Illini get a W in First Game Since Being Ranked

Assembly Hall is rocking again this year, helping the Illini to a 67-49 win against Ohio State last night and making it seven wins in a row at home for Illinois. It was another balanced attack for Illinois, led by Mike Tisdale with 15 points, Demetri McCamey with 13, and two others in double figures.

Bruce Weber seemed to be making the right moves as well. In the first half he pulled an ineffective Tisdale and Dominique Keller stepped in with 12 points, while Tisdale returned to being the great big white hope in the second half.

This was the kind of win that has seemed to elude Illinois recently, as well as Big Ten teams ranked in the 20's. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and others I don't care to research have been victims to the 20's curse so far this year, but the Illini came together for a big win over the Buckeyes. We finally saw some offense to go along with that suffocating defense that has been a staple of Weber teams.

It was a complete game and the Illini seem to have that intangible quality where it just seems like all the parts are working. Tisdale commented after the game that it seems like this year's team is a lot more "together" than the team last year. Weber said the Illini are still looking for that big road win to be serious contenders in the conference, but I'm sure they'll be more focused on getting that eighth straight home win when they host Wisconsin this weekend.

Bowling with the Big Ten

The Big Ten squeaked two teams into BCS games this year, mostly due to how awful the Big East and ACC were, and with an assist to the bowl committee for the Fiesta Bowl screwing over Boise State a bit. The two BCS berths make 19 total appearances by Big Ten teams, more than any other conference in the 11-year history of the puzzling system. Overall, the Big Ten will send seven teams to bowl games, here's a look at the match-ups:

Champ Sports Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Florida State, Dec. 27

Wisconsin will return to Florida for the fifth straight season when they take on the Seminoles in the Champ Sports Bowl. This is the first game for the Big Ten and might be the conference's best shot at a win. It also carries on the tradition of the Big Ten playing what are essentially road games in the bowl season.

Alamo Bowl: Northwestern vs. Missouri, Dec. 29

The Wildcats will go down to Big 12 country to take on Mizzou in the Alamo Bowl. Tough draw here for Northwestern, but they've come up big all year when people have counted them out. Northwestern will be looking get its first bowl win since 1949. Now is as good a time as any to get your first bowl win on color television.

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Kansas, Dec. 31

What a turnaround for Minnesota, going from winning only one game last season, to a bowl game this season. Another turnaround happened in the middle of Minnesota's season though. The Gophers went from the top of the Big Ten to four straight losses, including a 55-0 loss to end the season. Kansas and quarterback Todd Reesing did not live up to expectations this season, but should hand Minnesota its fifth straight loss.

Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. South Carolina, Jan. 1

Here is the other good chance for the Big Ten to win. Iowa has won five of six to end the season and will take on Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. The Gamecocks have beaten virtually no one this year and finished off their season with two lopsided losses. Iowa has taken down teams like Florida and LSU in the last five seasons in New Year's Day bowl games, so a win against South Carolina is not out of the question.

Capital One Bowl: Michigan State vs. Georgia, Jan. 1

Oh boy, this could be ugly. We have a Georgia team that was #1 to start the season and suffered through a disappointing year, culminating with a loss to Georgia Tech in their last game. Give them a month off to think about things and get ready for a bowl game. Add in the fact that Stafford and Moreno will want to show off for the pro scouts and Georgia becomes a team no one wants to see in a bowl game. Michigan State is not the team the Big Ten wants to send to match up, but there they are. The Spartans played well against Cal to start the year, but were blown out by the only other two good teams they played all year. It doesn't look good for MSU, but there is usually at least one big upset for the Big Ten recently, so maybe this one. Never know. Right? No.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. USC, Jan. 1

This game doesn't look favorable for the Big Ten either. Ohio State already went out to Southern California and got spanked this year, now it might be Penn State's turn. But hey, the Nittany Lions blew out Oregon State this year and the Beavers gave USC its only loss, so there is hope! Not much though. USC will be looking to make a statement that their crappy loss wasn't much different than Florida's crappy loss and maybe they deserved a little more consideration to play in the championship game. Penn State will be looking to make a similar statement, but I think they'd be thrilled with a 3-2 win.

