NU Prepares for Army; Recruiting Update; Big Ten Power Rankings

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As NU prepares for its third game of the season, the team is well aware that Army presents a challenge despite being vastly undersized.  Army runs the always complicated triple option offense.  And Fitz knows that his front seven will be tested on Saturday.  Moreover, the defense lines up in at 46 set – made famous by the 1985 Chicago Bears.  The Cats outmatch the Army from a personnel standpoint, but this week the team will need to focus on execution because Army’s gameplan is so completely different than anything that NU sees.  Fitz even admits “You’re not going to stop the run this week. They are going to get their yards.”  The focus for NU will be containing the Army offense, instead.  This will be a tricky task to accomplish in one week.

Even though the Cats sit at 2-0, Fitz sees the problems in the team’s execution thus far.  Here are some of his comments at his weekly news conference:

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·         On Jeff Budzein’s missed field goal: “Would I like to see Jeff make that kick? Absolutely. But I also put him in a tough situation by design. Forty-five into the wind. Not a great situation. But I like how he responded to it and that's part of the whole process of the journey of a young kicker."

·         On EIU’s 76-yard touchdown pass against the starting defense: “It was a route we expected to see.  They ran it exactly the way we saw it and we just had a couple men break down and they made a big play. That happens. You'd prefer it didn't happen. But, like I said after the game, we've got to coach it better and that's frustrating."

·         On Kain Colter: "I really like the maturation of Kain, I think he's played really well. He's learning each week and doing the things young quarterbacks need to do to improve. He did some nice things Saturday taking what the defense game him. He checked it down, big first down with Jacob Schmidt and getting the ball to our backs a few times when they were playing two (down linemen) and really dropping everyone else off. That showed some maturity. Other guys'll force it and he didn't. I'm proud of him for that."

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Finally, for the second week in a row, NU linebacker Bryce McNaul will have some extra inspiration.  Bryce’s brother Austin is an Army Ranger stationed in Afghanistan.  Last week, with the American flag decal on the helmets, Bryce made an interception on top of the star spangled “N” at the 50 yard line.  Hopefully, Bryce can have a similarly inspired game against his brother’s comrades at West Point.

Recruiting Notes

NU commit Malin Jones had a monster night at tailback last weekend.  Jones ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns in Joliet Catholic’s 63-34 win over Peoria Richwoods.

Fitz often talks about the character of the players he recruits, and no one could be a better example than linebacker Jaylen Prater, who committed to NU last month.  Prater’s high school, Wellston high in southern Ohio, was recently featured on ESPN’s “Rise Up”, where ESPN and Chris Spielman help a run-down high school program to improve their athletic facilities.  Prater is featured in the program, where he speaks about choosing to stay in his hometown, even though his football talents might be better served if his family moved to a better situation.  His family also speaks about the importance of the academic part of his football scholarship.  Jaylen should be a great fit at NU and it is no wonder why he impressed Fitz and his staff.

Stud defensive end Faith Ekakitie has reduced his favorite list to six.  The Illinois prospect for 2012 is down to NU, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Oregon, and UCLA.  Here’s hoping for the hometown discount.  Finally, three-star CB Nana Kyeremeh has reduced his college list to three, which includes NU.

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Big Ten Power Rankings

Legends Division

1 Michigan State (+1): Michigan State will be tested by a Notre Dame team with a very dangerous offense – if it can hold on to the ball.  MSU is the most impressive team in the Legends through two weeks, and can solidify that role with a strong performance in South Bend.

2 Nebraska (-1): Every team has bad weeks, and maybe it is unfair to downgrade Nebraska after their performance against Fresno.  But they were losing in the fourth quarter – and their vaunted defense gave up 29 points at home.  There is plenty of time to see, but this was an early sign of chinks in the armor.

3 Northwestern: NU has been one of the most consistent teams in the conference so far, along with Illinois and Wisconsin.  While the running game is a pleasant surprise, the pass defense needs to improve in order to keep this ranking in the Big Ten season.

