Around the Empire: September 26, 2023

We’ve somehow reached the end of September, as well as the end of the non-conference season for most teams. The tomato cans and the cupcakes are in the rearview mirror! Well, except for Rutgers taking on Wagner this week in a classic battle between Jersey and Staten Island. Big Ten Country really does extend from sea to shining sea.

For those of you who didn’t spend the entirety of Saturday watching football (and frantically preparing for your own rapidly approaching wedding), here’s what you might have missed from OTE and from around the B1G this weekend.

From Off Tackle Empire:

• GoForThree revels in the Ohio State win over Notre Dame and everyone else punches in for this week’s Sunday Morning Coming Down.
• Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of sells in Dead Read’s Stock Report this week.
• No one celebrates an opposing missed field goal better than Tom Allen. Buff Komodo breaks down the Indiana-Akron 4OT game.
• Last call for mailbag questions!
• OTE begins its basketball preview series starting with last year’s last-placed team: the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
• BoilerUp89 takes a look at the non-conference basketball schedules for Minnesota and Penn State and doesn’t love what he sees.
• And don’t forget to get your choices in for Survivor and for the ATS picks games. Many thanks to Green 96 and Ziowa09 for running those! And many thanks to Indiana for keeping my Survivor entry alive.

Beyond the Empire:

• An anguished look at the Indiana-Akron 4OT game from the Crimson Quarry.
• From Maize and Brew, Michigan players discuss Harbaugh’s impact following his return from suspension. We’re all happy he’s back after such a difficult stretch.
• An on-the-ground report from the wild Ohio State-Notre Dame game with Land-Grant Holy Land.
• Prior to the game, Black Shoe Diaries identified Iowa as their true rival in the B1G.
• Speaking of Penn State-Iowa: Black Heart Gold Pants relives the blowout and provides some phenomenal beer recommendations.
• Inside NU with 5 things learned from the massive Northwestern comeback/epic Minnesota collapse.
• And finally, Bucky’s 5th Quarter with the awful news of Chez Mellusi’s broken fibula. If you don’t get emotional from watching his teammates console him on the injury cart, then I don’t know why you’re here.

Have a good week, all. It’s almost Saturday.