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas, Jan. 5

Ohio State and Texas are toward opposite ends of the BCS spectrum. Texas is feeling the wrath of the system because their win against Oklahoma was played in October and not November, while Ohio State underacheived and coasted through their schedule beating bad teams, only to be welcomed to the BCS party with open arms over Boise State. This makes four straight BCS bowls for the Buckeyes, but the task will be tall against an angry Texas team holding out hope for a split national title. The formula will be the same for Ohio State as it has been all season, hope that the defense can keep it close and rely on Chris Wells for the offense. A win for the Bucks could take some sting out of what was a down year for the Big Ten.

Week 13 Big Ten Wrap-up

We seemed to find out a little more each week about the Big Ten. Minnesota and Northwestern confused everyone with great starts, Wisconsin baffled onlookers with a dominant non-conference trio of wins, then tanked in conference play, and Penn State just wouldn't stop losing for most of the year. As the year went on, we figured out that Minnesota wasn't that good, Northwestern was for real, even without their star running back, Wisconsin was not nearly as good as everyone thought, and Penn State and Ohio State ruled the conference. All of these revelations left one team that we couldn't get a handle on.

Michigan State had a bit of an odd season. Sparty started off with a loss at Cal, then won 9 of 10 coming into the Penn State game and had a chance to share the Big Ten title with a win. On Saturday, Michigan State looked like a team that was happy to have that chance, not a team ready to take advantage of it. Penn State ran up 557 total yards and held Javon Ringer to 42 yards rushing en route to a blowout win. MSU put up some points late, but after losing 49-18, the Spartans lost to Ohio State and Penn State by a combined score of 94-25. Penn State is heading to the Rose Bowl to face either Oregon State or USC, while MSU will probably be in the Outback Bowl against an SEC opponent.

Early on it looked like Michigan may have been ready to make it a game against Ohio State. However, a stagnant offense and big plays from Ohio State turned this into the game many expected. Except the few times wide receivers ran wide open behind their safeties (Michigan should really think about renaming this position), UM shut Terrelle Pryor down. The freshman QB was 5-13 for 120 yards, but Chris Wells picked up the slack with big plays. Wells only rushed 15 times, but went for 134 yards and a score. Ohio State's defense held UM to just 198 yards and forced 12 punts. The 42-7 victory is the fifth win in a row for Ohio State, making it the longest streak for the Bucks in the history of the rivalry.

Northwestern had been more impressive than Illinois all season long, yet the Cats were still underdogs going into the match-up with the Illini at Ryan Field Saturday. The result was a 17 point win, denying Illinois a bowl berth, just a year removed from a Rose Bowl bid. The Wildcats will be pulling for Ohio State to get into a BCS bowl so they can grab a spot in a New Year's Day bowl. The 9-3 record makes this the fifth Northwestern team to finish with nine or more wins.

Wisconsin's disappointing season almost got a final kick to the face Saturday as the Badgers trailed almost the entire game and needed overtime and three missed extra points to beat Division I-AA Cal Poly Saturday. After a PJ Hill touchdown and a two point conversion run by Hill tied the game and Cal Poly missed a field goal, the game headed to OT, where the Mustangs scored on the first play, then missed the extra point. John Clay scored for UW from six yards and the extra point was good to win the game. We'll see where this performance lands Wisconsin for a bowl game. Probably Detroit.

Purdue blew out Indiana 62-10 and Iowa shut out Minnesota 55-0.

Week 13 Big Ten Preview

This is it for the Big Ten. The long, at times boring, occasionally exciting, a couple times shocking season is drawing to a close. I'll get unnecessarily nostalgic in the recap next week, but what will this last week hold for us? For one thing, we finally know what each of these teams is all about. Penn State and Ohio State rule the conference this year, while Michigan State has managed to not screw up their shot at taking down Penn State for a share of the title. There is a middle group including Northwestern, Iowa, with Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota confusing the hell out of everyone, then Michigan, Purdue and Indiana just lose a lot. And this is tough to say:

