A picture of Chicago, because Northwestern is its team, of course
With both Northwestern and Minnesota coming off of back-to-back losses after 4-0 starts, this one would be a step back from the abyss for one team and one fewer fingertip on the ledge for the other.
Mitch Leidner got the start for the Gophers, looking to build upon an encouraging start against Michigan (the score of that game notwithstanding). On the first drive, a third down completion for a first down was wiped out by a penalty. On the next play, 3rd & 12, Northwestern's Ibraheim Campbell set the tone.
Leidner scooted out of the pocket, much like he did against Michigan, heading down the right side. A few yards short of the first down line, Leidner lowered his shoulder in an attempt to run Campbell over. However, as is often the case, Campbell was having none of it, stopping Leidner short on a hit that was reminiscent of Alabama safety Vinnie Sunseri's clocking of Thomas Rawls in last season's Michigan-Alabama game.
Northwestern answered with a three-and-out of its own, a sequence which just about equaled a win for the Gophers. Minnesota picked up the first first down of the game, an 11-yard completion to Drew Wolitarsky. On the next play, Leidner overshot a wide open Maxx Williams in the middle of the field, who had nothing but open space before him.
A couple of drives later, Minnesota elected to run it up the gut on 3rd & 6, perhaps a response to the Minnesota defense's success to that point. Unfortunately for the Gophers, that conservatism was a little premature.
The Wildcats' third drive took eight plays to go 72 yards, capped Stephen Buckley rushes of 33, 11 and 3 yards (the last for a touchdown) and a 12-yard Christian Jones reception. Northwestern was aided by sloppy Minnesota tackling--particularly on Buckley's 33-yard romp down the left side--but the offense, without the services of Kain Colter (save for emergency situations) or Venric Mark--hummed along nonetheless.
Heading into the second quarter down 7-0 and having amassed just 44 yards, the Gophers desperately needed a stop in Northwestern's next offensive series. The Gopher defense bent but did not break; Trevor Siemian led the Wildcats down to the Minnesota 35 before eventually taking a sack on 3rd & 5.
The Gophers had done an admirable job thus far defensively, but the offense would have to generate some points. Minnesota had some success on designed Leidner runs and had that play action look deep to Williams that fell incomplete; the Gophers would have to go that well again if they were planning on cracking Mike Hankwitz' NU defense.
For the Minnesota coaching staff, however, it wasn't nearly enough, as Philip Nelson entered the game in the second quarter. The Gophers went to the ground, however, and hit it hard. After some strong running from David Cobb and Donnell Kirkwood, Minnesota dialed up another play action. This time, Nelson hit Derrick Engel for a 29-yard score to tie the game. It appeared that Minnesota had found its offensive formula for success.
Shortly thereafter, Ra'Shede Hageman picked off Siemian, but the Gopher offense was not able to capitalize on the error. Minnesota then forced an NU three-and-out and called timeout to stop the clock with 1:52 to go in order to give the offense another shot, the same thing UConn did against Michigan a few weeks ago; it's never a good sign for the favorite when the underdog feels good enough to do that.
Nelson hit Wolitarsky over the middle on 3rd & long to keep the drive alive and put the Gophers near field goal range. Minnesota handled the situation poorly, however, letting quite a bit of time run off the clock. Naturally, Minnesota's 44-yard field goal attempt went wide left, and the two teams headed into the half tied at 7-all.
All in all, like the Michigan game, the first half was a win for the Gophers, who mostly stifled the Mark- and Colter-less offense and found some offensive rhythm of their own in the second quarter.
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.
Maine, Northwestern's opponent this week, has a player named Dakota Tarbox. Cormac McCarthy dystopian character? No, a freshman tight end.
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.
I'll probably write something longer before Saturday hits, but, for now, here are a few links from around the world of college football:
Wisconsin's depth chart is out, and there appears to have been some shuffling in the secondary. The starter at QB hasn't been officially announced, but, as I've guessed most of the summer, Joel Stave will likely get the nod. Kyle French will hold onto placekicking duties for the Badgers despite what seemed like a legitimate challenge at one point from Jack Russell, who is now injured. Also of note: UW has a linebacker named Conor O'Neill. I miss Ann Arbor.
NC State head coach Dave Doeren covers "Wagon Wheel." Given the level of angst over Darius Rucker's cover of the same song, I'd imagine many might not like this, but...hey. I have nothing snarky to say. I kind of like it.
Myerberg gets to Nebraska at No. 11 in his offseason countdown. The song remains the same in Lincoln: the Huskers will score more points than most teams, but can they stop anyone? More importantly, can they stop the run? Depending on what UCLA (minus Johnathan Franklin) and Southern Miss (62nd in rushing offense last season) bring to the table, that run defense might not get truly tested until November 2 against Northwestern.
Taylor Lewan clocks in at No. 2 in BTN's player ranking. Devin Gardner (No. 8) is the only other Wolverine on the list. You'd think Jeremy Gallon would make it on there, but, you knows, lists.
Speaking of Gardner...he's not a captain, but I think things will be all right. I realize mentioning "Chad Henne wasn't captain" is in the same family as "but Mike Hart was a 3-star," but there you go.
Hello there. It's been a little while. We are only 40 days from Michigan football, so it's probably a good time to at least attempt to revive this thing after a long, depressing spring/summer of White Sox baseball.
