Brandon Zimmerman
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Around the B1G! Week 11 Edition
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
After three straight weeks of crazy endings, the Big Ten gave us a fairly straight-forward week with everyone who was supposed to win winning. Sure, Purdue played Northwestern closer than they should, Indiana took Michigan to 2 OT, and Iowa squeaked one out, but those were all expected. Now the real season begins for the four B1G favorites; Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Iowa.
Illinois (5-5 overall, 2-4 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Ohio State, 3-28. The Illinois defense kept the Buckeyes on their toes. It is kind of humorous to say this when the Buckeyes scored 28 points and had 440 yards of total offense but the defensive line created problems. They only got to J.T. Barrett for a sack once but it seemed like every time Barrett dropped back for a pass, the Illini defense was forcing him to scramble or get rid of the ball. On offense the Illini ran into the Silver Bullet buzz saw and only managed 20 yards on the ground forcing quarterback Wes Lunt to carry the offense which did not work out. Freshman wide receiver Desmond Cain had an impressive game catching 10 passes for 102 yards.
This Week: at Minnesota
This Week in Recruiting: Illinois did not have any commits this week. They sit at 17 commits for the 2016 class.
Indiana (4-6 overall, 0-6 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Michigan, 41-48 (2OT). Another heartbreaking loss to a top-tier team for the Hoosiers in a season which will ultimately end in some lower-tier bowl game. Just think for a second on how close this team has been to having a magical season. They lost to three top 15 teams (OSU, Iowa, and UM) by a combined total of 22 points and was driving on MSU with under four minutes to play to tie up the game before imploding. Instead of riding the high of four upset victories, the Hoosiers are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and facing must-win situations against Maryland and Purdue to become bowl eligible. Jordan Howard led the way for the Hoosiers with 238 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns.
This Week: at Maryland
This Week in Recruiting: Indiana did not have any commits this week. They sit at 10 commits for the 2016 class.
Iowa (10-0 overall, 6-0 conference)
Last Week: Beat Minnesota, 40-35. Iowa keeps pushing forward towards theirbeat down date with the B1G East champ in Indianapolis. LeShun Daniels Jr. led the way for the Hawkeyes with 195 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. C.J. Beathard added 50 yards on the ground and two touchdowns while Craig Krenzeling his way through the air for a total of 213 yards.
This Week: vs Purdue
This Week in Recruiting: Iowa received a de-commitment from three-star DB K.J. Sails who just committed two weeks ago. Oh the joys of recruiting… They sit at 23 commits for the 2016 class.
Maryland (2-8 overall, 0-6 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Michigan State, 7-24. Maryland lost their seventh straight game in a disappointing season. The off-season cannot come fast enough for Terrapin fans. The Maryland defense played well and knocked Connor Cook out of the game with an injury. They held Michigan State to 262 total yards and forced three turnovers. Unfortunately, the Maryland offense turned the ball over five times and could only manage 289 yards. Perry Hills led the way for the Terrapins with 179 total yards on offense.
This Week: vs Indiana.
This Week in Recruiting: Maryland did not have any commits this week. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Michigan (8-2 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Beat Indiana, 48-41 (2OT). The overhyped Michigan defense has passed the point of collapse and has developed into a full-on disaster. After giving up 14 combined points over a five game stretch from Sep 19 to Oct 10, the defense has given up an average of 27.5 points per game over the last four games. Indiana was able to shred the defense for 527 yards of total offense, including 307 yards on the ground. Offensively, Michigan had their best game of the season as Jake Rudock had the game of his career. Rudock threw for 440 yards and six touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground.
This Week: at Penn State for their annual “White Out” game.
This Week in Recruiting: Michigan received a de-commitment from 4-star RB Matt Falcon. This may certainly open the door for a former OSU commit, Kareem Walker. They sit at 21 commits for the 2016 class.
Michigan State (9-1 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Beat Maryland, 24-7. In a game where it was supposed to be a simple tune-up for OSU, the Spartans had some major issues which arose. One major issue is the injury to star QB Connor Cook who was pulled from the game for “precautionary” reasons. The Spartans are being very quiet about how serious the shoulder injury is, but I would be very surprised if Cook did not play on Saturday. The Spartan offense struggled as mentioned earlier but the defense played well and was able to get to the quarterback for three sacks. They are going to need to put this kind of pressure on the suddenly suspect Buckeye pass protection. Tyler O’Connor took over for Cook in the first quarter and struggled to get anything going only completing six passes for 44 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
This Week: at Ohio State.
