really matter as Gordon was able to carve up the Sun Devils on the perimeter.

In this one, the Badgers' ground game was firing on all cylinders, to the tune of 388 yards on 48 carries (393 on 47 if you remove a Stave sack). Freshman tailback Corey Clement was 17 yards away from giving the Badgers their third game with a trio of 100+ yard backs in the young season.

It was 24-10 at the half, and Clement made it 41-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter. No matter who you root for, watching Wisconsin run the ball with that trio of running backs is pretty darn cool. Quite honestly, it is a shame how things went down in Tempe last week, because I think the Badgers are very close to being a top 10 team. Even though Michigan and Northwestern are both undefeated, it seems to me that the Badgers have a stronger football team than either of them. The Wisconsin-Ohio State game this Saturday in Columbus will be possibly the biggest game of the conference season.

It won't be easy for the Badgers to steal a win at the Horseshoe. But, quite honestly, UW has just as good of a shot to do it on the road as either Michigan or Northwestern (who get the Buckeyes at home).

Some miscellaneous notes from my trip to Madison:
  • From an aesthetic point of view, it's crazy how much easier it is to get a crowd to all wear red than it is for Michigan and its maize/neon yellow/whatever you want to call it. 
  • Wisconsin's first down chant, "First and 10 Wisconsin" is going to be stuck in my head for many days to come. The Badgers had 22 first downs on Saturday. 
  • Ann Arbor is obviously much smaller than Madison, but it was nice to be able to walk around town before the game without constantly being surrounded by large crowds (that is, until you get close to the stadium itself, obviously). Sidewalk space on gameday is a neat thing. 
  • Joel Stave hasn't struggled like Devin Gardner has in the turnover department, but consistency has been a point of concern for him thus far this season. Stave was 12-for-19 on the day, good for 158 yards and a 0:1 TD to INT ratio. Like Gardner, however, you can sort of tell that Stave's confidence might not be where it needs to be, especially after some incompletions. Upon seemingly every big missed connection, Stave did a little wind-up motion with his right arm; it's completely plausible that that arm can get cold given how much Wisconsin runs the ball. For instance, late in the third quarter on the first play of a drive, Stave missed a wide open Abbrederis downfield for what would have been a touchdown had he not left it way short. Stave also peppered several other overthrows throughout the game. He has a decent enough arm and is fairly accurate in the short game, but at times his mechanics leads to inaccuracy when he looks downfield. The Badgers can't afford to have Stave misfire on those sorts of potential big plays when they visit Ohio State on Saturday. Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal had a nice piece summarizing Stave's day against Purdue
  • Even though the game was never truly in question (even when Purdue cut it to 14-10), the crowd got pretty loud when it needed to be. It's always difficult to gauge relative crowd noise, especially since I was sitting in the last row underneath an overhang, but I was impressed by the crowd's ability to turn it up a notch when necessary. The Kohl Center crowd for Michigan's Feb. 9 game against the Badgers was more consistently impressive, in my opinion, but that was obviously a much bigger game that was also close throughout. 
  • As far as finding a ticket goes, it didn't seem too difficult. The game was sold out, but tickets were going for as low as $45 or so on StubHub a few hours before kickoff, and they weren't too hard to come by around the stadium. Then again, it was only Purdue. Unfortunately for Badger fans, the remaining home slate isn't incredibly attractive. Northwestern comes to Camp Randall on Oct. 12, and Penn State will visit to close the season on Nov. 30; other than that, UW also gets BYU and Indiana at home
  • The wave--the same sequence that you'll see in the Big House--was started...in the second quarter. That's a definite wave etiquette violation, but hey, when you can run the ball like Wisconsin can, I guess things like debilitating ennui and paralyzing cynicism don't have the brain-soil in which to thrive like they do among Michigan fans these days. 
  • "Jump Around" is every bit as cool as it seems (although it's hard to really tell based on this iPhone video):  

  • For what it's worth, this is what the student section looked like just after kickoff (for the people who complain about Michigan's student section). With that said, it filled up eventually: 

  • Food...there is a lot of it, and it is all good. I would highly recommend just walking down State Street, as you're bound to find something good from a wide variety of cultures. 
  • As a general aside, there seems to be quite a bit more in terms of live music around Madison than there is in Ann Arbor. 
  • Additionally, the Memorial Union Terrace is a must visit if you're in town. You wouldn't ever think about hanging out at the Union in Ann Arbor on a Friday night or a sunny summer afternoon, but that is not the case here. 
  • Speaking of the terrace, I still can't get over how cool it is that the town is situated between two lakes (Mendota and Monona). 
  • Wisconsin's band put on a nice James Bond-themed halftime show; like pretty much every other band, Wisconsin's band was also sadly much louder than Michigan's. That's not to say that loud=good, but not being able to hear the MMB is still incredibly bothersome. 
  • As far as piped in music goes, off the top of my head I remember at least one Seven Nation Army, Build Me Up Buttercup, Twist and Shout and it seemed like Avicii's "Wake Me Up" was played before nearly every kickoff. Overall, unlike Penn State, for example (based on my lone visit there in '08), Wisconsin seemed to have a nice balance between piped in music and the band going. 
  • It's funny how the UW student section's, uh, more profane chants don't seem so cool when you're a couple of years out of undergrad. In that vein, I hope Michigan can come up with something better than the Temptation "You Suck" thing, which is pretty stupid and not clever whatsoever. 
  • The Capitol building at night is something to see:

