What is the State of the Big Ten After Week One?

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mggoph said:
1. Iowa
2-3-4. No particular order. Illinois, Wisconsin, Gophs
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I thought Wisconsin looked the best overall. They could at least run the ball. In the B1G West that is enough. I think they have a big test next week against a good QB.

Iowa is lost on O and their QB is hobbled. D will always be stingy but they've taken a significant step back on that side of the ball.

Illinois probably played the best team. They pulled one out of the fire. I still think they will have the best OL/DL combo in the West.

Minnesota has the best D in the West. Their O is going to have pull their weight for more than a couple drives and their schedule is brutal.

My ranking would be

1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Illionis
4. Iowa
5. Nebraska
6. Purdue
7. NW
 

Gophergrandpa said:
My only concern is that, among the West “contenders,” the Gophers showed the most pronounced inability to score. Hope the offense gels soon—or we will be relying on Rossi’s troops more than ever.
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Very different caliber of opponent. Wisconsin and Iowa offenses didn't look great against a couple of bad defenses.
 

It is hilarious how people react to one week of games, especially when teams play opponents like Buffalo and Utah State. Also, overreacting to Colorado being really good after one game - come on. Both defenses in that game, TCU and CO, looked bad. It was Big 12/PAC 12 football - throw the ball around with no defense. It will be interesting to see how CO does against NE. They have had good athletes for years, just no coaching. They were definitely well coached against us on defense.
 

Lots of people (me included) were a little put off having to come from behind to beat Nebraska, and only scoring 13 points in the process.

But, coming from behind to beat a B1G team feels better than the week 1 results for pretty much every other West team and most of the East too, for that matter.
 

Some guy said:
Not wide open for Purdue or northwestern. They’re bad

Nebraska could probably beat everyone in the division in a one off game. But they already have a loss and their next big ten game is vs Michigan.
Then they are @ Illinois oct 6.
Then bye.

Nebraska may not get a big ten win until oct 21
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And they sure as hell won’t beat Prime. I am afraid what Colorado is doing/ has done will become a template for college football.
 


Jack jones said:
And they sure as hell won’t beat Prime. I am afraid what Colorado is doing/ has done will become a template for college football.
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You think having a lot of money is going “to become” the template for how to win in college football?

It already has been the template for generations
 

Jack jones said:
And they sure as hell won’t beat Prime. I am afraid what Colorado is doing/ has done will become a template for college football.
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The talent level in the transfer portal will become pretty average, untested anHigh priced once tOSU, Bama, Michigan, USC,
Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas (& A&m), Georgia, and all those other “top dog” places start turning over 50 to 75% of their team every year.

The NCAA will spend all of their time in court trying to put the lid back on to try to gain some semblance of keeping college sports from becoming an out of control beast.

Even the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB owners at least have salary caps and try to give the appearance of being “rule of law” enteties.

Nike is having kind of a tough year…even Oregon won’t be able to keep up with what the Buffs pulled off for this season. However, of the 50 some odd transfer players on that squad, how many of the players will be happy with their playing time, lime lighting and “exposure” after the thrill of that first game starts wearing off?

Just a thought…
 

Gophergrandpa said:
Wisconsin running game looks pretty, pretty good. Formidable, very experienced one-two punch. Braelon Allen up to 245 lbs? Looks like they won’t be relying on Mordecai to win them games. Things Mordecai does right will be a bonus; looks as though he is capable of going “Jeff Sims” regarding interceptions.
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So much for the spread offense...
 

Jack jones said:
And they sure as hell won’t beat Prime. I am afraid what Colorado is doing/ has done will become a template for college football
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@Jack jones I appreciate that you sang the Love Boat Theme. But I think it might be a skosh early to declare Coach Prime's first win as some kind of future college football Miricale.
 



Some guy said:
You think having a lot of money is going “to become” the template for how to win in college football?

It already has been the template for generations
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Colorado has a lot of money now? When did that happen?
 


Xerxes_ said:
I thought Wisconsin looked the best overall. They could at least run the ball. In the B1G West that is enough. I think they have a big test next week against a good QB.

Iowa is lost on O and their QB is hobbled. D will always be stingy but they've taken a significant step back on that side of the ball.

Illinois probably played the best team. They pulled one out of the fire. I still think they will have the best OL/DL combo in the West.

Minnesota has the best D in the West. Their O is going to have pull their weight for more than a couple drives and their schedule is brutal.

