Click
on each team for game recaps, thoughts,
schedules and more and scroll down for
the games, results, players of the week
and the conference roundup.
Illinois
|
Indiana
|
Iowa
|
Michigan
|
Michigan State
|
Minnesota
Northwestern
|
Ohio State
|
Penn State
|
Purdue
|
Wisconsin
Big Ten Game of
the Week
Michigan 14 ... Penn State 9
Michigan got a ten-yard touchdown run
from Ryan Mallett and a tough one-yard
Mike Hart score, and let the defense do
the rest. Penn State was held to 270
yards of total offense and only managed
three Kevin Kelly field goals. Following
a 31-yard Kelly field goal with just
over six minutes to play, Penn State
didn't get the ball back until there was
just 1:28 to play. On its own 13,
Anthony Morelli threw four straight
incompletions, with two almost
intercepted, to seal the win for the
Wolverines.
Big Ten
Player of
the Week
Michigan RB Mike Hart ran 44 times for
153 yards and a touchdown in the 14-9
win over Penn State.
Conference Roundup
Illinois
…
The Illini didn't come up with the prettiest of
performances to beat Indiana, but it was effective.
Rashad Mendenhall has now firmly established himself as
one of the Big Ten's premier offensive weapons, and
he'll need to be with the inconsistency of QB Juice
Williams. Williams continues to struggle mightily with
his accuracy, and he's not doing anything to threaten
defenses with his arm. The offense worked against
Indiana, but unless Williams is on, the Penn State and
Wisconsin games over the next two weeks will be
struggles.
Indiana … Indiana will be kicking itself for a
while over the loss to Illinois. Four turnovers and
struggling run defense cost the Hoosiers in what was a
must-win at home. The biggest problem? The offensive
line in pass protection, allowing seven sacks and giving
up several other pressures to kill the timing of the
passing game. Kellen Lewis wasn't bad, but he didn't
have time to make the offense explode. Now there's a big
problem with Iowa's tremendous defensive line to deal
with next.
Iowa … Iowa might have lost to Wisconsin, but
that it was so close so late showed the heart and
potential of the team. There weren't any receivers, with
everyone banged up, the running game wasn't going
anywhere, and the defense started to struggle against
the Badger O line, but the team kept battling and just
barely missed coming up with an all-timer of a late
touchdown pass. The defensive line is going to win a few
games by itself. Mitch King all but solidified a spot on
the All-Big Ten team with a brilliant game. Now the
receivers have to become more polished in a big hurry,
and there can't be any let down against a good Indiana
offense.
Michigan … Now Michigan is close to being back to
Michigan. Penn State really is a good team, and the
Wolverine defense did a fantastic job of shutting things
down and not letting the Nittany Lion get into any sort
of a groove. Offensively, the running of Mike Hart was
able to take over the offense and not force Ryan Mallett
to force any tough throws of take many chances. If might
not have been Hart's greatest performance, but with 44
carries, it has to be considered one of them. But this
was a game for the defense that has been so poor against
the pass so far, but held the Nittany Lions when it had
to.
Michigan State … Give QB Brian Hoyer credit for
coming up with the big plays needed to overcome a shaky,
inconsistent day. He struggled with his accuracy, but he
only threw one interception and came up with the key
fourth down touchdown pass to Kellen Davis to ice the
game. The defense never let the Irish passing game get
going, and while the run defense struggled at times, it
came though in the second half. Now the defensive line
has to be even better next week at Wisconsin, while
Hoyer will have to be more efficient.
Minnesota … The coaching staff is adjusting well
in the second half, but the offense needs to get hotter
early on. Against Purdue, the Gophers were playing
catch-up after the opening kickoff, and the team has to
figure out how to establish the run to take the pressure
off Adam Weber. The passing attack simply isn't good
enough to win shootouts against good teams. SS Dominique
Barber is playing at an All-Big Ten level, but the rest
of the defense is still struggling way too much to think
about hanging with Ohio State next week.
Northwestern … Mr. Blutosky; 0.0. Northwestern
wasn't beating Ohio State no matter what, but it
certainly didn't help the cause to not have Tyrell
Sutton for yet another week. The Wildcat offense didn't
net a rushing yard, and C.J. Bacher was never able to
find anything open for the passing game to get going. At
the moment, the Cats can't beat anyone decent with just
the air attack, and needs Sutton back and healthy as
soon as humanly possible. Forget about staying with
Michigan next week without him.
