Fall’s Tarts: The Silly, the Stupid, the Stunningly Weird of Week 6 in the Big Ten

The weeks, they keep marching on, and so does the stupidity. And notably, so too does the Wisconsin ball carrier, even as his “tackler” celebrates his “tackle.” Whoops.

All that and even more dumb stuff below!

Nebraska’s Antonio Reed Celebrates a Bit Too Early

I’ve never played football, but I imagine laying down a sweet hit and stopping an opposing player from progressing down the field is a pretty big thrill. Husker safety Antonio Reed apparently would agree with that, because he was all in on celebrating after taking down a Badger RB on Saturday.

One problem: the Badger wasn’t all the way down, and he kept running as Reed celebrated. I’d imagine Reed has taken more than his share of grief over this moment of looking like a complete fool, and it’s tough to say he doesn’t deserve it. He also has likely provided the definitive teachable moment on “make sure the play is over before you get on with your bad self,” which, presumably, is not the kind of example he has always dreamed of being.

Iowa, of all Teams, Pulls a Trick Play; Met with Unwavering Stoicism

Up 14-7 in the second quarter against Minnesota, Iowa found itself staring at the endzone from the 4-yard line on a 4th down. Ever conservative, Iowa lined up for a field goal, which was believable, because Kirk Ferentz and the only thing more believable would have been if they’d lined up to punt.

But then Iowa did something unusual—a crazy trick play! Once it worked, the Iowa sideline erupted into a frenzy, including Kirk Ferentz, who was spotted licking his palms and running around in ecstatic circles.

Just kidding. He stood there calmly clapping, exactly like the stoic Baby-Boomer-who-has-no-time-for-young-people’s-emojis-and-rap-“music” that he is, and that was somehow kind of the best part.

PJ Fleck is PJ Fleck

Peej talks with his hands, so that way you know he’s serious and that he understands player growth. His switch to agrarian, land-based metaphors from his more familiar aquatic tropes is surprising though, and might perhaps be a sign of concern for Gopher fans.

Clayton Thorson Throws a Pick, Assisted by Teammate’s Facemask

I wish I had a clip of this, but I don’t, so I’ll leave it to North by Northwestern to describe the majestic moment:

The Spartans failed the two-point conversion, and the ‘Cats held on to a 14-12 lead. Two plays later, Clayton Thorson threw an interception that may have been the most fitting microcosm of the season at that moment. Thorson’s pass hit running back Drake Anderson’s face mask and MSU DT Mike Panasiuk reached out to grab the ball at the line of scrimmage. MSU immediately drove down the field and scored on a fade route to Davis, whose second touchdown of the game gave MSU a 19-14 advantage and all the momentum.

No harm, no foul though, as Northwestern still managed to emerge victorious. As far as this writer goes though, feel free to pepper a few more of those helmet passes into your repertoire this weekend, Clayton.

Illinois Wins a Conference Game!

This isn’t a f*ck up (unless you’re a Rutgers fan, I suppose, in which case you’ve already made many, many, many of those), but is worth noting because it’s rather remarkable. Illinois’ dominating win over Rutgers in the Battle of Illibutt marked the Illini’s first conference win in almost two calendar years. Let’s see what that is by the numbers:

• First conference win in 700 days
• First since Nov. 5, 2016 (MSU!)
• First in 100 weeks
• Third conference win for Lovie Smith in 20 attempts

Great job, Illini! Those are some impressive numbers. But you’d best look out—Nebraska’s coming for your conference loss records!