Anyway, I haven't been writing much but I do have a few previews to share from over at Maize n Brew:
Today, I took a look at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The verdict is fairly reductive: the schedule sets up nicely (no Wisconsin or Ohio State), but the front seven absolutely must get better.
On July 8, I talked about my grad school team of choice, the Northwestern Fightin' Warrior Poets. Yes, fan of a big name team, Northwestern is a contender for the division this season. This is always a team to watch, but it's usually more fun when they're not playing your team...that is, unless your team decides to engage in some late game heroics.
With a new coach coming into Madison, I took a look at the squad tucked between Lakes Mendota and Monona. The secondary, offensive line depth and the need to settle on a single quarterback are the primary points of concern for the 2013 iteration of the Wisconsin Badgers.
And finally, I talked a bit about the Michigan State Spartans on June 24, a squad with a fairly considerable range of potential outcomes. The defense will once again be strong, but will it be strong enough to carry an offense now without star back Le'Veon Bell for another season? The Spartans' average margin of defeat in 2012 was slight, so improvement upon last season's 6-6 regular season mark is likely. However, if the Spartans are to win the division, it goes without saying that Andrew Maxwell (or Connor Cook) must provide better play from under center.
So, there you go. Ohio State is up next week to close out MnB's offseason preview series. After that, we'll all take the highway exit into It's-Almost-Football-Time-Land.
Duke associate head coach and Illinois native Chris Collins will become the next head coach at Northwestern.
Collins
met with the Northwestern administration on Monday and a deal is
expected to be finalized on Wednesday. Collins will continue to coach
withthe Blue Devils until they finish the postseason.
This was not unexpected, and, on the surface, it all makes pretty perfect sense. Collins is from nearby Northbrook, Ill., from a high school (Glenbrook North) that has produced players like Jon Scheyer. Insert verbiage about new blood, the ability to recruit the area, "Northwestern is basically Duke waiting to be unleashed," etc. etc.
To be honest, this seems to me like if Michigan had hired Brady Hoke back in 2007, i.e. a slightly early homecoming. Collins has been an assistant at Duke since 2000, and was also an assistant under Tommy Amaker for a couple of seasons. However, he's never been a head coach; is it better to hire a guy with Collins' profile (local guy, yada yada yada) or make a play for one of the countless mid-major guys out there? I'm obviously not privy to the details of Northwestern's coaching search, but I suppose we shall find out in the coming years. It's entirely possible that Northwestern felt that it wouldn't be able to snag a guy like, say, FGCU's Andy Enfield.
Whatever the case may be, the Wildcats needed some change. Carmody's efforts can't be discounted, as he left Northwestern basketball in better shape than he found it despite never being able to cross the river into tournament land.
A quick Rivals search shows that there aren't any Glenbrook North college prospects on the current squad. The question is, can Collins recruit outside of the Evanston/north suburbs? As always, it will be a tough road, but it doesn't hurt to have coached under Coach K for over a decade while also having Doug Collins for a father.
The Wolverines head to Evanston tonight for their B1G opener against the Fighting Warrior Poets of Northwestern. Here is a preview of this game, featuring an NU team missing Drew Crawford and Reggie Hearn (i.e. its top two scorers). I guess it's time for...
Like Liam Neeson, Kain Colter has a certain set of skills.
With Michigan off this week, I turned to my current school for football sustenance...yes, the Northwestern Wildcats. Excuse me, the undefeated Northwestern Wildcats.
I actually did not end up going to this game, but I really thought about it. I really, really did. And, really, it's the thought that counts (thousands of Northwestern fans nod in agreement).
Okay, that was not very nice, but still: what gives, Northwestern fans? Are things that different here that a 4-0 team can't sell out Ryan Field? I have no idea what the official attendance figure was, but on TV there were clearly some pretty empty patches throughout the stadium. I know it was just Indiana and all, but c'mon man.
Anyway, here are some football thoughts to keep me sane during this bye week and while deciding who to "root" for in this MSU-OSU tilt.
---
Just to get this out of the way so I don't say it 30 times: Indiana is terrible, so much of this should be taken with several boulder-sized grains of salt. Nonetheless, Northwestern is not a team for which you could dismiss any single opponent with complete nonchalance. Northwestern has fielded some nice teams in the Fitzgerald era, but they haven't necessarily been immune to the egregious loss. For instance, NU lost to: New Hampshire in 2006, Duke in 2007, and Army last season.
Thus far, Northwestern has taken care of business, often with a very new and decidedly un-Northwestern-like formula: the ground game and defense. The Wildcat defense (particularly the secondary) had been an enormous weakness over the years in spite of Fitzgerald's defensive pedigree. Likewise, the running game had not been functional since Tyrell Sutton left Evanston after 2008.
After taking on three straight BCS conference foes, including an opener on the road at Syracuse, the Wildcats dispensed with all three, classily, intellectually, and generally in an agreeable manner befitting a warrior-poet-gentleman.
After tacking on a victory against the Coyotes of South Dakota last week*, the Wildcats began the Big Ten with a 2-1 Indiana team coming off a bye after losing to Brady Hoke's venerable alma mater in Muncie.
*I like to think that the South Dakota roster consists of a literal pack of coyotes running around on a football field while howling lugubriously at things.
The Offense
Once again, Northwestern's offensive attack has largely been ground-based thus far, and that trend continued today. Northwestern sped to a 27-0 lead after its opening drive in the second half, capped by a 15-yard scamper by QB/RB/WR Kain Colter.
