-Come back each week for my recap of each week every Monday as I look into what happened the past weekends action and look back on my predictions and how I fared.
I would like to take a look at my Week 4 picks because this week left me scratching my head quite a bit. This was especially true during the Iowa, Pitt game because the Hawkeyes completely dominated the game in every way possible except for on the scoreboard. Pitt had a few good drives that resulted in touchdowns but besides that they looked terrible. Then there is the fact that Northwestern has a decent defense and their offense looks mediocre compared to the numbers they usually put up. Another thing that caught my eye is maybe Minnesota is a better team than anyone expected. After being the laughing stock of the Big Ten Minnesota beat Florida Atlantic which made a bowl game a year ago pretty easily 37-3. So with Ohio State's rough start to the year and the rest of the Big Ten being full of surprises lets recap Week 4.
My Pick, Actual Score
Ohio State 32 ,Troy 20
Ohio State 28, Troy 10
- I was expecting more of a let down from Ohio State in this game after USC but they played much better and may have found a new quarterback. Highly touted freshman Terrelle Pryor got the start and was 10/16 for 139 yards, 4TD's and an INT to go along with 66 yards rushing. The buckeyes could be back on track but time will only tell now that the Big Ten season kicks off this weekend.
Penn State 58, Temple 13
Penn State 45, Temple 3
-Penn State looked dominant once again as they rushed out to a 31-0 lead at the half. The Penn State offense once again was spreading the ball around which makes them a very difficult team to defend. They once again gave me no reason not to think they are the top team in the Big Ten this year.
Northwestern 24, Ohio 17
Northwestern 16, Ohio 8
-I guess this is the one game that really got me thinking this weekend. Northwestern has great leadership on offense in QB CJ Bacher and RB Tyrell Sutton which has been dominant since they have been at Northwestern. Now all of a sudden they can't do anything and they have a strong defense. The Wildcats are 4-0 but are going to need the explosive offense they once had to show up in the Big Ten to give themselves a chance.
Minnesota 24, Florida Atlantic 20
Minnesota 37, Florida Atlantic 3
-This one I was way off because after watching Florida Atlantic and Minnesota a couple of times last year I expected the Gophers to have a much more difficult time in this game. From that I guess the question I have is whether Minnesota is a greatly improved team from a year ago? We will see soon enough.
Iowa 24, Pitt 17
Iowa 20, Pitt 21
-I guess I expected Iowa to have a handle on this game when I made my prediction. Then by looking at the stats from the game Iowa did dominate the game they just couldn't put the points on the board. The Hawkeyes look like they could be having a good team if they can put the pieces together. The running game is solid and the defense looked dominant after a slow start. The issue is still at the quarterback position and it still doesn't look like anyone wants to take that job over yet.
Purdue 35, Central Michigan 13
Purdue 32, Central Michigan 25
- Purdue was lucky to pull out a win in this one. With the score 24- 17 in favor of Purdue the Chippewas scored a touchdown with 1:18 to go and then converted on the two point conversion to give themselves a 25-24 lead. Moments later Purdue RB Kory Sheets busts a 46 yard touchdown run to give the Boilermakers a 32-25 victory.
Michigan State 30, Notre Dame 24
Michigan State 23, Notre Dame 7
-Michigan State was much more dominant than I expected. I believed Notre Dame would be confident coming into this one after destroying Michigan a week ago. However, Michigan State showed why it is a team that could contend for a Big Ten Championship this year. One again Javon Ringer ran all over the oppenent as he rushed for 201 yards and 2 TD's. This was consecutive 200 yard rushing performances and will definitely bring some Heisman talk to East Lansing.
Indiana 17, Ball State 27
Indiana 20, Ball State 42
-This game really showed a lot about Indiana who coming into this game hadn't been challenged. I figured they would struggle with the connection of Davis to Love but once Dante Love was carted off the field in the 2nd quarter I was a little sketchy as to how Ball State would respond in the 2nd half. They came out firing and handled Indiana pretty easily. The story line of this game is however, the loss of star wide reciever Love who will probably never play football again after the hit he took in the 2nd quarter.
Come back next Monday when I recap Week 5 in the Big Ten.
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1 comment:
C.J. Baucher and Tyrell Sutton were banged up in the game against Ohio. That certainly contributed to the lack of offense by Northwestern. That and Ohio might actually have a pretty good team.
Iowa has to hope both those players aren't at 100% in order to feel a little more at ease about stopping the Wildcats' version of the spread offense.
Why is Minnesota doing so well? Nobody likes Minnesota. Go away Gophers.
Michigan State is doing exactly what I thought they would. They haven't impressed me much at all. Everyone is extremely high on Javon Ringer, but in my opinion the jury is still out.
Ball State...wow. I'll admit I didn't see that one coming. Perhaps Indiana is starting to play like I thought they would now too.
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