  • There's a lot more to say, but if you live anywhere near Madison, I'd suggest making a visit, even if it's not on a Wisconsin gameday. The town has an Ann Arbor-esque feel to it, and yet without a doubt has its own distinct charm. It's truly a shame that the Wolverines won't head to Camp Randall again until 2017. Thanks, Maryland and Rutgers. 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Breaking Points: UConn edition

I will be heading up to Madison, Wis., for the weekend, and I'm hoping to snag a ticket for the Badgers' Big Ten opener against Purdue (which kicks off at 2:30, well before Michigan hits Rentschler Field). This won't be a full-blown preview, just a list of various points of concern, hope, idle speculation, etc.

So, what should Michigan fans watch for as the Wolverines take on the 0-2 UConn Huskies? Here are some, none of which are probably news to you:

  • Good Devin Gardner vs. Evil Devin Gardner. Unfortunately, this was also a dichotomy that existed during the Denard Robinson era. As we've seen thus far, Gardner has killed Michigan--although not to the tune of a loss, yet--with turnovers, and not even of the understandable kind. Consider the first interception against CMU, the easiest pick six in the world against Notre Dame and a take-your-pick of last week's four turnovers against Akron, and you have a pretty Kafkaesque picture thus far. In short, Gardner needs to go out and have a pretty clean, mistake-free day against the Huskies, not because Michigan is in danger of losing if he doesn't, but because you'd just like to see a little improvement i.e. removal of those Bad Idea Jeans decisions. The season is still young, but the Huskies defense is tied for 66th in the country in forced turnovers, with two fumbles and two interceptions. If there are Michigan turnovers in this one, the odds are they'll be of the bad mistake kind and not as a result of UConn's defensive play. 
  • Non-existent pass rush vs. possibly non-existent UConn offensive line. The Huskies have allowed QB Chandler Whitmer to be sacked 10 times in two games, a number that ties them for 121st in the country in that category; only Idaho has allowed more sacks (a whopping 21 for the Vandals). This is where I kindly suggest that Frank Clark records a sack. If Michigan can't get to Whitmer at all on Saturday, it might be time to really start worrying about the Big Ten schedule, even when Jake Ryan gets back. For what it's worth, the Terrapins sacked Whitmer six times, including 2.5 from the amazingly named linebacker Yannick Cudjoe-Virgil
  • Run blocking vs. UConn's defensive front. After the Akron game, citing the following point is perhaps a mark of hubris, but after games against Towson and Maryland, the Huskies are ranked 104th in run defense. They've given up 430 yards on 93 carries, good for 4.6 yards per carry. One of these days, Michigan is going to find a poor run defense it can actually run against: maybe this is the week? I gave the offensive line more of the blame for last week's performance than I did Fitzgerald Toussaint, but after reading MGoBlog's offensive UFR, Toussaint definitely is missing more holes than I thought (and I was already of the mind that he was doing a little too much dancing). Against UConn, you'd like to see those one yard losses go for two yards (at least), and those 4-5 yard runs go for double digit yardage. Of course, this has been the biggest problem for Michigan post-2011, so another mediocre performance on the ground against a bad team would not be a surprise. 
  • Vanilla coverage vs. passing offense. Greg Mattison has stuck with fairly conservative coverages in the secondary thus far, and probably for good reason. However, against a pass-happy team like UConn, it will be interesting to see what Mattison does if UConn's dinking and dunking translates into semi-regular gains of the standard first down variety or, worse, the dreaded big plays (of which Michigan regrettably gave up a few against hapless Akron). Whitmer threw the ball 46 times against Maryland; Michigan's defensive backs must be ready to tackle immediately. Additionally, Whitmer has thrown three picks in two games, so the odds are good that he'll gift Michigan at least one. As long as Michigan's turnover margin is no worse than last week's minus two--which isn't asking a lot--there should be no real danger of losing this game. 
As strange as it is to say, this is an important game for Michigan, a sort of litmus test for many of Michigan's starters, if not all of them. While Michigan fans will want to see a smashing Bo-esque romp of a victory, I think a game marked by protection of the ball on offense and few (or zero) big plays allowed on defense will be the ticket for this one. Score: Michigan 38, UConn 14. 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Building the Brand: #Content #Branding #Social #Media

As you can see from the title of this post, this is a very serious attempt to inform you that Holdin' The Rope has a Facebook page. It can be found here, at this link, on the social media website known as Facebook. This may seem like a unwelcome encroachment on this otherwise pure space, but, I assure you there will not be any giant noodles around here any time soon.

