Another opportunity for the Big Ten to prove that they are a conference to be respected. Another opportunity gone completely down the tubes. Yes, it was another infamous weekend in Big Ten country as all of its top teams failed to win in marquee matchups. Penn State, Nebraska, and Iowa who are supposed to be solid teams struggled against inferior opponents. The conference’s premier teams, the Buckeyes, Spartans, and Wolverines, all lost in primetime matchups when the conference needed them most. I don’t know when things will turn around for the Big Ten but I sure do hope it happens soon.

Notable Games Last Week

USC 13 Stanford 10

Could Steve Sarkisian be the guy that brings the Trojans back to national prominence? So far the answer is yes. USC marched into Stanford Stadium on Saturday and defeated the defending Pac 12 champion Cardinal 13-10. USC may not have a great offense but after watching them I can say they have a tremendous defense. After looking at their schedule, the Trojans have a great shot at going undefeated. Oregon State, UCLA, and Notre Dame are the only threats I see on their. Keep a close eye on them the rest of the season.

Oregon 46 Michigan State 27

Michigan State looked the most competent after leading Oregon 24-18 at halftime but then the wheels fell off. The Ducks outscored Sparty 28-3 in the second half which is unheard of from a Dantonio coached defense. Connor Cook had a solid day throwing for 343 yards and 2 touchdowns but it just wasn’t enough. But after watching this game, Oregon is the best team in the country in my opinion. And the Spartans were beating them at halftime. Right now Michigan State is the clear favorite in the Big Ten.

Notre Dame 31 Michigan 0

Next up to save the conference was Michigan as they took on Notre Dame one last time in the foreseeable future. The Wolverines must not have gotten the memo that the game was on Saturday. The Irish completely dominated every facet of the game as they went on to win 31-0 putting Brady Hoke on a very hot seat. Unless he can pull out 9 or 10 straight wins to end the season, there will be a new man (Jim Harbaugh?) roaming the sidelines in Ann Arbor next season. Notre Dame notched a big win and is slowly but surely inching closer into the Playoff discussion. Don’t count them out.

Virginia Tech 35 Ohio State 21

Finally on Saturday, the Buckeyes were hosting the Hokies in the newly expanded Ohio Stadium with LeBron on the sidelines. This is usually where Ohio State saves the day and keeps the Big Ten from looking like a glorified MAC. But not this time. The Buckeye defense failed to stop Virginia Tech on third downs throughout the game and J.T. Barrett spent most of the second half on his back. Losing Braxton Miller, 4 offensive linemen, Carlos Hyde, and Philly Brown has proven to be too much for Urban’s offense to overcome thus far in 2014. They lack an identity on offense and if they don’t find one soon they could be in for a long season. I may be debated with on this point but the ACC is even worse than the Big Ten. Look for Virginia Tech to compete with Florida State for that crown. (Bold Prediction: I sniff an upset in ACC title game)

Big Games this Week

Georgia at South Carolina

The Bulldogs roll into Columbia with a huge amount of confidence after a great week one win over Clemson. The Gamecocks come into this game with the exact opposite feeling after being demolished by Texas A&M at home. Todd Gurley is having a Heisman worthy season so far and I expect that to continue this week. Hard to believe that Spurrier’s squad could be 1-2 (and they only beat ECU by 10 last week) after 3 weeks but I would be shocked if that doesn’t happen now. UGA should roll.

Saturday, September 13 at 3:30pm on CBS

Tennessee at Oklahoma

Butch Jones’ Volunteer team, which is full of youth on both sides of the ball, will head to Norman to face a very talented group of Sooners. Bob Stoops has built another great team and is surprisingly running under the radar despite being ranked in the top 5. Maybe in a couple years this would be a battle but OU is a hungry football team right now and I fully expect them to be in the Playoff. Could be a long year for those in Rocky Top.
Saturday, September 13 at 8pm on ABC

UCLA vs Texas

The honeymoon is over in Austin after the Longhorns were embarrassed 41-7 last week by BYU. Charlie Strong has had a shaky start and it isn’t getting easier as they take on the Bruins this week at Jerry’s World (maybe Jones is holding auditions for QB). Brett Hundley and UCLA have not been one bit impressive so far this season with 8 and 7 point wins over Virginia and Memphis, respectively. Texas is without David Ash indefinitely so Sophomore Tyrone Swoopes will be starting. Texas hired Strong for a reason, and he’ll prove that on Saturday night. Longhorns win in the final minute.