The game of the week has to be Penn State and Michigan State. I'll probably jinx the Nittany Lions by saying this, but until Michigan State in 2008 I've never seen a team accomplish so little and have a chance at an outright Big Ten Title in the last week of the season. They lost to a mediocre Cal team in the first week of the season and got blown out at home against Ohio State. They have zero impressive wins, but with just one they can win a share of the conference championship. The key to this game will be Javon Ringer vs the world Penn State defense. PSU is 10th in the nation against the run and the Spartans won't be able to beat them without Ringer going for at least 100. For Penn State, Daryll Clark has to take care of the ball and put Derrick Williams and Evan Royster in positions to make big plays. I don't believe that Michigan State has ever won in Beaver Stadium, so they'll look to break that trend along with their 10 game losing streak against ranked opponents. The game starts at 2:30 CST.

I can hardly believe that Ohio State - Michigan isn't the premier game of the weekend in the Big Ten. Regardless of the hype, this Jim Tressel said this is the most important game and the most important goal of the season for Ohio State. The Bucks have a chance to win their fifth straight game over Michigan, which would be the longest streak over the Wolverines in Ohio State history. It looked pretty likely throughout the year that it would be an easy win for OSU, but this week has made it look like a lock. Michigan will be without QB Steven Threet, RB Sam McGuffie, RT Steve Schilling, and still missing all their good offensive players ever and their defense's collective brain/self esteem. Terrelle Pryor throws the ball about 15 times per start, but he might not need to throw once to win. Key match-up is Pryor/Wells against tripping over their own feet. Michigan - Ohio State starts at 11:00.

Illinois travels to Northwestern Saturday and will try to become bowl eligible. Hey, guess what the key to the game is...Juice Williams vs. turnovers! The Illini certainly have the talent to beat Northwestern, but the Cats have shown great mental toughness this year and have a great chance to win at home.

Minnesota hosts Iowa in a battle of teams going in opposite directions. Shonn Greene will have a chance to set Iowa's single season rushing record, and probably will.

Wisconsin takes on Cal Poly (wooo!) and Indiana and Purdue face-off in a game someone has to win. Let's go to the picks:

Indiana 24 - Purdue 31
Cal Poly 10 - Wisconsin 38
Iowa 27 - Minnesota 13
Illinois 27 - Northwestern 28
Michigan 10 - Ohio State 27
Michigan State 13 - Penn State 28

Your Week 12 Big Ten Preview

The National Title hopes are gone for Penn State, but there are still games this week that will affect the BCS. Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State are the three teams still holding out hope for a BCS berth. The Spartans don't play and will be preparing for Penn State this week, Penn State will be preparing for Michigan State as they have a snoozer against Indiana, and the Buckeyes take on Illinois.

Ohio State at Illinois is the most intriguing game on the Big Ten schedule this week. Last season Illinois seemed to knock Ohio State out of the National Championship picture with a huge upset in Columbus. The Buckeyes ended up going to the big game anyway, but this year Illinois could knock the Bucks out of the entire BCS for sure. The key to every game this year for the Illini has been turnovers. If they limit the turnovers, they usually win. Illinois boasts the best offense in the conference, while Ohio State has the best defense. Northwestern had some success last week running Kafka through the Buckeye defense early. Juice can couple that with success through the air when he is on. I think this will be a close game that could go either way.

A trio of 3-3 teams will get a chance to move up the conference ranks with games against teams below them in the standings. Coming into the year, many would have thought that all the 3-3 teams would be underdogs this week, and a couple of them actually are.

Michigan will host Northwestern Saturday as the Wildcats have a chance to secure a very respectable bowl bid. Right now it looks as though Bacher and Kafka will share time and the latest reports are suggesting Bacher will start. The confusion should make things difficult on Michigan's defense. Northwestern is one of those 3-3 teams that comes in as an underdog as Michigan is favored by around 4 points. Nick Sheridan will start again this week for Michigan and starting tailback Brandon Minor is out.

Minnesota is the other underdog to a team in the bottom of the conference as they host go to Wisconsin, who comes into the game as a 14 point favorite. This is the lone 2:30 game this week and will probably be boring as hell, unless Minnesota brings back that British kicker to win that big axe.