Redshirt sophomore pocket passer Trevor Siemian actually started the game at quarterback for NU, as the Wildcats continue to go with the poor man's version of Michigan's old Brady-Henson set up in 1998/99. Despite each QB having a distinct weakness, Northwestern has rotated the two to great effect, even if the competition to date has not exactly been exceptional (although it was better than many non-conference slates around the country).
After NU's first two drives ended in punts, Kain Colter took the reins and NU went running like Forrest Gump. The Wildcats went 80 yards on six straight runs (three from Venric Mark, three from Colter) en route to a touchdown, an 8-yard run from Colter. This is the New Northwestern, manifested in a single drive.
Siemian entered the game again to start the second frame. Powered by a Mark rush for 18 and two straight 16-yard passes to Colter and Christian Jones, the Wildcats eventually settled for a 44-yard field goal from potential Lou Groza candidate Jeff Budzien. Northwestern added another touchdown--another 8-yard run from Colter--on its next drive via some more Siemian passing and nifty rushing from Mark and backup tailback Mike Trumpy.
NU added another field goal before the end of the half to go up 20-0, and everything was coming up Milhouse.
After going up 27-0 after the second half's opening drive, Mark fumbled at the end of a 25-yard run near the IU 36, ending what likely would've been another scoring drive. NU bounded back to deliver another TD drive on the back of a 26-yard Colter run and two big passing plays from Siemian to Christian Jones and Rashad Lawrence, ending with Mark punching it in from a yard out.
With IU returning the next kickoff for a score, the score was 34-21 and the pressure was back on the offense after the defense had held the clean sheet through the first half. The Wildcats once again cut through the IU defense like Balboa cutting his way through the forests en route to the Pacific; Budzien chipped in another 29-yarder to take the lead back to 16.
Northwestern had been fairly careful with the ball to date, turning it over only three times coming into today. Unfortunately, the 'Cats coughed up a fumble and two interceptions (one from both Colter and Siemian) against the Hoosiers. The first pick turned into a missed field goal from IU and the fumble was converted via the long Kofi Hughes touchdown grab. Luckily, Siemian's INT in the fourth quarter, with NU up 39-27 and driving deep into IU territory, lead to a fairly lackadaisical three and out for IU.
It was an especially bad pick for Siemian, as he was locked onto Colter in 2004 Chad Henne fashion, but the miscue didn't end up hurting the 'Cats.
Colter then did his thing, finding holes up the middle and on the perimeter in the IU defense. He even took another rush to the house, a 30+ yard scamper that was regrettably called back for holding. Nevertheless, NU soldiered on, plugging away against a horrific IU run defense, eventually leading to yet another Colter TD run on an expertly run zone read. IU actually tackled the running back on the play, which is pretty much a zone read coach's dream. Colter then simply schooled the IU edge defender, #42 David Cooper, before running 22 yards for a relatively easy score.
With the score being 44-29 in NU's favor with only five minutes to go, the game was basically over...just kidding, it wasn't, as the NU secondary still had some derp left in the tank.
The Defense
The other encouraging development for the Wildcats this season, other than the running game, has undoubtedly been the defense. After a shaky affair in the Carrier Dome, the NU defense has hunkered down of late, holding its last three opponents to a total of 33 points. The Wildcats weren't near the top of the rankings in total defense, turnovers forced, red zone defense, or third down defense, but they were a respectable 37th in scoring defense coming into today.
After a first half in which the Wildcats completely stonewalled the hapless Hoosiers--keeping them to 113 yards of offense and zero points--the second half resembled a dam's complete collapse, with the Hoosier offense being the oncoming flood (I'm pretty sure that's the first time that has ever been said).
The secondary issues of old began to rear their ugly head once again, as Kofi Hughes, probably Indiana's most talented player, went to work against Quinn Evans (a Stanford grad transfer) et al. After an IU touchdown drive powered mostly by some expert running from tailback Stephen Houston, Hughes reeled in two consecutive receptions of 28 and 35 yards respectively, the latter being a fairly impressive TD grab in the end zone. The NU lead was back to 13, at 27-14.
After the aforementioned 1-yard Mark TD, Indiana's Tevin Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for the score, representing possibly the first kickoff return for a score this season that I have actually seen live (I think).
With the score at 37-21, the IU offense went back to work near the end of the 3rd and into the 4th, executing a 7-play, 69-yard TD drive that included a 33-yard pass from backup QB Nate Sudfield (who had taken over for Cameron Coffman in the second quarter) on NU corner Nick VanHoose. IU scored and Kofi Hughes converted the two-point conversion to make it a one score game at 37-29. What had once been a blowout was no longer, and Northwestern's built up cache of defensive good will had seemingly been squandered in three quarters.
After NU went up 44-29, Sudfield completed a 46-yard bomb to Cody Latimer on Quinn Evans, taking it to the NU 11. After two straight Houston rushes and a fumbled Sudfield snap on third down, IU had to go for it on fourth, but not before a ridiculous false start penalty. After a failed fade attempt to Kofi Hughes in the right back corner, the game was essentially salted away for the Wildcats. Game blouses.
Special Teams
Jeff Budzien has to be one of the best kickers in the country. He went 3/3 on the day, continuing his perfect mark on the season.
Punter Brandon Williams only punted twice but did a nice job, using his two opportunities to boot 45- and 46-yarders.
