Archives for September 2014

3 Concerns From Ohio State/Navy From The Mind Of Minnich

September 3, 2014 by 1 Comment

Congratulations to Coach Urban Meyer and the 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes for their 34-17 victory over the Navy Midshipmen. On the road, with nine new offensive starters, against a quality opponent, having to defend the triple option…Ohio State rallied in the second half, escaped Baltimore without any notable injuries, and get to come home to Ohio Stadium to face the Virginia Tech Hokies in a nationally televised contest. I seem to recall one joker predicting the final score as 35-17 in favor of Ohio State, but I digress…

1. The Ohio State Offensive Line Remains A Concern: At the conclusion of spring practice, I ranked Ohio State’s offensive line group as my biggest concern heading into the summer, and nothing I saw versus Navy helped to remove or reduce that concern. While Ohio State’s offensive line chemistry will develop over the course of the season, it should be the primary focus of work this week before the Virginia Tech game. Pass protection was shaky in the first half, and it remains to be seen if the offensive line will be able to control the line of scrimmage for a dominating power running game. Which leads me to…

2. Ohio State Misses The Power & Blocking Of Carlos Hyde: As promised, Dontre Wilson was heavily involved in all facets of the game plan, and probably will be so as the season progresses. An area of Carlos Hyde’s game that Dontre Wilson does not have is strong blocking. Wilson tried to block, but simply lacks the strength and power of Hyde; I wonder if Rod Smith will get more chances versus Virginia Tech, as Smith is physically comparable to Hyde.

3. The Defense Will Be The Team Strength: I am not concerned about the rushing yardage accumulated by Navy. As I stated last week, the triple option is difficult to simulate and execute – giving up 390 yards on the ground is worse than hoped, but the final score still was in Ohio State’s favor at the end of the game. An area that I believe the coaching staff needs to address is the defense needs to wrap up, as many of the Navy rushing yards came after initial contact by an Ohio State defender.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football Tagged With: , , ,

MotSaG Live Episode #3 – Ohio State vs Virginia Tech

September 2, 2014 by 1 Comment

Click here to listen or right click to download

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Filed Under: College Football, Podcast Tagged With:

MotSaG Live Podcast #3: Win Over Navy, Looking at the Big Ten & Previewing the Ohio State-Virginia Tech Game

September 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Time for episode #3! If you missed last week’s episode of MotSaG Live, you can watch it by clicking here. It airs live every Tuesday at 6 pm ET.

As always I will be hosting the podcast this week and be joined by fellow MotSaG writers. For the third show, the following MotSaGers will join me: Jeremiah, Shannon, Andrew and Chip. On this show we will talk about the Buckeyes victory over Navy in the opening week, how the Big Ten performed in week one, some of the big national games this week and all of the Big Ten games too. And of course we’ll be previewing Ohio State’s primetime game with the Virginia Tech Hokies, giving our thoughts and predictions for that game also. For this portion of the show we’ll be joined by special guest Jacob Emert, a Virginia Tech beat writer for TechSideline.com.

Now I”m going to list the following ways to view this podcast. Below is the video player to listen to the podcast. You will be able to listen to it here on the site every week. Don’t fret if you can’t listen live. Once the podcast is over with you will be able to view it as many times as you want, just like any YouTube video. If you’re unable to view it here on the site for some reason we also have you covered if this happens. I’ll link to our YouTube channel right above the player every week and you will be guaranteed to be able to view it there. You can also listen through our Google+ page or follow the main @MotSaG account on Twitter. I will also have the link posted on my Twitter page (@SchottJosh).

You can also subscribe to MotSaG Live on iTunes, as announced on the show last week. You can find our page by typing “MotSaG Live” in the iTunes search box or click here. This episode should be on iTunes later tonight.

It’s going to be a fun and informative show as always. Don’t miss it!

To view it on YouTube, click here.

To view the Google+ event page, click here.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

Complaints and Issues: Navy Week

September 2, 2014 by 3 Comments

It’s finally here! The days are getting shorter, the kids are back in school and Columbus Ohio will turn into an absolute loony bin for four months. The first week just finished and the Ohio State Buckeyes doubled up the Navy Boatmen 34-17.