Saturday, September 13 at 8pm on FOX

Kent State at Ohio State (I’ll always preview the upcoming Buckeye game)

After a rough loss last Saturday night in The Shoe, the Buckeyes will try and get back on track against in-state foe Kent State this week. Expectations were obviously too high for Ohio State this year and it has showed thus far. We’ll find out how good our coaches with the challenge ahead of them. The offensive line has to find their form or Barrett will never be able to develop the way we want him to. Hopefully adjustments have been made to the pass defense or even the Golden Flashes could put some points on the board. Buckeyes should win big though.

Saturday, September 13 at 12pm on ABC or ESPN2

Michigan Update

Did you watch the game on Saturday? My lord they are not good. Like I said above, Hoke will need a miracle to be coaching next year. They take on Miami of Ohio this week so that is an easy win for them could be another disaster waiting to happen. Remember, they almost lost to Akron last year. Akron! Tune in for at least the fourth quarter to watch them struggle and make you happy.

Heisman Watch

Marcus Mariota, Oregon

17/28, 318 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions.

Jameis Winston, Florida State

22/27, 256 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

Todd Gurley, Georgia

Off last week, plays South Carolina Saturday

Rising Star

Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska

17 carries, 54 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 96 yards, 1 touchdown

Dropping Fast

Bryce Petty, Baylor

Did not play last week, is expected to play this week. But the lingering effects of the injury could impact his play.

My Playoff if the Season ended Today

1. Oregon (46-27 win over Michigan State, plays Wyoming Saturday) The Ducks are playing great football right now, I’m not even sure the Seminoles could beat them.

2. Florida State (37-12 win over Citadel, plays Clemson next week) The defending champs haven’t been very impressive so far. But they still enough talent to run the table.

3. Auburn (59-13 win over San Jose State, plays Kansas State next Thursday) Nobody is talking about the Tigers, but they should be. They’re the best team in the SEC.

4. Oklahoma (52-7 win over Tulsa, plays Tennessee Saturday) This is another team nobody talks about. Not sure why, they’re a shoe in for the playoff right now.

Just Missed the Cut

5. Georgia

6. Alabama

7. USC

8. Baylor

9. Notre Dame

10. Texas A&M

19. Ohio State

Time for episode #4! 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 fourth show, the following MotSaGers will join me: Shannon, Andrew and Chip. On this show we’ll talk about the Buckeyes loss to Virginia Tech, the Big Ten’s horrible week two performance and take a look at the slate of Big Ten games in week three. And we’ll preview the Buckeyes game with Kent State this weekend, giving our predictions and thoughts for this game too. For this portion of the show we’ll be joined by special guest Allen Moff, a Kent State beat writer for the Record-Courier (recordpub.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. 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.

We got a lot to talk about after week two. Don’t miss it!

To view it on YouTube, click here.

To view the Google+ event page, click here.

What a weekend of Big Ten football, Black Saturday,losses for the “top” teams and unnecessary close games for many others. There is a huge shake up in this weeks Power Poll and I am betting that TTUN fans won’t be hitting me up on twitter this week calling me a homer.

1. Maryland -(+5) This was a toss up between Rutgers and the Terps but seeing Washington State lose to Nevada is the main reason I jumped Maryland to Number 1.

2. Rutgers -(+1) Weird that the two new additions to the big Ten are number 1 and 2 right now in my poll, these two could be 1a or 1b.

3. Minnesota -(+5) While Minnesota starts off strong they seem to make it kind of close down the stretch in the fourth quarters.

4. Penn State -(same) With their 21-7 win over Akron I kept James Franklin’s team in the same spot as last week

5. Illinois – (+6) Playing the Western Kentucky close or from behind most of the game in the second half the Fighting Illini figured out a way to win by 8

6. Nebraska – (-1) Bo Pelini sacrificed one of his cats lives to beat McNeese State with 20 seconds left thanks to Ameer Abdullah I won’t got down and won’t quit running.

7. Iowa– (+5) Despite the Hawkeyes playing down to their competition again they get to move up by being undefeated barely beating Ball State 17-14

8. Indiana – (+2) Being idle mean no loss helps the Hoosiers move up and stay undefeated go cut down the nets Tom.

9. Michigan State – (-8) The first of the one loss teams, getting beat by Oregon on the road and it looked like they had it until it fell apart in the second half

10 Wisconsin – (+2) After losing week 1 to LSU they bounced back with a win not on the legs of Gordon but the arm of McEvoy

11. Ohio State– (-9) Getting beat at home by an unranked Virginia Tech team hurt, but hey the Buckeyes got into the endzone

12. Michigan– (-5) Shutout by the Golden Domers 37-0 sorry nothing else needs to be said

13. Purdue– (-4) Got crushed by a MAC team Central Michigan 38-17 if they played a better opponent and lost they would be higher

14. Northwestern– (same) Only team without a win this season so far.

I enjoy the interaction and feedback on my polls so I can’t wait to hear about this weeks.