The kick/punt return game wasn't a factor for the Wildcats on the day, but it was for their opponent. The Hoosier took six kick returns back for an average of 36.6 yards per, including the aforementioned 96-yard score from Tevin Coleman. Northwestern can't afford to offer more capable teams that kind of space on returns going forward if the defense is to be protected.
Miscellaneous Minutiae
Kain Colter. Colter is a poor man's Denard, but if there is anything that Colter absolutely does better than Denard, it is the zone read. I was honestly kind of jealous watching him run it to perfection over and over again. Yes, it was only Indiana yada yada yada, but Colter seems to have the basically innate quick twitch decision-making with the zone read that Denard for whatever reason hasn't really ever had. Of course, it remains to be seen if Colter can continue to do this against teams with some semblance of a defense; he passed the ball three times today for two yards and an interception.
More offense-related awe: the Wildcats amassed 704 total yards (!), including 6.8 YPC. IU is clearly very terrible, but that is impressive nonetheless. FWIW, it broke NU's single game school record.
Mark Five. GET IT, MARK FIVE. Okay I'm done. Despite his stature, Mark continues to plug away and deliver big plays for NU on the ground as the QB situation continues to sort itself out. Mark ran for 139 yards on 26 carries (4.8 YPC) and a touchdown. The only blemish on the day for the 5'8'' Texan was a fumble near the end of a long run into IU territory.
Drops. NU has a surprisingly deep group of wide receivers, but from what I've seen thus far this season, drops have been an issue from time to time. Late in the third quarter, Demetrius Fields dropped an easy pass in the end zone that really shouldn't have been. It lead to a field goal and ultimately didn't matter, but it's just something to monitor going forward.
Good times, bad times. All kidding aside, IU does have some offensive talent, namely Kofi Hughes and Stephen Houston. Still, IU's offensive explosion in the second half should give NU fans some pause after. After being held in check in the first half, IU scored 29 in the second--albeit with the help of a kickoff return for a TD--and amassed over 300 total yards in that time. NU corners, Nick VanHoose and Quinn Evans, were victimized deep from time to time. The Hoosiers also ran the ball at 5.7 yards a pop, which is a bit worrisome for the 'Cats with run first teams like Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska still left on the divisional docket.
An injury note. One potential explanation for the secondary's collapse: star safety Ibraheim Campbell left with an injury after a pretty jarring hit on an IU offensive player. I don't remember seeing him out there in the second half, so, take that FWIW.
Jeff Budzien=the Robbie Gould of Evanston. It was another perfect day for the NU kicker, who went 3/3 with a long of 44. He's 8/8 on the year, although he has yet to attempt anything past 50 yards out. So, like I said...Robbie Gould. NU won't be able to run roughshod over the Big Ten--yes, even the terrible, lowly Big Ten--the way it has done through five games, so I have to think that Budzien will get many more chances to test out that leg.
Well, this was fun. Michigan bye weeks are horrific, horrific things, but it was nice to get into a game on some level this week. I will be rooting for the Wildcats the rest of the way (as long as it doesn't affect Michigan's chances to win the division, of course). I'll play myself out with this once again:
Hope For Pahokee Update: Martavious Odoms's "Hope For Pahokee" Kickstarteris getting closer to its goal but isn't quite there yet. So far, 759 backers have donated $30,917 of the $35k goal. If you haven't donated yet, do it! Let's not let this fail because of a short Internet attention span (or any other reason, really).
Yes, I'm talking about Northwestern again. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a grad student at the venerable Northwestern University these days, and have thus followed the Wildcats' football program somewhat closely for the last eight or nine months. It has been somewhat of a breath of fresh air from the monumental expectations and resulting disappointment that comes with being a Michigan fan. Obviously, I am a Michigan fan first, and it's not even close, so don't worry (not that you were, person that isn't reading this, probably). Still, there's something inherently good about rooting for a program like Northwestern, one that does things The Right Way (if you are rolling your eyes, that's fine) and makes the most of what it has, usually without the major expectations and glowering spotlights of major college football programs...and I better stop there before I literally transform into one of those NCAA PSAs about athletes going into something other than sports.
Say what you will about the quality of Northwestern's wins thus far, but 3-0 is 3-0. The strangest thing about is, other than the shootout that was the Syracuse game, the Wildcats have done it largely with defense and a strong running game, powered by Kain Colter, Venric Mark, and Mike Trumpy. Make no mistake about it, Michigan's matchup against the Wildcats will not be an easy one. All my kidding about being warrior poets and whatnot aside, the Wildcats play a decidedly grit-astic brand of football that belies their reputation as a spread team with little defensive speed and/or talent to speak of.
Wow. That’s a pretty good feeling to wake up to this morning. Rewind for a second. If someone had told you that after week three, NU would be 3-0, one of only three teams in the B1G undefeated and, the facilities plan would be announced, you may have pulled out your checkbook.
I will conclude this Northwestern section that is probably annoying you by saying this: I don't think that we, as Michigan fans, say "wow" enough.
Meanwhile, back to the supposed focus of this blog...it's Notre Dame week. It was Notre Dame week even before the UMass game even ended, if we're being honest with ourselves. Brady Hoke said some things about Notre Dame:
I really don't know how to feel about this game. I'll have a preview up later this week, but, needless to say, this might be the biggest Notre Dame game since the 2006 contest. I know that we've won in South Bend in two of our last three trips down there, but there's still that residual anxiety enduring from our winless streak there stretching from the Remy Hamilton game winner in 1994 up until the "oh wide open" game in 2006. Michigan has won the last three seasons on the back of some pretty serious offensive sorcery the past three years, but I'm getting the feeling that the same cannot happen this time around if Michigan is going to win.