Purdue will travel to Iowa as the Hawkeyes will try to avoid a letdown after the big upset last week. Penn State, conversly will try to bounce back at home against Indiana. I like their chances. Here come the picks:

Indiana 10 - Penn State 41
Purdue 13 - Iowa 24
Wisconsin 27 - Minnesota 14
Northwestern 20 - Michigan 21
Ohio State 28 - Illinois 24

Did Iowa Really Help the Big Ten?

Before Iowa's game with Penn State and while it was playing out, I was going back and forth on the issue of what was best for the Big Ten. At first I thought it would be great for Penn State to run the table and make the National Championship, putting a Big Ten team in for the third straight year. Then I kept hearing how embarrassing it would be to lose three years straight, and while I realize the Nittany Lions could pull the upset, this would probably be the case.

The last two years sucked while everyone was bashing on the conference, with Ohio State and Michigan losing big bowl games two years ago and Ohio State and Illinois getting stomped last year. Sure, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan have eased the pain a bit with postseason wins over the SEC the last two years, but another loss would be unbearable. Especially since the past two years most of the hate has been directed at the Buckeyes, which is fine with me.

So Iowa won and the Big Ten was eliminated from the National Championship picture. But did this really give the conference a chance at postseason success?

It seems like knocking everyone down a peg in the bowl games would give all the teams a better shot at winning, but based on BCS rules and the ugly football being played in the Big East and ACC, things may shake out exactly the same. Since only two teams from each conference can make it to the BCS, we're probably looking at an SEC/Big 12 BCS Championship game, so each of those conferences get one more team. Then you take the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, and Pac Ten champs and you have two spots left. Unless Oregon State wins out and wins the Pac Ten, they don't get a team other than USC, while the ACC and Big East have almost no chance to get an at-large. That leaves three teams going for two spots: Boise State, Utah, and Ohio State.

Bosie State should win out and Utah has a tough game against BYU to end the year. Even if both teams run the table, I think Ohio State gets an at-large berth. The Buckeye fans travel as well as any in the country (they all drive semis) and will be a bigger draw for any of the bowls than Utah or Boise State.

So really, if Ohio State gets an at-large bid nothing changes. Penn State would go to the Rose Bowl, with Ohio State playing a major conference opponent like Texas, Oklahoma, or Alabama in a BCS bowl. Michigan State would go to the Capital One Bowl and draw someone like LSU or Georgia. Slaughter.

This all leads to the conclusion that Ohio State needs to drop a game in the last two weeks. Your play Illinois.

Your Week Nine Big Ten Preview

Coming into the year this may have looked like the best week of Big Ten football of the season. Now? Not so much, but there are still some intriguing games, including what is without a doubt the game of the year.

Penn State will travel to Ohio State in what will be its biggest test on the way to a 12-0 season. Penn State has not won in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993. That's a 7-0 mark in favor of OSU. Both quarterbacks will be starting in their first OSU-PSU game and both have passed early season tests. Daryll Clark has led the Nittany Lions to an unblemished record and Terrelle Pryor has shown he is the man to lead Ohio State's offense. Both won games on the road at Wisconsin (not that cool this year) and Pryor picked up another road win last week at MSU. Pryor has been asked to make plays with his legs and not make mistakes with his arm. Penn State will likely sell out against Wells, in an effort to make Pryor win through the air. Other than the QB position Ohio State has the edge in experience and I think this will be a tough one for Penn State to win.

Illinois travels to Wisconsin this week and will try and send the Badgers to 0-5 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has officially moved Allan Evridge out of the starting spot and given the job to Dustin Sherer. For Illinois the key will be to get up early on the Badgers, much like Iowa did last week and force Sherer to put the ball in the air to come back. Illinois can score with the best of them, but they don't want to get into a grinding ground war with Wisconsin, I don't care what their record is.

Coming off a deflating loss to Ohio State, there is no better game for Michigan State to play next than Michigan. The Spartans should have no trouble getting up for this one, as it represents their best chance to beat the Wolverines in a long time. I think the game comes down to which quarterback will suck less. If Steven Threet is healthy for Michigan, they have a chance. With Threet at the helm, Michigan had a great start to the Penn State game, but as Threet broke down, so did the offense. Michigan's defense will obviously be keying on Ringer, giving Hoyer the chance to make a difference.

