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2010 CFN Big Ten Week 3 Roundup
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Sep 20, 2010
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2010 CFN Big Ten Week 3 Recaps, Standings, Roundup, & More.
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2010 Big Ten ... Week 3
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Illinois |
Indiana
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Iowa
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Michigan
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Michigan
State
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Minnesota
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Northwestern
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Ohio State
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Penn State
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Purdue
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Wisconsin
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GAME OF THE WEEK
at Michigan State 34 … Notre Dame 31 OT
Down three in overtime, Michigan State went for the fake instead of trying a 46-yard field goal, and it worked as holder Andrew Bates connected with a wide-open Charlie Gantt for a 29-yard score and the win (although the play clock said :00 before the snap). It was a classic battle before the finish with Dayne Crist throwing fourth touchdown passes including two to Michael Floyd from seven and 24 yards out. But Michigan State had no problems keeping up as Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, including a 24-yarder to B.J. Cunningham midway through the fourth, and Edwin Baker tore off a 56-yard scoring dash in the seesaw battle. The two teams combined for 938, and neither one led by more than seven points.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Northwestern QB Dan Persa completed 24-of-32 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown, and he ran nine times for 34 yards and a score
in the win over Rice.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
Illinois … at Illinois 28 … Northern Illinois 22 … That’s the Illinois ground game that’s been missing. Northern Illinois is good enough to win the MAC, and the Illini rolled for 319 yards as Mikel Leshoure and Nathan Scheelhaase had plenty of room to move. The passing game didn’t produce because it didn’t have to, and while the game was closer than it should’ve been, it was a nice win before getting a week off to prepare for Ohio State. However, to beat the Buckeyes, or even hang around, Scheelhaase has to do more through the air.
Indiana … Indiana 38 … at Western Kentucky 21 … The Hoosiers weren’t perfect in their second straight layup, but Ben Chappell and the passing game were great against Western Kentucky. The kickoff return team has been outstanding and the offensive line has been fantastic, but the competition hasn’t exactly been top-shelf. It won’t be next week, either, against Akron as that needs to be another blowout win. Michigan is coming up in two weeks, and that’s a winnable game if the linebackers can quickly figure out how to stop the run. They won’t, so Chappell and the passing game much be even more consistent and explosive.
Iowa … at Arizona 34 … Iowa 27 … The Hawkeyes played like they could turn it on at any time, and it almost worked. They struggled early on making way too many mistakes, and then they started to play like the Iowa team everyone was expecting in the second half. However, they were fortunate to catch a few breaks. The running game wasn’t working and Ricky Stanzi had to throw way too often early on, but the biggest problem was the special teams play. The offensive line had a rough day failing to push around the Arizona defensive front early and struggling to protect Stanzi late. With Ball State up next, there’s time to rebound and get back to form before hosting Penn State.
Michigan … at Michigan 42 … Massachusetts 37 … Uhhhhh, defense? After a great opening day against Connecticut, the Wolverines have struggled to come up with a key stop against Notre Dame and Massachusetts. Of course there was a bit of a letdown factor after the win against the Irish, but the defensive front had an awful game against the Minutemen and there weren’t nearly enough plays from the secondary on third downs. This wasn’t necessarily a wake-up call, but it shows what Michigan is. The offense is going to be special against everyone, but the defense will give up yards and points just as fast. If there are problems against Bowling Green on defense, then it’s time to worry about the rough part of the slate coming up in a few weeks. On the plus side, the offense got a nice day from Michael Shaw to provide help for Denard Robinson.
Michigan State … at Michigan State 34 … Notre Dame 31 OT … Mark Dantonio will be praised up and down for the game-winning call being “gutsy,” but it really was the only play. He wasn’t going to trust Dan Conroy with a 46-yard kick to force overtime, not after Kirk Cousins took a sack the play before, and instead of what amounted to a 50/50 shot, at best, was a perfectly calculated and perfectly executed risk at the right time. The defense struggled way too much and it’ll need the week off against Northern Colorado before dealing with Wisconsin, but the offense was almost perfectly balanced with Cousins doing a great job in the first time all year he had to start chucking. However, with Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker running so well, there’s no reason to go away from pounding the rock whenever possible.
Minnesota … This was a game a decent team would’ve won. USC is a shadow of its former self, but it still has enough playmakers to be dangerous and hit a few home runs. Minnesota couldn’t answer and it couldn’t come up with any key stops in the fourth quarter to make a push. Now the Gophers are an ugly 1-2 with tough home games against Northern Illinois and Northwestern up next before going to Wisconsin, and to have any chance, the secondary has to be far, far better. There’s no pass rush whatsoever.
