As we're at the midway point in the season for half of the Big Ten Conference, it's seemingly becoming more and more apparent that Ohio State is the team to beat this year in the conference. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes are ineligible to play in a bowl game at season's end, which makes the Big Ten's potential Rose Bowl prospects even sadder.
The two hottest teams in the conference are the before-mentioned Buckeyes of Ohio State and Penn State, who after starting the year 0-2, has reeled off four consecutive victories. Like the Buckeyes, however, the Nittany Lions are not eligible for a bowl game due to a major violation in the program. Excluding those two, there are eight teams in conference with a winning record at this juncture: Iowa (3-2), Michigan (3-2), Michigan State (4-2), Minnesota (4-1), Nebraska (4-2), Northwestern (5-1), Purdue (3-2) and Wisconsin (4-2). The teams are a combined 6-6 (.500) in conference play and 30-14 (.682) overall. None of them have been overly impressive at this point.
Starting with Iowa, who is 1-0 in conference and was off this past weekend - their wins have come against Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Minnesota by a combined 30 points (10 per/). Their losses have come against Iowa State of the Big XII and Central Michigan of the MAC. Sadly, if the Big Ten Conference Championship were held today, they'd be tied atop the Legends Division alongside Michigan. They'll travel to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a big conference game this coming weekend.
Michigan looked impressive on Saturday, in trouncing Purdue in West Lafayette by the final score of 44-13 in what was their first conference game. However, their other two wins haven't been as impressive. They defeated Air Force by a measly six points and also disposed of Massachusetts. Against the only two ranked teams they've played, they've lost both games by a total of 34 points (17 per/) to the likes of Alabama and Notre Dame. They should improve to 2-0 in the conference with a win over lowly Illinois this coming Saturday, but then have to square off against in-state rival Michigan State the following weekend and go to Lincoln to take on the Huskers the Saturday after that.
Michigan State is 1-1 in conference play after they had to come from behind to defeat Indiana 31-27 this past Saturday. They've lost to two tough clubs in Notre Dame and Ohio State, but both at home. Their tight victory over Boise State is starting to look better after the Broncos moved back into the top 25. That's their only impressive win to this point, though, as they've also defeated Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and as was mentioned earlier, Indiana. They'll take on Iowa at home this coming Saturday before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.
One has to give Minnesota credit for their strong start this season. However, their non-conference schedule was about as difficult as a high school team's, as they faced and defeated: UNLV (in triple overtime), New Hampshire, Western Michigan (by 5) and Syracuse (by 7). Following an in-conference loss to Iowa and then a bye this past weekend, they'll take on Northwestern Saturday afternoon and then head to Madison to take on the Badgers of Wisconsin.
That brings us to Nebraska, who's 1-1 in Big Ten play after getting trounced by Ohio State 63-38. Nebraska has yet to post a win I've been greatly impressed by. Their 49-20 drubbing over Southern Mississippi appeared at the time to be a good quality win, as Southern Miss was coming off a 12-win season. However, with their loss to Boise State on Saturday, Southern Miss fell to 0-5 on the season. The Huskers also dominated in their wins over Arkansas State and I-AA Idaho State. Their only other win was of the comeback variety at home against Wisconsin. In their two losses - both on the road - Nebraska got outscored by UCLA and Ohio State 99-68 (avg. of 49.5 - 34.0). The Huskers will get an off week coming up, before traveling to Northwestern and then facing Michigan at home.
After squeaking by opponents in their first five weeks of the season, Northwestern lost their first game this past Saturday - 39-28 to Penn State. The Wildcats' most impressive win to this point may be their 23-13 victory over Vanderbilt, who beat Missouri this past weekend. Four of their five wins have come by a combined 35 points (8.8 per/) against teams which are mediocre at best (Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Indiana, along with I-AA South Dakota). They'll take on 4-1 Minnesota on the road this coming Saturday, before playing Nebraska at home.
After their 44-13 loss at home to Michigan on Saturday, Purdue is looking more and more like a pretender. Their defense allowed only 42 points in their first three games (14.0 per/). However, these games were against Eastern Kentucky, Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan. Since that time, the Boilermakers have allowed 85 points in two contests (42.5 per/). They're 0-1 in conference and will take on Wisconsin at home this next Saturday, before traveling to Ohio State and Minnesota the following two weeks.
Wisconsin has not looked great in any one of their games this season. Yet, they're currently 1-1 in Big Ten conference play and 4-2 overall. Their four wins have come against the likes of Northern Iowa, Utah State, UTEP and Illinois by a combined 35 points (8.8 per/). Their losses have been close as well, falling to Oregon State and Nebraska by a combined 5 points (2.5 per/). They'll next travel to West Lafayette to face Purdue this next Saturday, before playing a couple home games against the likes of Minnesota and Michigan State.
