One full week into the full Big Ten schedule, the conference is already acting like the SEC. We’ve seen giants fall and others look wobbly, and there are plenty of storylines to dive into.
Iowa vs. Ohio State
On Thursday morning, I was asked to call into a Columbus, Ohio radio show to recap my experience in Michigan and preview the Iowa-Ohio State game this weekend.
One of the questions they asked me was how Iowa could stop Jeremiah Smith. “Pray?” I said.
Smith just went for 217 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois last weekend. That’s a great day for a quarterback, much less a receiver.
My favorite thing from that game was this clip captioned “This route from Jeremiah Smith was NASTY.” You might think he made a nice cut or double move. But no, it was literally just him running in a straight line past blown coverage.
My stance on whether Iowa has a chance this weekend: absolutely not. However, I watched the 2017 highlights of Iowa’s 55-24 victory over the Buckeyes this morning, and it made me imagine a football utopia where Iowa is 5-0 and gameday becomes a permanent fixture on the Pentacrest.
I’ll have a more in-depth write-up about our weekend in Michigan coming soon, so be on the lookout for that.
Michigan vs. Minnesota
Going beyond Iowa City, let’s start up in Minneapolis where the surging Golden Gophers host the Michigan Wolverines.
We got an up-close and personal look at what Michigan can be when they’re at their best last weekend, but Minnesota just pulled off a big upset of their own against Washington as well.
Since being arrested in Arkansas this offseason, Drake Lindsey has turned into one of the best quarterbacks in all of the Big Ten, currently holding a seven-to-two touchdown-to-interception ratio. If that doesn’t send a conflicting message about underage drinking, I don’t know what does.
The X-factor in this game for me is what psychotic behavior Gophers head coach PJ Fleck pulls to motivate his team. Last week, it was smearing his own player’s blood on his face.
Washington vs. USC
Now let’s turn our focus on the West Coast, where it’s Washington heading down Interstate 5 to take on USC.
There are a few questions that immediately come to mind for me: will the Trojans try to assassinate Demond Williams this week? What method will they use? And who will be the assassin?
For my money, I have yes, death by broadsword, and the man himself, Lincoln Riley.
In all seriousness, Desman Stephens’ hit on Dante Moore was already dirty enough, but it was the reaction after that turned this USC team into villains. Stephens celebrated on the sideline like he just stopped Kevin Dyson one yard shy of the endzone in the Super Bowl.
Thankfully, karma struck quickly, as the Trojans still managed to lose to Oregon backup quarterback Patrick Mahomes Jr.
Penn State vs. Northwestern
For our final game, let’s shift the spotlight back to the Midwest and the Friday night game between the Northwestern Wildcats and Penn State Fightin’ Iowa Cyclones.
Northwestern is riding high after nearly beating Indiana in Bloomington, while Penn State blew a 17-0 lead to lose at home to Wisconsin.
It’s the type of loss that would usually have Nittany Lion fans calling for James Franklin to be exiled to a land far, far away, but since it’s Matt Campbell and the Iowa State roster, the standards are lower.
Penn State will always occupy that tier right below Ohio State and Michigan in terms of Big Ten prestige, and losses like this reinforce that.
Roundup
What a weekend for the (former) Big Ten West! The conference is definitely better off without divisional lines, but it is impressive to see Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and even Northwestern put up a fight against much stronger opponents from the East.
And who knows, maybe Iowa could go out and beat Ohio State again. Crazier things have happened.
Stay tuned in with KRUI
Programming features, updates, special events, and more delivered right to you