Wondering about whether or not Notre Dame is truly "back" is a useless endeavor better left to people interested in pointless narratives and STORYLINES, but this game will be won--WARNING, ENTIERING CLICHE LAND NOW--in the trenches. For that reason, I have a pretty disagreeable feeling about this game in the pit of my stomach right now, but maybe that will change between now and Saturday.
Hoke loves playing Notre Dame. But, if for some reason the Fighting Irish aren't on the Wolverines' schedule at some point down the road, Hoke won't exactly be heartbroken.
"They've got to do what they need to do for them," Hoke said Monday. "If (the Michigan-Notre Dame series) continues, it's great.
"If it doesn't, then we'll move forward."
As a person who has accepted Brady Hoke's "no chicken on pizza" as the law of the land since last week's radio show, you may take this with a grain of salt, but...I generally agree. I'm not necessarily one of those people that wants to see ND disappear from the schedule out of some sense of misplaced spite or whatever, but it would be nice to get some other teams on the schedule. I don't think that this is a novel or controversial opinion.
NO RESPECT. Matt Hinton reveals his Week 3 top 25, and it does not include Michigan. If Michigan sports talk radio had a PAWWWLLL equivalent, I would so be calling into it right now. Not really. Of course, Hinton explains his rationale as incisively as you'd expect:
So, that's fair. It feels weird to see teams like Rutgers, Iowa State, and Oregon State in there and not Michigan, but the Wolverines have not had the opportunity to do anything of note outside of the Alabama, a game Michigan was probably not going to win even if it pulled out the greatest game it has ever played. I would imagine that a win in South Bend would propel the Wolverines into his top 25, if not his top 15.
I'm sure he would agree, but when you really get down to the business of attempting to construct a top 25, you really begin to realize how byzantine and completely arbitrary college football really is. That is part of its charm, I guess, and I wouldn't trade college football for anything in the world. Still, college football comes with the underlying notion that attempting to place teams on a relativistic spectrum of quality is like trying to decide whether Beethoven or The Beatles were more influential than the other. In a few words: it is impossible. As long as you accept that, you'll be doin' just fine.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Not Russell Wilson. For a team that was a preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, this is not exactly news you want to hear heading into the fourth week of the season with a running game working about as well as the average person does in the morning before having their coffee:
Wondering if Danny O'Brien will be Wisconsin's starting quarterback when the Badgers take the field against UTEPon Saturday the answer is: Maybe.
While offensive coordinator Matt Canada intimated O'Brien would remain the team's starting quarterback, he wouldn't commit to it.
Like everybody, I just sort of assumed that Wisconsin would be able to withstand the exodus of offensive lineman to the NFL and assistant coaches to Pitt, but that has decidedly not been the case thus far. The Badgers take on a 1-2 UTEP team that should result in a fairly stress-free win before a trip to Lincoln the next week, a primetime derby against a Nebraska team looking to avenge last year's thumping in Madison.
This has not been the first time that people have questioned Bret Bielema's ability to be the primary braintrust of the Wisconsin program in spite of his sterling record. After winning 21 games in his first two seasons in Madison (12-1 in 2006, 9-4 in 2007), Bielema led the Badgers to a disappointing 7-6 season in 2008 (of course including what was probably the most embarrassing loss to Michigan that Wisconsin has ever taken), leading to the usual gripes about how his first two seasons were made possible on the backs of Alvarez recruits, yada yada yada.
In any case, this 2012 Wisconsin football team should continue to be an interesting case study in the importance of assistant coaches, those behind-the-scenes shadows that are more important than any of us can really ever know (whether in a good or a bad way). With uncertainty at the quarterback position and a running game that has been almost unnervingly bad, it's not difficult to imagine this season spiraling out of control for the Badgers if Nebraska is able to return the favor in Lincoln.
Another week of college football came and went, and although we are still stuck in the mostly barren wasteland that is non-conference play, there were more than a few upsets this week. Virginia Tech somehow fell to a horrific Pitt team, Michigan State fell at home to Notre Dame, USC took a loss in Palo Alto, Ohio State almost lost to a seemingly mediocre Cal squad, and Utah bounced back from their loss against Utah State to pick off BYU in the Holy War in what was a mostly nonsensical finish.
We're still approximately a week or two away from these rankings not being a completely formless sea of shifting tectonic plates, but for now this will have to do.