We here at MotSaG received this post from one of our loyal readers Cyndi Travis she is a fellow blogger who writes her own food and lifestyle blog linked below and she can be found on Twitter @cyndic88. Cyndi thought this post would work well for our site and we couldn’t agree more.

I was so worked up this morning I wrote this. It’s not really appropriate for
my site (which is about recipes and lifestyle) but I thought that it might work here…

Why this loss is good for Ohio State?

Losses can be good, they build character. They provide experience. They make
you hungry.

Don’t get me wrong, that one hurt a little bit. As a lifelong Buckeye fan and
alumni I hate an ugly loss, especially at home. But, I think this one will be
good for us. See I try to walk a thin line between being realistic and being a
fan at heart. I didn’t believe the hype of this team, even when Braxton was
healthy. I have been telling everyone for weeks, we need to get through
Virginia Tech before we celebrate anything that is going to be a hard game. All
I heard in response? Virginia Tech, no problem. Well, we have a problem now
don’t we.

The pressure that was on this team to go undefeated was tremendous. Local and
National media, either we were overrated or we were going to live up to the
hype. Fans added pressure. Coaches added pressure. Now the only pressure they
should feel should come from the inside. The pressure to right the wrong. The
pressure to prove that you are as good as you say.

Let’s be honest, we weren’t going to win a National Championship this year.
Did I want us to? I sure did, but the realistic part of my brain said that we
just didn’t have the experience to get it done. What we had in the pre-season
is what we had last night. A young OL that would have made it impossible for
even Braxton to make anything happen. A weak secondary that proved if you throw
against us you will have success.

I heard a lot on social media last night about how we don’t have much of a
playbook. In my opinion we could have had a playbook as big as War and Peace
and we would not have been about to execute any of it. The core of an offense
starts with the line, not the QB, protection equals the ability to make big
plays. They will get there. I think we have one OL lineman with more than 3
starts. One. We have young running backs which are tentative to provide extra
block protection. It will get better.

The defense, well it has a lot of potential. The secondary is young but shows
flashes of potential greatness. The penalties are a symptom of youth. They
will calm down, they will learn what they can get away with and what they
cannot.

Where do we go from here? Well, now that we have lost some of the bandwagon
fans, we do what we always do. We cheer. We support our team, and we support
our coach. We go into each game with the knowledge that these players are
growing with each snap.

This loss will be good for a young team. It will build their character. It’s
not fun walking off the field in front 107,000 fans that came to support you and
watch you win. It will leave that taste in your mouth, that chip on your
shoulder. It will drive you to do better in the weight room, on the practice
field.

So if you were one of those “fans” that tweeted about “when does
basketball season start” last night, good luck to you, this team doesn’t
need you. We need supportive fans in times of loss and victory. We will see
you next August as you climb back on the bandwagon.

Week one started off with six straight nights of college football and it felt great. As can be expected, none of the so-called top teams looked terrific. It makes sense, though, as it’s the first time they’ve played against players that aren’t teammates. Adjustments will be made, new players will become acclimated, new coach’s styles will become second nature to the teams. For some teams starters still haven’t been decided, so after one week there’s no reason to get too excited or too disappointed just yet. There are several intriguing matchups this week some of which will be games that will be indicators for fans and media alike and that will likely be referred to later in the season by the selection committee.

Let’s jump in!

