My apologies

I am a bit under the weather today and merely looking at a computer screen is hurting my head. Therefore, there will be no column this week. I will surely have previews and predictions posted tomorrow.

In the meantime, feel free to check out Tremendous Upside Potential, where Iowa alum Bobby Stompy is fully committed to the Hawkeye cause.

Week 9 power rankings

1. Iowa- Remains on top, though gave fans quite a scare in East Lansing.

2. Penn State- Went to Ann Arbor and were the better team on both sides of the ball.

3. Ohio State- Gave Minnesota their second beat down in as many weeks.

4. Wisconsin- Improve by default after idle week. Host Purdue on Saturday.

5. Michigan State- Gave No. 4 Iowa a game. Need to capitalize on mistakes better on the defensive side.

6. Purdue- Highest ranking of the year. On a two-game win streak.

7. Michigan- Offense starting to play at the level of their defense.

8. Northwestern- Comeback win looks good on Fitzgerald’s resume.

9. Indiana- 4-4 record solid for the Hoosiers. No. 9 ranking not doing justice to the surprisingly-solid play of this team. Need to finish a lot better.

10. Minnesota- Looking like a mid-season version of Illinois.

11. Illinois- Zook needs to get the ball moving. Host Michigan Saturday.

weekly best and worst-week 8

Biggest surprise:

The biggest surprise of the week is to Northwestern, who overcame a  28-3 deficit midway through the second quarter to top Indiana 29-28.

The Evanston squad came out of the gates incredibly flat, and it showed as Darius Willis ran the ball 70 yards for a score on the first play of the game. But the defense locked it down in the second half, allowing only 109 total yards after the break (they allowed 201 in the first half, plus a 93-yard return for a score) and more importantly, zero points.

Best offensive performance:

Daryll Clark passed for 230 yards and four touchdowns as Penn State mauled the Maize and Blue on the road, in front of a crowd of 110,000 people. The Nittany Lions made that a statement game, as the defense limited a solid offense to just 250 yards.

Best defensive performance:

Ohio State had Minnesota shut out for the first 55 minutes of their blowout win. Eric Decker did only play a few series, (and is now out for the rest of the regular season) but they limited a once-dynamic offense to 286 yards, 81 of which came out of the Marques Gray’s wildcat rushing.

Biggest disappointment:

Michigan football needs to get the ball rolling, again. Imagine where they would be if they didn’t beat Notre Dame. It appears as if opposing defenses have figured out Tate Forcier’s ways while realizing they can throw like crazy against the subpar secondary.

Week 8- notes to note

Never count out a team with Pat Fitzgerald as the head coach

Pat Fitzgerald proved he might be the greatest motivator in the conference Saturday when he turned a 28-3 second quarter deficit into a win.

From the start it looked like NU never had a chance as they were down 21-0 early in the second quarter. Even after they got onto the scoreboard, IU returner Ray Fisher returned the kickoff for a score.

But the Wildcats made the final five scores of the game including a Stefan Demos game winner to finalize one of the biggest comebacks the school has ever seen.

This should go a long way in the recruiting process for Fitzgerald, as his classes continue to get stronger and stronger, hoping to reach the peak of his coaching abilities.

Iowa continues to win but fails to impress

With an exception of the Penn State game a month ago, the Hawkeyes have failed to truly impress polesters and fans alike. Eeking out a win against Arkansas State and allowing Michigan to creep back into the game late did not bode well for the BCS championship hopefuls.

While a win is a win and schools like Michigan, State and Wisconsin are not poor teams, Iowa is going to need to start blowing some teams out if they want a chance to play for a national title.

The offense really needs to get rolling. Ricky Stanzi could have been picked off three times on the last five plays and was bailed out by a combination of penalties and failure for the Spartans to capitalize.

They take on Northwestern and Indiana at home before heading to Columbus where no less than Rose Bowl implications will be on the line. They then finish with Minnesota at home.

Terrelle Pryor brought it Saturday

Terrelle Pryor played the most complete game of his 2009 campaign. The struggling sophomore passed for 239 yards and two scores while only throwing one interception. A quarterback is always allowed one pick a game. He also rushed for 104 yards and another score.

To expect Pryor to sit and wait in the pocket for a receiver to open up is ludicrous, but for the most part he did a great job of staying patient before opting to run. 15 carries might still be a little high, but at least he showed improvements on looking for receivers.

Game previews- Week 8

We’ll give the previews a go again. And I will try to redeem myself from an awful 2-4 in predictions from last week.