The game has been digested and every Buckeye fan is now turning their eyes to Virginia Tech in week two, except for me. I need to get some things off my chest about the game, so I decided to showcase my favorite skill-complaining.

larry_david

Being a miserable turd, I am always looking for some company. I gave myself a notepad, a Mickey Mouse pen and a variety 12 pack of fall beers to help me write down every pessimistic thought and issue that I yelled at the t.v. on Saturday. Why? Because it’s more fun to be angry. So please embark on this wonderfully negative journey with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I do get very excited when things go my teams’ way, but those thoughts are more “F word yea” and “suck my you-know-what” fragments. I’ve decided to edit those out for obvious reasons.

It was a two t.v. setup, and the Michigan “we only win in September” Wolverines vs the App. State Mountaineers were on the second screen. I despise watching that school up north but I figured it would get my hate juices amped up even more.

Warning: If you enjoy being happy and don’t like to let the little things get you down then stop reading now. Here is every negative thought from my messed up mind on Saturday from 12:00PM to 3:30PM.

12:00PM to 1:00PM-Total beers so far- 3 (I know, I start early, I’m a lush on Saturdays):

1. Verne looks terrible.

2. Devin Gardner is still wearing number 98? He’s that guy who wears a goofy wig to a party once, gets a lot of laughs, and is still wearing it 7 months later. Give it up man.

3. Jabrill Peppers is wearing at least ten sweatbands on the parts of his skin we can see. I bet he’s got half a hundy on his whole body.

4. I thought our kicker was fat, what happened to his gut? This pisses me off, I really wanted a fat kicker and we had one in spring. Damn you Mickey Marriotti.

5. Wait a minute, our strength coach’s name is Mickey? Why have I never let that sink in? That’s bizarre.

6. Is there anything worse than the last drink of a wheat beer? It’s warm, smells like butt cheeks and has the taste of orange juice left in a men’s restroom overnight.

7. That mofo did not catch that! Review that garbage!

8. Ok, he caught it, but he’s still lucky. Frig off Danielson, your voice makes me want to kick my dog.

9. That in no way should be a touchdown but Navy used their knowledge of the sea winds to blow that pylon over. Sickening.

10. God I hate playing Navy, I hope Urban wet willies Gene Smith.

11. Turn that Michigan game the hell off.

1:00PM to 2:00PM- Total beers so far- 4.5:

1. To the ref who overturned that forward pass fumble: You’re not wrong, you’re just an ***hole

2. (Had to remove fourteen heinous words from this note) what the….

3. I am going to go into the garage, turn my engine on, crawl into the trunk and get ready for my eternal sleep.

4. Just throw me in the trash, I don’t want a funeral.

2:00PM to 3:00PM- Total beers so far- 11.  Total Liquor drinks so far-1:

1. Let’s go! I knew you would make a mistake you freaking punks. We’re on land, you guys don’t belong here! Have fun waking up at 6AM for drill on Monday you little pieces of trash.

2. I should see a psychiatrist.

3. That damn Fickell. He is the cause of all my problems. He is the reason my wife is in the kitchen crying after my latest outburst, not me. He did this to us.

4. I feel like Iowa has lost to Northern Iowa to start every season for the last ten years.

5. Devin Smith will be the player affected by Braxton the most. He’s only a deep threat and J.T. Barrett doesn’t have the arm to throw downfield.

6. Well I am an idiot. Why did I just say that last thought in front of 10 people only to get stiff armed by the football gods right back into my place?

7. Gary Danielson is a traitor.

8. I am so freaking jealous of Joey Bosa’s girlfriend. I will never be with the one I truly love.

9. Man I respect Navy, can’t believe I called them pieces of trash, I blame Fickell again.

3:00PM to 3:30PM- Total beers so far-12. Total liquor drinks so far-2:

1.Great win but  I think I may have an alcohol problem.

Well there it is, for those dumb enough to actually read this, I hope I have killed your mood. Deep down I am very pleased with this team and their crazy talented youth, but isn’t it a lot more fun to let some anger out once a week? I felt like a real manly man sleeping on the couch that night.

I’ll see you next week, it’s a night game so expect the rage and grammatical errors to increase tenfold.

Bonus:

Fitting song for the game: The Fear by Ben Howard.

Lyric dissection: “I’ve been worrying” about this game since it was scheduled and “we lost the one we hold dear (Braxton.) “I will become what I deserve”… a passed out drunk who embarrassed himself yet again on a college football Saturday.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

B1G Weekly Recap: Rutgers Rally, Wisconsin Collapse Headlines First Weekend Back

September 2, 2014 by 2 Comments

After a nearly eight month hiatus, college football returned this weekend and it did not disappoint. Although several high-ranked teams had slight scares (see: Florida State, Alabama, and UCLA victories), no major upsets occurred across the country and that included in the Big Ten.