4 Michigan (+1): Without question, Michigan played in one of the most exciting game you will ever see on Saturday.  But it was also one of the ugliest – with penalties and turnovers plaguing both Michigan and Notre Dame.  Time will tell the story of these two teams, but at this point, EVR says buy Michigan only with extreme caution.

5 Iowa (-1): Losing to Iowa State is unacceptable, even if it is a rivalry game.  This game only goes to show that Iowa just does not have the talent that it has enjoyed over the last few years.  Iowa will get its wins, but it will not be a pretty year for them.  Saturday against Pitt is a must win.

6 Minnesota: First off, Jerry Kill is expected to be back on the sidelines on Saturday against Miami of Ohio; which is great news considering he suffered a seizure on the sideline Saturday while Minnesota was driving to tie the game.  Best wishes to Kill.  But the fact that the Gophers were driving to tie the game at that point earns them the 6 spot.

Leaders Division

1 Wisconsin: More of the same for the Badgers.  Wisconsin made another statement against a down-and-out Oregon State squad.  After two weeks, they are clearly the best team in the league.

2 Illinois: The Illini will finally be tested this week against Arizona State – in one of the most underrated games of the weekend.  If Illinois can continue to play at this level, they will have a lot to say in the Leaders Division race.

3 Ohio State: The Buckeyes narrowly escaped a historic loss to Toledo over the weekend, and it is not going to get any easier as they travel to Miami on Saturday.  But the lack of focus and execution in light of the off-the-field issues is something that Buckeye fans are going to need to get used to in 2011.

4 Penn State: No one expected that with Penn State playing at home the result would be worse than it was against Alabama last year – but it was.  The Lions are a team that needs an identity right now – and naming a starting quarterback will go a long way towards accomplishing that.  Surviving Temple this weekend will be no small task.

T-6 Purdue (-1):  Yes, EVR is not even giving either of the Indiana teams the 5 spot after their start. Purdue lost to Rice.  There is no excuse for that.  This is a program on the brink of disaster right now.

T-6 Indiana: The Hoosiers had their game in hand until a late meltdown gave Virginia the win.  Indiana needs a miracle to get bowl eligible at this point and four wins would have to be considered a success now in Kevin Wilson’s first year.

Go Cats!

Game Preview: Northwestern (6-2) (2-2) at Penn State (5-3) (2-2)

Saturday, October 30, 2010 2:30 CST (ABC/ESPN2)

Photo credit: Pennstategameday.com

Beaver Stadium, State College, PA

Northwestern is bowl eligible after a win in Bloomington that was not as close as the final 20-17 score indicated.  The defense absolutely stymied an offense that was averaging more than 31 points per game.  Penn State is coming off a primetime win against a Michigan team that is in a downward spiral.  NU is 3-10 all time against Penn State, including only one win in State College, in 2004.

There are some major storylines going into this game.  Obviously, Joe Paterno is coaching to win his 400^th game as a head coach, joining only two others in this elite club.  Losing to NU would mean that PSU only has one legitimate opportunity to reach that goal in this season (against Indiana) as they still play OSU and MSU.

Additionally, NU quarterback Dan Persa has recovered well from a minor concussion sustained in the fourth quarter against Indiana.  He was cleared by doctors to play and has been practicing at full strength since Wednesday.  Whether he will be hesitant with the run, or if he will continue to give 100% will be key.  Dan is also playing near his hometown of Bethlehem, PA – his mother went to Penn State, a school who did not recruit him.  Joe Paterno said this week that he wishes he would have recruited Persa more aggressively.

Finally, Penn State is going into the game with a QB controversy on its hands.  Freshman Robert Bolden has sat out with a concussion of his own since mid-way through their game against Minnesota two weeks ago.  Junior Matt McGloin started last week against Michigan and led them to victory.  More on the PSU quarterback situation below.

