Josh Dooley
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You’re Nuts: Most interesting Big Ten result of Week 2
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
The Buckeyes’ 56-0 win over Western Michigan, while great, wasn’t one of the most surprising results of the weekend.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Week 2 of the college football season featured a slate of games that proved to be much more exciting and interesting in real life than it initially appeared on paper. At least in this guy’s eye(s).
Texas @ Michigan was the obvious marquee matchup of the week, but only one other game pitted two ranked teams against each other, that being Tennessee @ NC State. And if you watched the Wolfpack struggle with Western Carolina during Week 1, then you likely knew or assumed that the Vols would go into Charlotte and have their way with Grayson McCall and Co.
But that is neither here nor there, because the mighty Big Ten – and Notre Dame – stepped up to fill in the entertainment gap. Ohio State provided fireworks, Michigan cosplayed as a top-10 team for about 10 minutes, Illinois pulled off an upset while Penn State narrowly avoided a major one, Nebraska humbled and quieted Colorado (temporarily, I assume), Oregon helped out Ashton Jeanty’s Heisman campaign, and Iowa gave us all a good laugh.
All of which inspired Gene and I to further discuss and highlight college football’s preeminent conference. It was tough to choose just one, but my partner and I decided to pick a favorite/most entertaining/most interesting game – featuring a B1G team – from this past weekend and share accordingly. And since I am a petty “hater”, that means there were plenty of options from which to choose.
After careful and deliberate consideration, I arrived at the conclusion that Nebraska’s win over Colorado was my favorite Big Ten result of the weekend... Other than Ohio State’s beautiful blowout of Western Michigan, of course.
Why, you ask? Why do I care about Nebraska football? Well, the truth of the matter is that I don’t. At all. However, I do like to keep an eye on teams that OSU is scheduled to or could play during the course of conference competition. Especially if the team(s) features a former Buckeye commit at quarterback, coached by a guy who has a proven track record of turning struggling programs around quickly.
Enter Nebraska, Dylan Raiola, and Matt Rhule.
Now admittedly, Colorado @ Nebraska was not the most aesthetically pleasing game ever played. The Cornhuskers sort of stumbled into 28 points and then took the air out of the ball in the second half. But to Rhule and Co.’s credit, that’s the perfect game plan when going up against a team that features Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, among others. Limit the explosives, shorten the game, and let your big fellas impose their will on both sides.
Which is exactly what Nebraska did. Sanders was held to 244 yards passing, with only one touchdown and one interception. The Cornhuskers also sacked him six times, held the Buffs to 16 yards rushing (sacks included), possessed the ball for 35 minutes, and kept Hunter relatively contained.
The latter totaled 10 receptions for 110 yards but failed to find the endzone and/or produce a gain of more than 28 yards. Which may not sound very “contained” until one considers that Hunter put up 132 yards and 3 TDs in Week 1. Nebraska also put handcuffs on Jimmy Horn Jr., who went off for 198 yards in Colorado’s season opener.
What I found most impressive about the Cornhuskers’ victory was the way in which they went about their business. Rhule’s team dominated the trenches, ran the ball even when they were not getting chunk yardage, and called pass plays that would instill confidence in Raiola without creating unnecessary risk(s). Well, besides the short pass he threw directly to a Colorado defensive back, that defied physics and somehow traveled through the latter’s hands, into the waiting arms of a Nebraska running back. But other than that, the true freshman played solid ball.
All that being said, I would be burying the lead if I did not admit that more than anything, I simply took joy in Deion Sanders’ team getting routed. Call me petty, call me a hater, call me jealous... Just don’t call me a Colorado fan.
From the outside looking in, it seems like that program is hell-bent on one thing and one thing only, which is raising the profile of Sanders (x2) and Hunter. There seems to be little-to-no interest in recruiting, development, and/or team-building, and I’m just sick of seeing the Buffs on my TV every weekend. How about they win something of significant before we glorify the culture that the eldest Sanders has built in Boulder?
So yeah, that’s where I landed. I probably didn’t enjoy Nebraska’s win for the right reasons, but it’s my joy to experience, damnit. Let me live.
Week 2 provided a great slate of football for haters nationwide, but especially those that reside in Columbus. Ohio State fans got to watch Michigan get dogwalked on their home field by Texas, Notre Dame lose in stunning fashion to Northern Illinois, and several other top teams like Alabama, Oregon and Penn State all struggle against lesser opponents. At the same time, the Buckeyes handled business in a 56-0 rout of Western Michigan.