Game of the week

No. 13 Penn State at Michigan

A lot is at stake for both squads as Penn State heads to Ann Arbor. For the Lions, they are 6-1 overall, but have yet to obtain a marquee win to boost their national rank. A loss would put them at an 2-2 in conference, something that seemed almost unthinkable preseason.

Michigan on the other hand needs this win to regain the moral and swagger they had through September when they were 4-0. Last week’s warmup against Delaware State gave Tate Forcier an extra week to recover from a concussion he suffered against Iowa two weeks ago. For Michigan to have a chance, he needs to be on top of his game.

The Wolverines are going to need to rely on their defense, something they have been unable to do throughout the season. If they let Daryll Clark go off, they have a limited chance. This could be a statement game for Wolverines end Brandon Graham, as he tries to gain some draft stock as well help his team win.

Nittany Lions back Evan Royster could be the difference maker in the game however. Even when Clark wasn’t bringing his A-game, Royster was relentlessly pounding out extra yards.

Prediction: I really like both teams and this game being at Michigan makes it even harder since PSU hasn’t won there since 1996. I expect the trend to continue, but expect this to possibly be the game of the year for the Big Ten.

Minnesota at No. 19 Ohio State

This game is going to show just how much each team wants to win. Minnesota was outplayed-to say the least- against Penn State last week while Ohio State wasn’t a whole lot better in West Lafayette.

It has come to our attention that Minnesota’s defense isn’t going to keep teams from scoring, while Ohio State’s defense was not to blame for last week’s schlacking.

Offensively, Terrelle Pryor needs to get it going. His coach feels he is being used improperly. While that may be true, they also need to get back to fundamental Buckeye football.

For Minnesota, they just need to get the ball to Eric Decker as often as possible. The last two weeks he has caught a combined four balls for 92 yards. He is what makes the Gophers go.

Prediction: Ohio State should rebound and take this one by 10-14 points.

Indiana at Northwestern

Indiana racked up nearly 500 yards of offense last week en route to a much-needed W.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were just outplayed in their match up in East Lansing. They currently sit at 4-3 on the season, but still take on Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin in three of their next four after Indiana.

This makes puts must-win all over Northwestern. Mike Kafka is going to have to be the dual-threat player we saw from him last year, as the Hoosier D isn’t spectacular.

Indiana will make this a high-scoring shootout however, and playmaker Tandon Doss will be hard to contain.

Prediction: Northwestern get the nod because it’s at home and their offense has the ability to score more points.

Illinois at Purdue

Purdue is coming off of Coach Hope’s first big win as a Boiler, and hoping to repeat their performance of last week.

But the Illini offense didn’t look bad against Indiana and quarterback Juice William managed the game well and more importantly, didn’t throw a pick. He also did a great job getting the ball to receiver Arrelious Benn.

Prediction: The Illini have to win a conference game this year, right? Purdue might be riding a little too high and overestimate a revitalized Illinois squad.

No. 6 Iowa at Michigan State

On paper it looks like Iowa has this in the bag. However, 15 of the last 21 times these teams have been decided by seven points or less.

Kirk Cousins is coming off of a strong performance, and will continue to look for Blair White and BJ Cunningham. But the Hawkeyes D has been as good as any in the country, and safety Tyler Sash has been around the ball all year.

U of I quarterback Ricky Stanzi could have a good game, as the Spartans have had a tough time stopping the pass all year.

Prediction: I am going to go with my gut and take Iowa, even on the road, to down Michigan State.

Big Ten? 11? 12?

In recent years it appears the Big Ten appears to have fallen behind with the times. With an exception of this year, it wasn’t uncommon to see Big Ten football teams see their season conclude on the third week in November while other conference’s play would continue even until the first week of December.

That often worked as a disadvantage to the league’s teams (Michigan in 2006) as other schools (Florida in 2006) had two weeks to impress late in the year.

Part of the reason some of these conferences play so late is because of a conference championship game. We currently see three BCS leagues run title games. Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991, allowing two, six-team divisions, with the winner of each playing each other in the league finale. The Big 12 split their conference into two divisions when four Southwest Conference teams entered the fray in 1994. And when Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech entered the ACC in 2005, the Atlantic Coast Conference did the same.

In 1990, the Big Ten adopted a very illustrious Independent in Penn State. But they (unknowingly at the time) made a potentially-large mistake by not bringing in another team to balance out the number.

Nearly 20 years have passed and no other team has entered the fray, so we are going to play “Big Ten Chairman” for the afternoon and find a 12th team.

The teams up for debate may or may not have any remote desire to join, but regardless, here is the criteria. A grade will be passed out for each criteria for each school.