Injury Report: Dan Persa (concussion) is expected to play, but technically is listed as probable.  Jacob Schmidt (ankle) is doubtful, but had already been losing carries to Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith.  Scott Concannon, who basically has fallen to the 5^th RB, is out with a knee injury.  Another week of good news for the Cats.

Penn State has had quite a few injuries to deal with.  Kevin Haplea (TE) is a freshman who is starting his first game in place of Andrew Szczerba (back) and Garry Gilliam (knee), who are both out for the year.  Last year’s starting guard Lou Eliades is also out with a knee injury.  Safety Nick Sukay tore a pectoral muscle and is also out for the year.  Robert Bolden (QB) is probable as he continues to recover from his concussion.  Finally, Jack Crawford (DE) has been upgraded to probable for the NU game with a foot injury.  There are also a handful of non-starters who will miss Saturday’s game.  Thanks to College Injury Report.com for the injury report.

Weather Report: There is a 50% chance of rain, but not cold enough to turn into snow.  Wind should not be much of an issue, at least not nearly as much as the last two weeks.  If the rain holds off, the mid-40’s kickoff temp should make for a chilly but comfortable game. Keep up to date with Weather.com  

When Northwestern has the Ball:

Players to watch…

Dan Persa: Persa was a little off against Indiana, and for the first time all season is not the nation’s leader in completion percentage.  Penn State’s secondary is strong and has only given up more than 230 yards one time all season – to Minnesota, who also had 13 more attempts than anyone else.  At corner PSU starts D’Anton Lynn, who has recorded two of PSU’s seven interceptions.  At the other corner, there is not as much experience, and it gets weaker as you go down the depth chart.  Expect NU to work the short passing game to beat the younger corners, because PSU has one of the best strong safeties in the conference with Drew Astorino.  The other safety is Andrew Dailey, who is a senior, but only has two career starts in place of the injured Nick Sukay.  PSU has also had trouble with running quarterbacks, so if they bring someone in to spy on Persa, it should open up some alleys for passing the ball.  Dan has made some of the better scrambles of the year over the last two weeks, and PSU will have to contain that first and worry about the passing game second.

Ollie Ogbu (DT): This senior co-captain is one of the most experienced players on PSU’s team.  He has five career sacks, but none this year; although he has recorded 5 ½ tackles for loss.  He is a big run-stopper that NU’s newly rejuvenated offensive line will need to be able to move if the running game is to succeed.  Ogbu is the best player on this line, so if the Cats can contain him, they should be able to continue their recent success running the ball.  But if Ogbu can shed his blocks, he will be a nightmare for Trumpy and Smith all day.

Mike Trumpy: Given the style of NU’s offense and the skill of the Cats’ defense, you have to expect about 185 yards passing and 35-50 yards (net) rushing from Dan Persa.  If the Cats are passing more than that, they are losing anyway.  This means that the running game, and in particular, Mike Trumpy, will be counted on the grind out the yards to put the Cats in position to win the game.  Linebacker U is not as solid in that position as it has been in the past and Andrew Dailey is quite inexperienced as a free safety.  So if Trumpy can get past the big uglies, he may be able to break some longer runs – much like he did last week against IU.  Trumpy (or Adonis, I suppose) will need 20-24 carries and 150 yards for the Cats to win.  He finally has the experience and confidence to accomplish this.

In the trenches: Which brings us to the most important matchup of this game.  Penn State has older players on their D-Line (two seniors and two junior starters), but NU has more experience (all five returning starters, as compared to two of four).  PSU has recorded nine sacks all year, but only two against Big Ten competition.  This has been the Achilles heel of the NU offense all year, but Persa has pulled some magical plays out in dire situations in the last two weeks.  PSU has also given up some large rushing numbers to Illinois, Michigan and Alabama – but been pretty stout against Minnesota and Iowa.  In other words, for as important as this matchup will be – it is equally as mysterious.

