Big Ten links: Chris Laviano to start, Spartans eye revenge & much more

This time last week, Chris Laviano was suspended for the first half of the season-opener for a team violation. Now, he?s Rutgers? starting QB after Hayden Rettig got the nod last week.

Laviano hit 4-of-4 passes for 138 yards and three TDs. Not bad. Rettig was pretty good, too, completing 9-of-11 for 110 yard with a TD.

"I think the coaches made a great decision with that," Rutgers running back Paul James said Monday. "Chris is a great player and I think he's a great leader. (We) appreciate his hard work, (we) appreciate the journey that he's taken to get here because at quarterback that's a hard thing to do, just sit out there and grind for that spot. And now that he has I feel like the team really appreciates that. They know he's a hard-working guy. He's going to do whatever it takes for this team."

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And, don?t look now, but a 4-0 start looks possible for RU.

Check this out: The Scarlet Knights' final three non-league foes all lost to opponents from the FCS ranks.

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No team has to feel much better about itself than Iowa coming out of the opening week. A dominating win vs. FCS Illinois State was just what the Hawkeyes needed coming off a listless 2014.

The play of an offensive line with three sophomore starters was very encouraging. In fact, some program watchers say Week 1 was the best Week 1 performance in years, but senior center Austin Blythe was tempered. "There were a lot of things that could have been better," Blythe said. "You have to focus on that and have that tunnel vision."

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There was a lot I liked about Maryland on Saturday, especially after it got over a slow start. One of the best: An improved o-line.

Peter Schmuck points out Maryland rushed for 341 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. Brandon Ross set a career high with 150 yards, and backup running backs Ty Johnson and Wes Brown combined for 157 more. Richmond managed 3.4 yards per rush. And the Terps o-line did not allow a sack.

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In the over analysis of Minnesota?s loss to TCU last week, you may have missed the play of freshman LB Julian Huff.

In a defensive wrinkle noted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Huff started as an undersized, standup defensive end. He finished with seven tackles and a handful of other disruptive plays. The 5-11 Huff made it hard on starting Horned Frogs left tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who is 6-6 and 315 pounds. Jerry Kill said Huff reminds him of former Michigan State outside linebacker Denicos Allen, who overcame his 5-11, 218-pound frame to become a second-team All-American in 2013.

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How does Kevin Wilson characterize the Hoosiers? defensive effort last week? ?Not acceptable.? Sounds about right.

"They came out with some stuff we hadn't really seen, but you've got to be ready for that," senior defensive end Nick Mangieri said. "We've just got to get even better with our adjustments, and being able to make them on field."

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Greg Pickel of Pennlive.com takes a video look at all 10 of the sacks Penn State suffered vs. Temple. Painful stuff. This looks a lot like last year.

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If any of you Michigan fans were hoping for a new starting QB after Jake Rudock's three interception game at Utah, forget it. Jim Harbaugh is squarely behind Rudock.

Harbaugh removed the "or" between Rudock and Shane Morris on Michigan's depth chart — clearing up any uncertainty about the situation.

"He did a lot of really good things and was involved in some really punitive plays, he had fingerprints on them along with other players, but that's the way that goes … welcome to football," Harbaugh said this week. "I thought he was accurate, that's what he showed in camp. Consistently accurate … I thought he managed the game very well, no fumbled snaps or going the wrong way on a handoff. He kept the ball off the ground and showed really good courage in the pocket.

"Overall, I was impressed with the way he played."

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Oregon week is here for Michigan State. And Spartan QB Connor Cook has revenge on his mind.

Michigan State led last year?s game, 27-18, with 10:55 left in the third quarter after an eight-play, 30-yard drive on its opening possession of the second half. The Ducks' defense adjusted, throwing out a three-deep look that caught the Spartans off guard. The rest, well, is history.

"We're going to play them (Oregon) this year and try to get revenge, that's obviously in the back of our minds," said Cook, minutes after dispatching Western Michigan on Friday. "There's no doubt in my mind the coaches and players will be ready for Oregon next week."

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Northwestern scored an impressive 16-6 win vs. Stanford. But Pat Fitzgerald says NU was ?very average.?

Well, the offense was very average, I thought. The defense? It was good.

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