Program Prestige- How prominent is the program for football purposes? While adding a good football program would be a plus for the conference, it might be harder to do than obtaining a weaker or up-and-coming program.

Proximity- How close or far are they from the rest of the schools?

Market- This, to an extent coincides with proximity, but at the same time it’s asking if the school is playing in a big market? Small market? Will the team be talked about on TV, radio, or in local print?

Natural Rivalry- All rivalries take time, but could Team X come into their first season with a natural rivalry they may have already had with a school?

Practicality- Does it really make sense for the school’s sake to leave their respective conference? Basketball caliber comes into play.

Cincinnati

Program Prestige- C+ Coming off of a conference title is always impressive and a current top 10 ranking is key. Grabbing them two years ago or last year would have made the most sense as this school gained notoriety quickly.

Proximity- A- In Southern Ohio, this ranks as the best school location-wise of the nominations. If the Bearcats entered the conference, they would be the southern-most school.

Market- A Cincinnati is a major market with multiple pro sports teams.

Natural Rivalry- B- If they continue to play how they are now, Ohio State, a school that has had problems fending off Michigan recruiters, might have their hands full in the recruiting process with Cincy. This could speed up an inter-Ohio rivalry.

Practicality- B Why not? It would be a plus for both the team and the conference. The basketball program isn’t what it was earlier in the decade. Though the overall style of Brian Kelly’s play isn’t Big Ten-esque, Rich Rodriguez took some heat for that two years ago, possibly relieving the coach of some criticism.

Louisville

Program Prestige- C Football is not the particularly the schools thing. The program has been around since 1912, and has won 51% of their games. They didn’t go to back-to-back bowl games until 1998-99, when John L. Smith turned the program around and Bobby Petrino wreaked the benefits.

Proximity- B Probably a little south for the conference’s liking, but in line longitude-wise.

Market- C The city of Louisville has been dying for a major sports franchise to open shop, but the closest thing they have is their basketball program, or the Reds’ AAA affiliate the Bats.

Natural Rivalry- C- Anything within the first ten years would seem forced. Something with Indiana or Purdue could eventually loom.

Practicality- C The university’s main sport is basketball. They are currently in arguably the nation’s toughest bball conference. Would they want to leave that? I don’t know, though the Big Ten does carry just carry just as much history, if not more than Big East basketball.

Missouri

Program Prestige- B- Missouri, like Cincinnati, didn’t really hit mainstream until the last few years. Football has been around since the 1800′s, yet it wasn’t until 2007-08 where they put back-to-back nine-win seasons. They have played in notoriously difficult conference, but have not had many exceptional seasons.

Proximity- B Like Louisville, not ideal, but at the same time, not terrible either. The Tigers would be an outlier to the west, as oppose to the outlier from the north as they are now in the Big 12.

Market- A St. Louis treats Missouri as their big-time college football team.

Natural Rivalry- A They have one with Illinois that has been on and off since 1966. But this is the best rivalry we would see of any potential incomer.

Practicality- B+ A seasonal contender in basketball, the second sport in the Big 12 would make a nice fit to the conference. As stated earlier, they are already not in the heart of their current league distance wise, have a rivalry, and a huge market.

Pitt

Program Prestige- B Pitt has carried some big-time football names like Dan Marino and Tony Dorsett. On multiple occasions, though not recently, they have been discussed as national contenders.

Proximity- C+ It would be the most far-East school, but it is only 135 miles away from State College, PA.

Market- A Pittsburgh carries multiple sports franchises and there is already a lot of coverage.

Natural Rivalry- C+ Penn State-Pitt could eventually make for a good rivalry.

Practicality- B- Pitt might not be opposed, but like others, basketball might entirely interfere with the move.

Rutgers

Program Prestige- C- Rutgers and football don’t really go hand-and-hand. Ray Rice lifted the program a bit in his years as a starter, and with an exception of a few seasons in the 70′s, there really hasn’t been a whole lot to talk about.

Proximity- D 240 miles away from Penn State would be tough.

Market- A+ Though it’s 240 miles from any other school, it’s only 13 miles from New York City, immediately adding to the school’s marketability. While many could say it could just be pushed to the back pages, NYC doesn’t have a college football team to cheer for, giving it a prominent conference like the Big Ten could change that.

Natural Rivalry- C+ It might be a stretch and who knows how long it would last, but Rutgers coach Greg Shaino turned down the Michigan job a few years back because he wanted to have his own dynasty in New Jersey.

Practicality- B While they aren’t the greatest of programs, and the basketball is far from competing, this might be a good time to go after the school. It would be an upgrade for the university. New York alone should give this some sort of thought to Big Ten buffs.

