Sunday Morning Coming Down // Week 7

Ten B1G Things

1. Only three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and September Maryland
2. Surprise onside kicks are the worst trick plays in football as Maryland’s 2nd-half opening gambit showed (for an even better example, see EMU)
3. Kyle McCord isn’t on anyone’s Heisman shortlist...but he also didn’t throw a single INT vs. Notre Dame, let alone 3 of them
4. Breaking the curse of Ross-Ade requires human sacrifice, and OSU offered Chip Trayanum and Denzel Burke to the angry gods
5. With that, OSU improves to 4-5 at Purdue since 2005
6. Michigan is allowing 6.7 pts per game through 6 games, becoming the first FBS team to give up less than 10 per game since Clemson in 1981
7. Michigan has been aided in this achievement with the softest schedule among ranked B1G teams
8. Penn State’s Daequan Hardy hadn’t returned a punt since high school, and on Saturday became the first PSU player ever to return two punts for TDs in the same game
9. Penn State fumbled on the opening drive, committing their first offensive turnover of the season
10. This weekend saw perhaps the greatest comeback in Rutgers history, shortly after most of the homecoming crowd had left rain-soaked Short-Term B2B Branded Stadium
11. Rutgers outgained MSU 120 to -20 in the 4th quarter
12. Speaking of the gods, they must have had a good laugh when striking down another Iowa offensive playmaker (if such a thing exists) and Wisconsin’s QB. That’s pure Old Testament.
13. Army passed for more yards (78) in a shutout loss than Iowa did (36) in a two-score win.
14. Iowa is going to win the West and there’s probably nothing we can do to stop them

The Rundown

Indiana at Michigan | Michigan squeezes the Charmin again, 52-7

RMB: This game had three distinct phases. The first quarter was all Indiana. I mean all Indiana. They were absolutely kicking Michigan around the field in all phases, and if not for a pick at the end of a long drive it would probably have been 14-0 Indiana. The 2nd and 3rd quarters were all Michigan. Michigan scored 38 points while Indiana had less than 38 yards. The 4th quarter was garbage time and nothing that happened there mattered. It was great to see Michigan respond to everything going wrong in the first quarter, not panic, and turn it on. On the downside, Indiana got a ton of pressure on McCarthy all day. The fun part of the season is over. From here, every opponent but one is either good, or a blood-seeking rival who will be head-hunting. Michigan’s questionable pass blocking is...concerning.

Brian Gillis: Indiana held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. And then Michigan rolled off 52 straight points. Next up: Michigan State.

BuffKomodo: Indiana < Michigan. Rotating QB’s again that Tom Allen said was to “find a rhythm” but it’s not pulling to find a rhythm if it’s mentioned on the telecast it’s happening during the first drive.

The season lives or dies next week. Indiana loses to a Rutgers and it’s over folks. No bowl. No fans. No interest.

If that happens, I’ll make the natural pivot to Washington in the Buff because at least I love Kalen DeBoer (Former IU OC) and my beloved Penix.

Ohio State at Purdue | Another harboring avoided, 41-7

GF3: Ohio State finally started strong, scoring 20 first half points (LOL missed PAT), but more importantly the defense continued to prove its strength. McCord had a good day in shit weather, but for the second week in a row and at least the third time this season, he’s managed to get called for intentional grounding. At this point, that’s a vision & judgment issue. That said, his throws are getting better, especially in tight spots.

Defensively, it’s worth nothing that Cody Simon got a lot of playing time in place of Steele Chambers yesterday. Linebacker production has been an issue, so it’s nice to see Jim Knowles using the depth chart to actually address that. Simon led the Buckeyes in solo tackles with 5 and tied Eichenberg for total tackles with 8.

This was ultimately a pyrrhic victory, with both Trayanum and Denzel Burke leaving the game due to injury. That said, it could be the speak the run game needs, with Dallan Hayden showing his potential after stepping in for the injured Trayanum. Start ‘em young.

Anyway, it’s been fun going 6-0. I don’t see how this team puts it together enough to beat PSU. Let alone the juggernaut Michigan is becoming.

BoilerUp89: The Boilermakers didn’t get shut out. Purdue lacks the talent and most especially the depth to match up against the top tier of the B1G once injuries take their toll. Boilermakers get the bye week before finding out whether they have a realistic shot at a bowl game in two weeks against Nebraska. More importantly, basketball fan day is next Saturday.

