Big 10 Review Week 1

Final Scores
Minnesota 24, Middle Tennessee 17
Ohio State 45, Marshall 7
Indiana 51, Towson 17
Penn State 44, Youngstown State 14
Michigan State 38, Western Michigan 14
Iowa 37, Eastern Illinois 7
Missouri 23, Illinois 13
Notre Dame 23, Purdue 12
Michigan 30, UConn 10
Northwestern 23, Vanderbilt 21
Wisconsin 41, UNLV 21

Taught A Master's Class

Minnesota Golden Gophers
You have to give the Gophers credit. They went into a tough game and won. Just because Dwight Dasher was not plahying for MTSU, don't count the Gophers out for what they were able to do. They have hope for the season now, and FB Jon Hoese scored 3 times after almost not making the trip due to his Father having a severe stroke. That performance was full of heart, and Minnesota got a huge turnover at the right time to preserve the win.

Ohio State Buckeyes
OSU just handled Marshall and moved on. They never looked ahead to Miami, and Terrelle Pryor did his thing and got a jump on the Heisman race. Everything is looking good in Columbus going into a crucial match this week.

Michigan State Spartans
Sparty got huge production from their ground game, but better yet, they erased the ugly memories from losing at home to Central Michigan last season. MSU has finally killed the MAC curse against them.

The Wolverines dominated UConn from start to finish, and by finally settling on Denard Robinson at QB just before game time, Rich Rodriguez managed to save his hide for another week. The Wolverines finally looked like a real football team under Rodriguez, but they have to keep the focus and the momentum going into this week.

Didn't Learn Much

Indiana Hoosiers
IU didn't play much defense in this game, and they still managed to roll over Towson State. The D needs to shore up to give the offense half of a chance when the schedule actually tightens up. The Hoosiers allowed 227 yards rushing in the win...not good.

Penn State Nittany Lions
Freshman QB Robert Boldan proved that he could play some, but it was against inferior competition, and YSU had a 7-6 lead in the 2nd quarter. They pulled away in the second half, but PSU will have to have more focus to compete in the Big 10.

Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa did not have Brendon Wegher or Jewell Hampton at TB against EIU, but that should not have mattered. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 28-7 lead at the half, and then they shut down and went home. This was an opportunity to blow someone up and send a message, but it was basically just about doing the minimum that needed to be done. What a shame.

Northwestern Wildcats
The Cats were by far the better team in Nashville, but they let Vanderbilt hang around the entire game. The final score should never have been so close, and so one has to wonder how good NW really is. DanPersa won;t be able to do it all alone.

Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers are supposed to duel it out with Ohio State for the Big 10 title, but UNLV made the Badgers look merely mortal for one half before UW opened up the game in the mid 3rd. The Rebel defense forced Wisconsin into several costly mistakes, but the defense really muddled the Rebels on the road. Wisonsin will have to show that they can play a complete game, and they certainly did not do it in Vegas.

Failing Grade

Illinois Fighting Illini

Ron Zook and comppany had a bird in the hand and they let it fly away right into a Tigers mouth. Turnovers plagued the Illini all day,and Missouri finally figured out how to take advantage, forcing Illinois to blow a sizeable lead. Could that have been the first chapter in Zook's firing?

Purdue Boilermakers

The offense never showed up yesterday, and Danny Hope's club looks much the same as it did last season. I was wrong last week when I figured that Purdue would not lose by more than 10. They lost by 11. Damn. There are issues in West Lafayette, and one has to start to wonder if Hope is really the right guy.

Next Week's Games

Illinois State (1-0) at Northwestern (1-0)

South Dakota (0-1) at Minnesota (1-0)

San Jose State (0-1) at Wisconsin (1-0)

Florida Atlantic (1-0) at Michigan State (1-0)

Western Illinois (1-0) at Purdue (1-0)

Michigan (1-0) at Notre Dame (1-0)

Iowa State (1-0) at Iowa (1-0)

Miami (1-0) at Ohio State (1-0)

Penn State (1-0) at Alabama (1-0)

Southern Illinois (1-0) at Illinois (1-0)

Indiana is idle