Ten B1G Things

1. Ending the first 9OT game in history with a 20-18 score is just so amazingly Big Ten
2. Illinois plan seems to be that if you can’t be a Northwestern, you can at least be a Purdue
3. Elevating the PSU uniforms from junior high to high school quality was probably too much change at once
4. Sure, sex is great, but have you even seen Penn State lose because they botched the Philly Special?
5. Should’ve tried the White Out...60% of the time, it works every time
6. Shot: Penn State averaging 2.1 yards per carry
7. Chaser: Erstwhile Rutgersian Artur Sitkowski finishing with a higher QBR than Sean Clifford
8. Nasty burp: Illinois ran for 357 yards to get 20 points
9. Vomit: Bert’s 100th win
10. Jim Harbaugh creepin’ up those rankings again, to the delight of few
11. Purdue and the Top 25 have announced their “conscious uncoupling”
12. Upside of Urban being gone (of which their are many): Ohio State no longer tries to let Indiana win the game every year
13. Maryland has now lost their last 3 games by a combined 151-49
14. We should all take a moment to revel in the utter collapse of Dabo Swinney’s Clemson program...couldn’t happen to a nicer guy

The Rundown

Illinois at Penn State | LOLx9, 20-18

Thump: When you imagined what it would look like if the Bret Bielema Illini were ever good, it looked exactly like this. All I ask is that our coaches can learn and adapt to be competitive, and this is the first time I’ve ever actually felt that an Illini coaching staff has done that. If they can get some recruiting mojo off this…everything about the way I conceive of the world could change. Illinois did this despite the worst Illini quarterback play I’ve ever seen and losing the turnover battle 3-0. Fucking stunning. This feels so much more earned than the Wisconsin win. Because it feels like everything happened according to plan.pkloa: Penn State’s Generations of Greatness: Numbered helmets from 1960, striped pants from 1966, white shoes from 1970, offensive ineptitude from 2004. At least we didn’t have to wait for next Sunday to see the Lions dropped the hell out of the top 10.

He was a HS QB: Illinois threw for 35 yards and lost the turnover battle 3-0. Dear God, don’t tell me we lost 63-0 again?!?

pkloa: Penn State’s Generations of Greatness: Numbered helmets from 1960, striped pants from 1966, white shoes from 1970, offensive ineptitude from 2004. At least we didn’t have to wait for next Sunday to see the Lions dropped the hell out of the top 10.Maybe we’ll get lucky and the Buckeyes will get caught looking ahead to Nebraska. You know, a real team.

misdreavus79: In James Franklin’s tenure, only once has a loss not been followed by another one. And, since 2016, Every single time Penn State has lost a big game, they’ve followed it up with a bigger loss. Today was no different. In fact, I’m starting to wonder why I ever thought Penn State could win this game. They’ve shown us year after year, that the minute they lose that game against a top opponent, they’re going to lose again.

87Townie: Punching in. The team is regressing. Our offensive line/tight ends continue to be shit at run blocking. And our coaching staff doesn’t have a second option at quarterback. Apparently Sean Clifford at 40% is still better than our second string kid. He’ll be gone faster than you can say Will Levis, this summer.

Wisconsin at Purdue | Purdue we hardly knew ye, 30-13

BoilerUp89: Purdue basketball held another intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday. I’m assuming they followed the format of last weekend: three, 12-minute sessions with teams mixed up every session. Zach Edey went off for 35 points on 16-18 shooting and 14 rebounds (next highest was 7). Ivey had 20 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the FT line to go along with 2 of 5 shooting for 3 pt range. Newman put up 16 points with 4 of 10 shooting from deep and Sasha was 3 of 9 for 3 pointers. Trevion Williams had a quiet 10 points and only 4 rebounds as Edey is flat out winning that 1 on 1 battle right now. Trevion did have 6 assists (tied for 2nd with Ethan Morton) but missed both of his 3 point attempts.

While most are expecting Williams to start (and he’s been projected as a 3rd team All-American by some), I really think people need to start thinking that Edey is going to start and play the majority of minutes. Williams is a very good player, but Edey has looked fantastic at the U19 games and throughout the entire offseason. Like you have to double team him unless your name is Dickinson, Cockburn or Drew Timme. Maybe Williams works better with Ivey on the court as that can open up the paint for Ivey’s driving ability, but not accounting for other players on the rosters Edey is the better player right now.For the 3 headed PG and PF position battles, things were pretty close.