Overall impression: NU will need to be very methodical on offense.  I foresee a lot of long drives and third-down conversions.  This will mean that some drives will stall around midfield.  But as long as they can get the field position flipped in their favor a few times, NU should be able to squeak in some scores.  If NU commits more than 5 holding/false start penalties, they will lose.

When Penn State has the Ball:

Players to watch…

Evan Royster (RB): Royster became PSU’s all time leading rusher last week in a 150-yard effort.  But he has not had the season that everyone expected, as it was anticipated that he would reach that mark somewhere around week 4.  He has only cleared 60 yards twice and in two games was not even the team’s leading rusher.  But his two big games were monster games with 187 against Temple to go with the Michigan game.  If NU can play as well against the run as it has – thus forcing PSU to throw the ball more, NU will be able to generate some stops and maybe even some turnovers.

Bryce McNaul: McNaul continues to emerge as the best NU defender, recording another 11 tackles against Indiana.  He is third on the team in tackles, despite missing the first two games and seeing limited action until the Big Ten season.  There is no question that his recent success is directly linked to the Cats recent play against the run.  McNaul’s inspired play will be a major factor in tomorrow’s game.

PSU’s QB: Penn State will not win tomorrow’s game based on its quarterback decision.  But it may be the reason that they lose the game.  Bolden’s performances have been nothing to write home about, and McGloin numbers last week must be tempered by the fact that he was playing against a high school defense.  PSU does a nice job spreading the ball around to its receivers, which is a nice asset.  But whoever is named the starter must flush out the fear that he will be benched and play with confidence in order to succeed.

In the trenches: PSU starts five seniors across the defensive line, but it is one of the smaller lines in the Big Ten, averaging just under 301 lbs.  Kevin Watt is starting to play very well at end, and NU saw a lot of success pressuring the QB by playing Quentin Davie at end in passing situations.  NU’s rotation of lineman will keep PSU on their toes and at times will keep the quarterback with happy feet.  Penn State has given up only seven sacks, but all of them have been in the last five games.  Both of these units are strong but not dominating.

Overall Impression: Both of these teams have seen some success in this aspect of the game, but it is far from perfection.  PSU has scored only two combined touchdowns against Alabama, Temple, Iowa and Illinois.  NU performed well against a high-scoring offense last week, it should be able to stop a low-scoring unit this week.

Intangibles: Joe Paterno is playing for his 400^th win at home.  Nothing else needs to be said.  The weather should not be an issue.

Bottom Line: Both of these teams have similar credentials to last year, with the exception of the quarterback.  NU was forced to play an unprepared Dan Persa for two and a half quarters and did not score during that time.  This year, PSU has the weakness at quarterback.  I see the same sort of game playing out with the opposite result.  The game remains close and low scoring through three quarters; Jo Pa replaces the quarterback in an effort to jump start the offense; and this turns out to be an ill-fated decision.  The Cats score their first touchdown of the game late and pull out the win.

Cats win 16-13.

Go Cats! 

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Cats Defense Solid; NU Bowl Eligible

Two touchdown passes from Persa to Ebert and two Demos field goals set the table for an outstanding defensive performance.  IU’s late touchdown made the final score much closer than the reality, but the Cats are now “bowl eligible” for the fourth consecutive year and the seventh time in the last eight seasons.

I spent yesterday driving home from Bloomington and I spent today reviewing emails, which provided mixed interpretations of the victory.  So I have had plenty of time to digest both my trip and the game.  The game was not particularly exciting.  What was expected to be a high scoring affair was a defensive struggle.  Neither team ever took a stronghold of the momentum, but the Cats in the second half took the lead, and then just turned it over to their defense.

Before getting into the details of the game, the win itself had some significance.  It was the sixth consecutive road win, which is the longest NU road streak in 80 years.  And while “bowl eligible” is in many ways a code word for just mediocre, it is the consistency of six-win seasons that continues to demonstrate that this is truly a new era of Northwestern football. 