This Week in Recruiting: Michigan State received de-commitments this week from four-star DE Naquan Jones and three-star RB Abdul Adams. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Minnesota (4-6 overall, 1-5 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Iowa, 35-40. The Golden Gophers have lost their fourth straight game and now face a must-win situation against Illinois and Wisconsin to become bowl eligible. Minnesota was able to gauge the Hawkeye defense for 434 total yards on offense but they were not able to stop the Hawkeye offense that put up over 500 yards of total offense. QB Mitch Leidner was able to lead the way for the Gopher offense throwing for 259 yards and one touchdown. He added 32 yards on the ground and one more touchdown but his effort was not enough.
This Week: vs Illinois
This Week in Recruiting: Minnesota received a commitment from three-star DB Kiondre Thomas out of Arkansas. Minnesota now sits at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Nebraska (5-6 overall, 3-4 conference)
Last Week: Beat Rutgers, 31-14. Nebraska is suddenly looking like a very confident team after suffering a beat down from lowly Purdue a few weeks ago. Now all of their attention turns to spoiling Iowa’s season in two weeks. Major questions still surround this team as the offense just can’t seem to get out of its own way. QB Tommy Armstrong threw for three touchdowns but also added three interceptions while only managing 188 yards through the air.
This Week: Bye Week
This Week in Recruiting: Nebraska received de-commitments from three-star RB Alphonso Thomas and three-star LB William Johnson. They sit at 14 commits for the 2016 class.
Northwestern (8-2 overall, 4-2 conference)
Last Week: Beat Purdue, 21-14. Northwestern struggled with Purdue but managed to pull out a touchdown with a little less than five minutes remaining to take the win. Justin Jackson led the way for the Northwestern offense with 116 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Warren Long added 52 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Altogether, the Wildcats had 250 yards rushing.
This Week: at Wisconsin
This Week in Recruiting: Northwestern did not have any commits this week. They sit at 19 commits for the 2016 class.
Penn State (7-3 overall, 4-2 conference)
Last Week: Bye Week.
This Week: vs Michigan. This is the annual “white-out” game for Penn State and usually leads to one of the coolest scenes in college football. With the bye week to prepare for Michigan and the crowd support this will be a fun game to watch as Penn State looks for the upset.
This Week in Recruiting: Penn State did not have any commits this week. They sit at 19 commits for the 2016 class.
Purdue (2-8 overall, 1-5 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Northwestern, 14-21. Sophomore QB David Blough was able to throw for 287 yards through the air and one touchdown but was sacked twice and threw one interception. The Purdue rushing attack was unable to get going as they only managed 73 yards on 30 carries. Defensively, the Boilermakers struggled to contain the Wildcat rushing game as they averaged over five yards per carry and 250 yards. Purdue better hope to fix that this week as they now face the incredibly potent Iowa rushing game.
This Week: at Iowa
This Week in Recruiting: Purdue received a de-commitment from 3-star WR Nate Johnson. They sit at 7 commits for the 2016 class.
Rutgers (3-7 overall, 1-6 conference)
Last Week: Rutgers lost to Nebraska, 14-31. The Scarlet Knight offense could only muster 259 yards of offense. Rutgers attempted to get things going on the ground but could only manage 89 yards on 38 rushes. Sophomore RB Josh Hicks had the most success on the ground managing 61 yards. QB Chris Laviano had a rough day at the office getting sacked six times and throwing two interceptions while only throwing for 165 yards.
This Week: at Army
This Week in Recruiting: Rutgers did not have any commits this week. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Wisconsin (8-2 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs Northwestern. This will be a big game in the hunt for the B1G West crown as the Badgers need a win to stay in the hunt. If the Badgers lose, the Hawkeyes have the B1G championship game appearance locked in.
This Week in Recruiting: Wisconsin received a commit from WR Quintez Cephus out of Georgia who takes the early lead for best name of the 2016 class. They sit at 21 commits for the 2016 class.
Standings
EAST CONF. RECORD OVERALL WEST CONF. RECORD OVERALL
Ohio State 6-0 10-0 Iowa 6-0 10-0
Michigan State 5-1 9-1 Wisconsin 5-1 8-2
Michigan 5-1 8-2 Northwestern 4-2 8-2
Penn State 4-2 7-3 Nebraska 3-4 5-6
Rutgers 1-6 3-7 Illinois 2-4 5-5
Indiana 0-6 4-6 Minnesota 1-5 4-6
Maryland 0-6 2-8 Purdue 1-5 2-8
The post Around the B1G! Week 11 Edition appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
After three straight weeks of crazy endings, the Big Ten gave us a fairly straight-forward week with everyone who was supposed to win winning. Sure, Purdue played Northwestern closer than they should, Indiana took Michigan to 2 OT, and Iowa squeaked one out, but those were all expected. Now the real season begins for the four B1G favorites; Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Iowa.
