CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: MaximumSam on September 24, 2017, 07:29:04 AM
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1. Penn State (Beat Iowa 21-19, next week Indiana) - Now here is a game of overcoming adversity. On the road in a hostile environment, PSU played well, but couldn't catch a break until the very, very end of the game. Despite appearing to struggle offensively, they piled up 579 yards and the defense was exceptional, with the exception of about three plays. Heck of a game. Indiana coming to town with a different look offensively.
2. Wisconsin (Bye, up next Northwestern) Leaving them here as they didn't play - Northwestern should give them a decent test.
3. Michigan (Beat Purdue 28-10, up next bye) Did Michigan turn the corner offensively against Purdue? I'm skeptical. Korn was running for his life and they still struggled to run the ball until Purdue lost half their defense. But the defense is humming right along, and winning the conference ugly is no different from winning it pretty.
4. Ohio State (Beat UNLV 54-21, up next @Rutgers) Pretty much a layup of a win so not much to gather. Rutgers should present a tougher if still not very good matchup.
5. Michigan State (Lost to Notre Dame 38-18, next up Iowa) Not often you outgain a team by 150 yards and lose by 20, but here we are. MSU is a good team, but they made critical errors that cost them a chance to win the game. Is this the return of Sparty No? No. This is a Dantonio coached MSU team and they will get that corrected.
6. Iowa - (Lost to PSU 21-19, next @MSU) Showed a lot of moxy against Penn State, but they still gave up a ton of yards and couldn't do much with the ball except in the most dramatic moments. They are still Iowa, and still figure to get a puncher's chance in every game.
7. Minnesota (Bye, up next Maryland). Maryland getting worked dampens what looked like a game between up and comers in the B1G.
8. Purdue (Lost to Michigan 28-10, up next bye) No shame in that loss. When this offense can run the ball they will be scary. The defense played with a lot of energy. Overall, an impressive performance, but this is still Purdue and I'm leaving them here until I see them against the middle of the B1G.
9. Indiana (Beat Georgia Southern 52-17, up next @PSU) A layup of a game. Uphill battle next week, but should be interesting to see if they can move the ball against another top team.
10. Northwestern (Bye, up next @Wisconsin) Can they give Wiscy a game?
11. Maryland (Lost to UCF 38-10, up next @Minnesota) What the hell was that? At this rate one of us could be quarterback for Maryland by the end of the season.
12. Nebraska (Beat Rutgers 27-17, up next @Illinois) Meh.
13. Rutgers (Lost to Nebraska 27-17, up next OSU) Eh
14. Illinois (Bye, up next Nebraska) Blech
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Back to reality this week after sorting out the pretenders
1. PSU
Going to give PSU a pass even though they needed a TD on very last play of game to win. They passed their first road test in a tough enviroment But they just don't look like a team that is going undefeated.
2. Wisc
3. OSU
I think OSU still has the potential to jump to #1. Just waiting for them to put it all together.
4. Mich
Mich didn't look that great and still won by 18 points They really do need to find a QB.
5. Minn
6. Iowa
Great effort but Iowa has some issues. Iowa's offense needs to find more weapons than just waiting for Akrum Wadley to save the day. Defense has a jeckl-Hyde quality that shows up half the time.
7. Purdue
Good but not good enough
8. MD
What happened?
9. Indy
Are they any good? Hard to tell
10. NW
11. MSU
They are who I thought they are
12. Neb
Awful but better than Rutgers. Riley is dead man walking
13. ILL
14. Rut
Congratulations! Rutgers is clearly the worst team in the conference, and gets 2 years of probation too! Complete dumpster fire.
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1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota
7. Purdue
8. Northwestern
9. Maryland
10. Indiana
11. Michigan State
12. Nebraska
13. Rutgers
14. Illinois
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1 Lions
2 Badgers
3 Buckeyes
4 Wolverines
5 Hawkeyes
6 Spartans
7 Gophers
8 Wildcats
9 Hoosiers
10 Boilers
11 Terps
12 Huskers
13 Knights
14 Illini
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1. Penn State
2. Wisconsin
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Michigan State
6. Iowa
7. Minnesota
8. Purdue
9. Indiana
10. Maryland
11. Northwestern
12. Nebraska
13. Illinois
14. Rutgers
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1. Michigan - Defense continues to dominate. Offense finally looked decent.
2. Penn State - Good win, but Iowa proved their offense isn't unbeatable. Their defense looked vulnerable in the 4th quarter, too.