1. #14 USC at #13 Stanford (9/6/14 3:30pm EST ABC): Stanford wants to avenge their loss to the Trojans last year especially given that the Cardinal have won the previous four contests. In fact, of the 92 times these two teams have met, this decade (the 2010’s) is only the second one in which the Cardinal have a winning the record (the other was the 1940’s) against USC. The Trojans faced the reigning MWC champions last week, and in the midst of scandals that included a faux hero and a quitting player calling Coach Sarkisian a racist, they beat the Bulldogs of Fresno State by 39 points. The Trojans ran an unbelievable 105 plays Saturday, second only to Northern Illinois’ 109, and redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler looked great. Kessler, however, had surgery on his toe this week to address what some are reporting was a staph infection. Though it sounds like Kessler will still play this week, we may see the former number one QB recruit in the nation (Rivals, 2012) in redshirt freshman Max Browne. The last time we saw the Stanford Cardinal (unless you happened to watch last week’s 45-0 drubbing of an FCS team that won five games last season) they were watching as Michigan State went into the victory formation and won the Rose Bowl. The Cardinal hope to return to the Rose Bowl because if they do it means they’re in the playoffs. Playmaker Ty Montgomery will have to play very well Saturday if that’s going to happen. Montgomery is a threat in the receiving game, the return game, and even out of the backfield on occasion. Trojans All-American defensive lineman, Leonard Williams, suffered a high-ankle sprain Tuesday. Stanford’s offensive line will surely try to exploit that and perhaps Barry Sanders, Jr. will have his breakout game. We didn’t get much insight into the strength of either team in Week 1, but this game will certainly give us — and the selection committee — a clearer picture. USC was a top-ten team in time of possession last season and last week kept the ball for nearly 39 minutes. If they can keep it away from Kevin Hogan, Ty Montgomery, and company, the Trojans will win this game. I just don’t think they’ll be able to because their depth issues on defense will hinder their ability to keep Stanford from eating clock. Stanford wins a very close game.

2. #7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon (9/6/14 6:30pm EST FOX): The last we saw Spartans quarterback Connor Cook he was in the aforementioned victory formation and he had just finished his second consecutive game passing for at least 300 yards and completing 60% of his passes. His team was known all season for its suffocating defense (finished the season 2nd in the nation in total defense), but the offense showed up during its two most important games. Cook, running back Jeremy Langford, and sophomore tight end Josiah Price are now as much worthy of game planning as Pat Narduzzi’s defense is. This week they face the high-octane Oregon Ducks in what is this season’s first matchup that has realistic playoff appearance implications. The Spartans travel to Autzen Stadium where the Ducks are 21-2 in their last home 23 contests (the two losses were by a combined 6 points and both were in November). This is the Ducks’ first season without Nick Aliotti at defensive coordinator since 1999, so it will be interesting to see the difference on that side of the ball. All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is surely leaned upon as a steadying force, but he didn’t play the last three quarters in Week 1 against South Dakota with an ankle injury, so if I’m Connor Cook, I’m testing him early to see if his coverage skills are compromised. In years past, I’d have written that the Spartans aren’t built to make a comeback if they get down early, but I don’t think I can do so now because they’re a threat offensively under the much-improved Cook. Oregon only ran 70 plays last week, but they averaged 9.61 yards per play. Yes, it was against the Coyotes, but at least it showed Mariota is healthy and was efficient (70% passing). Would you believe me if I told you that the Spartans only had one more rushing attempt in 2013 than did the Ducks? It’s true. The difference is that the Ducks averaged nearly two more yards per carry! It’s a tough call. Pick the team with a fully healthy Heisman candidate at quarterback and has lost twice at home in three years or pick the team with a hot and much-improved quarterback and is finally a threat on both sides of the ball? Aflac by 10!

3. Michigan at #16 Notre Dame (9/6/14 7:30pm EST NBC): A lot of the talk surrounding this game is that this is the last meeting between these two teams in the foreseeable future because Notre Dame opted out of the matchup in 2012 when they committed to playing 5 ACC games yearly. Though this is certainly a big rivalry, it would surprise some to know that these two teams have only met 41 times. However, from 1980 to 2013 there have only been six seasons in which they didn’t square off. Given the last five games though, which were decided by an average of six points, it seems a shame that it has come to an end. In an amusing turn of events, it was announced Thursday that Notre Dame and Wolverines rival Ohio State have come to terms for a home-and-home in 2022 and 2023. Notre Dame is still dealing with what could potentially explode into a North Carolina-like academic scandal and Brian Kelly has announced that the five currently affected players are still unavailable due to suspension. Everett Golson, who missed last season due to his own academic scandal, looked like a much more polished player last week. I realize that it was just against Rice, but going into last week I felt fairly comfortable that sophomore Malik Zaire would win the job by season’s end. I’m not so sure now. Golson looked much crisper and more decisive than he did as the redshirt freshman that led the Fighting Irish to the BCS title game in 2012. The Irish’s secondary, however, did not look great at all. They allowed the Owls to complete 71% of their passes on first down and on third down and 9 passes of 15 yards or more. Part of the reason for that is they were without redshirt senior safety Austin Collinsworth who is out 2-4 weeks with an MCL strain. That means they’ll be without him this week against a Wolverines team that was 75th in the nation in passing offense last year, but is now under Devin Gardner’s second full season as starting quarterback. They’ll need to watch out for the Devin-to-Devin (Funchess) connection. Funchess, who was listed as tight end last season and was second on the team in every receiving category, is listed as a wide receiver this year and went for 95 yards and three touchdowns last week. Michigan has won four of the last six, but I think we’re going to see another crisp game by Golson this week and the Fighting Irish will win yet another close game. Notre Dame by a field goal.

