Moving Weekend in the Big Ten

Last week produced a variety of games in the Big Ten: Nebraska and Iowa won by pretty anticipated margins, and Penn St proved that it could beat a capable opponent on the road.  Surprisingly, Purdue defeated Illinois, which started the season 6-0.

Michigan St shocked Wisconsin in EL

Even more surprisingly, Michigan St pulled off the upset of the week, beating Wisconsin on the final play of the game with a Hail Mary pass to Keith Nichol.  Why Bret Bielema burned timeouts on MSU's drive to try and get the ball back with less than 30 seconds left I will never understand, as Wisconsin would have had all the momentum going into overtime.  Regardless, Michigan St pulled out a season-changing win and turned the tables in the Legends Division.  Even if the Spartans lose to Nebraska this weekend, their schedule lines up favorably compared to Nebraska's for the remainder of the regular season.


Looking at the picks from last week I went 3-2, but was very close on the scores of some games:
Indiana (1-6, 0-3) @ Iowa (4-2, 1-1)
Make it: Iowa 34 - Indiana 10
Actual: Iowa 45 - Indiana 24
Iowa's offense was better than I expected, and Indiana's as well.  Clearly Iowa's defense is hurting after losing Adrian Clayborne and Tyler Sash to the NFL.


Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) @ Minnesota (1-5, 0-2)
Make it: Nebraska 45 - Minnesota 13
Actual: Nebraska 41 - Minnesota 14
Pretty close with this one, as Nebraska could have scored more points if they left their starters in during the 4th quarter.


Penn St. (6-1, 3-0) @ Northwestern (2-4, 0-3)
Make it: Penn St 27 - Northwestern 23
Actual: Penn St 34 - Northwestern 24

Really close with this one as well, Penn St managed a bit more offense in this one, maybe because Joe Pa finally decided to stick with one quarterback throughout the game.

Illinois (6-1, 2-1) @ Purdue (3-3, 1-1)
Make it: Illinois 30 - Purdue 20
Actual: Purdue 21 - Illinois 14
Couldn't pull the trigger on the upset for this one, but should have.  Illinois' offense continued to have problems like it did against Ohio State, and Purdue controlled this game until the 4th quarter

Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0) @ Michigan St (5-1, 2-0)
Make it: Wisconsin 27 - MSU -17
Actual: MSU 37 - Wisconsin 31
Michigan State's Special Teams and Wisconsin's mistakes determined this game, as Russell Wilson threw a ball away in the end zone that resulted in intentional grounding, and allowed Michigan St to come in untouched to block a punt and recover it for a touchdown.  Kirk Cousins also shredded the Wisconsin defense, including a Hail Mary touchdown to Keith Nichol on the final play of the game.

Last week: 3-2

This upcoming week features six league match-ups, highlighted by 11 Michigan State at 14 Nebraska at 12:00 on Saturday, and 15 Wisconsin at Ohio St at 8:00 Saturday night. 

Purdue may have trouble stopping Denard Robinson

Purdue (4-3, 1-2) @ Michigan (6-1, 2-1)
Purdue surprised many last week by upsetting Illinois, and looked strong against Minnesota the week before.  This game should come down to which defense can make some stops, and I'm betting on Greg Mattison's unit to come through.  Denard Robinson should also be fully healed from any hits he took during the Michigan State game two weeks ago.
Make it: Michigan 34 - Purdue 23

Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) @ Indiana (1-7, 0-4)
This is a great chance for both teams to get their first conference victory of the season, and I think Northwestern will prevail.  The Wildcats have a bit too much offense for the Hoosiers, who looked better last week against Iowa, but still need to put a solid 60 minutes together.
Make it: Northwestern 38 - Indiana 31


Michigan State (6-1, 3-0) @ Nebraska (6-1, 2-1)
Big game for both teams, as the winner controls their own destiny in the Legends Division.  This matchup favors Michigan St, as their defensive line can counter the strength of Nebraska: their running game.  Although Michigan St didn't look very good in their previous two road games, I think they pull this one out in another close one.
Make it: Michigan St 23 - Nebraska 20

Iowa (5-2, 2-1) @ Minnesota (1-6, 0-3)
No contest in this one, as Minnesota has been awful this year.  Iowa has an easy one before they play Michigan next week.
Make it: Iowa 37 - Minnesota 10

Illinois (6-2, 2-2) @ Penn State (7-1, 4-0)
Wow, Penn State has looked solid since losing to Alabama earlier in the year.  The offense even came together last week against Northwestern.  Expect a relatively low-scoring game in this one, with the home team coming out on top.
Make it: Penn St 23 - Illinois 13

And finally... Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) @ Ohio State (4-3, 1-2)
Ohio State has a chance in this one if they can grab an early lead.  The Buckeyes now have LT Mike Adams and RB Boom Herron back, giving them a chance in this game.  However, Braxton Miller will need to be very careful with the ball.  If Ohio St loses the turnover battle in this one, they have no chance against an angry Wisconsin team
Make it: Wisconsin 27 - Ohio St 17

Check back next week for more Big Ten football reports, and maybe an article about the NBA Lockout.