3. Wisconsin - Northwestern should provide a better indicator than their non-con games have
4. Ohio State - Beat a terrible team like they should
5. Iowa - Defense was good when it had to be until the last play
6. Purdue - Much improved from last year, but they don't have the personnel yet.
7. Indiana - That Virginia win actually looks somewhat impressive now
8. Minnesota - I'm curious to see how they'll do in BigTen play
9. Michigan State - Only this high by default
10. Maryland - Is their #2 QB out for the year, too?
11. Northwestern - Still skeptical
12. Illinois - They get the Huskers at home next to prove they've made progress.
13. Nebraska - They might not win 4 games with the way they're playing.
14. Rutgers - At least they kept it somewhat close....
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I had PSU number one pre- season and last night just supported that thought. Going into a night game against a tough team, and dominating everywhere but the scoreboard, and imposing their will when it came time to put up or shut up.
After that I tend to Agee with the BTN rankings. Wisconsin in a strong second spot.
http://btn.com/2017/09/24/big-ten-power-rankings-penn-state-bolsters-case-in-post-week-4-list/
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Maryland lost the turnover battle 2-0 in two INTs and couldn't run the ball. Not many teams can survive if they can't run the ball, 37 rushes for 39 yards.
UCF may be a pretty good team though. We'll see next week.
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Tier 1:
1) Ohio State - still the best team top to bottom IMO.
2) Penn State - impressive win- Barkley best player in America IMO.
Tier 2:
3) Wisconsin - see no reason to move them.
4) Michigan - great defense. Good ST's. Need to see WAY more out of that offense. Maybe O'Korn is the spark they needed? We'll find out as Speight is likely out for awhile.
Best of the rest:
5) Iowa
6) Minnesota
7) Michigan State
8) Purdue
9) Indiana
10) Northwestern
11) Maryland
12) Nebraska
13) Illinois
14) Rutgers
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1. Penn State (Beat Iowa 21-19, next week Indiana) - Now here is a game of overcoming adversity. On the road in a hostile environment, PSU played well, but couldn't catch a break until the very, very end of the game. Despite appearing to struggle offensively, they piled up 579 yards and the defense was exceptional, with the exception of about three plays. Heck of a game. Indiana coming to town with a different look offensively.
It could be argued Penn State won because it received a break when Barkely dropped to a knee 10-yards into a 30-yard run. If the ball were marked where it should have been, and even if somehow PSU scores on that same drive, how likely would it be PSU has 4-seconds left to run their final TD pass?
It was otherwise a well-officiated, and well-played game.
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Maryland, since some have questions, or thinks we should have dismantled UCF Saturday, lost its second QB for the year in the first quarter.
We'll be lucky to win another game.
Our only chance is if Caleb Henderson somehow cracks the 2-deep, but I think he's not listed due to something unrelated to football.
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1. Talcum
2. Goldbond
3. Baking
...
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1. Talcum
2. Goldbond
3. Baking
...
Garlic.
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1. Penn State (1)
2. Michigan (2)
3. Wisconsin (3)
4. Ohio State (4)
5. Iowa (6)
6. Minnesota (8)
7. Purdue (9)
8. Michigan State (7)
9. Indiana (10)
10. Northwestern (11)
11. Maryland (5)
12. Nebraska (12)
13. Illinois (13)
14. Rutgers (14)
Edited to move Maryland down some more, 9/25/2017. Sorry for your troubles, Maryland.
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Back to reality this week after sorting out the pretenders
6. Iowa
Great effort but Iowa has some issues. Iowa's offense needs to find more weapons than just waiting for Akrum Wadley to save the day. Defense has a jeckl-Hyde quality that shows up half the time.
The ABC crew of Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler discovered much earlier than Offensive Coordinator Brian Ferentz there was a problem with Iowa's offensive strategy not throwing the ball down field on first down when Penn State's linebackers were moving the direction of Iowa's linemen and eating up running backs on 1st down. Iowa's offense just got gobbled up. Ferentz finally got it when he used that counter play to Wadley for that final score. Iowa has rarely used misdirection plays since Kirk Ferentz arrived, and Penn State (and many other Big Ten teams) know it.
Stanley will get better. He is already pretty good, but his inexperience sometimes showed. I really liked that pass to the left when the blitz came from that direction.
I was surprised how seldom other running backs were used by Iowa, and for that matter Penn State, when it was so warm last night.
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Garlic.
Wtf, how is garlic not #1?
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Wtf, how is garlic not #1?
Baking powder is clearly #1
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Garlic.
I usually think arguing power rankings is a silly exercise.
You are right, I was wrong.
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Penn State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Michigan
Iowa
Indiana
Michigan State
Purdue
Minnesota
Northwestern
Maryland
Nebraska
Illinois
Rutgers
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Maryland, since some have questions, or thinks we should have dismantled UCF Saturday, lost its second QB for the year in the first quarter.
We'll be lucky to win another game.
Our only chance is if Caleb Henderson somehow cracks the 2-deep, but I think he's not listed due to something unrelated to football.
Man, that's one of those things that can really spiral out of control. It really takes the wind out of a team's sails.
