The Big 10 is Hurtin'

You can look at week 3 saying there were some big performances individually.  But if you look at the Big 10 overall, man we are in trouble.  This last Saturday could have really changed our conference's reputation with some key performances. But we had some low blows that just threw that possibility out the window.  

When outsiders think of the Big 10, they think of our powerhouses as Ohio State and Michigan...but not anymore.  Saturday's games were going to be rank-changing regardless, but it both turned out worse than imagined. 

It was a big weekend for Ohio State against #1 USC.  Everyone knew USC would beat Ohio State, especially with Beanie Wells out again.  But if they had at least given a good performance, they could have stayed in #5 or bumped to just 6.  I was confident it was going to be a good game (maybe not a victory for Ohio State) when they were the first on the board with just a field goal in the first quarter.  But after a 35-3 blowout, there was no doubt Ohio State would drop in the polls.  Now they are 13th in the AP Poll and 14th in USA Today's Coaching Poll.  The drop in rankings--well deserved but just embarrassing.  This was Ohio State's chance to if not win against the #1 team, at least give a good showing of why you were ranked #2 in preseason and #3 in week one.  No wonder our conference is embarrassed. 

It may not have been a rank-changing game for Michigan, but it sure had something to do with pride.  After Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was talking smack about Michigan, the team had something to prove.  Michigan proved to be the mature ones about it, saying Weis could talk from the sidelines, but they were going to talk with their pads.  And of course, they didn't.  In their 35-17 loss, the defense held their end of the bargain trying to hold back Notre Dame.  But it didn't even matter because the offense just handed the game over to the Fighting Irish with SIX  turnovers.  Pathetic.  Now that is embarrassing.  

And if it couldn't get any worse for the Big 10, let's take a look at Purdue.  They had a 20-3 lead over #16 Oregon and blew it.  Then when it was tied up at 23, Purdue kicker Chris Summers missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt that would have won the game.  So the game went into overtime.  And then another one.  But then Oregon came through with the TD to win it 32-26.  It was a good performance by Purdue in the first half, if only they could have kept the momentum going start to finish it would have been a pretty good upset.  At least Oregon dropped to 21 in the Polls. 

So what is going to happen to the Big 10?  It's up to Wisconsin and Penn State to keep their streaks going.  I have faith in Iowa, personally, but I think I am a little biased.  But really, the Hawks haven't given us a reason to doubt them yet, except the teeter-totter between quarterbacks.  

I'm just a little worried because Wisconsin, yes they are 3-0 but they had a 10-0 lead over Fresno State in the first quarter,  until Fresno State came back in the fourth trailing Wisco by only 3.  I just don't understand how UW is ranked 8th when they can't play a solid game start to finish and they have given up so many points to such poor teams (Marshall and Akron).  Once again...they are overrated. 

And Illinois...they just barely won 20-17 against Louisiana-Lafayette.....who lost to Southern Miss by 30 points.  

With how our Big 10 teams are playing, I don't want to make assumptions on who is going to lead the conference.  And since my opinion changes weekly, this week, I'm saying Penn State is our powerhouse....as bold as it may be.