Tuesday, September 4, 2012

B1G Power Rankings: Week 2

1.      Ohio State: The Buckeyes absolutely thrashed Miami (OH) and looked poised for a B1G and maybe even a national title run in 2013.

2.      Wisconsin: Danny O’Brien looked better than I anticipated he would in the opener completing 82% of his passes, although the Badger defense left a lot to be desired.

3.      Nebraska: I just about crapped my pants when I saw Taylor Martinez’s passing stat line.  Did someone give him a bionic arm or is Southern Mississippi’s pass defense that atrocious?

4.      Michigan State: The Spartans game with Boise State was every bit as ugly as the Gophers game with UNLV.  The only difference is Boise and MSU are better teams, which made their play even more inexcusable.

5.      Michigan: I had a hunch Michigan had zero chance against Alabama and it was true.  The Wolverines will be in the B1G title mix however.

6.      Iowa: The Hawkeyes narrow win over Northern Illinois may not have looked good on paper, but trust me the Huskies are better than people think and that was a solid win for Iowa.

7.      Northwestern: Typical Northwestern game.  Give up a bunch of points and score a bunch of points in an entertaining football game.

8.      Illinois: The Illini looked….um dare I say disciplined?!  Weird huh?  And well coached!  Huh.  This could be interesting?  Or just a false alarm like last year.  It will be interesting to follow Tim Beckman’s squad however.

9.      Purdue: The Boilermakers weren’t tested at all by the FCS Eastern Kentucky Colonels.  I will be very interested to see how QB Caleb Terbush, fresh off a 1 game suspension and the rest of the Boilermakers fare against Notre Dame this weekend in South Bend.  My gut feeling is they get crushed, but I welcome Purdue to prove me wrong.

10.  Minnesota: The Gophers looked great physically against UNLV, however mentally they were a mess.   If you are looking for a silver lining from the UNLV game if you’re a Gopher fan look no further than the play of the safeties, wide receivers, and defensive line.  All three positions were a huge concern before the season started and all played exceptionally.  That was the most pressure I have seen from a Minnesota defensive front in years, and I mean years…

11.  Penn State: To be honest I was somewhat surprised by the outcome of the Penn State/Ohio game.  I expected the Nittany Lions to play much more inspired football.  It’s going to be a long decade in Happy Valley.   So much for those even divisions…

12.  Indiana: The Hoosiers played about how I expected.  We won’t know much about the progress of Kevin Wilson’s program until the first or second week of October.

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