If you simply look at Ben Chappell’s passing stats, it is hard to understand why the defense was the star of this game.  Chappell was 30-56 for 308 yards and a late touchdown.  But most of Chappell’s passing happened between his own 20 and NU’s 40.  Once IU got to midfield, the Cats’ defense took over and stymied the Hoosiers.  IU only crossed midfield five times and ran plays inside the 35 on only two drives – one which resulted in a critical missed field goal.

The NU run defense was very strong, giving up only 65 yards on 21 carries.  Trea Burgess was the leading Hoosier runner with 37 yards, most of which came on a 15 yard run.  IU is certainly a one-dimensional team, but so is Minnesota and the Gophers ran well against NU.  NU’s front four stood its ground and allowed the linebackers to do their jobs.  Bryce McNaul had another monster game with 13 tackles.  NU consistently was ready for IU’s misdirection runs and end around attempts – a run attempt by WR Tandon Doss was stopped for a loss of three.

Coach Hank took an interesting approach to the passing game.  He did not put on much of a pass rush and the Cats did not sack Chappell even once. And the Cats gave up a lot of passing yards on the sidelines, again mostly between the IU 20 and the Cats 40.  But once IU crossed onto NU’s side of the field, the secondary stepped up and made plays, consistently.  Chappell had far more success throwing to his right as Jordan Mabin completely shut down Tandon Doss, who only managed four catches for 34 yards.  Curiously, NU lined up Quentin Davie at defensive end for at least a dozen plays.  Despite no sacks, he recorded three hurries coming off Chappell’s right side, which may explain some of his troubles throwing to his left.

In the end, this was the textbook depiction of “bend but don’t break.”  The Cats did not have to be too aggressive at any point, they kept the offensive in front of them, and they did not give up many big plays – only two above 20 yards.  This is the best the Cats have played against a spread offense in two years; and while most expected NU to win, hardly anyone expected them to hold IU to 17 points.

On offense, the story of the game was Mike Trumpy and the continued improvements of the running game.  Trumpy ran 21 times for 110 yards – more than five yards per carry.  Smith and Fields saw a few carries, but Trumpy was the workhorse and may have finally solidified his spot as the feature back that NU has been looking for since Tyrell Sutton graduated.  Trumpy’s running was especially important in the fourth quarter when the Cats were salting the game away. 

But this team still lives and dies by the play of Dan Persa and the passing game.  It is no coincidence that NU is 6-0 when Persa throws a touchdown pass and 0-2 when he does not.  Persa continues to thrill NU fans and confound opposing defenses with his accuracy and his ability to evade the pass rush.  His run and throw on the first touchdown pass to Ebert was one of the most athletic plays he has made all season.  And his third quarter touchdown pass to Ebert was probably the most accurate pass he threw all game.  He was not quite as efficient at 18-28 passing, but in his defense, the wind was brutal – I would say worse than the MSU game.  

Persa left the game midway through the fourth quarter with a concussion, apparently.  It was announced today that he is expected to play against Penn State as long as he practices on Wednesday.

Speaking of the wind, the special teams had no problems with it – as this unit played the best game of the year.  Where to begin?  Stephan Demos made two field goals including a fantastic kick into the wind to seal the win in the fourth quarter.  Brandon Williams averaged 37 yards per kick, and that included an inexplicable 20-yard punt WITH the wind (the only special teams faux pas).  He also managed to give Tandon Doss only one chance to return a punt, which the coverage team stopped for only nine yards.  Kevin Watt partially blocked a punt, which helped to set up the final Demos FG.

But it was the difference in kick returns that was the “behind the numbers” key to the game.  NU kicked off four times, averaging 68.5 yards per kick, with two touchbacks.  IU averaged 22.5 yards on the two kicks they returned for an average start on the 23-yard line.  This allowed the defense plenty of room to play its game without worrying that one big play would put the Hoosiers in FG range.  And when IU kicked off, Venric Mark looked like a guy ready to explode.  He is going to break one soon.