For the weekend, the conference as a whole went 12-2 with both losses coming to teams from other power conferences, including three wins for teams playing away from their home stadium.

Minnesota 42, Eastern Illinois 20

Buoyed by the defense and special teams, the Golden Gophers ran away with this one that could have looked much worse if not for two touchdowns by the Panthers in the last 30 seconds, including one as time expired. Up just 14 points at halftime, Minnesota blocked a punt that was scooped up by Logan Hutton, a senior wide receiver, and ran in for his first career touchdown.

The defense was the star for Minnesota as the unit forced three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) while holding Eastern Illinois to just 2.5 yards per carry on 39 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner ran in two scores and threw for another as Minnesota easily dispatched the FCS side. Next up for the Gophers is a visit from Middle Tennessee State.

Rutgers 41, Washington State 38

In their first game as an official member of the Big Ten, Rutgers showed that maybe they’re not just here for their market size. And they showed that right from their first play from scrimmage, which was a 78-yard touchdown pass from Gary Nova to Leonte Carroo. Nova finished with 278 yards passing and two touchdowns as Rutgers went west and won in Seattle, but running back Paul James led the attack with 173 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with just over three minutes left.

In Mike Leach’s famed Air Raid system, Washington State threw the ball all over the field. Connor Halliday ended the day with 532 yards and five touchdowns but it wasn’t enough after River Cracraft fumbled a punt that gave the ball back to the Scarlet Knights for their game-winning drive. Rutgers comes back east this week as they host Howard.

Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 7

As expected, Sparty rolled over Jacksonville State with no problem as they sprinted out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and 38-0 at half. Connor Cook went down early with an apparent leg injury on Michigan State’s first score but Cook came back to throw two more touchdowns before his day was done.

The defending Big Ten champs dominated the entire game, outgaining their opponent by more than 300 yards and holding the Gamecocks to just 22 yards rushing. The Spartans have a huge test next week as they travel to the Autzen Zoo to take on the Oregon Ducks in one of the top nonconference matchups of the season.

Penn State 26, Central Florida 24

Penn State went east, way east, to take on Central Florida and they needed a last-second field goal from Sam Ficken to take the victory in front of 55,000 in Dublin, Ireland. The Knights looked poised to take this one from James Franklin in his first game in charge, going up 24-23 with just over a minute to go. That was before Christian Hackenberg came on and led the Nittany Lions down the field for the victory.

Hackenberg put in a historic performance, becoming the first Penn State quarterback to throw for 400 yards as he ended up with 454 yards to go with one touchdown toss. The Nittany Lions come back to the States and host Akron next week.

Illinois 28, Youngstown State 17

It wasn’t pretty, but then again, it hasn’t been very pretty in recent times for the Fighting Illini. Illinois needed 21 4th quarter points to stave off the upset-minded Penguins. Wes Lunt, the transfer in from Oklahoma State, had a slow start to his Big Ten career but finished strong with three touchdown passes in the final period for four total touchdowns on the day.

The Illini were outgained 380-363 by their FCS opponent, including 203-78 on the ground, and will look to improve on their performance next weekend when they play host to the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.

Indiana 28, Indiana State 10

In their season opener in Bloomington, the Hoosiers ran, ran, and ran the ball some more as they pounded the rock 69 times for 455 yards in the victory over the Sycamores. Tevin Coleman put up 245 yards and two touchdowns on just 23 carries and D’Angelo Roberts also topped the century mark with 129 yards and a score on 24 carries.

Nate Sudfeld did not have much to do, as he ended up 11-18 for 111 yards, and Indiana easily dispatched their in-state rivals. The Hoosiers travel to Bowling Green next Saturday.

Iowa 31, Northern Iowa 23

Up by as little as a single point in the 4th quarter, Iowa held off their in-state FCS opponent as well. The Panthers shot themselves in the foot over the course of the game with 16 penalties in a game hardly anyone thought would be this close. Sawyer Kollmorgen finished with 380 yards passing and two scores for Northern Iowa, while his counterpart Jake Rudock threw for 250 and two touchdowns.

A big difference was in the run game. The Hawkeyes ran the ball for 151 yards while holding the Panthers to just 25 yards on the ground. Iowa welcomes Ball State to Kinnick next weekend.

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32

Just kidding. There was no way the Wolverines were going to lose this game, and that was apparent right out of the gate. Devin Gardner threw three touchdown passes to Devin Funchess in the first half as the Wolverines easily put the Mountaineers away 52-14. One would have thought that would have been the scoreline when the Wolverines were ranked in the top five in the country the last time these two met.