Rank
Team
1
Alabama
2
LSU
3
Oregon
4
West Virginia
5
Georgia
6
Florida State
7
Stanford
8
USC
9
Texas
10
South Carolina
11
Clemson
12
Oklahoma
13
Notre Dame
14
Ohio State
15
Florida
16
TCU
17
Michigan State
18
Kansas State
19
Michigan
20
UCLA
21
Louisville
22
Arizona
23
Northwestern
24
Missouri
25
Nebraska
Out: Virginia Tech, Tennessee Idle: Oklahoma, Oregon State, Colorado (JUST KIDDING they played, allegedly)
With a powerful running game (forced to dip into secondary options once the starter got dinged up) and a staunch defense and special teams, they completed their third victory in a row against BCS competition this season. Who is this defensive/running game juggernaut of which I speak? Alabama?LSU, maybe? Of course, I am talking about none other than the Northwestern University FIGHTIN' FITZGERALDS. The Wildcats have been a shining light amid a sea of darkness for the Big Ten thus far this season; with games against South Dakota and Indiana coming up, a 5-0 start is all but assured for the warrior poets from Evanston. The Wildcats have gone with the Brady/Henson arrangement at QB with Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian, and there's a good chance that Siemian will eventually be "the guy." Anyway, bask in the warm glow of the Warrior Poets' battle hymn:
Elsewhere in the Big Ten. Ohio State, following the "hey let's make the quarterback do everything" style of play that Michigan has perfected the past three seasons, required a 72-yard strike from Miller to Devin Smith in the late stages to finally put away a Cal team with a loss to Nevada to its name. Wisconsin continues to be Bizarro Wisconsin, with nary a running game to be found; they required a missed field goal to beat the Aggies of Utah State in the final seconds. That's not a good look. Indiana did what Indiana does, and by that I mean lose to Ball State. Michigan State could not do much of anything against an Irish team that might actually be rounding into a legitimate team that could do some real damage if not for a brutal schedule the rest of the way. Otherwise, everything else went okay: Penn State got its first win, Minnesota is now 3-0, a Burkhead-less Nebraska team dealt with Gus Malzahn's Arkansas State squad, Purdue decidedly did not respect The Process en route to a thumping of EMU, and Iowa lost another tailback in an ugly win against their buddies from Cedar Falls. WOO, FEEL THE EXCITEMENT OF BIG TEN FOOTBALL.
Hey Alabama: maybe chill out a bit, okay. This is all just for fun. I did not watch this game, but this is pretty much the definition of the game that you can consume via osmosis. "Oh, did you hear about Arkansas?" *exchange of uncomfortable looks* "Yeah..." Sure, Arkansas was without Tyler Wilson, but if the relevant picture in this SMQB "Agony and Ecstasy" post is any indication, Wilson probably dodged a bullet by not participating in this one anyway.
"I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah!"Actually, not really. I like Missouri and think they should be just fine in the SECE, last week's game against UGA notwithstanding (which was a ballgame until the curious fake punt call by Pinkel). James Franklin (not the Vandy HC) was out, leaving the door open for backup Corbin "Most Likely Name For a Birkenstock Enthusiast" Birkstresser, who did alright against an Arizona State defense that inceptioned many nightmares into the brains of Illinois' backup quarterbacks. He only went 21-41 with a YPA of 4.8 and 1 INT, but he did pitch in a TD on the ground. Who knows if ASU is any good at all, but Mizzou held serve at CoMo and that's all that matters. Having a +3 turnover margin and holding your opponent to 2-12 on third down is a pretty easy path to a W.
Thomas Jefferson ain't walkin' through that door. Another team/coach that I was a fan of coming into the season: UVA and Mike London. Unfortunately, that mostly irrational liking has taken a bit of hit thus far this season. The Cavs were fairly lucky to beat Penn State, and this past Saturday's 56-20 loss at Georgia Tech...is not a good luck. I bought into the Mike London hype train and decided to mostly ignore the fact that UVA would have to replace quite a few starters, but oh well. You're going to completely misread at least a few teams each season, and UVA definitely falls under this category for me. Still, they're 2-1, so all is not lost.
This is something that may or may not become a regular Sunday thing. Who knows. In any case, I'll recap each B1G game, with specificity depending upon whether or not: a) I actually have the game on my TV lookity box and b) I have time to watch games other than the Michigan game in a given week.
Anyway, if you aren't already plugging your nose, you should probably go ahead and do that. Ready? Here we go.
Michigan 31, Air Force 25.I will talk about this at length during my recap post at Maize 'n Brew on Monday, but for now I'll just say these things.
These first two games are games that I'm not sure should be data points from much extrapolation should be done. The Alabama game was one against a team with significantly more talent than any other team on Michigan's schedule. The Air Force game pitted Michigan against an offensive attack that they won't see again. We cannot really be sure how good or bad Michigan is at this point in the season.
The youth movement is a cause for excitement, sure, but in the short term is like being served several dollops of uncut consternation. If Michigan is rolling with two freshmen at the inside linebacker positions (Ross and Bolden) in place of a sophomore and a FIFTH YEAR SENIOR in Demens, Michigan's run defense--which was already not something to write home about last season--will take several steps backwards. Unless Demens and Morgan reassert themselves (which seems unlikely given the second half), odds are Wood, Atkinson, and Riddick have a field day against this front seven in two weeks.
In the end, a win's a win. Also, Denard is just the man, period...but you knew that.
Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 13.A week after prevailing in the so called "Prose Bowl" against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, the mighty warrior poets of Evanston took on the Vanderbilt Commodores in a dignified football derby at the venerable Ryan Field in Evanston. After getting torched by Ryan Nassib last week, Northwestern fans were anxious to see how the secondary would look this week; Vanderbilt's first drive did not do much to assuage those fears. However, the NU defense settled down after that point. The Wildcats gave up a touchdown on Vandy's first drive, but only allowed two field goals the rest of the way, an encouraging performance for a D that gave up 41 last week and was mostly terrible all of last season.