Northwestern … Northwestern 30 … at Rice 13 … Northwestern was supposed to be threatened by the long road trip and the Rice offense, and instead it was a laugher. Dan Persa and the offense continued to be fantastic, even if the running game still could stand to use more pop, but it was the defense that dominated as Rice wasn’t able to get anything going and didn’t get into the end zone until the final seconds. Central Michigan should be a slight step up in opponents next week before winnable games against Minnesota and Purdue, and at this point, with everyone playing so well, anything less than 6-0 going into the Michigan State game will be a major disappointment.
Ohio State … at Ohio State 43 … Ohio 7 … The Buckeyes continue to play at a high level. This isn’t the team of the last few years that goes through the motions against an inferior team like Ohio; this Buckeye squad dominates with Terrelle Pryor taking his game to the other level everyone has been waiting for. The special teams still need work to be at the level OSU is used to, but that’s nitpicking for now. With Eastern Michigan, at Illinois, and Indiana up next before going to Wisconsin, being 6-0 won’t be a problem, so now it’s all about getting Pryor and the passing game more and more reps while doing more to get the reserves involved as much as possible.
Penn State … at Penn State 24 … Kent State 0 … It wasn’t exactly a blowout and the offense wasn’t exactly dominant, but Penn State had little problem with Kent State and was able to get Robert Bolden more live action and more work in an easy game. After the Alabama game, he needed reps and he needed to air it out a bit, and while he threw a few picks, he did a good job of keeping the chains moving and he got to work through his mistakes. The concern has to be over a ground game that continues to be unimpressive, running for just 162 yards. KSU has a nice defensive front, but Penn State should be far, far more dominant pounding away. It needs to be far more physical in two weeks against Iowa or it won’t be pretty.
Purdue … at Purdue 24 ... Ball State 13 ... Purdue was able to get by a miserable Ball State team without a problem, but the loss of Robert Marve to a leg injury is a problem with a dangerous game against Toledo coming up. The offense is getting decent production out of the ground game, but it’s not consistent and it’s not putting up points like it should be. With all the key parts missing, the coaching staff has to get creative to manufacture points in certain shootouts ahead, and the defense will have to do even more to force mistakes and create opportunities. The special teams have to be far better; the return game has to produce.
Wisconsin … at Wisconsin 20 … Arizona State 19 ... The Badgers weren’t sharp, they didn’t play their best, and they needed a ton of breaks, but they were still able to beat Arizona State. In the world of Survive and Move On, Wisconsin did that, but the defensive front struggled against the Sun Devil offensive line, and the loss of LB Chris Borland to injury it going to be a problem going forward. The team can always pound the ball, the coaching staff was able to save John Clay until late and use him as a hammer. It shouldn’t have come down to a blocked extra point, but good teams make the plays needed to win. With a trip to Michigan Sate coming up soon, there needs to be a lot of sharpening up next week against Austin Peay.
Saturday, September 25
1. Central Michigan at Northwestern
2. Northern Illinois at Minnesota
3. Toledo at Purdue
4. Bowling Green at Michigan
5. Temple at Penn State
6. Akron at Indiana
7. Ball State at Iowa
8. Eastern Michigan at Ohio State
9. Austin Peay at Wisconsin
10. Northern Colorado at Michigan State
Saturday, October 2
1. Penn State at Iowa
2. Wisconsin at Michigan State
3. Ohio State at Illinois
4. Northwestern at Minnesota
5. Michigan at Indiana
Saturday, October 9
1. Michigan State at Michigan
2. Minnesota at Wisconsin
3. Illinois at Penn State
4. Purdue at Northwestern
5. Indiana at Ohio State
Saturday, October 16
1. Ohio State at Wisconsin
2. Iowa at Michigan
3. Minnesota at Purdue
4. Illinois at Michigan State
5. Arkansas State at Indiana
Saturday, October 23
1. Wisconsin at Iowa
2. Purdue at Ohio State
3. Michigan State at Northwestern
4. Penn State at Minnesota
5. Indiana at Illinois
Saturday, October 30
1. Michigan at Penn State
2. Michigan State at Iowa
3. Ohio State at Minnesota
4. Purdue at Illinois
5. Northwestern at Indiana
Saturday, November 6
1. Northwestern at Penn State
2. Wisconsin at Purdue
3. Illinois at Michigan
4. Minnesota at Michigan State
5. Iowa at Indiana
Saturday, November 13
1. Penn State at Ohio State
2. Iowa at Northwestern
3. Michigan at Purdue
4. Minnesota at Illinois
5. Indiana at Wisconsin
Saturday, November 20
1. Ohio State at Iowa
2. Wisconsin at Michigan
3. Indiana vs. Penn State (in Landover)
4. Illinois at Northwestern
5. Purdue at Michigan State
Saturday, November 27
1. Michigan at Ohio State
2. Iowa at Minnesota
3. Northwestern at Wisconsin
4. Indiana at Purdue
Saturday, December 4
1. Illinois at Fresno State
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