You lose the star QB, and the OL just doesn't block quite as hard for the back up for whatever reason.
Then you lose the back up, and the OL really throws in the towel.
Then it just becomes a total clown show where the QBs start dropping like flies.
Seems to happen to my Browns once or twice per decade.
Tough break after a promising start to the season.
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1. Wisconsin (1) - I still think they are the most complete team.
2. Penn State (2) - A little concerning they had so many problems in the red zone..
3. Ohio State (3) - Suddenly looking great on pass defense and the offense is rolling again. The improvement is extraordinary. Urban is crazy good. They might be the best team in the league at this point.
4. Michigan (4) - Struggled with Purdue, but may have found a better QB.
5. Iowa (8) - Way better than I thought they were. Hopefully they can play that tough outside of Kinnick.
6. Minnesota (7)
7. Purdue (9)
8. Michigan State (6) - I actually think they are really good if they stop making crazy mistakes.
9. Indiana (12) - Unsure of where to put this team.
10. Northwestern (10)
11. Maryland (5) - too many injuries. If healthy, I think this team is much higher.
12. Nebraska (11)
13. Illinois (13)
14. Rutgers (14)
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1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Wisconsin
4. Michigan
5. Iowa
6. Minnesota
7. Purdue
8. Northwestern
9. Maryland
10. Indiana
11. Michigan State
12. Nebraska
13. Rutgers
14. Illinois
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My struggle right now is where to put Wisconsin. They have played more completely than the 3 I have above them, and good enough to be #1, but there is no litmus test from which to judge them. Northwestern will be a good gauge where to shake them out. The same goes for MN a little further down the list. Maryland, sans QB #1 and QB#2 may not provide a great sense of where Row the Boat is at though.
I think Michigan can be better with O'Korn, but the offensive woes definitely aren't solved. O'Korn is a little more mobile and throws the level 2 passes a heck of lot more accurately. The running game is better than last year, but suffers from being boom or bust. They have a nice chunk of 20+ yard runs this season, but have a ton of zero to negative yardage runs that kill drives.
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Wisconsin
5. Iowa
6. Minnesota
7. Purdue
8. Michigan State
9. Northwestern
10. Indiana
11. Maryland
12. Nebraska
13. Rutgers
14. Illinois
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Michigan and Wisconsin are hard teams to rank.
Wisconsin hasn't played anybody yet and while Michigan's defense and special teams have been lights out that offense has been a disaster. Liked what I say from O'Korn- but it was one half of football. Going to have to see way more before I buy in. That defense and that kicker should keep them in every game though. And DPJ is a threat to house a punt or kick any time he gets a clean shot on a return.
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I did not realize this. I haven't had a chance to watch much of Michigan yet so I've mostly been judging from box score averages:
- 4.4 yards per carry against Florida
- 5.2 yards per carry against Cincy
- 4.5 yards per carry against AFA
- 3.2 yards per carry against Purdue
I didn't realize that they did have some nice long runs:
- Against Florida Isaac had a 36 yard long, Evans had a 29 yard long, and Higdon had a 12 yard long (only) carry.
- Against Cincy Isaac had a 53 yard long, Peoples-Jones had a 44 yard long
- Against AFA Higdon had a 36 yard long and Isaac had a 32 yard long
- Against Purdue Evans had a 49 yard long and O'Korn had a 12 yard long.
Aside from the long carries I listed above Michigan's rushing offense must have been ugly to watch.
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I did not realize this. I haven't had a chance to watch much of Michigan yet so I've mostly been judging from box score averages:
- 4.4 yards per carry against Florida
- 5.2 yards per carry against Cincy
- 4.5 yards per carry against AFA
- 3.2 yards per carry against Purdue
I didn't realize that they did have some nice long runs:
- Against Florida Isaac had a 36 yard long, Evans had a 29 yard long, and Higdon had a 12 yard long (only) carry.
- Against Cincy Isaac had a 53 yard long, Peoples-Jones had a 44 yard long
- Against AFA Higdon had a 36 yard long and Isaac had a 32 yard long
- Against Purdue Evans had a 49 yard long and O'Korn had a 12 yard long.
Aside from the long carries I listed above Michigan's rushing offense must have been ugly to watch.
Isaac also had a two nice long 50+ yarders called back. They've given their backs some nice lanes to run through.
Problem is the play-calling. Doesn't matter how good your OL or RB is- you keep running predictable run plays on 1st down with 8-9 in the box bc you're not going anywhere. Not unless your RB is Barry Sanders. Michigan didn't get anything going on the ground against Purdue until they switched up the play-calling and throwing a little but on 1st and 2nd down and O'Korn started hitting passes and the Purdue defense was forced to stop crowding the box with 8-9 guys and just attacking the LOS with run blitzes.