The 'Cats once again used both Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian at quarterback, with Siemian being the more effective of the two through the air. This sort of thing is always an awkward arrangement, but it has worked thus far. Siemian was 10/16 for 91 yards, with Kolter going 7/15 for 42 yards. However, Kolter also pitched in on the ground with 41 yards and a touchdown run to seal the win with just under two minutes to go in the game.
Wildcat running back Venric Mark continues to be the "Big Ten dude that most people probably don't know about but probably should." He carried the ball 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown in what was another tremendous effort for the lilliputian tailback. Northwestern has not had much of a running attack since the days of Tyrell Sutton, so if Mark can continue this pace into the B1G schedule, Northwestern could be a very dangerous team in a capacity greater than the humble "spoiler" role.
Michigan State 41, Central Michigan 7.After leaning heavily on Le'Veon Bell to grit through a not aesthetically pleasing win against a revamped Boise State team, the Spartans blew the doors off the hapless Chippewas, a game played in Mount Pleasant (for some reason). The Spartans held CMU to 245 total yards and a meager 3.3 YPC. Andrew Maxwell bounced back after a less than ideal performance against BSU, going 20/31 for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bell was actually somewhat held in check (18 carries, 70 yards, 2 TDs), but the Spartans got a boost from its receiving corps, which looked fairly underwhelming last Friday night. Dion Sims continues to look like a formidable weapon (3 rec, 48 yards., 1 TD) and Bennie Fowler left his mark as undoubtedly the most effective MSU receiver on Saturday (8 rec., 99 yards, 1 TD). Overall, this was one of only a few B1G no doubters on what was a rough weekend for the conference.
Ohio State 31, Central Florida 16.Once again, Braxton Miller was the story of the day for the Buckeyes. Miller ran the ball a whopping 27 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns, a stat line that reminds me of Michigan's usage of Denard in September last year against EMU and SDSU. You can't argue with the results, however. Miller had an efficient day through the air, going 18/24 for 155 yards and a touchdown (plus an interception). After an interception by Etienne Sabino led to a short field and a TD for the Buckeyes, it was 31-10 about halfway through the third quarter, and the game seemed to be over. UCF had a little fight left in them, as the ensuing 14-play TD drive would show. The Knights then picked off Miller on OSU's side of the field but ended that drive by throwing a pick of their own. There would be no more scoring on the day, as OSU seemed to be content with just bleeding out the clock on the ground. Miller's pick was not a good one, but he is looking more and more like a player that will give Michigan serious problems once again at the end of the season.
On an injury note, Carlos Hyde, OSU's starting tailback, was carted off the field with a large bag of ice on his knee. Zach Boren had the most carries of anybody not named Miller or Hyde, coming in with 7 for 16 yards. True freshman Bri'onte Dunn did pitch in 5 carries for 29 yards; if Hyde misses any games, which seems likely, it looks like the freshman will be the feature back.
Iowa State 9, Iowa 6.This has been one of the more mercurial and underrated rivalry games around. After gritting out a win against Northern Illinois last week, the Hawkeyes looked to avenge last year's loss in Ames with a win at home against its in-state rival. Unfortunately, a dismal offensive performance stood in the way, as the Hawkeyes couldn't get find the end zone all day. Neither could ISU, however, which makes the loss even worse. Iowa managed only 68 yards rushing (2.8 YPC) and Vandenberg was not Henne-esque at all, going 20/42 en route to a bleak 5.6 YPA and 2 interceptions. Other than Keenan Davis and tight end CJ Fiedorowicz, Iowa doesn't appear to have many perimeter players worth mentioning. This was Iowa's first loss at home against the Cyclones since the odd 2002 loss by that Brad Banks-led Big Ten co-champion team.
Without any running game to speak of, odds are it's going to be a long season marked by hordes of Iowans screaming about OC Greg Davis going sideways and whatnot.
Minnesota 44, New Hampshire 7.I'll be completely honest: whenever I notice that Minnesota is winning, I react as if I had just watched a Youtube video featuring corgis doing corgi things. YES YOU WON THAT GAME YES YOU DID YOU DID. I don't even mean this in a bad way.
Anyway, the Gophers rolled over 1-AA (FCS, whatever) New Hampshire, which wouldn't be anything to brag about if Minnesota had not notched losses to North Dakota St. and South Dakota in recent years. Marqueis Gray continues to look like a guy who should probably be playing for Paul Johnson: he went 6/8 for 100 yards and a pair of TDs through the air. Also, with a 78-yard gallop comprising most of the total, he added 109 yards and two TDs on the ground. Minnesota is now 2-0, and while I don't know how many wins I'd mark them down for, bowl eligibility is not a laughable notion to entertain.
Penn State 16, UVA 17.I've been very high on UVA since Mike London's successful debut season in 2011, but I think that Saturday proved that maybe I'm overvaluing them just a little bit. A PSU team missing tailback Bill Belton, that also had to insert backup QB Steven Bench (the most hilarious name for a backup QB ever, by the way) for a while due to a Matt McGloin injury, gave UVA all it wanted, which probably says more about UVA than it does Penn State. PSU receiver Allen Robinson--a sophomore from Southfield, MI--was the only Nittany Lion skill position player who did much of anything on Saturday (10 rec., 89 yards, 1 TD). Otherwise, McGloin had an anemic 5.6 YPA and the Lions could not take advantage of a +4 turnover margin.
