Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, January 25, 2016
Few teams are hotter than Indiana, which is off to a 7-0 start in the Big Ten. And what makes the Hoosiers? scorching start really impressive is they are doing it without star James Blackmon, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
Indiana has won 12 consecutive games, including its first 7-0 start in Big Ten play since 1993. Not once in those 12 games have the Hoosiers beaten a Top 25 team. Still, IU has been impressive, with its last three wins coming by more than 25 points at home to match a feat last accomplished by the 1987-88 Hoosiers of Bob Knight. That was a good Indiana squad coming off a national title.
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No one needed a win more than Michigan State. And, that?s just what the Spartans got on Saturday at home against Maryland. The victory ended a three-game losing skid and evened MSU?s league mark at 4-4 after a school-record 16-0 start. Tom Izzo said it?s the ?hardest we?ve played in years.? Wow. That?s really saying something. Now, can the Spartans keep it up?
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Christian Hackenberg is gone. And that sets up a quarterback derby at Penn State that will be an ?open competition? despite the strong effort by Trace McSorely in the bowl game after he took over for an injured Hackenberg. Others in the mix are redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens and newcomer and January enrollee Jake Zembiec, a three-star quarterback from New York.
"I think at every position, you have guys that have experience, and those guys have a little bit of a head start, but we're going to go into the spring and fall with an open competition at every position," PSU coach James Franklin said.
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Good piece from Cleveland.com that examines Jim Tressel?s place in Ohio State football history.
Yes, the program got put on probation during Tressel?s watch. But this success (2002 national title) will trump the off-field issues. Time has a way of muting bad things.
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Iowa saw Jim Reid leave to become defensive coordinator at Boston College. Kirk Ferentz has a replacement, promoting Seth Wallace to take Reid?s spot as linebacker coach.
The past two seasons have seen Wallace fill the role of recruiting coordinator. He also served as a defensive assistant, working with cornerbacks and nickel backs during Iowa's recent 12-2 campaign and working with the defensive line the season before.
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Where are Rutgers? former offensive coordinators? Dan Duggan of NJ.com takes a look.
With the hiring of Drew Mehringer, RU is now on its seventh offensive coordinator in seven years. This isn?t ideal. Maybe the Chris Ash regime will bring some stability across the board.
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A Michigan-Michigan State football game at night? MSU A.D. Mark Hollis would be ?concerned? over fan behavior.
"When we sit down, our police chief, our president, our provost, myself, we all go through and ask, 'What's the impact going to be like on campus?'" Hollis said.
"Based on past behavior, I would be concerned."
Next fall, the Spartans and Wolverines play Oct. 29 in East Lansing. There's never been a night game in the history of the rivalry.
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Pretty cool to see former Husker hoopster Tyronn Lue take over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Can he keep LeBron James happy? Let?s be frank: Lue probably needs to deliver an NBA title-or else.
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There are questions on Jim Harbaugh?s roster. But there is no question about Michigan?s core of wideouts and tight ends. It should be among the best in the Big Ten, headed by Jake Butt-the league?s tight end of the year in 2015.
Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh lead the wideouts. The presence of these guys no doubt will help the new quarterback.
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