Week 2 Review-Big 10

Final Scores
Michigan State 30, Florida Atlantic 17
Wisconsin 27, San Jose State 14
Purdue 31, Western Illinois 21
Northwestern 37, Illinois State 3
South Dakota 41, Minnesota 28
Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24
Ohio State 36, Miami 24
Iowa 35, Iowa State 7
Alabama 24, Penn State 3
Illinois 35, Southern Illinois 3

Taught a Master's Class
Michigan State Saprtans
The final score did not tell the tale this week. Le'Veon Bell rushed for 4.9 yards oer carry on 10 carries, but it was Edwin Baker who rocked the boat, as he rushed for 182 yards on just 15 carries, and the Spartans survived a subpar performance by QB Kirk Cousins to take out the Owls in Detroit. The Sartans as a team didn't teach the class, but Baker did that all by himself.

Northwestern Wildcats
The Cats cruised out to a 30-3 halftime lead, and then coasted out the day in Evanston. 4 different WIldcats rushed for scores, including QB Dan Persa, who also added 2 more scores through the air. Northwestern did what it needed to do in a robotic fashion, but the Redbirds were never in the game.

Michigan Wolverines
Ok, this was really just a one man show in Denard Robinson, who accounted for 502 total yards of offense all by himself in the win over Notre Dame. There is not one player having the kind of season that Robinson is having, and he is saving Rich Rodriguez all by himself.

Ohio State Buckeyes
The only flaw was the special teams unit, but had that not been an issue, the Buckeyes would have routed the Hurricanes in Columbus. Terrelle Pryor did not have his best passing game of the season, but he was poised and in control the entire game. Pryor and Michigan's Robinson have probably showed the greatest maturation process in college football so far this season.

Iowa Hawkeyes
The Joaquin Phoenix documentary titled "I'm Still Here" is probably more suited to Iowa this season. The Hawkeyes have been tagged as an also ran squad in the Big 10 after Wisconsin and OSU, but they are playing better football than the Badgers right now. The D is giving up a total of 5 points per game right now, and the offense is not making stupid mistakes. Iowa dominated the rival Cyclones all day long.

Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illini bounced back against a very strong 1-AA Saluki team on Saturday night in front of a surprisingly large crowd at home. The offensive combo of QB Nathan Scheelhaase, RB Mikel LeShoure, and WR AJ Jenkins gave the fans a bunch to cheer about, as all three had solid efforts. The only thing that went south was the turnover issue that plagued Illinois last week against Missouri. That still has not been fixed.

Didn't Learn Much
Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers are making me look bad. I picked them to run neck and neck all season with Ohio State in the Big 10 race, but they are not playing championship calibur football in 2010. The offens has been mistake prone for the first two weeks, and QB John Tolzien has not taken off as expected. John Clay has been doing his thing, but you had better beat teams like San Jose State by more than 13 if you want to be taken seriously. A win is a win, but this win was ugly.

Purdue Boilermakers
Any time that you only beat a 1-AA team by 10, you have to wonder how screwed up a team really is. Not to take anything from a very talented Leatherneck team , but Purdue looked like they had a major disconnect at times, and WIU challeneged throughout. Purdue does not look too stable to me, and ramifications could be coming.

Penn State Nittany Lions
The only reason that I am not failing Penn State, is that I expected exactly what happened in Tuscaloosa on Saturday evening. The one good thing is that the Lions never ever gave up and they fought all night long, even if the scoreboard does not reflect it. Robert Bolden never gave up as a freshman QB, and there was nothing that Bama could do to kill this kid's spirit. He will get better an dbetter, and Penn State has a nice 4 year starter in the making.

Failing Grade
Minnesota Golden Gophers
There is nothing golden about a loss to South Dakota, a team that lost to Central Florida by 31 a week ago. The 1-AA Coyotes are now the second 1-AA club that Tim Brewster has lost to during his tenure. There will be more on that later today. This loss is as bad as it gets, and it makes a fan want to go into hiding.

Did Not Play
Indiana Hoosiers

Week 3 Schedule
Ball State (1-1) at Purdue (1-1)
Michigan (2-0) at UMass (2-0)
Kent State (1-1) at Penn State (1-1)
Northern Illinois (1-1) at Illinois (1-1)
Ohio (1-1) at Ohio State (2-0)
USC (2-0) at Minnesota (1-1)
Arizona State (2-0) at Wisconsin (2-0)
Indiana (1-0) at Western Kentucky (0-2)
Northwestern (2-0) at Rice (1-1)
Notre Dame (1-1) at Michigan State (2-0)
Iowa (2-0) at Arizona (2-0)