Gopher Football
Northwestern University Wildcats (2-2, 0-1)
Last Saturday: Northwestern suffered a heartbreaking, last-minute home loss to Penn State, 29-34. NU dominated almost the entire game but couldn’t put PSU away when they had the chance, nor could NU stop PSU down the stretch. Penn State was down to 4th-and-15 deep in its own territory when Michael Robinson pulled out a miracle 20-yard pass completion to keep the Nittany Lions’ drive alive. A short while later, Robinson connected on a 36-yard touchdown pass to speedy freshman wideout Derrick Williams with 51 seconds left in the game. Joel Howells earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his school-record five field goals against Penn State. However, Howells’ six field goal attempts is evidence that NU failed to punch it in the end zone too many times and let the Lions hang around until the end.
Bad News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Not So Hot Report): The Wildcat defense is yielding over 500 yards per game to opposing offenses (last in the Big Ten and 114th in the nation). NU is tied with Illinois for fewest sacks in the conference (three sacks in four games), and opponents have converted seven of seven fourth-down attempts against the Wildcats.
Good News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Pretty Darn Good Report): NU’s offense is the best in the Big Ten not originating in East Lansing or Minneapolis. Brett Basanez trails only Drew Stanton in passing yards per game (257) and total offense per game (291 yards) among conference players. Basanez last week moved into 10th-place on the Big Ten’s all-time career yards list, with 8,696 yards of offense so far. The Wildcats have found a keeper in Tyrell Sutton, who is third in the conference and fifth in the nation in rushing (132 yards per game) and is the only freshman in the top 10.
Enlightened Comment of the Week: With one of the two toughest Big Ten schedules this year, Northwestern will find it a hard row to hoe to get to six wins, especially at 2-2 with only seven games left. 4-3 the rest of the way is awfully tough to ask, but NU has surprised people by finishing strong before.
Next Up: Bye, then vs. Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0) on October 8th
The Ohio State University Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0)
Last Saturday: The Buckeyes exacted vengeance on the Hawkeyes for last year’s 33-7 drubbing and this time came out on top 31-6 in Columbus. Ohio State totally dominated on both sides of the ball, gaining 530 yards of total offense and holding then-no. 20 Iowa to 137 total yards of offense, including ““9 yards rushing. Troy Smith put the nail in the coffin of any remaining quarterback controversy (there wasn’t much of any left anyway) by rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns in addition to passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Antonio Pittman rushed for 171 yards on 28 carries, and it was the first time since 1976 that an Ohio State quarterback and running back each rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game.
Bad News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Not So Hot Report): Ohio State’s passing offense is next-to-last in the Big Ten, with 194.5 yards per game through the air. The Buckeyes’ scoring offense is ninth in the conference, scoring 28.5 points per game.
Good News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Pretty Darn Good Report): Since Minnesota steamrolled Purdue on the ground and dropped the Boilermakers from first to 41st in the nation in rushing defense, the Buckeyes now lead the nation in rushing defense, giving up only a stingy 41 yards per game. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s just under 1.6 yards per carry. OSU has allowed only one rushing touchdown all season. The Buckeyes lead the league in scoring defense, allowing 12.8 points per game.
Enlightened Comment of the Week: The OSU defense looks very, very strong. I’m not totally sold on the Buckeye offense yet, though. Let’s see how they do when they go up against another great offense.
Next Up: Bye, then @ Penn State (4-0, 1-0) on October 8th
Penn State University Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0)
Last Saturday: Penn State eked out a gutty, come-from-behind road victory against Northwestern after being dominated by the Wildcats for most of the game. Penn State was down to 4th-and-15 deep in its own territory when Michael Robinson pulled out a miracle 20-yard pass completion to Isaac Smolko to keep the Nittany Lions’ drive alive. A short while later, Robinson connected on a 36-yard touchdown pass to speedy freshman wideout Derrick Williams with 51 seconds left in the game. The Robinson-to-Williams touchdown pass was voted the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Week.
Bad News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Not So Hot Report): The Nittany Lions are tied with the Fighting Illini for last in the Big Ten in turnover margin (-1.25 per game). Against Northwestern, Michael Robinson threw three interceptions and fumbled away the ball once in the first half alone, but were lucky that the Wildcats were not able to capitalize well on those turnovers.