Balance in the Big Ten

Russell Wilson leads a balanced attack at Wisconsin

 

As the college football season reaches it's halfway point, it's finally time to start paying attention to the Big Ten standings.  Unlike past years, this year is different, and in a positive way.

The addition of Nebraska as the 12th member of the Big Ten guaranteed a conference with (1) Two Divisions (2) A title game between the winners of the Leaders and Legends Divisions.  Not only that, it also brings the conference more national exposure by adding this December title game.   Thus far, despite the names of the divisions, this new format seems to be successful.  Why is this the case? Balance.

The Legends Division consists of the following teams: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern. An easy way to distinguish all of the Legends Division schools is by remembering that it is all the M and N schools plus Iowa, while the Leaders Division is more of a mixed bag. The records of the team's in each respective division shows the tremendous parity created with the current alignment.

                         Legends Division

Team Name	Conference W/L	Overall W/L
Michigan State	2-0	5-1
Michigan	2-1	6-1
Nebraska	1-1	5-1
Iowa	1-1	4-2
Minnesota	0-2	1-5
Northwestern	0-3	2-4

Overall Record: 23-14 (.621)
                       
                        Leaders Division

Team Name	Conference W/L	Overall W/L
Penn State	3-0	6-1
Wisconsin	2-0	6-0
Illinois	2-1	6-1
Purdue	1-1	3-3
Ohio State	1-2	4-3
Indiana	0-3	1-6

Overall Record: 26-14  (.650)

As one can see from the charts above, the overall records of both divisions are quite comparable, with both divisions having lost the same amount of games.  Plus, there doesn't seem to be a definitive hierarchy of teams at this point in the season, with the exception of Minnesota and Indiana who are just awful.  Currently in the Legends Division, any one of Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa has a chance to advance to the inaugural Big Ten Championship game.  If I had to pick a team to win this division right now it would be the Michigan State Spartans, as they are the most balanced team in the division.

The Leaders Division exudes a similar balance, as Penn State, Wisconsin, and Illinois all have a chance to face the winner of the Legends Division in the Big Ten title game.  As good as Ohio State looked last week against Illinois, I can't seem to tab them as a contender unless Wisconsin and Penn State suffer an upset or two each within the next four or five games.  However, if Michigan State can upset Wisconsin at home this weekend, Ohio State still has a shot if they can beat Wisconsin at home on October 29th.

Big Ten Picks for this week:

Indiana (1-6, 0-3) @ Iowa (4-2, 1-1)
Indiana can't get much going against anyone, let alone a decent Iowa defense.  Iowa's balanced attack led by James Vandenburg, Marvin McNutt, and Marcus Coker leads Iowa to an easy win at home.
Make it: Iowa 34 - Indiana 10

Illinois (6-1, 2-1) @ Purdue (3-3, 1-1)
This is a potential let-down game for Illinois, coming off a tough loss to Ohio St.  However, Purdue has been too inconsistent this year and the trend continues against the Illini in a close contest.
Make it: Illinois 30 - Purdue 20

Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) @ Minnesota (1-5, 0-2)
Nebraska comes off it's bye-week ready to run over a struggling Minnesota team that was crushed by Purdue last week.  Rex Burkhead and Taylor Martinez put this game out of reach by halftime.
Make it: Nebraska 45 - Minnesota 13

Penn St. (6-1, 3-0) @ Northwestern (2-4, 0-3)
Chance of an upset in this one, as Penn State's offense doesn't put up many points.  Can Dan Persa and the Wildcats win their first Big Ten game of the season and deny Joe Pa win #408? Doubtful.
Make it: Penn St 27 - Northwestern 23

And finally the Game of the Week... Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0) @ Michigan St (5-1, 2-0)
Michigan St is missing William Gholston for this game, as he was suspended yesterday by the Big Ten for punching Michigan LT Taylor Lewan in the face.  The Michigan - Michigan St game tends to get chippy, but Gholston's mistake could prove very costly as it makes it much more difficult for Michigan St to contain Russell Wilson, Monte Ball, and James White.  As strong as the Spartan defense is, I don't think they force enough turnovers to keep up with Wisconsin on the scoreboard.
Make it: Wisconsin 27 - MSU -17 

Back to Blogging!

Sorry guys, long time no blog. But unlike the NBA I am back at it!!

I've been really busy the past few months studying for my Series 7 Exam to become a registered stockbroker, however, I didn't pass my exam (I was so close!) and I must retake it in a month.  However, I'm looking for some more balance in my life so I am back at it on here.  If you've read any of my stuff before you probably saw it at my old, now expired, blog at: here

I will upload a few of my old ones onto here to get a base going quickly.  Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter: @RobBrereton