I will also add a little Facebook widget on the sidebar in a bit. Anywho, this has been your branding/marketing update for the millennium. I hope you all are having a fine day building your individual brands, monetizing something or other and leveraging things in order to achieve optimal gains within your chosen marketplace.

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/19/13

Another dreary, sun-less day here in Chicago...in other words, it's fall. Some hopefully not so dreary links:

  • Bruce Feldman goes behind the scenes in College Station to see how the Aggies prepared for Alabama
  • Bret Bielema has the fifth highest salary in the Southeastern Conference. With bonuses, he'll be making just over a cool $1 million more than he made last season in Madison. 
  • Penn State and West Virginia will renew a series that hasn't been played since 1992, with a home-and-home between the two schools set for 2023 and 2024. 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/18/13

It's 70 degrees today in Chicago, but the last few days have started to feel like fall. Here are some Wednesday links:

  • Rittenberg diagnoses what's ailing the Big Ten. "Certain position groups have gone downhill in the Big Ten in recent years, but the league has had no problems producing elite defensive linemen." Yeah, no problem at all. 
  • Borges on Saturday: "If you look at the video, there's some really nice plays," he said Tuesday. "Surrounded by garbage."
  • Bucky's 5th Quarter gets to know Purdue. I'll be in Madison this weekend and hopefully at the game (which would make my first visit to Camp Randall). 
  • Tom Deinhart and the ESPN Big Ten Blog guys have the Illini going bowling in Dallas. As in, they will be playing in a bowl game, not trying to pick up a 7-10 split as George Strait plays in the background. 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Northwestern's Michael Turner takes leave of absence from basketball team

After spending a year taking classes in Evanston/downtown Chicago, I've become somewhat of a follower of Northwestern sports. As such, I'll probably post bits here and there about Northwestern athletics, because why not.

In that vein, Northwestern backup forward/center Michael Turner has left the team for a leave of absence. Here's Sippin' on Purple on the situation:
From a basketball perspective, this doesn't concern me too much. While Turner had a scant few strong performances last year -- two-for-two shooting and eight assists against Ohio State! -- he generally seemed not ready for Big Ten play as a redshirt freshman after Bill Carmody decided he wasn't ready for Big Ten play as a true freshman. He had more personal fouls than any other statistic by a wide margin, often outmatched as a 6'8, 210-pound player asked to play center against legit seven-footers.
On the surface, this isn't a huge loss for Chris Collins's Wildcats. However, according to the comments section, this leaves Northwestern with just 11 players on the roster, and just 10 players on scholarship. Needless to say, that is a pretty bleak situation, depth-wise, for Collins going into his first year in Evanston.

On the bright side, sophomore 7-footer Alex Olah is a promising young player in the frontcourt for the 'Cats, and Drew Crawford--who should be one of the best guards in the Big Ten again this season---decided not to transfer for his fifth year after Bill Carmody's firing. The Wildcats also return point guard Dave "Sobocop" Sobolewski, in addition to JerShon Cobb, who missed all of last season due to an academic suspension.

It's hard to say this is a tournament team given Northwestern basketball's history, and Turner's decision, while seemingly not a big deal on paper, detracts a bit from Northwestern's frontcourt depth. Northwestern will need to count on RS Fr. Chier Ajou to eat up some minutes after redshirting last year due to injuries.

Big Ten Network to air 27 hockey games in 2013-14

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SOURCE: Jeff Wilcox

Everyone's mind is still focused on the gridiron, but Big Ten hockey isn't too far away, and the the Big Ten Network released its 2013-14 slate of games yesterday
BTN will provide unprecedented coverage of men’s ice hockey in 2013-14, the inaugural Big Ten Hockey season, including eight straight weeks of “Frozen Friday” doubleheaders in January and February and the 2014 Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
BTN also will televise the entire Big Ten Hockey Tournament, set for March 20-22, 2014, at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. Men’s Ice Hockey on BTN is presented by Buffalo Wild Wings.
Of the 27 games, Michigan is featured in eight; only Minnesota gets more TV time (nine pre-tournament BTN games). Wisconsin has six, including a Jan. 10 meeting against Michigan in Madison and the same matchup Jan. 31 in Ann Arbor. The Big Ten basketball season will be underway by then, but if you're looking for something to whet your appetite in the week or so after the bowl game, this is a great way to do it. 