Syracuse

Program Prestige-

Proximity- D Similar distance away from Penn State as Rutgers.

Market- C It’s not bad, but like Louisville, the town doesn’t have a big pro franchise and isn’t as populated as some of the other cities nominated.

Natural Rivalry- B+ Though the rivalry has only taken place twice in the last 20 years, Penn State and Syracuse used to go head-to-head annually when they were both independents.

Practicality- C A bigger basketball school, they might not have the desire to switch to a conference with questionable location.

Those are my personal nominations. Some fit significantly better than others.

The divisions would be split between east and west. If Louisville or Missouri entered the league, they would join Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern. That would leave Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. If Cincinnati, Syracuse, Rutgers or Pitt joined, they would enter the east, while the Boilermakers would head to the western group.

Notre Dame will not be mentioned in this for the simple reason that in no way shape or form does it make sense for the Domers to leave the situation they already have. Call them what you like, but at the end of the day, college football is a business. And nobody does it better than the Irish.

Why would they want to split their TV revenue with 11 other teams? Why would they not want their nearly-automatic BCS bid pending three losses or less?

In all the categories it makes sense for Notre Dame to join the conference. All categories but the “balance” column in the Irish checkbook.

Weekly best and worst-Week 7

“Weekly best and worst” has replaced the “Heisman watch” for various (obvious) reasons.

Biggest surprise:

Without a doubt the biggest surprise of the week goes to Purdue. Not just because they won, but because of the way just took it to Ohio State. A struggling defense that hadn’t allowed less than 24 points all year held one of the conference’s biggest weapons in check, and forced five turnovers in the process.

Joey Elliot and the offense did what they needed to do, getting a lot of guys involved (eight different players caught a pass).

Best offensive performance:

Though Indiana did play the Illini, Ben Chappell had the best game of his college career. The first-year starter passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns on 23-for-38 passing.

Receiver Tandon Doss also had a huge game for the Hoosiers, catching seven of those passes for 130 yards and a score.

Best defensive performance:

Penn State’s defense totally shut down a Minnesota offense that had scored no less than 28 points in their last four games, 35 in three of the four.

Biggest disappointment:

Terrelle Pryor is taking a lot of heat from his four-turnover performance against the Boilermakers, but Minnesota’s usually-steady offense was nothing short of pathetic in Happy Valley.

The running game racked up an abysmal 37 yards on 18 carries, while quarterback Adam Weber averaged 4.6 yards/catch on 22 attempts.

Stud receiver Eric Decker was targeted in only five throws, making one grab for 42 of Weber’s 101 yards.

What needs to be worked on:

Yes, Illinois is struggling. But against Indiana, it was not because of the offense. Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn both put up their best performances of the season. Williams passed for 258 yards and two scores while rushing for another 54. Benn was on the receiving end of most of Williams’ passes, racking up 95 yards on nine grabs.

But it is the defense that really needs to step it up. As stated earlier, Hoosier QB Chappell went off the Illini D, one that gave up 482 total yards.

Week 8 power rankings

One team drops significantly, while many others are shuffled around from last week.

1. Iowa- Continue to win tough games and look solid in the process.

2. Penn State- Embarrassed Minnesota at home, starting to roll.

3. Ohio State- Needs to go back to Jim Tressel football, Saine carried the ball only seven times.

4. Michigan- Won convincingly versus an unconvincing team. Big home matchup against Penn State.

5. Wisconsin- Wisconsin not looking quite like the surprise they looked like two weeks ago.

6. Michigan State- Front seven really impressed, Kirk Cousins impressed more.

7. Purdue- Shocked many with win over OSU. What if they could have stopped Clausen a few weeks ago? Oregon a few weeks before that?

8. Minnesota- 138 total yards? Had the ball in Penn State territory once.

9. Indiana- Offense on all cylinders. 149 yards rushing, 333 passing while Chappell tossed three touchdowns.

10. Northwestern- Wildcat O was moving, but 370 yards and only two scores? Room for improvement.

11. Illinois- Things can only look up. A win vs. Purdue could start healing process.

Week 7-notes to note

Congrats to Purdue

Danny Hope makes a huge impact on the positive side for his program just seven games into his tenure at Purdue.

Starting off the game with three field goals had to be a nerve-racking feeling for all in West Lafayette, but they went into the half with a lead nonetheless. The third quarter was enormous for the Boilers. Two touchdowns against one of the toughest defenses in the league while their defense didn’t allow more than three plays on any of the Buckeyes’ first four possessions (punt, interception, interception, punt).

