2009 Big Ten ... Week 4
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Instant Analysis - Iowa D Beats Penn State
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GAME OF THE WEEK
at Michigan 36 … Indiana 33
Tate Forcier threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and the defense held on late as Michigan got all it could handle from the Hoosiers. IU had a shot late, but Michigan’s Donovan Brown and IU’s Damarlo Belcher caught the ball at the same time with Brown ripping it away when on the ground for an interception. Carlos Brown took a pass 61 yards for a score and ran for a 41 yard touchdown in the first quarter for an early Wolverine lead, but IU’s Darius Willis provided some fireworks with an 11-yard scoring dash in the first and a 85-yard touchdown run the fourth for a 33-29 Hoosier lead. But Forcier would find Martavious Odoms on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 to play for the win.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Iowa LB Pat Angerer made 14 tackles with an interception and a forced fumble in the win over Penn State.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
Illinois … at Ohio State 30 ... Illinois 0 ... Where is the Illinois passing game? Ohio State’s defense is strong, but the Illini has one of the best receiving corps in America and a veteran in Juice Williams to lead the way, and the offense is doing absolutely nothing. It’s too early to suggest that the team has quit, but things could go downhill in a big hurry if something positive doesn’t happen. This isn’t exactly a team built to deal with adversity, and now it has to try to handle Penn State and Michigan State in season-makers over the next two weeks.
Indiana … at Michigan 36 ... Indiana 33 ... Indiana might have lost the battle to Michigan, but it finally unearthed a running back and a running game that has been missing for years. Darius Willis was the star recruit of two years ago, and the redshirt freshman showed why with home run hitting ability and the potential to carry the offense. More than anything else, Indiana showed that it’s not going to be a pushover and it’s not an automatic lock to be the 11th team in the Big 12. However, with Ohio State coming up next, the offense will have to find a whole other level to play at needing a more efficient passing game.
Iowa … Iowa 21 ... at Penn State 10 ... Iowa’s offense didn’t do much of anything but capitalize on the chances it got from the defense. There were two interceptions thrown by Ricky Stanzi, who couldn’t get the passing game on track, but there weren’t the major mistakes that the Penn State offense made. The defense is great at finding ways to get into the backfield and Pat Angerer is having a huge season at linebacker, but there might be a ceiling on how high the team can go if the offense doesn’t start to produce more consistently.
Michigan … at Michigan 36 ... Indiana 33 ... It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Wolverines continue to find ways to overcome the youthful mistakes to pull out wins. The key over the next few weeks will be to rely on someone other than Tate Forcier. He’s already banged up with an injured shoulder that’s not likely to get better over the next several weeks, but he’s not going to get a break at Michigan State or at Iowa. However, if Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor continue to run as well as they have been, the offense should keep on rolling.
Michigan State … at Wisconsin 38 ... Michigan State 30 ... The Spartans can’t seem to figure out what they do well. The passing attack is strong, with both Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol bombing away, there’s no ground attack to balance the attack out and Cousins and Nichol are a bit too erratic. The defensive line isn’t doing enough to make things happen in the backfield, and because of it the secondary is getting picked apart. On the plus side, Greg Jones, who has been a bit maligned, made 14 tackles against the Badgers. He’ll have to be a huge factor next week against Michigan in a must-win game to turn the season around.
Minnesota … Minnesota 35 ... at Northwestern 24 ... Minnesota did a nice job of getting back on track after the rough loss to Cal, and it showed a little running game for the first time in a while with Duane Bennett providing a decent balance. But the team will go as far as Adam Weber and Eric Decker can carry it with those two needing to do even more next week against a Wisconsin running game that could go nuts on a soft Gopher defensive front. A bigger concern is the midrange pass defense that got picked apart by NU’s Mike Kafka; UW’s Scott Tolzien is red hot at the moment.
Northwestern … Minnesota 35 ... at Northwestern 24 ... The Wildcats are relying too much on Mike Kafka, mainly because they have to. The offense is moving the ball relatively well, outgaining Minnesota 373 yards to 352, but 309 of the yards came from Kafka and the passing game. The ground game simply isn’t working well, and if Nortwestern can’t run on the Gophers, it’s going to have a problem against the Big Ten defenses that can actually play.
Ohio State … at Ohio State 30 ... Illinois 0 ... In the rain, the running game did what it was supposed to do while the offense took advantage of every opportunity to come up with the laugher of the win. Terrelle Pryor wasn’t great, but he didn’t have to be. This was pure Tressel Ball with the defense stuffing the punchless and lifeless Illini on drive after drive, while the offense worked its way through the rain and the two fumbles to put the game away early. Aaron Pettrey showed what a weapon he is with two first quarter bombs. After not allowing a point in the last two games, the D has to keep up the intensity in what should be a layup against Indiana.
Penn State … Iowa 21 ... at Penn State 10
... Daryll Clark will bear the brunt of the blame for the loss after having an awful day, but this game is on the offensive line. Clark almost never had time getting hit over and over again. By the end of the game, he had to rush his passes a little bit because of all the pressure. The running game still isn’t working with Evan Royster struggling to find room to move, and when he did finally make something happen, he fumbled after trying too hard. Penn State will still be better than everyone on the schedule until the Ohio State game on November 7th, but the O line has to improve over the next month to have any hope to win in Columbus.
Purdue …Notre Dame 24 ... at Purdue 21 ... Purdue has been just this close to two huge wins, coming up short late against Oregon and failing just short of stopping Notre Dame. Remember, this was a team that wasn’t supposed to do anything this year, and was considered by almost everyone as the No. 10, and possibly the 11th best team in the Big Ten. But Danny Hope has done a terrific job with the offensive talent he has, and for the first time in a long time, Purdue actually plays a little defense (not much, but a little). This will be a team that makes a little noise throughout the Big Ten season.
Wisconsin … at Wisconsin 38 ... Michigan State 30 ... Wisconsin is good, really good, but it has to figure out how to close and it has to put together a full sixty minutes. Both Northern Illinois and Michigan State had onside kicks in the final moments to try to come back when they should’ve been dead and buried. The Badgers should’ve easily handled Fresno State, too, but didn’t. Now come the road games with a date at Minnesota to ease into the showdown at Ohio State. Now we see if Scott Tolzien can be the ultra-efficient passer that he appeared to be over the first four games.
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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