In case you missed it, College Hockey News's preseason rankings includes three Big Ten squads: Wisconsin (No. 3), Minnesota (No. 6) and Michigan (No. 8). 

As an admittedly casual college hockey fan, I'm excited to see what this "new" conference arrangement holds. Michigan being in the same conference as Minnesota and Wisconsin is without a doubt a great thing. Of course, Michigan State and Ohio State remain on the schedule, and you can add a fledgling Penn State to the mix this season. Whether Michigan can bounce back and start another tournament streak remains to be seen, but, either way, I think Big Ten hockey will be a little more accessible to the casual fan (such as myself) than the CCHA sometimes felt. Losing Notre Dame and Miami as regular opponents is unfortunate, but I'd personally rather play Minnesota and Wisconsin, anyway. 

For takes elsewhere (especially ones more informed than mine), Bucky's 5th Quarter isn't too happy about the schedule

Monday, September 16, 2013

HTR's Top 25: Week 4

Week 3 is in the books, which sadly means we're already a quarter of the way through the regular season schedule. Putting that thought aside, this was another exciting week of football around the country, with big games going on out west, in Texas and in Big Ten country.


Rank
Team
1
Alabama
2
Oregon
3
Ohio State
4
Clemson
5
LSU
6
Stanford
7
Florida State
8
Louisville
9
Georgia
10
Texas A&M
11
Oklahoma State
12
South Carolina
13
UCLA
14
Miami (FL)
15
Oklahoma
16
Michigan 
17
Northwestern
18
Washington
19
Ole Miss
20
Florida
21
Arizona State
22
Baylor
23
Notre Dame
24
Texas Tech
25
Wisconsin

Bullets: 
  • All week, the talk was about how important this weekend was for the Big Ten. Whether or not a better performance would have done anything at all vis-a-vis the conference's reputation is debatable, but needless to say the Big Ten didn't do well this week. The Buckeyes did get a win on the road at Cal, but the Badgers went down in the desert at Arizona State and the Huskers completely collapsed at home against UCLA after having built up an 18 point lead by the halfway point of the second quarter. Additionally, Illinois couldn't beat Washington at Soldier Field, Purdue lost a close one to Notre Dame, Minnesota struggled against Western Illinois and Penn State fell at home to UCF. The conference went 7-5 over the weekend. 
  • Speaking of Wisconsin, that ending was one of the more mind-bogglingly nonsensical finishes I've ever seen. Spencer Hall has a nice breakdown of what happened at the end of what was otherwise a fun game to watch. In short, Wisconsin definitely did not play that the right way whatsoever, but there had to have been some sort of penalty called on Arizona State for a delay of game. At minimum, that sequence of events required some sort of action from the refs, who did absolutely nothing. I feel bad for the Badgers; I understand the desire to set up an ideal spot on the field for your kicker, but sometimes you just need to take what's there, lest you risk something disastrous happening...which, is exactly what happened. 

  • Some will argue for Oregon at the top spot, and that's definitely reasonable. However, Alabama just went into Kyle Field and beat Texas A&M at its own game. This Alabama team is probably not Saban's best, but it was good enough to drop a whopping 49 points on the road against the No. 6 team in the country. Until Alabama loses, I see no reason why they shouldn't remain in the top spot. 
  • Louisville didn't do much this week to change my general perception of them: they're a very good team, but I just can't confidently call them great given their competition. I didn't watch their game this weekend, but a 27-13 victory against a bad Kentucky team doesn't exactly inspire confidence. 
  • The State of Mississippi. Texas has seen better days, but the Rebels' 44-23 victory in Austin is still a solid one for Hugh Freeze's now 3-0 Ole Miss squad. Meanwhile, Dan Mullen's Bulldogs lost at Auburn. Unfortunately for the folks in Starkville, it looks like Ole Miss is the top team in the state, a point worsened by the fact that Freeze is in his second season in Oxford while Mullen is in his fifth in Starkville. Whether Freeze makes the Rebels a legitimate contender remains to be seen, but we've probably seen enough from Mullen's tenure in the SEC West to know that Mississippi State probably won't get there. That's by no means a knock on Mullen's coaching ability; the reality is that that division is just too stacked, what with Alabama and LSU (and now Texas A&M as of last season), recovering Auburn and Arkansas programs and, perhaps most painfully for Mississippi State, Ole Miss under Freeze. 
  • Pac 12 South. Oregon will once again represent the Pac 12 North in the conference title game barring some ridiculous happenings, but the race in the South should be a wild one, with Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA all looking to contend. UCLA appears to be the strongest of the bunch, but the Sun Devils picked up a nice win against what should prove to be another solid Badgers squad. Meanwhile, Arizona has looked good while playing absolutely nobody, but that will change with their Sept. 28 trip to Washington.