Gopher Football
There were three very telling games in the Big Ten today.
““ Minnesota at Ohio State: As Gopher fans, we now realize that even though we may be improved from last year, we still have a long ways to go. A win against Indiana looks like a good possibility next week though. As for the Buckeyes, the conference saw what their offense can do with both Chris Wells and Terrelle Pryor in the backfield, and you couldn’t help but be impressed. It’s tough to say after just a couple games as a starter, but Pryor may already be the best running quarterback in the nation. With him next to Chris Wells you have, well, a very dangerous offense. I’m still not convinced of Pryor’s ability to make all the passes consistently, so I won’t go quite as far as saying that OSU has returned as the best team in the conference.
““ Wisconsin at Michigan: This was quite the game. Michigan looked beyond horrible in the first half, getting only 2 first downs and committing 5 turnovers while getting behind 19-0. However they came back valiantly in the second half, outscoring Wisconsin 27-6, setting a record for the largest home comeback in their history (everyone remembers their biggest road comeback, right?) Did Michigan just turn a corner today? They’ll have another test on Saturday when Illinois comes to town. The Illini will not want to drop to 0-2 in the Big Ten, so you can bet they’ll give Michigan a tough game. For as big as this win was for Michigan, it was equally bad for Wisconsin; they simply could not afford a loss in this game. Why? They’re now 0-1 in the Big Ten, and the next two weekends they host Ohio State and Penn State. It’s very possible Wisconsin could be 0-3 in two more weeks. This is their season.
““ Northwestern at Iowa: The big story from this game is Northwestern may be getting real close to proving they’re for real. After going 4-0 against lackluster non-conference teams (like the Gophers), the Wildcats had a huge win in Iowa City, coming back from a 17-3 deficit to win 22-17. Northwestern is now 5-0, but I’m not quite a believer. They will have a chance to prove themselves in two weeks when Michigan State travels to Evanston. For Iowa”¦ Can things get any worse? Iowa has now lost two in a row; they have two road games on the horizon, and now have had 19 arrests on their team in the past 2 years. These are not happy times in Iowa City.
Michigan State won a shootout over Indiana, 42″“29. The teams combined for 970 yards of total offense. Penn State handled Illinois rather easily, but they did show some vulnerability on defense. Even so, I have to give Penn State the slight edge over Ohio State right now; their offense is just so explosive. Ohio State’s is as well, but I think that a team with a good defense will be able to rattle the true freshman Pryor.
National update
It was a bad week to be ranked in the top 25. #1 USC, #3 Georgia, #4 Florida, #9 Wisconsin, #16 Wake Forest, #20 Clemson, #22 Illinois, #23 East Carolina, and #24 TCU all lost. Overall, the Top 25 teams went just 10-9, with 6 teams idle. The biggest shocker of them all was of course USC losing on the road to Oregon State. This type of loss is becoming routine for USC, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but I was.
It pains me to say this, but it’s time to give the SEC its props. Going into the year, the SEC was supposed to be the toughest in the nation behind teams like Georgia, LSU, Auburn and Florida. But a few weeks into the season, and Alabama has come out of nowhere and look like they’re better than all of them after whipping Georgia 41-30. Alabama had nearly perfect offensive execution in the first half while they ran up a 31-0 lead in Athens. 31-0. So who is #1 now? I’m giving my vote to Oklahoma, simply because they have been dominant in all four of their games, while Alabama had a minor slip up, “œonly” defeating Tulane 20-7. Alabama has an easier schedule coming up, not playing a ranked team (as of now) again until November 8 when they travel to LSU.
The Big 12 is a close second, with Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas all doing very well so far. Texas Tech is right there in the mix, and Oklahoma State is rising. After the SEC and Big 12 there is a large gap to the next best conference.
How bad is the ACC? Pretty bad, apparently. Virginia’s nightmare start just got worse after a 31-3 loss to Duke, and North Carolina State lost at home to South Florida by a score of 41-10. One of the few ranked teams, Clemson lost at home to Maryland, who had previously lost to Middle Tennessee State. Their other ranked team, Wake Forest lost at home to Navy 24-17, giving Navy its first win over a ranked team since 1985.
It was a nice run for East Carolina. After upsetting West Virginia and Virginia Tech the first two weeks of the season, the Pirates have now lost two in a row. First was a tight Overtime loss to North Carolina State, but yesterday was an embarrassing 41-24 loss to Houston.
Next weekend’s big games
Ohio State @ Wisconsin. Arguably the biggest game in the nation is right here in the Big Ten. The next four weeks will likely decide the conference title, with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State all playing each other. A Wisconsin loss would virtually end their conference titles hopes, but a win would completely blow open the race.
Oregon @ USC. After Oregon State’s upset of USC, the Pac 10 race is unexpectedly wide open. Oregon is one of about three teams (along with Cal & Arizona State) who figures to be good enough to compete with USC the rest of the way.
Auburn @ Vanderbilt. This isn’t a game you would’ve been very excited about before the season started, but with Vandy 4-0, this would cement them in the upper half of the SEC. Has Vandy EVER been in this position? I don’t even know. I would have to guess their stadium (don’t know the name of that either) will be rocking.
Missouri @ Nebraska. The Huskers just suffered their first loss of the season against Virginia Tech, but after losing to Missouri last year 41-6 and the game on in Primetime on ESPN, the Huskers should be up for this one. I’d be surprised if Missouri didn’t win, but it should be high scoring and entertaining.
GopherHole.com Top 25
| Oklahoma | ||||
| Alabama | ||||
| Texas | ||||
| Missouri | ||||
| LSU | ||||
| Penn State | ||||
| Georgia | ||||
| Auburn | ||||
| Southern Cal | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| BYU | ||||
| South Florida | ||||
| Texas Tech | ||||
| Florida | ||||
| Kansas | ||||
| Boise State | ||||
| Utah | ||||
| Oregon | ||||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| Fresno State | ||||
| Vanderbilt | ||||
| Oklahoma State | ||||
| California | ||||
| Michigan State | ||||
| TCU |
Dropped Out:
18. Wake Forest (L vs. Navy, 24″“17)
19. Clemson (L vs. Maryland, 20″“17)
21. East Carolina (L vs. Houston, 41″“24)
These rankings are GopherHole.com’s vote in the CollegeRivals.org Top 25 poll. Its voters are staff members from various college sports websites like GopherHole.com. Check back each Tuesday throughout the season to see the newest poll. Click Here to view the latest CollegeRivals.org Top 25.
““ Click here to see last week’s Top 25.
Talk about College Football on the Brew’s Crew Gopher Football Message Board.