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2009 CFN Big 10 Week 2 Roundup
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Sep 14, 2009
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Big Ten 2009 Week Two
Game of the Week, Player of the Week, Roundup & Standings
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2009 Big Ten ... Week 2
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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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Big Ten Roundups & Picks
Week 1
Conference Pages, Picks, Standings & More
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ACC |
Big East
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Big Ten
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Big 12
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C-USA
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Ind & ND
- MAC |
Mountain West |
Pac 10
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SEC
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Sun Belt |
WAC
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Free Expert Football Predictions
- Big Ten Roundups & Picks
Week 1
SCROLL DOWN for the Conference Roundup,
Scoreboard, Schedule, & More
GAME OF THE WEEK
USC 18 ... at Ohio State 15
Matt Barkley marched the Trojans on a 14-play,
86-yard drive finishing with a two-yard Stafon Johnson touchdown run to
give USC the tough comeback win. The Trojans started off the scoring
with a one-yard Johnson run coming off a 51-yard interception return
from Chris Galippo, but the Buckeyes controlled the action until late
with a two-yard Dan Herron run and two Aaron Pettrey field goals coming
on the way to a 15-10 lead. OSU had one last shot, but the drive never
got going. USC outgained OSU 313 yards to 265.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Michigan QB Tate Forcier completed 23-of-33 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and he ran 13 times for 70 yards and a score in the win over Notre Dame.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
-Instant Analysis - Michigan 38 - No. Dame 34
-Instant Analysis - USC 18 ... Ohio State 15
Illinois … at Illinois 45 ... Illinois
State 17 ... Arrelious Benn is trying to fight through an ankle injury. Star LB Martez Wilson has a neck injury, and now it's Juice Williams hurting with a quad injury. This is not the way the team wanted to go into the huge showdown against Ohio State, even though the offense cranked out 548 yards in the laugher. With all the injuries, and with 13 penalties and two turnovers, the Illini is having problems and is hardly sharp. At some point this year, the team will be fully-functional and will blast someone good. However, it might be too late.
Indiana … at Indiana 23 ... Western Michigan 19 ... Indiana isn't good enough to not be near-perfect at the little things. It took too much effort to close out the Broncos after the game appeared to be in hand, the offense was too inconsistent, and the 13 penalties were a major problem. On the plus side, the defense came up with three fumble recoveries and kept the high-powered WMU passing game from exploding. Demetrius McCray was fantastic and needs to become a regular star for the ground game. Ben Chappell and the passing attack aren't going to be explosive, so McCray will be relied on more and more over the coming weeks.
Iowa … Iowa 35 ... at Iowa State 3 ... After the problems against Northern Iowa, the Hawkeyes needed a laugher in a game that's usually a battle. They got enough of a ground game to help out Ricky Stanzi, but Brandon Wegher isn't Shonn Greene and the offense will fall on the passing game. The defense struggled a bit against the run, but made up for it with the six turnovers needed to end the game well before the fourth quarter. Now it's statement time. Beating Iowa State was nice, but beating Arizona would be a huge step before dealing with Penn State.
Michigan … at Michigan 38 ... Notre Dame 34 ... Tate Forcier has officially arrived as the face of the program for the next four years. Now the expectations are jacked up; and they should be. With Eastern Michigan and Indiana up next, 4-0 has to be a given before going to Michigan State. Offensively, Denard Robinson needs a different job to be part of the offense. When he was in, the Irish defense teed off against the run, and until Robinson makes things happen with his arm, he'll be bottled up by any defense with a pulse. The secondary needs help, there needs to be more of a pass rush, and there are going to be youthful mistakes at some point, but for now, all is right with the Maize and Blue world.
Michigan State … Central Michigan 29 ... at Michigan State 27
... The Spartans never appeared to have any sort of a rhythm. The offense wasn't consistent, and there will be plenty of talk about playing two quarterbacks and not just sticking with Kirk Cousins over Keith Nichol, but in the end, MSU was beaten by a better quarterback. Dan LeFevour used his great receiving corps to keep the CMU offense moving and the Spartan secondary struggled to throw him off. MSU needs to figure out what it wants to do offensively before the Notre Dame game. Is Caulton Ray ready to be a workhorse back? Can the passing game come up with more than a mere 16 completions? For a team talented enough to do some big things this year in the Big Ten, it has too many issues. That's what happens when you lose to a MAC team.
Minnesota … at Minnesota 20 ... Air Force 13 ... While it was nice to open up the new ballpark with a win, the offense had better find more pop in a big hurry before Cal shows up. Adam Weber and Eric Decker continue to hook up time and again to keep the chains moving, but there isn't enough of a commitment to the ground game and there aren't nearly enough consistent drives considering Weber has been hot early. On the plus side, the defense has been good over the first two weeks, but Jahvid Best and the Bears could change that in a big hurry.