My ranking would be

1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Illionis
4. Iowa
5. Nebraska
6. Purdue
7. NW
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I’m going to go ahead and disagree on that. Can’t have a one-dimensional offense, or a turnover machine at QB.

Also, says here Wisconsin gave up 122 net rushing yards, 316 total, at home. While not terrible by any means that isn’t quite the elite level run D Wisconsin has been known for. Week 1, not sure how significant.
 

Some guy said:
Not sure if you’re serious. But a lot of money is why Sanders, Sanders’ sons, and hunter are all at Colorado
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Except it's not. They are there because of Deion. Do you think they all had big time NIL deals at Jackson St. too?

It was reported over the summer that Hunter turned down $1.5 million offers from several schools to follow Deion to Colorado. Same thing happened when he went to Jackson St.

 




GopherWeatherGuy said:
Except it's not. They are there because of Deion. Do you think they all had big time NIL deals at Jackson St. too?

It was reported over the summer that Hunter turned down $1.5 million offers from several schools to follow Deion to Colorado. Same thing happened when he went to Jackson St.

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Come on man....We all know those guys that went to Jackson and followed Sanders to Colorado are getting paid....might not be in the form of NIL deals but they are getting something more than just a free education.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I’m going to go ahead and disagree on that. Can’t have a one-dimensional offense, or a turnover machine at QB.

Also, says here Wisconsin gave up 122 net rushing yards, 316 total, at home. While not terrible by any means that isn’t quite the elite level run D Wisconsin has been known for. Week 1, not sure how significant.
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I'm not sold on their pass rush or their ability to stop the run. The problem is does anyone of the contenders have a good enough run game or offense in general to take advantage of that?

Illinois' OL could give them trouble. Do they have the skill guys?

Iowa would struggle to run on an FCS team. If their QB is healthy they might be able to throw it but he looked awfully slow on a bad leg.

Minnesota's run game didn't look as bad as Iowa's but did struggle against a program known for poor D for several seasons. Their pass game has potential but we are talking about a QB that is a 54% career passer.
 

Some guy said:
Not sure if you’re serious. But a lot of money is why Sanders, Sanders’ sons, and hunter are all at Colorado
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Deion is making a bit less than PJ Fleck. Look it up.
Neither you or I know what kind of money his sons or Hunter are getting.
You're just making shit up
 

Schnauzer said:
Lots of people (me included) were a little put off having to come from behind to beat Nebraska, and only scoring 13 points in the process.

But, coming from behind to beat a B1G team feels better than the week 1 results for pretty much every other West team and most of the East too, for that matter.
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+o4
 

I don't think Mordecai and the Wisconsin O is as bad as portrayed here. He sure isn't a top 5 QB in the conference, but he had an easy 50 yard TD dropped and then proceeded to throw behind his WR for his 1st INT. If their WR catches it, he throws for 200+ yards with 2 TD and 1 INT and they have 2 RB's go for 150+ yards and 2 TD's each. Instead, they just handed off the ball and ran away with it. Idk if I call that struggling. Their D on the other hand was subpar and I think will be the weak spot this year, surprisingly. I have Washington State throwing for over 300 on them next week.

IMO, Iowa looked much worse vs a worse opponent. 24 points total after 14 in 8 minutes? Yikes. I think Purdue had the hardest opponent other than the Gophers. Illinois was maybe 3rd hardest in the west after them and they looked bad too.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
My only concern is that, among the West “contenders,” the Gophers showed the most pronounced inability to score. Hope the offense gels soon—or we will be relying on Rossi’s troops more than ever.
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I hope Fleck learned from the Mike Sanford fiasco. I dont see anything from Hargaughs resume that excites me about him being the playcaller other than PJ knows him well. Same with Simon besides thinking he called the plays against Auburn
 

Xerxes_ said:
I'm not sold on their pass rush or their ability to stop the run. The problem is does anyone of the contenders have a good enough run game or offense in general to take advantage of that?

Illinois' OL could give them trouble. Do they have the skill guys?

Iowa would struggle to run on an FCS team. If their QB is healthy they might be able to throw it but he looked awfully slow on a bad leg.

Minnesota's run game didn't look as bad as Iowa's but did struggle against a program known for poor D for several seasons. Their pass game has potential but we are talking about a QB that is a 54% career passer.
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Mordecai 6.1 yards per attempt is pitiful against a mid-level MAC team. Where are the dominant WRs we were told about. Two interceptions, could have been a few more.