Illinois (5-5 overall, 2-4 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Ohio State, 3-28. The Illinois defense kept the Buckeyes on their toes. It is kind of humorous to say this when the Buckeyes scored 28 points and had 440 yards of total offense but the defensive line created problems. They only got to J.T. Barrett for a sack once but it seemed like every time Barrett dropped back for a pass, the Illini defense was forcing him to scramble or get rid of the ball. On offense the Illini ran into the Silver Bullet buzz saw and only managed 20 yards on the ground forcing quarterback Wes Lunt to carry the offense which did not work out. Freshman wide receiver Desmond Cain had an impressive game catching 10 passes for 102 yards.
This Week: at Minnesota
This Week in Recruiting: Illinois did not have any commits this week. They sit at 17 commits for the 2016 class.
Indiana (4-6 overall, 0-6 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Michigan, 41-48 (2OT). Another heartbreaking loss to a top-tier team for the Hoosiers in a season which will ultimately end in some lower-tier bowl game. Just think for a second on how close this team has been to having a magical season. They lost to three top 15 teams (OSU, Iowa, and UM) by a combined total of 22 points and was driving on MSU with under four minutes to play to tie up the game before imploding. Instead of riding the high of four upset victories, the Hoosiers are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and facing must-win situations against Maryland and Purdue to become bowl eligible. Jordan Howard led the way for the Hoosiers with 238 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns.
This Week: at Maryland
This Week in Recruiting: Indiana did not have any commits this week. They sit at 10 commits for the 2016 class.
Iowa (10-0 overall, 6-0 conference)
Last Week: Beat Minnesota, 40-35. Iowa keeps pushing forward towards their
This Week: vs Purdue
This Week in Recruiting: Iowa received a de-commitment from three-star DB K.J. Sails who just committed two weeks ago. Oh the joys of recruiting… They sit at 23 commits for the 2016 class.
Maryland (2-8 overall, 0-6 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Michigan State, 7-24. Maryland lost their seventh straight game in a disappointing season. The off-season cannot come fast enough for Terrapin fans. The Maryland defense played well and knocked Connor Cook out of the game with an injury. They held Michigan State to 262 total yards and forced three turnovers. Unfortunately, the Maryland offense turned the ball over five times and could only manage 289 yards. Perry Hills led the way for the Terrapins with 179 total yards on offense.
This Week: vs Indiana.
This Week in Recruiting: Maryland did not have any commits this week. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Michigan (8-2 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Beat Indiana, 48-41 (2OT). The overhyped Michigan defense has passed the point of collapse and has developed into a full-on disaster. After giving up 14 combined points over a five game stretch from Sep 19 to Oct 10, the defense has given up an average of 27.5 points per game over the last four games. Indiana was able to shred the defense for 527 yards of total offense, including 307 yards on the ground. Offensively, Michigan had their best game of the season as Jake Rudock had the game of his career. Rudock threw for 440 yards and six touchdowns while adding 64 yards on the ground.
This Week: at Penn State for their annual “White Out” game.
This Week in Recruiting: Michigan received a de-commitment from 4-star RB Matt Falcon. This may certainly open the door for a former OSU commit, Kareem Walker. They sit at 21 commits for the 2016 class.
Michigan State (9-1 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Beat Maryland, 24-7. In a game where it was supposed to be a simple tune-up for OSU, the Spartans had some major issues which arose. One major issue is the injury to star QB Connor Cook who was pulled from the game for “precautionary” reasons. The Spartans are being very quiet about how serious the shoulder injury is, but I would be very surprised if Cook did not play on Saturday. The Spartan offense struggled as mentioned earlier but the defense played well and was able to get to the quarterback for three sacks. They are going to need to put this kind of pressure on the suddenly suspect Buckeye pass protection. Tyler O’Connor took over for Cook in the first quarter and struggled to get anything going only completing six passes for 44 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
This Week: at Ohio State.