Northwestern … at Northwestern 27 ... Eastern Michigan 24 ... Mike Kafka needs to keep working on his passing. He hit on a big pass play in the first week win over Towson, and he wasn't awful against Eastern Michigan, but he didn't do enough to scare anyone down the road. He wasn't able to make anything big happen down the field and he didn't use his legs enough. Soon, the Wildcat offense will have to go to its fastball and start letting him make things happen on the move. However, to beat Syracuse and its nice run defense, he'll have to keep the chains moving through the air.
Ohio State … USC 18 ... at Ohio State 15 ... Just coming close against the big boys isn't enough; Ohio State needed to come up with a stop to beat a USC team ripe for the picking, but the D couldn't get the job done. On the other side of the ball, Terrelle Pryor needed to be special, and he wasn't with too many misfires and indecisive runs. While USC isn't Navy, that's two straight games the offense hasn't done enough, especially on the ground, and this isn't going to be the last loss if there isn't more consistency and production. Fortunately, Toledo, Illinois, and Indiana are up next before dealing with a resurgent Wisconsin.
Penn State … at Penn State 28 ... Syracuse 7 ... Where was the running game? The game was never in doubt, but it would've been nice if the offensive line had controlled the line and dominated throughout. The Nittany Lions averaged a mere 2.2 yards per carry, but once again, Daryll Clark and the passing game came up with big, deep throws and kept the chains moving connecting on 9-of-14 third down chances. Evan Royster might have scored twice against the Orange, but he has yet to be unleashed. That won't happen against Temple next week, but the ground game will have to be working when Iowa comes to town.
Purdue … at Oregon 38 ... Purdue 36 ... Purdue might not have gotten the win over Oregon, but it certainly played well enough to deserve a better fate. Allowing two defensive scores was a huge issue, and Joey Elliott wasn't always sharp in key spots, but the offense outgained the Ducks and showed that it's going to be a part of several interesting games all season long. Ralph Bolden is the real deal; he's a rushing weapon to revolve the offense around.
Wisconsin … at Wisconsin 37 ... Fresno State 34 2OT ... The
Badgers couldn't have been shakier. The corners,
playing off the Fresno receivers, were ripped apart
all game long, especially on third downs, and the
running game was held in check until the 72-yard
John Clay touchdown dash, but they came up with the
win by getting the big plays they needed from the
defense down the stretch. The O line that had been
so mediocre all game long came up with the big
blocks in the second half, but the retooled group
still needs time. It needs the Wofford game next
week to sharpen up before Michigan State.
Saturday, September 19
Indiana at Akron
Arizona at Iowa
Eastern Michigan
at Michigan
Michigan State at Notre Dame
California at Minnesota
Northwestern at Syracuse
Ohio State vs. Toledo (in Cleveland)
Temple at Penn State
Northern Illinois at Purdue
Wofford at
Wisconsin
Saturday, September 26
Illinois at Ohio State
Indiana at Michigan
Iowa at Penn State
Michigan State at Wisconsin
Minnesota at Northwestern
Notre Dame
at Purdue
Saturday, October 3
Penn State at
Illinois
Ohio State at
Indiana
Arkansas State at Iowa
Michigan at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Northwestern at Purdue
Saturday, October 10
Michigan State at
Illinois
Indiana at Virginia
Michigan at Iowa
Purdue at
Minnesota
Miami University at Northwestern
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Eastern
Illinois at Penn State
Saturday, October 17
Illinois at Indiana
Iowa at Wisconsin
Delaware
State at Michigan
Northwestern at Michigan State
Minnesota at Penn
State
Ohio State at Purdue
Saturday, October 24
Illinois at Purdue
Indiana at Northwestern
Iowa at Michigan
State
Penn State at Michigan
Minnesota at Ohio State
Saturday, October 31
Michigan at
Illinois
Indiana at Iowa
Purdue at Wisconsin
Michigan State at
Minnesota
Penn State at Northwestern
New Mexico State at Ohio
State
Saturday, November 7
Illinois at Minnesota
Wisconsin at Indiana
Northwestern at Iowa
Purdue at Michigan
Western Michigan at Michigan State
Ohio
State at Penn State
Saturday, November 14
Northwestern at Illinois
Indiana at Penn State
Iowa at Ohio State
Michigan at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Purdue
South Dakota
State at Minnesota
Saturday, November 21
Purdue at Indiana
Minnesota at Iowa
Ohio State at Michigan
Penn State at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Northwestern
Saturday, November 28
Illinois at Cincinnati
Saturday, December 5
Fresno State at
Illinois
Wisconsin at Hawaii
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