A lot of Big Ten teams outside the Ducks and Nittany Lions thoroughly handled business. Minnesota, Indiana, Rutgers, and USC all won by at least 30 points. Washington and Wisconsin were never in any real danger of losing in wins over Eastern Michigan and South Dakota, respectively, and Nebraska manhandled Colorado. Michigan State pulled off an upset in a B1G win over Maryland on the road.
On the flip side, Northwestern lost a double overtime game against Duke on Friday night, and Iowa lost in heartbreaking fashion as they dropped their rivalry game against Iowa State on a last-second 54-yard field goal.
However, none of those games qualified for what I though was most interesting among Big Ten teams this past weekend. For me, I am most intrigued by what happened in Champaign, IL.
The Fighting Illini welcomed the 19th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks to town on Saturday, with the home team entering the game as around a five-point underdog. Lance Leipold’s group featured a lot of the star power, led by quarterback Jalon Daniels and running back Devin Neal. Illinois was not phased, however, as the Illini defense and a fourth quarter rally paved the way for a 23-17 win — the program’s first victory over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2011.
Trailing 17-13 at the start of the fourth quarter, Illinois staged an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 20-17 lead. Kansas was unable to move the ball on its ensuing drive, resulting in a quick three-and-out, and the Illini added a field goal after running nearly seven minutes off the clock to make it 23-17 with under a minute to go. The Jayhawks would move the ball past the 50-yard line on their final drive, but a sack fumble as time expired was a fitting close to an impressive win for Illinois.
The Illini defense forced four turnovers, including that sack fumble in addition to three interceptions. Quarterback Luke Altmyer completed 16-of-25 passes for 192 yards, and UTSA/Ole Miss transfer receiver Zakhari Franklin hauled in nine catches for 99 yards. Illinois’ offense didn’t play spectacularly, but they were able to do enough to get the job done late, including that long field goal drive to bleed the clock which featured three conversions on third-and-long.
Illinois now gets a chance to tune things up a bit against Central Michigan in Week 3 before a tough two-game road trip against Nebraska and Penn State. The Illini aren’t a team expected to compete for a Big Ten title, but they have shown tremendous growth under Bret Bielema. After going 17-39 over five seasons under Lovie Smith, the win over Kansas moves Illinois to 20-19 under Bielema, and they now have a 2-0 start to begin the 2024 campaign with a ranked (at the time) win under their belt.
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
The Buckeyes’ 56-0 win over Western Michigan, while great, wasn’t one of the most surprising results of the weekend.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
This week’s topic: Most interesting Big Ten result of Week 2
Josh’s Take
Week 2 of the college football season featured a slate of games that proved to be much more exciting and interesting in real life than it initially appeared on paper. At least in this guy’s eye(s).
Texas @ Michigan was the obvious marquee matchup of the week, but only one other game pitted two ranked teams against each other, that being Tennessee @ NC State. And if you watched the Wolfpack struggle with Western Carolina during Week 1, then you likely knew or assumed that the Vols would go into Charlotte and have their way with Grayson McCall and Co.
But that is neither here nor there, because the mighty Big Ten – and Notre Dame – stepped up to fill in the entertainment gap. Ohio State provided fireworks, Michigan cosplayed as a top-10 team for about 10 minutes, Illinois pulled off an upset while Penn State narrowly avoided a major one, Nebraska humbled and quieted Colorado (temporarily, I assume), Oregon helped out Ashton Jeanty’s Heisman campaign, and Iowa gave us all a good laugh.
All of which inspired Gene and I to further discuss and highlight college football’s preeminent conference. It was tough to choose just one, but my partner and I decided to pick a favorite/most entertaining/most interesting game – featuring a B1G team – from this past weekend and share accordingly. And since I am a petty “hater”, that means there were plenty of options from which to choose.
After careful and deliberate consideration, I arrived at the conclusion that Nebraska’s win over Colorado was my favorite Big Ten result of the weekend... Other than Ohio State’s beautiful blowout of Western Michigan, of course.
Why, you ask? Why do I care about Nebraska football? Well, the truth of the matter is that I don’t. At all. However, I do like to keep an eye on teams that OSU is scheduled to or could play during the course of conference competition. Especially if the team(s) features a former Buckeye commit at quarterback, coached by a guy who has a proven track record of turning struggling programs around quickly.
Enter Nebraska, Dylan Raiola, and Matt Rhule.
Now admittedly, Colorado @ Nebraska was not the most aesthetically pleasing game ever played. The Cornhuskers sort of stumbled into 28 points and then took the air out of the ball in the second half. But to Rhule and Co.’s credit, that’s the perfect game plan when going up against a team that features Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, among others. Limit the explosives, shorten the game, and let your big fellas impose their will on both sides.