UMass at Penn State | Making Minutemen mull return to FCS, 63-0

misdreavus79: Apparently Penn State didn’t score all 63 points in the first drive, which is a bad thing or whatever. Onto the real season!

MSU at Rutgers | Another New Jersey visitor regrets their trip, 27-24

RUReady4Brazil: The honorary Big Ten West matchup between MSU and Rutgers didn’t disappoint. It was dead even in pretty much every measure including turnovers. Someone had to win and I’m glad it was Rutgers who finally had some luck break their way after years of not even being in position to receive any. I feel bad for Michigan State players who played their guts out and were let down some by their coaches in squandering a huge 4th quarter lead. I’ve been on the wrong end of that many times and it sucks. How many times does a team win a game when they end the first half with this sequence of drives … missed FG, INT, fumbled punt return at their own 10, INT (edited)

Illinois at Maryland | Illini upset Terps before a crowd of dozens, 27-24

thumpasaurus: Absolutely unbelievable choke job by Mike Locksley, who somehow couldn’t figure out how to run the ball and even more damning couldn’t figure out how to stop Barry Lunney’s slow developing inside give out of the shotgun in short yardage situations. Perhaps this is due to the power of THE NIGHTFLY, which is what I’m going to call Kaden Feagin until everyone understands that it’s pronounced like Donald Fagan. I will also continue to do so until we go 90 minutes from New York to Paris, undersea by rail.

It’s unreal that with Keith Randolph out, Maryland couldn’t run the ball against the same linebackers Purdue and Nebraska had second guessing every play they saw. The division’s long gone for Illinois but the bowl hopes are still alive, and with them stay the hopes of having a coach for more than one good season.

Maryland, yikes! This was a bad loss!

He was a high school QB: Those B1G East apologists who said Maryland would clean up in the west can suck it! One week after a former Illinois assistant embarrassed the Illini, a former Illinois assistant got ‘embarrassed by the Illini. The fourth best team in the East got pantsed by the 6/7th best team in the West providing algebraic proof the west is better. We’re going to be 5-6 heading into our showdown with Nern and I’m going to bet my life savings on the Wildcats.

AlmaOtter: Well, that was fun as hell. Myself, OhioOtter, and my father-in-law made the trip up to College Park for my first in-person Illini win in a long time. I somehow convinced both of them to wear orange in public, despite their Buckeye fandom; I even ran into some college buddies I hadn’t seen in years during the game. Even the shite weather held off for the vast majority of the day!

Isaiah Williams finally got a touchdown, Kaden Feagin is the real deal, and this team showed signs of life. Let’s fucking go.

Larry31: None of the other “writers” got on board with my prediction. I will repeat it here: “The Terps are still hungover from a deflating loss in which they were super-hyped and actually believed they could win, only to get pummeled in the fourth quarter. Illinois is angry and embarrassed at getting pantsed by lil’ Red. Locks said as much in his weekly presser that the Terps were having a hard time getting back on track. This game should be on full upset alert. Oh, did I mention it’s going to be rainy? So, let’s add a small lifeless crowd to the home team that is already hungover. Take Illinois and the points. I think Maryland barely squeaks by, but an upset would not be surprising.” The only thing I got wrong was that I thought Maryland, being at home, woudl squeak out the win. they couldn’t even do that. Maryland just looked like a team that had already mentally checked out heading into the bye week. This loss is on Locks. I saw the let down coming a mile away. It is, indeed, no longer September. Oh, and apparently, there are three Death Stars. Shit is about to get real with the B1G 3, starting next week with Penn State at Ohio State. Ilike the home team, which this year, happens to be Ohio State.

Iowa at Wisconsin | The Power of Ferentz Compels You, 15-6

Kind of...(Chris): Iowa had 36 yards passing, and won. So, yeah, the Air Raid transition is still, um, not a finished product. The defense gave up one bad play—an 82 yard TD run—but that was enough to have UW playing from behind all day. I’m sure Phil Longo was told all about Phil Parker, but, well, seeing is believing. The offense was trash no matter who was at QB. There were two awful special teams penalties. UW committed penalties on 3rd and short deep in Iowa territory once each half. The game definitely had a 2015 feel to it, and it was a most B1G West way for the game to go, which is fitting. With Illinois next week and OSU in two weeks, next week defines the term “gut check.” Great time for the backup QB to get his first career start. Congrats to Iowa. Have fun with OSU/Mich/PSU in Indy. (edited)