Even with Ralph Bolden neutralized, Joey Elliot was able to sling the ball around the field and was 60% with 281 yards and two passing touchdowns.

Michigan State is back in the Big Ten heat.

The Spartans defense took the bend-but-not-break approach against Mike Kafka and the pass-friendly Wildcats. The Northwestern quarterback passed for 291 yards and two touchdowns in a game where two receivers caught 100 yards worth of passes and a score each, but that was all Michigan State gave up scoring-wise.

Sparty now sits at 3-1 and is second in the conference standings. They host No. 6 Iowa this week and then head up to Minnesota for two tough matchups, but it’s hard to believe only a month ago this team was 1-3, 0-1 overall in the standings.

Big win for Iowa

There were so many factors going against the Hawkeyes this Saturday: Wisconsin was coming off of a tough loss, ending their perfect season, Iowa eeked out a big win last week on national TV, maybe a cause for a drop in focus, they are the conference’s only unbeaten, and they were on the road at an always-hostile Camp Randall.

After falling behind at half, quarterback Ricky Stanzi responded well on a rollout into the corner of the end zone for the first score of the game. Then a late fourth-quarter score gave them all the room they needed.

Game Previews- Week 7

Game of the week

No. 11 Iowa at Wisconsin

Much like last week, Iowa faces another solid attack. Wisconsin’s Scott Tolzien has been the conference’s best quarterback thus far, and John Clay, with an exception of last week, has been tearing apart defenses with his punishing runs.

The Hawkeyes D has faltered the last two weeks, but they should look to bounce back with the test ahead of them.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi really needs to keep the ball rolling for this offense after throwing for 284 yards last week.

Prediction: Iowa is bound to slip up some time. Michigan definitely showed some of their flaws last week. Wisconsin, at Camp Randall will outscore their opponents in a close one.

No. 7 Ohio State at Purdue

For the fourth straight week Ohio State’s defense played the roll of game changers with two huge interception returns against Wisconsin last week.

Meanwhile Purdue was simply outmatched by the more talented Gopher team. The Boilers continue to let Joey Elliot air it out, which hasn’t worked terribly, especially last week when he passed for 299 and two touchdowns. But he threw the ball 47 times.

This could be one of those games where Terrelle Pryor is able to single-handedly run by the Purdue defense and be the difference maker, but he should have some time in the pocket, making this a real solid test for himself.

Prediction: Elliot and back Ralph Bolden going into the OSU secondary will make this game more intriguing  than it looks on paper, but when it’s all said and done, the Buckeyes win this one by more than a few scores.

Northwestern at Michigan State

This is an interesting matchup simply because both of these teams are flying a little under the radar. State has won their last two games, one against a convincing team, the other in convincing fashion, while Northwestern sits at 4-2.

The most glaring problem Sparty has is that they have had a difficult time against the pass all year. Teams have passed for 223, 243, 300, 328 yards and a combined 11 touchdowns in four of their first six games.

Northwestern brings the conference’s second-leading passer Mike Kafka, who has recorded 1,464 yards on the season.

However, MSU’s duo of Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol have not been bad either. So look for all-out passing affair.

Prediction: Northwestern creeps up to East Lansing and takes down their opponent despite being 14 point underdogs. Kafka puts up career numbers.

Delaware State at Michigan

Prediction: A loss here could put Rich-Rod back in the doghouse. Fortunately for the Maize and Blue, they turn it around and topple Delaware State in a big way.

Minnesota at No. 14 Penn State

Penn State linebacker Sean Lee is back for the first time in conference play and looks to add to an already-stellar Nittany Lions front seven. Daryll Clark looked great last week, though they played an inferior team.

For Minnesota, they need to pass the ball more than 10 times like they did last week. Eric Decker will keep them in any game as long as they can get him the ball. This will be their toughest test thus far.

The Gophers defense needs to clamp down, something they have had a great trouble doing. They have two linebackers, Lee Campbell and Nate Triplett, who are in the top 11 in tackles nationally, yet they can’t seem to stop the pass.

Prediction: There is no way Penn State drops this one at home. They should have their way with a porous opposing D.

Illinois at Indiana

A pair of the league’s bottom dwellers takes place in the conference’s night game, but this matchup shouldn’t be boring by any stretch.

Juice Williams got his kick in the pants last week, and should be more focused that ever against an Indiana defense that has been less than superb. Meanwhile, Illinois has given up their fare share of points, and Indy QB Ben Chappell could also excel.

Prediction: The losing streak ends for the Illini. Their season is already lost, but a little is salvaged with a win on the road.