Which is exactly what Nebraska did. Sanders was held to 244 yards passing, with only one touchdown and one interception. The Cornhuskers also sacked him six times, held the Buffs to 16 yards rushing (sacks included), possessed the ball for 35 minutes, and kept Hunter relatively contained.
The latter totaled 10 receptions for 110 yards but failed to find the endzone and/or produce a gain of more than 28 yards. Which may not sound very “contained” until one considers that Hunter put up 132 yards and 3 TDs in Week 1. Nebraska also put handcuffs on Jimmy Horn Jr., who went off for 198 yards in Colorado’s season opener.
What I found most impressive about the Cornhuskers’ victory was the way in which they went about their business. Rhule’s team dominated the trenches, ran the ball even when they were not getting chunk yardage, and called pass plays that would instill confidence in Raiola without creating unnecessary risk(s). Well, besides the short pass he threw directly to a Colorado defensive back, that defied physics and somehow traveled through the latter’s hands, into the waiting arms of a Nebraska running back. But other than that, the true freshman played solid ball.
All that being said, I would be burying the lead if I did not admit that more than anything, I simply took joy in Deion Sanders’ team getting routed. Call me petty, call me a hater, call me jealous... Just don’t call me a Colorado fan.
From the outside looking in, it seems like that program is hell-bent on one thing and one thing only, which is raising the profile of Sanders (x2) and Hunter. There seems to be little-to-no interest in recruiting, development, and/or team-building, and I’m just sick of seeing the Buffs on my TV every weekend. How about they win something of significant before we glorify the culture that the eldest Sanders has built in Boulder?
So yeah, that’s where I landed. I probably didn’t enjoy Nebraska’s win for the right reasons, but it’s my joy to experience, damnit. Let me live.
Gene’s Take
Week 2 provided a great slate of football for haters nationwide, but especially those that reside in Columbus. Ohio State fans got to watch Michigan get dogwalked on their home field by Texas, Notre Dame lose in stunning fashion to Northern Illinois, and several other top teams like Alabama, Oregon and Penn State all struggle against lesser opponents. At the same time, the Buckeyes handled business in a 56-0 rout of Western Michigan.
A lot of Big Ten teams outside the Ducks and Nittany Lions thoroughly handled business. Minnesota, Indiana, Rutgers, and USC all won by at least 30 points. Washington and Wisconsin were never in any real danger of losing in wins over Eastern Michigan and South Dakota, respectively, and Nebraska manhandled Colorado. Michigan State pulled off an upset in a B1G win over Maryland on the road.
On the flip side, Northwestern lost a double overtime game against Duke on Friday night, and Iowa lost in heartbreaking fashion as they dropped their rivalry game against Iowa State on a last-second 54-yard field goal.
However, none of those games qualified for what I though was most interesting among Big Ten teams this past weekend. For me, I am most intrigued by what happened in Champaign, IL.
The Fighting Illini welcomed the 19th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks to town on Saturday, with the home team entering the game as around a five-point underdog. Lance Leipold’s group featured a lot of the star power, led by quarterback Jalon Daniels and running back Devin Neal. Illinois was not phased, however, as the Illini defense and a fourth quarter rally paved the way for a 23-17 win — the program’s first victory over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2011.
Trailing 17-13 at the start of the fourth quarter, Illinois staged an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 20-17 lead. Kansas was unable to move the ball on its ensuing drive, resulting in a quick three-and-out, and the Illini added a field goal after running nearly seven minutes off the clock to make it 23-17 with under a minute to go. The Jayhawks would move the ball past the 50-yard line on their final drive, but a sack fumble as time expired was a fitting close to an impressive win for Illinois.
The Illini defense forced four turnovers, including that sack fumble in addition to three interceptions. Quarterback Luke Altmyer completed 16-of-25 passes for 192 yards, and UTSA/Ole Miss transfer receiver Zakhari Franklin hauled in nine catches for 99 yards. Illinois’ offense didn’t play spectacularly, but they were able to do enough to get the job done late, including that long field goal drive to bleed the clock which featured three conversions on third-and-long.
Illinois now gets a chance to tune things up a bit against Central Michigan in Week 3 before a tough two-game road trip against Nebraska and Penn State. The Illini aren’t a team expected to compete for a Big Ten title, but they have shown tremendous growth under Bret Bielema. After going 17-39 over five seasons under Lovie Smith, the win over Kansas moves Illinois to 20-19 under Bielema, and they now have a 2-0 start to begin the 2024 campaign with a ranked (at the time) win under their belt.
Continue reading...