Good News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Pretty Darn Good Report): Paul Posluszny was the Big Ten defensive player of the week after his career-best 22-tackle game against NU. Posluszny had 14 solo tackles.
Enlightened Comment of the Week: Penn State fans are starting to believe in their team again and Joe Paterno is feeling less heat than he has in years. The Lions have a number of much stiffer tests coming, though, including the next two weeks at home.
Next Up: vs. No. 18 Minnesota (4-0, 1-0) (Governor’s Victory Bell Trophy Game)
Purdue University Boilermakers (2-1, 0-1) (22nd-ranked)
Last Saturday: Purdue couldn’t maintain its place at the top of the national rush defense rankings and were overcome by the Minnesota running game juggernaut in a 35-42 double-overtime loss to the Gophers under the teflon Dome in Minneapolis. This was by all accounts a well-played game by both teams. Things looked good for Purdue when Dan Bick intercepted a Bryan Cupito pass and ran it back for a pick-six. After the extra point, the Boilers led 28-20 with five minutes left in the game. However, Cupito and the Gophers marched back down the field on the next possession to tie the game with a touchdown and inspired two-point conversion play call that had the slow-footed Cupito rolling out on an option run to the end zone. Two heart-stopping overtime sessions left then-no. 10 Purdue with their first loss of the year.
Bad News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Not So Hot Report): Purdue is last in the Big Ten in pass defense, yielding 305 passing yards per game to opposing teams. Also, the Boilermakers are last in the conference in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score every time they get near the Purdue end zone (10 of 10), including eight touchdowns and two field goals.
Good News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Pretty Darn Good Report): The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten in turnover margin (+1 per game and +3 overall).
Enlightened Comment of the Week: Joe Tiller can’t be too pleased with the production of the Purdue offense so far but with the Boilers’ favorable schedule this season and a solid defense, they might not need Kyle Orton– or Drew Brees-like performances in most of their remaining games (this week being one of the exceptions).
Next Up: vs. No. 13 Notre Dame (3-1) (Shillelagh Trophy Game)
University of Wisconsin Badgers (4-0, 1-0) (17th-ranked)
Last Saturday: The Badgers emerged victorious in a nail-biting 23-20 win over then-14th-ranked Michigan at Camp Randall for Wisconsin’s first win over the Wolverines since 1994. John Stocco ran for the game-winning touchdown with 24 seconds left on the clock. Brian Calhoun turned in another impressive performance at tailback, rushing for 155 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. The win was the Badgers’ ninth straight at home, tying a school record set in the 1960s.
Bad News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Not So Hot Report): Wisconsin is last in the Big Ten and 102nd in the nation in passing offense, averaging only 158 passing yards per game.
Good News Observation of the Week (a/k/a the Pretty Darn Good Report): Brian Calhoun has answered the question of who will carry the load for the Badger running game this year. Calhoun, a Colorado transfer, has been spectacular this year, tied with Minnesota’s Gary Russell for most touchdowns in D 1-A (9 TDs) and second only to the Gophers’ Laurence Maroney in rushing (157 yards per game). He’s the main reason Wisconsin leads the league in time of possession so far (35:12 per game).
Enlightened Comment of the Week: Very few people, yours truly included, thought that the Badgers would be undefeated at this point in the season. Barry Alvarez is once again coaching his team beyond expectations. The credit goes heavily to Brian Calhoun, however, and time will tell whether he can keep shouldering the load the way he has been to date.
Next Up: vs. Indiana (3-0, 0-0)
This Week’s Games:
Illinois (2-2, 0-1) @ Iowa (2-2, 0-1), 11 a.m. CDT, ESPN+
Indiana (3-0, 0-0) @ #17 Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0), 11 a.m. CDT, ESPN+
Michigan (2-2, 0-1) @ #11 Michigan State (4-0, 1-0), 11 a.m. CDT, ABC
#18 Minnesota (4-0, 1-0) @ Penn State (4-0, 1-0), 2:30 p.m. CDT, ABC
#13 Notre Dame (3-1) @ #22 Purdue (2-1, 0-1), 6:45 CDT, ESPN
Bye: Northwestern, #8 Ohio State