I don’t knee jerk react to one weekend of games as much as some, so I apologize ahead of time if you don’t agree with my rankings. I still believe Wisconsin is a shoe-in for the Leaders title with Ohio State ineligible. So without further ado…
1. Ohio State: Urban Meyer has got to be making hotel reservations for Indianapolis the first weekend of December 2013. He has to be.
2. Michigan State: The Spartans defense ain’t no joke. It’s even better than I thought. They have kept the opposing offense from scoring a touchdown two weeks in a row, including recent offensive juggernaut Boise State. Well done Sparty. Andrew Maxwell will improve as the season progresses. This team is better than I thought.
3. Michigan: How mediocre would the Wolverines be without Denard Robinson?
4. Wisconsin: I expected a close game in Corvallis and I didn’t think the Badgers would be as good this year but holy cripes… I wonder if Montee Ball is still having concussion like symptoms after being attacked by those thugs in Madison. He just doesn’t look right. Danny O’Brien on the other hand looks like I thought he would – mediocre. If the Badgers depend on O’Brien to make plays they are screwed. Wisconsin needs to solve their offensive line issues in a hurry and it looks like they are trying to do that immediately after firing their offensive line coach this morning
5. Nebraska: Taylor Martinez went back to playing like Taylor Martinez in the second half Saturday night in the Rose Bowl. It should be noted that UCLA is for real, however. Jim Mora Jr. is going to be the next Pete Carroll in LA, taking an eroding program in Los Angeles to new heights. Back to the Huskers though. They need to solve their defensive issues in a hurry!
6. Northwestern: The Vanderbilt game went exactly like I thought it would. It wasn’t a good weekend for the Rodgers brothers, by the way. Vandy’s offense is awful. The Cats defense will face much more difficult tests in the B1G conference season. Don’t read anything into the defensive performance from Northwestern Saturday night however, Vanderbilt’s offense IS that bad.
7. Iowa: Why does Iowa always play like hot garbage against Iowa State? I wouldn’t panic Hawkeye fans, you will still win 7-9 games this year. How many times has Iowa lost to ISU only to win the B1G? I’m not saying that will happen this year, but I wouldn’t panic if I were an Iowa fan because the Hawkeyes have been there done that (losing to the Cyclones).
8. Minnesota: MarQueis Gray hit his open receivers, the Gophers cut back on penalties and they did exactly what they were supposed to do against an FCS opponent at home – beat their brains in. Nice tests on the horizon for an improved Gopher defense with Alex Carder and Western Michigan and Ryan Nassib and Syracuse heading to Minnepolis the next two weeks.
9. Indiana: I feel horrible for Indiana losing Tre Roberson. The Hoosiers had a real shot of making a bowl game this year and that injury really hurts their chances. When you are a program like Indiana trying to build depth, you just can’t afford injuries to your star players. Period.
10. Purdue: Ladies and Gentleman your Buffalo Bills of College Football!!!!! Featuring an elite defensive line (nobody cares), poor quarterback play, below average skill people, an atrocious secondary, and a mediocre but likeable head coach. Yyyyyoooooooure Purdue Boilermakers!!!!!!!!
11. Illinois: My stomach is killing me! No I didn’t do 750 crunches this morning. I was laughing from reading Rittenberg and Bennett’s post on the WWL, where they wrote about how the performance of the Illinois defense was unacceptable given the fact they like to consider themselves among the nation’s elite. Oh man I hope no one else makes me laugh today because my stomach is so sore!
12. Penn State: Poor Bill O’Brien. His team played their asses off and would have won if not for the kicker missing four field goals. Okay Penn State fans admit it, those transfers stung, most notably your starting kicker Anthony Fera who transferred to Texas.
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