The Wolverines ended up with 350 yards rushing, including 170 from Derrick Green. Next up for the Wolverines is Notre Dame in South Bend.

Purdue 43, Western Michigan 34

Danny Etling got his first career win as Purdue’s starting quarterback as the Boilermakers held off their MAC foe. Etling was winless in seven starts as a freshman, but played well enough to get the win this weekend as he threw for two touchdowns and ran in another score.

The Broncos were within three points in the final quarter before Akeem Hunt scored a 38-yard touchdown rush to put it away. Purdue gets another one of the directional Michigan schools next week, as Central Michigan comes in to Ross-Ade for their shot at the Boilermakers.

Nebraska 55, Florida Atlantic 7

In a game they were supposed to dominate, Nebraska did just that. The Cornhuskers rolled over FAU to the tune of 784 yards of offense, their most since putting up 787 against Utah State in 1991. Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 271 yards and two scores while Ameer Abdullah ran for 232 and a TD.

Of their 784 yards of offense, 498 came on the ground as Terrell Newby also topped 100 yards and added two touchdowns of his own in the rout. Things don’t get much more difficult for Nebraska next week as McNeese State comes to Lincoln for their payday.

California 31, Northwestern 24

Turns out losing two of your biggest offensive weapons can be a bit of a problem as Northwestern found out as they fell at home to Cal. Without Venric Marc and Christian Jones, the Wildcats started extremely slow, falling behind 31-7 before cutting the lead to the final tally of 31-24.

Trevor Siemian threw for 229 yards and a touchdown but also got picked off twice in the loss. The Wildcats will look to get their first win of the season next week against Northern Illinois.

Maryland 52, James Madison 7

Also in their first official game as a member of the Big Ten Conference, Maryland found things a little easier than Rutgers. The Terrapins were up 45-0 into the 4th quarter before the Dukes found the end zone for the first and only time of the game. Senior quarterback C.J. Brown led the way with 61 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go with 111 yards passing and a score through the air.

Former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers is now in charge at James Madison, but he saw his offense get into Maryland territory just once in the first half. Maryland takes a trip to Tampa next weekend to take on South Florida.

LSU 28, Wisconsin 24

In a potential statement game for the conference and the Badgers themselves, Wisconsin went full Sparty, and you never want to go full Sparty. Up 24-7 after their opening drive of the second half, the wheels promptly fell off for Bucky. Melvin Gordon and the running backs did as much as they could for Wisconsin, rushing for 268 yards as a team and Gordon had 140 yards and a TD himself.

The real problem for the Badgers came in the passing game. Tanner McEvoy was nowhere near where he needed to be for Wisconsin, completing just 8-of-24 passes for only 50 yards while being intercepted twice. The loss meant starting 0-1 for the first time in 17 years. Wisconsin should have no trouble evening their record next week as they welcome Western Illinois into Camp Randall.

What were your thoughts on the B1G’s opening weekend? Let us know in the comments what you thought of the opening slate of games.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

MotSaG Top 10: Week One

September 2, 2014 by 1 Comment

So we here at MotSaG have traditionally done our usual Top 25 poll every week and while those are fun to discuss and do, we have come to the conclusion that really no one cares about teams 11-25. If they are good enough they will move in the Top 10 eventually and if they aren’t they didn’t deserve the time we put into them anyhow.

How did I come up with my Top 10 you might be asking? Losing will drop you out of the Top 10. Beating a Top 10 team will skyrocket you up the rankings. Looking bad against a lowly opponent will drop you. These rankings will be fluid and so don’t expect teams to stay where they are simply if they win. So lets get to it shall we.

Pre-season

WEEK ONE

1.) Texas A&M- The Aggies went on the road and completely demolished the formerly 6th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. It is early in the year so who knows if the Aggies are for real or if the Gamecoks were woefully overrated. We will find out as the season progresses.

2.) Michigan St- Beat an over matched Jacksonville State team. The Spartans offense was dynamic and borderline amazing. The defense though gave up 244 yards and 7 points to a team they should have shut out completely.

3.) Georgia- Beat down the Clemson Tigers at home. The Tigers were ranked and had beaten Georgia last year. The Bulldogs have a great running game and defense. Will the QB play take them to the next level is their biggest question.

4.) Oregon- Destroyed South Dakota 62-13. Oregon does what it always does plays a bad OOC opponent and wipes the floor with them.

