Well that went better than expected for PJ Fleck last night… I mean, not well, but it almost could have… Minnesota put up 31 points against OSU’s apparently human defense. That was good. They were up 21-17 and the ball near mid-field halfway through the 3rd quarter. That was good. They then shot themselves in the foot with a stupid personal foul and holding call that ultimately resulted in a punt on 4th and 28 from their own 17. The next play was an OSU TD pass and Minnesota would not recover. It looked like things could have gone differently… The Gophers could have NOT self destructed on that drive or given up a scoop and score on their next possession. They could have also gotten the benefit of a targeting call that would have turned an OSU fumble recovery into a first down for the Gophers. Things did not go differently.
Wisconsin/Penn State:
We’re doing this together because I’m lazy and they’re basically the same team this year. Both are highly ranked despite having awful seasons last year. Wisconsin crushed Michigan, then got Covid and sucked the rest of the season. Penn State sucked for 5 games, then beat Michigan and and 3 other bad teams. In 2017 both coaches looked like they were top 5 in the country. Then they Paul Chryst did very stupid things like forgetting you had Jonathan Taylor on 3rd and 1. Or forgetting you had Jonathon Taylor on 4th and 1 And James Franklin did very stupid things like Icing your own kicker, or pretty much any in-game decision made in the last 4 years. Saturday is going to be an interesting game because maybe nothing from 2020 is relevant and they’re both top 15 teams and the Big Ten is awesome… Or maybe they’re both terrible.
Indiana:
Tom Allen has traversed every last inch of Bloomington. He’s entered every warp zone, bonus level, and spinning sign. He’s punched every fat man with a moustache and blue hedgehog in the face. He’s collected every chaos emerald* that has made Indiana interesting, hilarious, and insane over the past… forever. And now they’re GOOD! Michael Penix Jr is the best QB in the big ten** They will win the Big Ten… Or they’ll lose a stupid game to Michigan in 2OT, get crushed by OSU and end up 3rd in the East beacause this is College Football and that’s what always happens.
Rutgers:
Rutgers sucks. They’re bad. I mean, they’re not like RUTGERS-bad -pick-them-to-lose-every-week-no-matter-what anymore, but they’re still bad… and you should probably still pick them to lose every week… Maybe they learned how to read?
*I mean just look at the guy… If that isn’t the face of a man struggling to keep it together and trying not to explode while harnessing the infinite power of 7 magical gemstones, I don’t know what is.
**And has the best name now that Rocky Lombardi has transferred… hehe… Penix.