Ohio State … The more the offense can open things
up early, even against teams like Northwestern, the more
confidence it'll get as the year goes on. That's two
straight games Brian Robiskie has turned a game around
with a deep touchdown, and now he'll have to be the
focus of every defensive coordinator to make sure he
doesn't end things with a home run. That opens up things
that much more for the ground game. The defense is
dominating with yet another tremendous performance. This
is the best team in the Big Ten right now, but the D
will be in for a test, after the date with Minnesota,
when Kent State comes to town.
Penn State … Michigan had Mike Hart, Penn State
didn't. Anthony Morelli played a dead-even game with
Ryan Mallett, and he needed to be better. It was that
simple. Austin Scott simply can't be counted on at this
point to run the ball without giving it away, while
Rodney Kinlaw has proven to be serviceable, but nothing
special. But this one is on Morelli, with just 169
passing yards on just 15 of 31 completions. This was
supposed to be his game to show off his experience and
leadership, but he never came up with a big throw and
wasn't able to come up with the late drive needed. Watch
out for Illinois next week; the Nittany Lions had better
not be moping in Champaign or it'll be two straight
losses and the end of the Big Ten title hopes.
Purdue … The defense struggled a bit, especially
in the second half against Minnesota, but the offense
always kept the game out of reach. Curtis Painter is red
hot, spreading the ball around well while finally
utilizing his big-play star in Dorien Bryant for a huge
day. Kory Sheets remains a key unsung cog in the mix
with yet another strong all-around game. Now the real
fun begins. If this team is as good as it should be,
considering the way the first month has gone, it should
roll over Notre Dame at home. Then comes Ohio State.
Then comes Michigan. The offense has to stay
mistake-free and balanced, while the the run defense
needs to stiffen up quickly.
Wisconsin … Is Wisconsin playing down to its
competition, or is it simply confident in what it does?
Fine, so the plan is to play good defense, get good
special teams, and let the running game take over in the
second half, but against Iowa, once again the offensive
line had problems with a quick defensive front, and the
defense struggled to make tackles and made too many
mistakes. That the Hawkeyes didn't connect on a few big
plays, especially on their final throw that would've
gone for a touchdown, was a stroke of luck. Now comes
the Michigan State defensive line, which will be in the
backfield all game long unless the O line changes things
up on long passing plays.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
| |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Ohio
State |
1 |
0 |
58 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
149 |
29 |
W4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Purdue |
1 |
0 |
45 |
31 |
4 |
0 |
194 |
83 |
W4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Wisconsin |
1 |
0 |
17 |
13 |
4 |
0 |
124 |
78 |
W4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Illinois |
1 |
0 |
27 |
14 |
3 |
1 |
123 |
74 |
W3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Michigan |
1 |
0 |
14 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
91 |
82 |
W2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Michigan State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
131 |
62 |
W4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Indiana |
0 |
1 |
14 |
27 |
3 |
1 |
147 |
85 |
L1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Penn
State |
0 |
1 |
9 |
14 |
3 |
1 |
144 |
48 |
L1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Iowa |
0 |
1 |
13 |
17 |
2 |
2 |
77 |
35 |
L2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Northwestern |
0 |
1 |
7 |
58 |
2 |
2 |
84 |
109 |
L2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Minnesota |
0 |
1 |
31 |
45 |
1 |
3 |
142 |
154 |
L2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
|
Saturday, September 22 |
| 12:00 PM |
Illinois 27 ... at Indiana
14
CFN Prediction: Indiana 31-27 Ill. -3 |
| 3:30 PM |
at Ohio State 58
... Northwestern 7
CFN Prediction: OSU 38-10 OSU -22 |
| 3:30 PM |
at Michigan
14 ... Penn State 9
CFN Prediction: PSU 31-17 PSU -2.5 |
| 3:30 PM |
Michigan State 31
... at Notre Dame 14
CFN Prediction: MSU 28-14 MSU -13.5 |
| 8:00 PM |
at Wisconsin 17
... Iowa 13
CFN Prediction: UW 34-16 UW -7.5 |
| 9:00 PM |
Purdue 45 ... at Minnesota
31
CFN Prediction:
Purdue 58-40 PU -14 |
Past
Big Ten
Games of the
Week
Sept. 1 - Appalachian State 34 ... Michigan 32
Sept. 8 -
Minnesota 41 ... Miami Univ.
35 3OT
Sept. 15 - Duke 20 ... at
Northwestern 14
Sept. 22 -
Michigan
14 ... Penn State 9
Past Big Ten Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Wisconsin WR Luke Swan
Sept. 8 - Penn State LB Dan Connor
Sept. 15 - Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill
Sept. 22 - Michigan RB Mike Hart