5.) Baylor- Beat SMU. The offense was brilliant but the defense was out of this world good giving up only 67 total yards and -24 yards rushing on 25 rushes.

6.) Oklahoma- Beat La Tech 48-17. Nothing spectacular but enough to impress me to keep them ranked though they tumbled some.

7.) Southern Cal- Beat down traditionally good Fresno State in convincingly good manner 52-13.

8.) Stanford- Beat UC Davis 45-0 in the usual Stanford way great defense and capable offense.

9.) LSU- Came back from being down 24-7 in the 3rd qtr to beat highly ranked Wisconsin at a “neutral” site. In a tale of two halves the Tigers won the half that matters.

10.) Florida St.- FSU is lucky to still be in my Top 10 after escaping a scare from Okie State. An unranked team pushed the former champs to the brink of losing before Jameis Winston saved the day again.

Teams Out- UCLA, Auburn, and South Carolina.

UCLA barely beat a not very good Virginia and needed 3 defensive TDs to get the win.

Auburn was tied 21-21 at home against a dreadful Arkansas.

South Carolina lost to the new #1 TAMU.

Teams just outside the Top 10- Bama, OSU, UCLA, Auburn.

All four of these teams won their games on Saturday. I didnt have Bama or OSU in my pre-season Top 10 and I dont believe either of them proved me wrong yet. UCLA and Auburn have to prove they belong in the Top 10 after poor performances against bad teams.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football

Ohio State vs. Navy, A Look Back

September 1, 2014 by 3 Comments

Gone are 4 of last years starting offensive lineman, Carlos Hyde, Philly Brown and Braxton Miller. Early in Saturday’s game vs. Navy the subtraction of last years offensive MVP was apparent. No, I’m not talking about Braxton Miller. I’m referring to Ohio State’s offensive line, which last year was one of the best in the country. The first half was marred by missed assignments, poor line communication, penalties and flat out bad blocking. These things helped lead to a 7-6 deficit going into half time.

Ohio State pulled away late, giving people that didn’t watch the game the impression that OSU handled Navy rather easily. That wasn’t the case at all. for a better part of 3 quarters The Buckeyes struggled with The Midshipmen.

The Good:

J.T. Barrett

The redshirt freshman got his first college start and performed well, throwing for 226 yards, completing 80% of his passes, throwing for 2 touchdowns and leading Ohio State in rushing with 50 yards. He did throw a bad interception as a result of poor offensive line play that lead to pressure bursting right up the middle, forcing Barrett to scramble and make a ill conceived pass that was picked off in the red zone. Meyer could be seen yelling at Barrett to throw the ball away. This one will go down in the books as Barrett’s failure, but it was clear the pass was forced by near immediate pressure.

Barrett had 3 incompletions. The first was on a pass to Dontre Wilson who was side open in the middle of the field and simply stopped running his route and ended up dropping the ball. That play could have been a TD. The second was off pressure once again on 3rd down, forcing a wobbly pass to Curtis Samuel out of the backfield. The 3rd was the interception. All other passes were completed.

Once the offensive line settled down in the second half and Herman allowed the kid to throw the ball downfield, the offense got it’s rhythm back. I think the key play of the game was a 22 yard completion to Michael Thomas. It had Barrett rolling right on a two receiver pattern. Barrett read it perfectly and hit Thomas on a frozen rope for 22. It showed his offensive coaching staff he could make an accurate throw downfield.

The kid is solid, won’t wow anyone like Miller did but he can certainly spin the ball. Should be fun to watch him develop this year.

Darron Lee

Lee made the play of the game, returning a fumble 61 yards for a go ahead touchdown to start the 3rd quarter. He also had 7 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and one thunderous hit on Keenan Reynolds. He seems to have that “it” factor and has a nose for the ball and for making plays.

The Defensive Line

Michael Bennett, Adolphus Washington and Joey Bosa did work Saturday. Constantly having to fend off cut blocks they combined for 11 tackles and 4 tackles for loss, including a sack. Bosa also had a hand in the fumble that lead to Lee’s TD, forcing a bad pitch by Reynolds. This unit will be the key to The Buckeye defense.

Dontre Wilson

So yeah, he’s pretty good. Averaged 7.2 yards per carry, 23 yards per catch and had 168 total yards on 14 touches good for 12 yards a touch. Meyer has his Harvin. NO! Meyer has his WILSON.

The Bad

The Offensive Line (First Half)

I already touched on it, but yeah…they were terrible. Ohio State managed 2 measly field goals and barely any offense what so ever.