4. BYU at Texas (9/6/14 7:30pm EST Fox Sports 1): It’s a battle of two “unranked” teams, yet it’s very intriguing nevertheless. It was this matchup last season that started kicking the legs out from under Mack Brown when the Cougars won by 19 and their quarterback, Taysom Hill, ran for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns. Texas gave up a total of 550 rushing yards that day. In comes Charlie Strong and the Longhorns want to avenge this loss and more importantly show the defensive toughness and discipline for which Charlie Strong-led teams are known. What will make the defense’s job a little more difficult is that they may be on the field a lot longer than they’d prefer. Quarterback David Ash is out with concussion symptoms and starting center Dominic Espinosa is reportedly out for the year with a fractured ankle. If that weren’t enough, Charlie Strong suspended both starting offensive tackles for this game due to the ever popular “violation of team rules”. Perhaps it’s a good thing that David Ash and his concussion history is out for this game because his immobility could possibly heighten his injury risk behind what will now be one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in the country. Texas has a stable of running backs and will now be starting 6’5”, 225-lbs. Tyrone Swoopes (distant cousin of Sheryl Swoopes) at quarterback. Swoopes is mobile, but how will these rushers do behind such a suspect offensive line? Longhorns fans, and defensive players, are hoping they do well enough to move the chains so that they keep Taysom Hill off the field. Hill, a sophomore, improved as the season went on last year. He started the season with three games (including the Texas game) in which he completed less that 40% of his passes but completed at least 55% in 7 of his last 10 games and 77.8% last week. If Texas’ offense weren’t so weakened, I’d take Texas because I believe in the culture change that Charlie Strong has and continues to implement in Austin. I just don’t think they’ll be able to move the chains, which will wear out their defense, and will allow Taysom Hill to play well. BYU won’t win by 19 like that did last year, even with a weakened Longhorns offense, but they will win and probably by a touchdown or less.

5. Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State (9/6/14 8pm EST ESPN): This is the first time these two teams have ever played one another, which seems a bit unbelievable. The Buckeyes’ first game against Navy made it difficult to gauge them due to Navy’s unorthodox style of play; this week should be a better indicator. While Virginia Tech is currently “unranked” there are many who think they will be a better team than last year’s 8-5 squad. While they lost Logan Thomas (Arizona Cardinals) at quarterback, they were fortunate to avoid having to replace him with an inexperienced passer. Junior Michael Brewer transferred from Texas Tech and is a better passer than Thomas was (Brewer completed over 70% of his passes over his career); the Buckeyes were the 112th-ranked defense against the pass last year, so new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash’ impact will have to be realized this week. The Hokies defense lost cornerback Kyle Fuller in the first round of May’s NFL Draft (Chicago Bears), but many people think his younger brother Kendall is as good, if not better, than Kyle. Virginia Tech boasted the 4th best team in the country in total defense in 2013, the highlight of which was holding an Alabama offense that averaged 454 yards on offense on the year to a mere 216 offensive yards to start the season. While the Tech defensive backfield returns three starters, their front seven only returns two. Contrast that against the fact that the Buckeyes only return one starter on the offensive line and the battle in the proverbial trenches will be vital to the Buckeyes’ offensive success. While scarletshirt freshman J.T. Barrett has mobility, he doesn’t have the level of mobility that an Urban Meyer quarterback typically has, so it is imperative that the front line play well. The Buckeyes, of course, have to be ready for “Beamer Ball” as well. Defense and special teams is what have defined Frank Beamer’s Hall-of-Fame caliber career which means Meyer’s squad must avoid turning the ball over, cover kicks and punts thoroughly, and beware of fakes. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw several screens early in the game to test that inexperienced Hokies front seven and put some of the Buckeyes’ speedsters out in space. I think it is here that the Buckeyes have the advantage and Meyer and Tom Herman will exploit it. Ohio State extends its home winning streak to fifteen games with a win by about 10 points.

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.