The atmosphere in Bloomington was tense for this game.  IU really needed this win to have a chance at bowl eligibility.  The Indiana student newspaper displayed the headline “Revenge?” in a nod to last years’ 25-point NU comeback.  IU is a school that is trying really hard to be a football school, and for that reason, the fans and the team were fired up for this game.  Fortunately, the Cats were up for the challenge.

Now, I have read a lot of emails today about the disappointment that the Cats were only able to beat IU by three; pointing primarily to the penalties as a primary reason.  And my first reaction was to say, “a win is a win; and now the Cats are bowl eligible.”  But now I realize that this is too simplistic.  The fact is, that when it comes down to it, this is a team that is lead by defense; and the defense is finally coming into that role.  And winning with defense is winning ugly sometimes; and often that means close games against inferior teams.

I know that there are fans out there who are upset about the margin of victory in this game.  This is hard for me to understand – winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard enough without having to worry about running up the score.  There are still a lot of challenges ahead for this team.  But this game, especially the defensive performance, is a huge stepping-stone for the Cats return to New Years Day.

Go Cats!

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News and Notes and Big Ten Thursday

Big Ten Play begins this weekend.  We have three great matchups to discuss, along with two trap games for the visiting favorites.  Breakdowns of those games are below, but first, some Wildcat News and Notes.

The biggest news of the week was Fitz’s decisions, or lack thereof, on the future of the Northwestern running attack.  On the two deep, the Cats list Jacob Schmidt or Mike Trumpy as the starters and Arby Fields or Stephen Simmons as the backups.  Lindsay Wilhite offered his thoughts in the Daily Herald earlier this week.  There is a great deal of talk about Minnesota’s run defense, which gives up 185 yards per game on the ground.  But the Cats only run for 3.2 yards per carry.  At that average, it would take more than 57 running plays to reach 185.  Hopefully, it will not come to that.  Schmidt and Trumpy showed the coaches a lot against CMU, which earned them the “co-starter” roles.  And according to Tina Akouris with the Sun Times, they are excited about the assignment.  But it is put up or shut up time for the NU run game.  If they cannot get the ground attack going against the Gophers, they never will.

A great deal of the national talk over the first few weeks of the season has been the domination of Stanford’s offensive line, which has absolutely pummeled opponents with their physical play.  NU defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz has been looking for the same effect on the defensive side of the ball.  Skip Myslenski takes an in depth look at the NU defensive line in this piece for NUSports.com.  This unit is deep, physical unit is improving every week and appear ready for the challenges that await in the second half of the season.  If the Cats can get through the bye week unscathed, the week off will be a great way for the big fellas to prepare mentally and physically for the grind of the final half of the season.

Bryce McNaul returns to Minnesota on Saturday, and will make his third career start for the Cats.  This Trib piece by Teddy Greenstein outlines how Tim Brewster wanted McNaul to be a Gopher.  Greenstein also gives us good news about the NU secondary as it appears the Carpenter and Arnold both practiced yesterday and may play on Saturday.  For a unit that will be tested by a senior quarterback on Saturday, this is very good news.

Just so everyone is clear, Minnesota is 1-3 and lost to FCS South Dakota.  You would never know that by listening to Coach Fitz.  While Fitz’s claim that the Gophers are three plays away from being undefeated is a little outlandish (two of their losses were by double digits), Fitz is playing the old Lou Holtz game of building up weaker opponents.  There is something nice about a program that needs to focus on not looking past opponents and Fitz seems to be doing it the right way.  There is a big difference between simply saying that Minnesota is good and actually breaking it down for the team.  Another reason why NU is lucky to have him.

