Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 2, 2015
The race to win the Big Ten West shapes up as a wild and wooly one, with five teams seemingly in the hunt (sorry, Illinois and Purdue). And the opening Saturday of full-blown Big Ten action will give us an early taste of what?s to come with three key West Division tilts: Iowa at Wisconsin; Minnesota at Northwestern; Nebraska at Illinois. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has a nice breakdown of the contenders.
My pick? I went with the Gophers to win the West back in August. And, I?m going to stick with them!
Nebraska comes to Champaign this week. And, it?s beatable. After four games, they?re first in the Big Ten in pass offense (324.8 yards) and last in pass defense (giving up 379.5). Based on stats, the ?Huskers live and die with the pass. Nebraska comes to Illinois for the first time since 1986. The Fighting Illini are winless in their last six meetings against the Cornhuskers. The QB battle between Nebraska?s Tommy Armstrong and Illinois? Wes Lunt looks fun. But this may come down which team?s struggling defense can make some plays.
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Cleveland.com wonders what has been the biggest difference between Ohio State signal-callers Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.
Lots of good numbers in this piece. One of my faves: Jones has been much better on third down. The Buckeyes overall are 64th in the nation in third-down conversions, but Jones has actually been pretty good. He's 12-for-20 (60 percent) for 144 yards and two interceptions on third down. Obviously the two picks stick out, but the numbers on third down are much better than Barrett's. Barrett is 2-for-8 for two yards on third down. To break that down differently: Jones has a 100.48 passer rating on third down, Barrett's is 27.1.
This is all dandy. But, I still wonder why OSU doesn?t just pick one of these guys as go with him.
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From the 50-Yard Lion roundtable: What has surprised you the most about the 2015 Penn State team?
For me, it has been the pass rush. I thought the Nittany Lions would struggle to get a push with defensive ends C.J. Olaniyan and Deion Barnes gone. But PSU is No. 1 in the Big Ten with 18 sacks. And Carl Nassib leads all players with seven.
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With stud left OT Jack Conklin out for the Purdue game, Michigan State will turn to Dennis Finley. And, all will be well. Listen and watch the big fella in this sweet vid from Mlive.com.
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That Michigan at Maryland game is gonna have some gnarly weather, even with kickoff moved from primetime to daytime. Thanks, Hurricane Joaquin.
The main weather factor to affect Michigan's game will be strong, gusty winds. The wind gusts are still expected to be over 30 mph out of the northeast. There even could be a gust near 40 mph. The steady wind during the game will average around 20 mph.
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Interesting read from the great Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal, who thinks if the Big Ten is going to rise up that Purdue needs to rise up. And, Couch thinks the Boilermaker program can.
Purdue has a proud football tradition. It really does. Honest. And its fan base yearns to win, rather than confusing deep interest with distraction until basketball season begins-as Couch notes. This is the ?Cradle of Quarterbacks,? Pro Football Hall of Famers Len Dawson and Bob Griese, and future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, among others. It?s the program of Hank Stram and Rod Woodson. The rub: There are legitimate questions about whether the Boilermakers are willing or able to spend enough to compete seriously in college football?s modern world.
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Interesting read from Chad Leistikow of HawkCentral.com, who says Iowa has turned around its season after players read ?The Silent Edge? after getting waxed in the TaxSlayer Bowl by Tennessee.
The thrust of the book is executing daily disciplines to achieve long-term success, a fitting parallel to the ?Break the Rock? rallying cry Kirk Ferentz instilled upon becoming Iowa?s head coach after the 1998 season. But with the raw disappointment of 7-6 and the way that it happened, players were hungry to consume a new approach to a familiar message. Hey, whatever works. I may even read the book.
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Did you know that fullbacks are alive and well in the Big Ten?
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I will leave you with some hoops on this Friday. Why? Because I can-and practice starts today. What will Indiana hoops look like this season?
[tweet https://twitter.com/IndianaMBB/status/649663473748590592]This is a tourney team, no doubt. How far can the Hoosiers go? It may hinge on freshman stud Thomas Bryant. And how well everyone buys into defense.