Northwestern is at Indiana and Minnesota is at Purdue. Picks?

Picks:

Northwestern 42 - Indiana 14
Minnesota 21 - Purdue 24
Michigan State 21 - Michigan 23
Illinois 38 - Wisconsin 17
Ohio State 24 - Penn State 20

Just Ohio Being Ohio?

It was recently brought to my attention that Ohioans had an interesting response to a poll question regarding the economy vs. their football team. This post from Fanhouse shows you the poll, in which 59% of respondents say they would rather have Ohio State beat Michigan this year than have the Dow reach 13,000.



In fairness, a lot of them probably don't know what that means. However, it got me wondering if that kind of response is really as strange as it seems. I mean, would any of you trade the economic rebound for a big win? Keep in mind, this is not a championship game, but a win over a 2-4 team that just lost to Toledo, even though it is a huge rivalry. Is there a win you would trade it for? A championship?

Your Week Six Big Ten Preview

We're entering the second week of Big Ten play and while every game at this point has championship implications, there is one above all the others this week.

Ohio State travels to Madison to take on the Badgers. In the last 20 years Wisconsin has had more success than any team in the Big Ten outside of Michigan. Add that Ohio State is traveling to the land of cheese to play a night game with a freshman quarterback and there is a good game brewing. Now we saw Michigan's big slow white QB run for a 58 yarder last week and if UW loses contain against Pryor he is gone. Ohio State has been less than impressive so far this year, but this could be a breakout game for the Bucks.

The other major game in the conference this week is Illinois at Michigan. The Wolverines already handed one conference heavyweight a loss this year and will look for another this week, even though they are inexplicably slight favorites. Illinois' two losses have come against the #3 and #6 teams in the country and Juice Williams has looked good. Michigan's defense has struggled against spread attacks with short timing routes and Illinois has the best athletes they've seen this year. With Michigan's turnover prone offense, I think the Illini get their first big win this year.

Big Ten favorite Penn State travels to Purdue in what I would have called an upset alert a couple weeks ago. But Purdue has looked bad the last couple of weeks, but maybe Tiller has some voodoo tricks for his last season with the Boilers. Probably not.

Michigan State hosts Iowa this week also. Iowa has not looked too good recently, but it's October, so nothing is a given for Sparty. If you're a State fan, I wouldn't worry about losing, but you'd better hope Ringer has less than 40 carries this week.

Indiana travels to Minnesota. 12 people will be watching. Picks?

Picks:

• Ohio State 30 - Wisconsin 20
• Illinois 28 - Michigan 17
• Penn State 40 - Purdue 14
• Iowa 16 - Michigan State 24
• Indiana 21 - Minnesota 24

Big Ten Preview: Ohio State

College football season is approaching and for the next couple of weeks I'll be giving you some quick previews of the Big Ten. All ten....ummm eleven teams will be featured. Today we have the defending champs: Ohio State.

Ohio State has dominated the Big Ten the past few season. They have been to the National Championship game the past two seasons and return 20 of their 24 starters. Tackle Alex Boone, linebacker James Laurinaitis, and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins passed up almost sure first round draft status to return for a shot at the National Championship...well, I guess to win the National Championship, since they've had a couple shots.

Starting quarterback Todd Boeckman is back, as is Heisman hopeful Chris Wells (I will saw my leg off with my fingernails before I call him Beanie). Receivers Robiskie and Hartline are back...shit, everyone worth anything must be back. The real significant loss is DE Vernon Gholston. The rest are easily replaced. Positions of concern for the Buckeyes? Fullback. I feel so sorry for them.

Of course, one of the big stories to watch will be freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. How much playing time will he get behind Todd Boeckman?

Defensively, ten starters return, with only Gholston gone. What is there to predict, but success? If the Bucks don't win the Big Ten this year they should be slapped, laughed at, and slapped again.

Big, huge, giant, Charlie Weis size game in Week Two at USC will be the game of the year in college football. The rest of the non-conference sucks and there are at least four Big Ten teams on the schedule with no chance of beating OSU. They play at Wisconsin and Illinois and have Penn State and Michigan at home.