Incomplete

Buckeye Secondary

The Chris Ash revamped secondary was never tested Saturday as Navy threw the ball 4 times for 20 yards. I guess the good news is, Ohio States pass defense is ranked 3rd in the country! Next week will be the real test for the defense.

The Kids Table

How did the Buckeye younglings do? Curtis Samuel showed tremendous burst, rushing for 45 yards and averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Jalin Marshall flashed some promise, with a couple catches going for 19 yards. He didn’t get much action, but showed good wiggle and gets up to speed quickly. Von Bell had 7 tackles and should be the starter along Tyvis Powell at the safety spots.


Lessons To Be Learned

Lesson 1

For the love on God, stop scheduling Navy or any other school that runs the triple option. It doesn’t teach you anything about the defense you have and it’s difficult to get better as a defense because the offense you are going against is so alien to anything else they will see all year. It also puts the entire team in a bad spot in my honest opinion. It’s VERY difficult to blow this team out, because they run the ball so well against everyone they play. It makes it difficult to get into a rhythm on offense.

Lesson 2

It’s hard to replace an all world QB, amazing offensive line and bulldozer of a running back. But this is Ohio State. They will reload each and every year. This game felt like an extension of fall/summer camp in a lot of ways. Lots of running backs getting touches and lots of offensive lineman getting reps. Still seems to be looking for the right combination on the line and in the backfield.

Most of the game was frustrating to watch, for many reasons. But they got the win and did so by 17. Onto Virginia Tech.

Filed Under: Ohio State Football

MotSaG B1G Power Poll Week 1

September 1, 2014 by 3 Comments

I have blackmailed and stolen the weekly MotSaG Power Poll from our good man Jeremiah. The only reason is to take some off of his plate until everyone protests my unorthodox views and the way I do my rankings. I take into account road vs home game, type of conference, and obviously win loss. Margin of win is a small sliver of my factor and I do not conform to the norm like the four letter networks, Big Ten Network, etc.

1. Michigan State – They get the top billing since they are the reigning B1G Champs and they didn’t do anything to hurt that look this week even finding some offensive firepower. Didn’t hurt them that Jacksonville State kept leaving MSU receivers wide open.

2. Ohio State – Contrary to what some like the four letter network were saying about OSU scrapping by to get a win, the game was a tale of two half’s. The first half was a young team finding itself making some mistakes while the second was a young team that made the proper adjustments and players stepped up for a solid win over a very good team. I wouldn’t be surprised if Navy doesn’t run the table the rest of the season and you see them ranked soon. They have more talent and athleticism than most are giving them credit for.

3. Rutgers – Here’s a shocker but the Scarlet Knights went out to the West Coast and beat a PAC-10 Washington State. I know WSU wasn’t a top PAC-10 team but still Rutgers looked strong and fast in this game and I felt they deserved the 3rd spot.

4. Penn State – Like I stated I consider road games vs home games and they came from behind in another country.

5. Nebraska – This game probably should have been even worse if the Cornhuskers didn’t commit so many penalties.

6. Maryland – Like I said margin of victory plays a small role and numbers 5, 6 ,7 are just based on that

7. Michigan – Congratulations you finally got revenge on beating Appalachian State but your still never going to live the 2007 debacle down.

8. Minnesota – They were close to a shut-out when I was watching and turned to Rutgers game so not sure if back ups gave up all the points in final 8 minutes.

9. Purdue – They beat a MAC team that’s a big deal right now for Purdue.

10. Indiana – Only beat Indiana St by 18 and don’t have them finishing that good in the East of the B1G to begin with

11. Illinois – Squeaked by the sweater vest run Youngstown State and also don’t have them finishing to high in the West of the B1G to begin with.

12. Iowa – Very disappointed they only won by 8 to Northern Iowa, supposedly a top 3 team in the West should have easily trounced the Panthers but Kirk Ferentz teams like to play down to their competition.

13. Wisconsin – The first strike was they lost but that’s not the reason they took the second to last spot for me it was the coaching staff. You don’t play to not lose to a SEC team when your up have you not learned anything from Tresssel? Where was Gordon late in the game? The coaching staff and the inconsistency of QB McEvoy cost the Badgers a win that they had in the bag.

14. Northwestern – What can I say about the Wildcats? It’s going to be a long year after losing your best running back and wide receiver.

Let me know what your thoughts and where you would rank the teams after this first week.

Filed Under: B1G Football, Ohio State Football
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