From just a football perspective, it really is a shame that neither Penn State nor especially Ohio State will be permitted to play in the conference championship game, because of the rest, there doesn't appear to be one team that stands out from the rest. That kind of parity will likely make for some highly entertaining games during the second half of the season, but at the same time, it'll also likely make for a bad match-up against a far superior Pac-12 team in the Rose Bowl. If I had to pick right now, just from a potential standpoint, I'd probably give the edge to Michigan. However, from a schedule standpoint, Purdue may have an edge. They'll have to play far better than they did against the Wolverines this past Saturday, however, if they want to even think about playing in the conference championship game, let alone the Rose Bowl.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/scoreboard?confId=5&seasonYear=2012&seasonType=2&weekNumber=6
http://espn.go.com/college-football/standings
The two hottest teams in the conference are the before-mentioned Buckeyes of Ohio State and Penn State, who after starting the year 0-2, has reeled off four consecutive victories. Like the Buckeyes, however, the Nittany Lions are not eligible for a bowl game due to a major violation in the program. Excluding those two, there are eight teams in conference with a winning record at this juncture: Iowa (3-2), Michigan (3-2), Michigan State (4-2), Minnesota (4-1), Nebraska (4-2), Northwestern (5-1), Purdue (3-2) and Wisconsin (4-2). The teams are a combined 6-6 (.500) in conference play and 30-14 (.682) overall. None of them have been overly impressive at this point.
Starting with Iowa, who is 1-0 in conference and was off this past weekend - their wins have come against Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Minnesota by a combined 30 points (10 per/). Their losses have come against Iowa State of the Big XII and Central Michigan of the MAC. Sadly, if the Big Ten Conference Championship were held today, they'd be tied atop the Legends Division alongside Michigan. They'll travel to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a big conference game this coming weekend.
Michigan looked impressive on Saturday, in trouncing Purdue in West Lafayette by the final score of 44-13 in what was their first conference game. However, their other two wins haven't been as impressive. They defeated Air Force by a measly six points and also disposed of Massachusetts. Against the only two ranked teams they've played, they've lost both games by a total of 34 points (17 per/) to the likes of Alabama and Notre Dame. They should improve to 2-0 in the conference with a win over lowly Illinois this coming Saturday, but then have to square off against in-state rival Michigan State the following weekend and go to Lincoln to take on the Huskers the Saturday after that.
Michigan State is 1-1 in conference play after they had to come from behind to defeat Indiana 31-27 this past Saturday. They've lost to two tough clubs in Notre Dame and Ohio State, but both at home. Their tight victory over Boise State is starting to look better after the Broncos moved back into the top 25. That's their only impressive win to this point, though, as they've also defeated Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and as was mentioned earlier, Indiana. They'll take on Iowa at home this coming Saturday before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.
One has to give Minnesota credit for their strong start this season. However, their non-conference schedule was about as difficult as a high school team's, as they faced and defeated: UNLV (in triple overtime), New Hampshire, Western Michigan (by 5) and Syracuse (by 7). Following an in-conference loss to Iowa and then a bye this past weekend, they'll take on Northwestern Saturday afternoon and then head to Madison to take on the Badgers of Wisconsin.
That brings us to Nebraska, who's 1-1 in Big Ten play after getting trounced by Ohio State 63-38. Nebraska has yet to post a win I've been greatly impressed by. Their 49-20 drubbing over Southern Mississippi appeared at the time to be a good quality win, as Southern Miss was coming off a 12-win season. However, with their loss to Boise State on Saturday, Southern Miss fell to 0-5 on the season. The Huskers also dominated in their wins over Arkansas State and I-AA Idaho State. Their only other win was of the comeback variety at home against Wisconsin. In their two losses - both on the road - Nebraska got outscored by UCLA and Ohio State 99-68 (avg. of 49.5 - 34.0). The Huskers will get an off week coming up, before traveling to Northwestern and then facing Michigan at home.
After squeaking by opponents in their first five weeks of the season, Northwestern lost their first game this past Saturday - 39-28 to Penn State. The Wildcats' most impressive win to this point may be their 23-13 victory over Vanderbilt, who beat Missouri this past weekend. Four of their five wins have come by a combined 35 points (8.8 per/) against teams which are mediocre at best (Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Indiana, along with I-AA South Dakota). They'll take on 4-1 Minnesota on the road this coming Saturday, before playing Nebraska at home.
After their 44-13 loss at home to Michigan on Saturday, Purdue is looking more and more like a pretender. Their defense allowed only 42 points in their first three games (14.0 per/). However, these games were against Eastern Kentucky, Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan. Since that time, the Boilermakers have allowed 85 points in two contests (42.5 per/). They're 0-1 in conference and will take on Wisconsin at home this next Saturday, before traveling to Ohio State and Minnesota the following two weeks.
Wisconsin has not looked great in any one of their games this season. Yet, they're currently 1-1 in Big Ten conference play and 4-2 overall. Their four wins have come against the likes of Northern Iowa, Utah State, UTEP and Illinois by a combined 35 points (8.8 per/). Their losses have been close as well, falling to Oregon State and Nebraska by a combined 5 points (2.5 per/). They'll next travel to West Lafayette to face Purdue this next Saturday, before playing a couple home games against the likes of Minnesota and Michigan State.
From just a football perspective, it really is a shame that neither Penn State nor especially Ohio State will be permitted to play in the conference championship game, because of the rest, there doesn't appear to be one team that stands out from the rest. That kind of parity will likely make for some highly entertaining games during the second half of the season, but at the same time, it'll also likely make for a bad match-up against a far superior Pac-12 team in the Rose Bowl. If I had to pick right now, just from a potential standpoint, I'd probably give the edge to Michigan. However, from a schedule standpoint, Purdue may have an edge. They'll have to play far better than they did against the Wolverines this past Saturday, however, if they want to even think about playing in the conference championship game, let alone the Rose Bowl.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/scoreboard?confId=5&seasonYear=2012&seasonType=2&weekNumber=6
http://espn.go.com/college-football/standings
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