In a rather bizarre story out of the Wildcat office this week, it turns out that the Wildcat defense had trouble communicating on Saturday because of crowd noise.  Now, I was not at the game to experience this, but apparently it was a pretty lively audience.  But if this is indeed an issue, the Cats will have to fix it before a night game against Purdue in front of what surely will be a larger and, shall we say, more animated 6:30 crowd.  This is a good problem to have, but it apparently is nonetheless a problem.  Incidentally, according to Lake the Posts.com, CMU was the most attended non-conference game in the Fitz era – and the largest since the 2005 Northern Illinois game.  If we discount the fact that NIU brings a large fan base because of their proximity, it was the most impressive non-conference crowd since the 1998 Duke game.

I usually do not focus on non-football issues, but would be remiss if I did not congratulate Luke Donald on his second place finish in the Tour Championship over the weekend.  He was one shot away from being in a playoff with Jim Furyk, a playoff which would have determined the $10 million FedEx Cup.  Luke had the best season of his career and during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, probably played the best month of golf of his life.  I forget sometimes that he is only 32, and by normal golf standards, just now entering the prime of his career.  There should be great things on the horizon for Donald – just hopefully not this weekend at the Ryder Cup!

If anyone was at the game on Saturday, I would like some thoughts on “Throw your hands in the air”, which is apparently the new fourth quarter hype music.  Comment below.

Big Ten Breakdown

Purdue gets the week off this week, which is good for them considering they have been decimated by injuries.  But not so good for the Cats as they will have two weeks to prepare to stop Dan Persa.  Purdue has not played well this year at all and are in danger of losing all of the momentum that they gained last season. 

Nebraska also has the week off to prepare for a Thursday night matchup with undefeated Kansas State.

Wisconsin @ Michigan State: In the first of two games between ranked teams Saturday, MSU looks to keep its hot start going against the Badgers.  Wisconsin is accustomed to 4-0 starts, while Michigan State usually manages to drop a game or two early, so this is new territory for Sparty.  Apparently, Mark Dantonio will have some role in the game, but will probably be coaching from the press box.  Wisconsin has been very consistent on both sides of the ball.  MSU has had some problems with both scoring and defending on a regular basis.  Despite the home field advantage and the emotional issue with Mark D., I think the Badgers play a more solid all-around game and steal this one.

Penn State @ Iowa: Penn State is in great danger of falling off the map with this game.  The Nits have not been overly impressive in any of their games, including a 22-13 struggle against Temple last week.  Iowa had a bit of a hiccup at Arizona, but went right back to Iowa football.  The offense seems to have improved a little bit and finally has a consistent force at running back.  But the Iowa defense needs to play four quarters and stop taking the first half off.  The Hawkeye D is full of NFL talent, but they rarely play that way.  If the defense shows up, Iowa wins this one, potentially big.

Michigan @ Indiana: This might be one of the more intriguing matchups of the day, and it could certainly be the most exciting game.  This game will present us with two teams with very potent offenses and two very weak defenses.  Denard Robinson appears to be ready to play after sitting out the second half against BGSU with an injury.  Ben Chappell is putting up some nice numbers and has to be salivating over the thought of torching the Wolverine secondary.  IU is still sore over the poor call which cost them a chance to win last year, but it probably will not be enough.  Shoelace will find a way to lead Big Blue to Victory no matter what the deficit.

Ohio State @ Illinois: Pundits are wondering whether this will be game that trips up the Buckeyes, much like the Purdue game last year.  Difference being that last year Purdue was lead by a veteran defense and a senior quarterback.  Illinois has neither.  This will get ugly early.

Northwestern @ Minnesota: I will obviously get a lot more into this tomorrow, but this is a must win game for both teams.  NU cannot afford to lose to a team like Minnesota; there is too much going good for the program right now.  Minnesota is playing the rest of the year for Brewster’s job, and they have to view this game as “winnable”, whether that is a valid viewpoint or not.

Big Ten Power Rankings:

1 OSU

2 Wisconsin

3 Iowa

4 MSU

5 Northwestern

6 PSU

7 Michigan

8 Indiana

9 Illinois

10 Purdue

11 Minnesota

Go Cats!