If the Big Ten was a fantasy novel, it would certainly have its fraternity of villains at this point, right? The entire league is turning on Michigan in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.
| JonesMichigan head coach Severus Snape and quarterback Draco Malfoy lead the Wolverines into Beaver Stadium on Saturday to face Penn State.The Poll asks: If the B1G was a fantasy novel, it would certainly have its villain fraternity at this point, right? The entire league is turning on Michigan in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal, pressuring new commissioner Tony Petitti to levy severe punishment on the midnight blue house of evil deeds.
“I was just calling a spade a spade, really in terms of advantages, disadvantages. I was just stating what happened. … I am not shy about speaking the truth. If I had to do it over again, I would say the same thing.” The Spartans’ defense played hard and got after Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg. Prone to giveaways, the Huskers coughed it up three times while Bennett’s boys kept a clean sheet. Safety Jaden Mangham talled 7 tackles and a pick.
Then, almost as a token honorarium, Tom Allen’s team went out and did something it hasn’t all season. They won a Big Ten game, 20-14 over sleepwalking Wisconsin. With @IL, MS, @PU to finish, the Hoosiers have possibilities for another win or two. That likely means survival for Allen whose contract buyout looks intractable for Indiana anyway.After his team’s 51-15 loss to Penn State, yet another fetal-position curl-up to the Nittany Lions in front of a sellout home crowd, Mike Locksley blamed himself for his Terrapins’ failure. Most glaring was their domination by PSU on both sides of scrimmage.
Where is a commensurate emphasis on physicality in the trenches? Maryland developed a little bit of toughness up front on defense this season. But the O-line has again wilted with the leaves. It was manhandled in this game, unable to get any push on the ground, incapable of handling PSU’s pass rush when Tagovailoa needed a little time for longer routes.
They also lost a notch in the fetid West, dropping back into the 2nd-place logjam. Still, lifeless Maryland is next. And anything is possible with @WI and IA to finish.In this silly-ass league, it’s ridiculous to try to identify a dark-horse outfit “you don’t wanna play in November”. But I’m going to. I could see Big Biels’ Boys, now a mere 4-5 , getting spunky down the stretch and running the table.
Said a smiling Big Biels afterward: “I don’t wanna be 4-5, but we have grown so much in the past three games. I think our guys feel where we’re starting to get, and we can only go up.” This game was retro all the way, replete with a cavernous ditch in the turf, down the third base line in the baseball configuration. Although, after Iowa’s goal-line stand, the contest was stopped while crews attempted to repair it. This was the same field where in 1965 Gayle Sayers scored 6 TDs in ankle-deep mud. Nobody stopped that game to repair the turf.
Still, it set up a 4th/11 at the Illinois 15, the visitors with but a single timeout and forced to whisk in their backup QB. And yet, they could not get a rush on John Paddock and allowed him to cover 85 yards with three passes in 34 seconds. The last was a 46-yard strike to a mysteriously uncovered Isaiah Williams running free behind the secondary at the 10 for what would be the deciding score.
Kaliakmanis could’ve all but ended it with a simple 3rd/4 flip to an open Nick Kallerup but needlessly rushed it and threw it over the tight end’s head near midfield with 3:00 left. Big mistake. Minnesota then could not stop Paddock or Williams. And incredibly, Luke Fickell still might have a shot to steal the West if Iowa stalls. If the Badgers can gather themselves and run a set-up table , they’ll be right there.If the Scarlet Knights had a real P5 quarterback, they’d have had a legitimate shot at upsetting Ohio State on Saturday in Piscataway. As it was, they gave the Buckeyes a better game than Penn State did. Don’t judge by the 35-16 final. This game was 21-16 in the 4th quarter and by all rights Rutgers should have been leading.
Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai rushes for a first down against Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun during the first half of a NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Piscataway, N.J. Wimsatt did cluster a pair of good throws on a scoring drive that cut the RU deficit to 21-16 early in the 4th. Rutgers fought hard and tough for 60 minutes. As always, Monangai played his ass off, pulling off a 45-yard fumblerooski that set up the first field goal.
Most of the throng consisted of Iowa fans who made the trek east. They had good reason to whoop it up because the Hawkeyes now own sole possession of the murky B1G West with three weeks to go. Stevens misses it and Iowa is at risk of overtime and the aforementioned 5-way tie. And the Lions’ best defenders all looked primed and ready to rumble, especially Abdul Carter who must play lights-out against Michigan for PSU to have a legit shot.
Penn State has no control over all that. It can only be at its best and hope to get a little help from the football gods.Every season has its ebbs and flows and after two pretty clean games, the Buckeyes played sloppily and half-interested at Rutgers in a 35-16 win that was quite a bit closer than the score. Marvin Harrison and TreVeyon Henderson again were the difference, the two players with whom the Knights could not compete.
They were again without CB Denzel Burke and TE Cade Stover. But WR Emeka Egbuka returned and had little impact, at one point juking a defender with the first-down stick right in front of him and failing to gain it. Michigan coach Severus Snape scowled through such misdeeds but finally allowed a thin smile as his merciless defense cleaned up the mess with its usual industrious dispatch.
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