An Iowa student with a Michigan bias -- and Wazzu ties, too -- breaks down the Big Ten conference with attempted objectivity, week by week
State week. Michigan takes on Michigan State in East Lansing, and everybody this side of Detroit should be pretty excited about this one. When I think of the rivarly, most recently, I think of the 'Braylon Edwards Game' from 2004 where #1 torched the Spartans secondary for 11 catches, 189 yards, and 3 touchdows. The Wolverines were down 27-10 in the 4th quarter before Edwards put the team on his back, catching two late touchdowns to send the game into overtime. There, he caught the game winning touchdown pass from Chad Henne. Man, I can't believe Henne was only a freshman then.
I saw Michigan State play in person last week, and boy, was I unimpressed. I know that playing on the road is always an issue for Big Ten teams, but this was more than that. Uninspired playcalling, defense collapsing at the wrong times, and underutilization of its two great backs all contributed to a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, who are, without a doubt, one of the worst teams in college football.
Michigan's not losing this one. The Wolverines are built for a game like this. Playing an unimaginitaive offense is the bread and butter of the Michigan program. Michigan should be able to run all over the Spartans, and I think the defense will do enough to keep the game out of reach. Is Mike Hart playing? I don't know. Chad Henne? Ummm. Either way, the Mallett and Minor show -- if needed -- should be able to do the seniors' dirty work.
Oh...and Ohio State is good. I feel as if I need to mention this every week.
What Else, What Else...
The College Football Bandwagon: Every year, once my actual favorite teams have been eliminated from the national title picture (by, you know, losing just one game), my buddy Ryan and I create what we call the "College Football Bandwagon" which mostly consists of a list of all the undefeated BCS conference teams minus Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and sometimes others (this year, Florida & Boston College). Special exemptions are made for the Utahs, Boise States, and Hawaiis of the world. The goal of the CFB is to fake feel good about yourself when your "team" makes the national championship. Plus it gives you invested rooting interests.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BANDWAGON 2007
Hawaii - Not depressed enough about Hawaii's national title hopes? Dan Shanoff linked a good read from Sunday Morning QB, who basically takes the Warriors and breaks them in half with his knee.
Kansas - Rock chalkin' against Nebraska this week. After losing starting QB Sam Keller for the year against Texas, the Nebraska WeCan'tStopTheRun-skers have no business winning this game.
Arizona State - Dennis Dixon stands in ASU's way of finally getting national respect
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#4 Arizona State at #5 Oregon: Oregon's only loss this year was due to the unluckiest of unlucky plays. Why can't the Ducks be the best team in the country?
#11 Va Tech beats Ga Tech: Hokies take the battle of the Techs Thursday night. That's great and all, but where were you last week?!?!!?
SEC? Let's stop pretending: The SEC is good. Pretty, really good. Probably in the Top 2 best conferences in college football. That said, it's not the varsity to the rest of the nation's JV. All of the pre-season talk about the SEC champion getting a yearly automatic bid to the national title is nuts.
LSU lost to a (now) three-loss Kentucky team. Let's stop treating the Tigers like they're the best team in the country. And what about the defending national champs? Ever heard of defense, Florida?
JPW vs. The World: #17 Alabama and QB John Parker Wilson take on the afforementioned #3 LSU this week. While some are focusing more on Nick Saban facing off against his former team, I prefer to focus on the funny. JPW continues to play in relevant games. I can't help but think about his NFL chances if he has a great season next year. What a day that'd be.
Way to go, Penn State: You lose to the Buckeyes and still manage to be on the wrong side of the sympathy. Thanks to a YouTube video of Penn State fans hassling Ohio State fans by throwing beer cans and shouting obscenities, none of us feel all that bad that they'll have had two full seasons of Morelli when it's all said and done.
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Matchup of the Week: #12 Michigan at Michigan State - Might be easier with Braylon.
Other of Interest: #21 Wisconsin at #1 Ohio State - Would have garnered matchup of the week consideration if Wisconsin wasn't so good at consistently disappointing everyone.
Ball State at Indiana - This one interests me for some reason, and I don't really know why.
Watch only with hands over your eyes: Illinois at Minnesota - Don't worry, the Big Ten Network will take care of this one for us.
The Trail of Tiers...
First
#1 Ohio State (9-0, 5-0) - O-H-I-O has lost one game in the last two college football seasons, but it still can't get any r-e-s-p-e-c-t. Do they have to pay for it forever? They got blown out by Florida, and it was bad. Big deal. Everyone continues to harp on the fact that the Buckeyes have a weak schedule and play in a bad conference. Is this not the same school that went to #2 Texas last year and won? I know Washington isn't a great team, but it was still a road game against a BCS team in arguably the best BCS conference. And Ohio State took that one, too.
#12 Michigan (7-2, 5-0) - Keepin' the Paul Bunyon Trophy in Ann Arbor.
Second
Illinois (6-3, 3-2) - Not your best against Ball State, boys.
#21 Wisconsin (7-2, 3-2) - Ohio State, Michigan, and Minnesota to end the season. If this was a video game, it'd be like going from Heisman to All-American to Walk-On. No matter what happens Badgers, it's only going to get easier.
Purdue (7-2, 3-2) - Winning the games they should win.
Third
Indiana (5-4, 2-4) - Maybe the Hoosiers are only good against Iowa, and that inflated my sense of how good they were overall. So, although being late on this, I, like most people, now know the truth.
Penn State (6-3, 3-3) - Bye bye, Top 25. Hello, irrelevancy.
Northwestern (5-3, 2-2) - During his playing days at NU as a linebacker, head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a Chuck Bednarik Award winner (1995) and two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year. How did I not know this???
Michigan State (5-4, 1-4) - Making strides at the Gophers, but State's just not bad enough.
Iowa (4-5, 2-4) - A win at Northwestern this week gives the Hawkeyes a .500 overall record. Only in the Big Ten.
The Basement
Minnesota (1-8, 0-5) - Too bad college doesn't have have a draft.
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A few left over (non-college football items)...
- Chicago Bulls let me down in the opener against the Nets, but I guess they haven't won in NJ in like five years. I also didn't really realize that the Nets are actually pretty good. You watch Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter, and it all starts to add up. The positives: Deng continuing to be Deng.
- Pats-Colts: I got the Pats, baby. Maybe when they win, I'll finally explain to Ricky how I became a New England fan. This will be a great game, because it will either be close and exciting for everyone, or the Pats will blow the Colts out, and it will be exciting to me.
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Comments
Hawaii plays a I-AA schedule? Could've sworn they were in the WAC! I like Hawaii and I like Colt Brennan. What happens if they beat Boise State? After all, they are ranked right now.
I'm liking these extra thoughts. I don't think the Pats-Colts game is going to be nearly as close as other people do, i see NE winning by at least three touchdowns. It seems like a perfect time for Bellichick to hang 60, doesn't it?
If Michigan is looking ahead to Ohio State, i could see them laying an egg in East Lansing. You know the crowd is going to be out of control, led by our own Beau Buhs. It just seems like a recipe for an upset. If Michigan does win, i can see them knocking off OSU.