Will they run as well against better completion. No, but not sure how well. The defense looked a little listless in the talent department. We’ll see.

Yes, still early.
 

I'm A Maroon 2! said:
I don't think Mordecai and the Wisconsin O is as bad as portrayed here. He sure isn't a top 5 QB in the conference, but he had an easy 50 yard TD dropped and then proceeded to throw behind his WR for his 1st INT. If their WR catches it, he throws for 200+ yards with 2 TD and 1 INT and they have 2 RB's go for 150+ yards and 2 TD's each. Instead, they just handed off the ball and ran away with it. Idk if I call that struggling. Their D on the other hand was subpar and I think will be the weak spot this year, surprisingly. I have Washington State throwing for over 300 on them next week.

IMO, Iowa looked much worse vs a worse opponent. 24 points total after 14 in 8 minutes? Yikes. I think Purdue had the hardest opponent other than the Gophers. Illinois was maybe 3rd hardest in the west after them and they looked bad too.
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Skyler Bell dropping that easy one isn’t necessarily a great sign for their passing game, though. We’ve had our own issues with bad hands over the years. A few drops had conference title implications. Not that I dwell on it 🙄
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Skyler Bell dropping that easy one isn’t necessarily a great sign for their passing game, though. We’ve had our own issues with bad hands over the years. A few drops had conference title implications. Not that I dwell on it 🙄
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Yeah not ideal for UW. I also found it interesting that of all the "big" transfers they had, Bell, Dike, and Paulding were their 3 starting WR. Either UW recruited WR better than we realized, or the new guys aren't great. May not be a great sign for them.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Mordecai 6.1 yards per attempt is pitiful against a mid-level MAC team. Where are the dominant WRs we were told about. Two interceptions, could have been a few more.

Will they run as well against better completion. No, but not sure how well. The defense looked a little listless in the talent department. We’ll see.

Yes, still early.
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AK was what, 4.5 an attempt? I know against a better D but that needs to improve
 

Jack jones said:
And they sure as hell won’t beat Prime. I am afraid what Colorado is doing/ has done will become a template for college football.
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What exactly is he doing? The only unique thing he did that can easily be copied was that he cut a massive amount of players, which can only be done during a coaches first year at a program.
 

I'm A Maroon 2! said:
Yeah not ideal for UW. I also found it interesting that of all the "big" transfers they had, Bell, Dike, and Paulding were their 3 starting WR. Either UW recruited WR better than we realized, or the new guys aren't great. May not be a great sign for them.
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The only even semi proven wr transfer they added was Green, so I am not surprised. I always thought their transfer talent was way over hyped.
 

Dakota2 said:
Notice that while Becky rushed for more than 300 yards, they threw it 31 times. Pretty clear they could have won with 0 passes but used it to keep the defense honest and running lanes unplugged.
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Bucky struggled a good chunk of the game but I think ultimately wore Buffalo down. Edwards was having a subpar game and then the #2 back broke an 80 something yard TD run. That broke the log jam and Wisconsin ran away with it.
 

Sparlimb said:
Said during the game that Fans donated a bunch to get him hired.
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Yes, Colorado doesn't even have enough money to pay Deion as the head coach, which is exactly why they're not dishing out a bunch of NIL money either. They raised 28 million this year to help pay Deion, which is 8 million more than the 20 they raised last year.

MNVCGUY said:
Come on man....We all know those guys that went to Jackson and followed Sanders to Colorado are getting paid....might not be in the form of NIL deals but they are getting something more than just a free education.
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Colorado didn't roll out of bed and decide to become Alabama...come on man. I'm not saying they're getting nothing, but it's significantly less than what they could be making at a helmet school. And they had those offers and turned them down to play for Deion.

Colorado isn't paying their players more than TCU was last week, or Nebraska this week.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Except it's not. They are there because of Deion. Do you think they all had big time NIL deals at Jackson St. too?

It was reported over the summer that Hunter turned down $1.5 million offers from several schools to follow Deion to Colorado. Same thing happened when he went to Jackson St.

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They are there because of Deion. Deion is there because of money
 

In the end we have the toughest schedule in the West. Depth is going to matter and we are also the deepest in the West (except o-line). So lets play the games!
 

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