Biggest issue I've seen from the run game is the play-calling. They stubbornly try to run right into the teeth of attacking defenses time and time again on 1st down and get 1 to 3 yards max inside or they lose yards when they try to run outside on slow developing run plays to the edge. Also- Higdon's vision seems to be lacking a little bit right now in comparison to Isaac and Evans- but he's way quicker through the hole. If he's got an open lane and sees it he's gone. He's small but he's a way better inside runner than outside runner.
The issues with the run game can be fixed pretty easily if they adjust the play-calling a little bit. I think O'Korn can allow them to do that. He seems WAY more accurate on the short and intermediate throws than Speight could ever dream of being.
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Last week in parenthesis
1. PENN STATE (1) - no shame in getting a W in the environment, no matter how close
2. WISCONSIN (2) - bye week
3. MICHIGAN (3) - only outscoring opponents 46-40 in the 1st half, but 80-14 in the 2nd, including 43-0 in the 4th quarter, that depth will really pay off in November
4. OHIO STATE (4) - bye week...oh wait, never mind
5. MINNESOTA (6) - bye week
6. IOWA (8) - ok Iowa, I'm back on board, if it's for real, and not just Night Kinnick magic, you'll beat a mediocre MSU team
7. INDIANA (7) - glad they got a should win to replace the cancelled should win
8. MARYLAND (5) - the QB injuries make this team impossible to rank, because I'm not sure which version I'm ranking
9. MICHIGAN STATE (9) - "defense looks much improved from 2015 and 2016, but they can't beat better teams with the turnovers and special teams miscues" - Me in this thread two weeks ago
10. PURDUE (10) - offense would have been better off just punting on first down in the second half
11. NORTHWESTERN (11) - bye week
12. NEBRASKA (12) - if you're asking for what a win that actually makes me think less of you looks like, it's that
13. ILLINOIS (13) - bye week
14. RUTGERS (14) - how do you lose to a team that almost loses to Rutgers?
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1. Penn State - Saquon has to be the Heisman front-runner at this point
2. Ohio State - Did what they needed to do against a patsy
3. Wisconsin - if Northwestern isn't anything special, we might not really know what the Badgers are made of until Iowa comes to town. If Iowa isn't anything special, then Michigan might be the only thing standing in their way towards going 12-0
4. Michigan - Got a bit more of a fight than they anticipated, but wore down pesky PU late in the game
5. Iowa - Hell of an effort, but couldn't quite seal the deal
6. Purdue - Definitely on the upswing
7. Minnesota - UMD should be a good test for these guys
8. Maryland - Anyone got the number of the truck that ran over the Terps?
9. Northwestern - Probably a mediocre team this year, but they tend to screw someone up this year. Could it be @Wisconsin?
10. Indiana - UVA win looks better now
11. Michigan State - so maybe ND isn't awful after all, but still I expected a better game out of Sparty
12. Nebraska - Got a badly-needed win, but still too close for comfort. Just getting to a bowl would be an accomplishment
13. Illinois - big loss @ USF still shows they have a ways to go before being decent again
14. Rutgers - Yuck
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Week 4 composite computer rankings (71 computers - last week in parentheses)
1. Alabama (2)
2. Clemson (1)
3. Oklahoma (3)
4. MICHIGAN (6)
5. USC (4)
6. Georgia (13)
7. Washington (10)
8. PENN STATE (8)
9. OHIO STATE (7)
10. TCU (14)
11. WISCONSIN (9)
12. Virginia Tech (11)
13. Notre Dame (24)
14. Oklahoma State (5)
15. Mississippi State (12)
16. Miami (20)
17. Louisville (18)
18. South Florida (-)
19. San Diego State (-)
20. Washington State (15)
21. Duke (-)
22. Florida (-)
23. Auburn (19)
24. MINNESOTA (22)
25. Stanford (-)
29. Iowa (23)
43. Indiana (61)
49. Michigan State (45)
52. Maryland (51)
54. Purdue (64)
57. Northwestern (50)
68. Nebraska (67)
69. Illinois (80)
104. Rutgers (99)
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There is absolutely no way that Purdue is below Maryland even if it's a few spots.
Again, I could be wrong, but unless Caleb Henderson can come out on the field as a redshirt Junior and Lead this team like Piggy or Kasim Hill could, then we will be at or near the bottom of the Big Ten East.
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There is absolutely no way that Purdue is below Maryland even if it's a few spots.
Again, I could be wrong, but unless Caleb Henderson can come out on the field as a redshirt Junior and Lead this team like Piggy or Kasim Hill could, then we will be at or near the bottom of the Big Ten East.
It is a computer ranking and thus probably does not consider Maryland's personnel losses.
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Yeah, it's just a composite of 70 different computer rankings. It's purely viewing resume.