Starting with the PF spot: Kaufman-Renn led the group in scoring with 14 points compared to Furst’s 9 and Gillis’s 6 but none of them were making the most out of their 3 point attempts (TKR was 1/4, Furst 1/3, and Gillis 0/1). Gillis and TKR had 7 rebounds while Furst had 6. If I had to guess TKR’s driving/cutting ability is best suited to pair with Trevion’s passing ability and the other two are battling for minutes alongside Edey (which might also see some Trevion time at the PF spot although I think that is purely situational). While the PF competition is close because they all played pretty well, the PG play was a little more spotty. Hunter and Morton both went 0 for 3-point range (4 and 3 attempts respectively) while IT went a solid 2 of 5 from deep. Assist to turnover ratios were 7:4 for Hunter, just 2:1 for IT, and 6:1 for Morton. Hunter & Morton had 1 steal apiece while IT somehow got a block! Defense is probably going to determine who gets minutes at this position which gives the edge to Hunter based on past experience.

Things still TBD: has the team defense improved? Is there enough 3 pt shooting after Sasha (Newman looks like he makes a second shooter, but really need a 3rd if they are going to meet the season long goals).

Oh, you wanted me to comment on football? Okay then. The wheel of time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth comes again. As it always has been, wisconsin beats Purdue in football. Credit to my fellow Purdue OTE members for being smart enough not to believe. I’m assuming other Purdue sites weren’t so smart, but maybe they’ve learned their lesson after 15 straight.

Eric O: Only 15 straight losses to the same conference opponent? Those are rookie numbers; you gotta pump those up.

Northwestern at Michigan | 33-7

RockyMountainBlue: It was M00N through the first quarter. Then slowly Michigan took control and just ground jNW into the ground, possessing the ball for nearly 40 minutes. It wasn’t all rosey. 5.1yds/pass attempt. Two different drives stall inside the jNW 10 (one FG, one turnover). Two turnovers overall. Worst of all both starting guards are still out. The fun part of the season is over. I apologize to OTE in advance for all the hype the Mitten game is going to get this week. Two good-not-great teams that have managed to win their first 7.

MNW: K. Whatever. Moving on.

Maryland at Minnesota | 34-16

WhiteSpeedReceiver: That was one of the more thorough performances I’ve ever seen from the Gophers. I was pretty confident that we’d win, but I didn’t expect to smack Maryland in the teeth with a tire iron like that at all. When the biggest issue Gopher fans have (and yes, we must always have something to complain about) is Fleck’s decision to play it safe and try to get a FG at the end of the first half while up a TD and getting the ball at the start of the second half, well that’s a pretty good day. Freshmen Mar’Keise Irving and Ky Thomas each went over 100 yards and scored a TD. For those keeping track at home they started the year at 4th and 5th on the depth chart, and now all 5 (healthy. Sorry, Preston Jelen) Gopher scholarship RBs have gone over 100 yards in a game this season. The defense made Maryland miserable all day long, and I’m pretty content with everything I saw from them. It was a pretty great day today, and that’s nice to be able to say.

Ohio State at Indiana | OSU by 2.5x the spread, 54-7

GF3: Ohio State looks like a strong team with a lot of talent. Real go-getters. Lots of leadership. Some true gym rats. The senior defender is like a coach on the field. Tough players with lots of heart. Undersized guys, but high motors. Scrappy. They get lots of hats on the football. Young QB getting lots of game experience. Good reps. Starting to gel as an offense. Winning attitude.

BuffKomodo: This is written in the second quarter. I left when tuttle dropped his first snap when he came back in.Well. I’m not sure that could have been weirder. Musical quarterbacks. Bad defense. Tom Allen has earned a bit of leeway as a coach, but seriously….what in the hell was that? What are you doing with redshirts? Well, I actually know the answer.We’re throwing it at the wall and seeing what sticks. And that’s fine. But by god every coordinator on the offensive side should be fired at the end of the season, minus our RB coach because his sons are STUDS. One more loss and it’s officially onto basketball season. We’ll see what happens next week.

Candystripes: Existence is pain. Anyone who tells you otherwise has never been an IU football fan.

MSU at BYE | Area man triumphant in contemporary drama—an unexpected tour de force that aims for the heartstrings and plucks big, 3-0

Ambitious Karetakerski: Bye week. Established The Run by getting the yard done before the noon kickoffs. Dusted the ceiling fan in the bedroom. Vacuumed. We’re on to Michigan. Go Green, Fuck Michigan, forever and ever, amen.