This Week in Recruiting: Michigan State received de-commitments this week from four-star DE Naquan Jones and three-star RB Abdul Adams. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Minnesota (4-6 overall, 1-5 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Iowa, 35-40. The Golden Gophers have lost their fourth straight game and now face a must-win situation against Illinois and Wisconsin to become bowl eligible. Minnesota was able to gauge the Hawkeye defense for 434 total yards on offense but they were not able to stop the Hawkeye offense that put up over 500 yards of total offense. QB Mitch Leidner was able to lead the way for the Gopher offense throwing for 259 yards and one touchdown. He added 32 yards on the ground and one more touchdown but his effort was not enough.
This Week: vs Illinois
This Week in Recruiting: Minnesota received a commitment from three-star DB Kiondre Thomas out of Arkansas. Minnesota now sits at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Nebraska (5-6 overall, 3-4 conference)
Last Week: Beat Rutgers, 31-14. Nebraska is suddenly looking like a very confident team after suffering a beat down from lowly Purdue a few weeks ago. Now all of their attention turns to spoiling Iowa’s season in two weeks. Major questions still surround this team as the offense just can’t seem to get out of its own way. QB Tommy Armstrong threw for three touchdowns but also added three interceptions while only managing 188 yards through the air.
This Week: Bye Week
This Week in Recruiting: Nebraska received de-commitments from three-star RB Alphonso Thomas and three-star LB William Johnson. They sit at 14 commits for the 2016 class.
Northwestern (8-2 overall, 4-2 conference)
Last Week: Beat Purdue, 21-14. Northwestern struggled with Purdue but managed to pull out a touchdown with a little less than five minutes remaining to take the win. Justin Jackson led the way for the Northwestern offense with 116 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Warren Long added 52 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Altogether, the Wildcats had 250 yards rushing.
This Week: at Wisconsin
This Week in Recruiting: Northwestern did not have any commits this week. They sit at 19 commits for the 2016 class.
Penn State (7-3 overall, 4-2 conference)
Last Week: Bye Week.
This Week: vs Michigan. This is the annual “white-out” game for Penn State and usually leads to one of the coolest scenes in college football. With the bye week to prepare for Michigan and the crowd support this will be a fun game to watch as Penn State looks for the upset.
This Week in Recruiting: Penn State did not have any commits this week. They sit at 19 commits for the 2016 class.
Purdue (2-8 overall, 1-5 conference)
Last Week: Lost to Northwestern, 14-21. Sophomore QB David Blough was able to throw for 287 yards through the air and one touchdown but was sacked twice and threw one interception. The Purdue rushing attack was unable to get going as they only managed 73 yards on 30 carries. Defensively, the Boilermakers struggled to contain the Wildcat rushing game as they averaged over five yards per carry and 250 yards. Purdue better hope to fix that this week as they now face the incredibly potent Iowa rushing game.
This Week: at Iowa
This Week in Recruiting: Purdue received a de-commitment from 3-star WR Nate Johnson. They sit at 7 commits for the 2016 class.
Rutgers (3-7 overall, 1-6 conference)
Last Week: Rutgers lost to Nebraska, 14-31. The Scarlet Knight offense could only muster 259 yards of offense. Rutgers attempted to get things going on the ground but could only manage 89 yards on 38 rushes. Sophomore RB Josh Hicks had the most success on the ground managing 61 yards. QB Chris Laviano had a rough day at the office getting sacked six times and throwing two interceptions while only throwing for 165 yards.
This Week: at Army
This Week in Recruiting: Rutgers did not have any commits this week. They sit at 18 commits for the 2016 class.
Wisconsin (8-2 overall, 5-1 conference)
Last Week: Bye Week
This Week: vs Northwestern. This will be a big game in the hunt for the B1G West crown as the Badgers need a win to stay in the hunt. If the Badgers lose, the Hawkeyes have the B1G championship game appearance locked in.
This Week in Recruiting: Wisconsin received a commit from WR Quintez Cephus out of Georgia who takes the early lead for best name of the 2016 class. They sit at 21 commits for the 2016 class.
Standings
EAST CONF. RECORD OVERALL WEST CONF. RECORD OVERALL
Ohio State 6-0 10-0 Iowa 6-0 10-0
Michigan State 5-1 9-1 Wisconsin 5-1 8-2
Michigan 5-1 8-2 Northwestern 4-2 8-2
Penn State 4-2 7-3 Nebraska 3-4 5-6
Rutgers 1-6 3-7 Illinois 2-4 5-5
Indiana 0-6 4-6 Minnesota 1-5 4-6
Maryland 0-6 2-8 Purdue 1-5 2-8
The post Around the B1G! Week 11 Edition appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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