Of course, the story of the game was PSU's field goal kicking, which reminded me of the 2002 Michigan-Washington game up until PSU kicker Sam Ficken missed the last one, unlike our own Phillip Brabbs. UVA converting on two big third and longs against the PSU defense during a 12-play, 6+ minute drive in the 4th quarter, a touchdown drive that left PSU with 1:28 on the clock. Starting on his own 27, McGloin did an admirable job in getting the Lions into field goal position, although one has to wonder about his final kneel down, in which he attempted to center the ball but lost 3 or 4 yards in the process. Ficken then hooked a 42-yard field goal wide left.
The life of a field goal kicker is a thankless, tortured one. Baseball closers nod, knowingly.
Indiana 45, Massachusetts 6.See above re: Minnesota, but this is another one of those wins that you like to see as a B1G fan. With that said, that is two teams that have spanked Massachusetts thus far (UConn last week). If Michigan doesn't absolutely destroy this team in the Big House next week, it will officially be time to panic.
Another unfortunate injury note: IU quarterback Tre Roberson went down in the second quarter with an ugly injury. Watch this at your own peril. Roberson was having a great game up until that point, on the ground and through the air (264 total yards, 3 TDs), so it's a shame to see something like this. Cameron Coffman, brother of former Mizzour tight end Chase Coffman, will take over in Roberson's absence, which I imagine will be pretty lengthy.
Wisconsin 7, Oregon State 10.Last year's Big Ten champion and the B1G's Rose Bowl representative for the last two years traveled to Corvallis and lost to what is probably a not very good Oregon State team. Any hope that Danny O'Brien could replicate Russell Wilson's 2011 success in any way have been dashed very quickly. O'Brien went 20/38 for 172 yards (4.5 YPA). Somehow, Montee Ball only carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards. I didn't have the game on TV, but that seems a little bit odd. Losing all of those assistants and even those three departing offensive linemen has clearly had a far greater effect than expected. The defense did its part, giving up only 10 points and 2.6 YPC, but that probably makes the idea of this loss even less palatable for the Badgers.
To make matters worse, leading receiver Jared Abbrederis went down with an injury in the first half that saw him carted off the field. To say that the Leaders division is an absolute tirefire right now would be a serious affront to tire fires everywhere.
Purdue 17, Notre Dame 20.This is one of the games that I was flipping to during Michigan's commercial breaks, so I mostly have to rely on the box score and anecdotal accounts. On a basic level, Purdue was at least competitive, tying the game at 17 with about two minutes to go. After an Everett Golson fumble was recovered by Purdue, the Boilers squandered their first three downs with the ball, leaving them with a 4th and 10 from the ND 15. Naturally, Caleb "Joe Montana" TerBush found Antavian Edison up the middle of the field for a touchdown.
To a mini-chorus of boos, Brian Kelly inserted Tommy Rees after Golson had to leave with an injury (sustained, I'm assuming, during the aforementioned fumble). Although he was only 3/8, Rees completed enough passes to drive the Irish into field position, primarily on the back of a 21-yard strike to Robby Toma to get ND down to the Purdue 20. PK Kyle Brindza converted a 27-yarder, leaving Purdue with 7 seconds, enough time for TerBush to toss a duck of a Hail Mary well short of the endzone. It is still too early in the season to derive much meaning from a game like this, but if I had to make a conjecture, I think neither of these teams is particularly exceptional. Nebraska 30, UCLA 36. This is Nebraska's second year in the land of "old man football", but if this game at the Rose Bowl proved anything, it's that Nebraska still has some Big 12 in 'em. Well, in the first half, that is...in the second half, things started to unravel offensively, and the defense continued to be a complete and utter sieve.
A wild first half sent the two teams into the break tied at 24, with Martinez actually making some plays with his arm, continuing from where he left off last week against Southern Miss. He even managed a 92-yard TD run, which of course inspired someone on ESPN (Robert Smith?) to say "you know, he's just as fast as Denard Robinson and might be even faster." Sure.
Either way, Martinez was completely ineffective in the second half, looking mostly like that retro 1970s quarterback that we've seen from him in the past. T-Magic went 4/14 in the second half, with an interception (and one other flailing toss that would've been an interception if he had not afterwards been called down before releasing it). UCLA is an actual football team, apparently, but this is a game that the Huskers should have won, even in spite not having Rex Burkhead. Nebraska fans: welcome to the honored Big Ten tradition of losing on the West Coast in September non-conference games (and at the Rose Bowl in general).
Illinois 14, Arizona State 45.Why did I watch this game past the first quarter? There are many questions in life for which I simply don't have an answer. With Nathan Scheelhaase unavailable after an injury sustained against Western Michigan last week, it was arm punt city for the Illini in Tempe. The junior Miles Osei took over for Riley O'Toole at the end of the first quarter, but the switch made little difference. Osei went 4/7 for 47 yards and two interceptions. Riley O'Toole started the second half, but immediately got to arm puntin', tossing a horrific interception on the second play of the drive.
It's hard to tell if Scheelhaase would've made this game close, but the defense's performance against a team breaking in a new quarterback was pretty disappointing (although the INTs didn't help the D out). All in all, this game was the cherry on top of the cake made of dirt and shaving cream that was the B1G's performance yesterday.
Hello, Internet. I am Fouad Egbaria, a Michigan grad ('11) and recent graduate of the MSJ program at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. This is a blog that attempts to analyze the highs and lows of Michigan football and basketball; I'm just trying to capture the spirit of the thing. I will also write about general Big Ten news, as well as Chicago professional sports (from time to time).
Posts
