Wrap-Up: STANZIBALL STANZIBALL STANZIBALL

Ohio State 45, New Mexico State 0

I would normally leave this game out, but seeing as it's Hate Week (BSD: Where It's Always Hate Week (R)), this seems like a good place to start.

The Vegas outcome of this game is hilarious: OSU was favored by 44 points with the total set at 48.5.  Any time the spread is 70-80% of the total, you're going to get a lot of parlays.  This was over 90%.  Yet the strategy would have failed miserable.

Defense continues to prove Ohio State's strength.  They gave up just 62 yards of offense and 2 first downs, although to a team that hasn't scored over 20 points all season even against WAC defenses.  The Buckeyes rank 2nd in just about every major defensive category, right behind Penn State.

Even for a blowout, some Buckeye fans weren't feeling the kind of comfort these types of games are supposed to provide:

Truth is it is difficult to get any kind of feel from this game because there was really no offensive rhythm established. Ohio State made lots of big plays due to their superior athleticism, but didn't look that efficient on offense, despite winding up with 559 yards. Pryor was able to turn some broken plays into long runs in the first half, but hit less than 50% of his passes, and nearly threw a couple pick sixes.

And then there is this little bit of research from G-M in the fanposts:

In yesterday's EPIC SHOWDOWN of two of college football's elite, Ohio State's starting place kicker Aaron Pettrey suffered a knee injury, causing him to most likely miss the rest of the season. The back-up, a former MLS (What?, oh yeah, major league soccer) player Devin Barcley stepped in, going 1-3, making his only kick from 29, and missing from 36 and 47. With two of the Big Ten's top defenses meeting next week, a kicking matchup may decide the game. Oh yeah, and Toilet Paper got pulled at half time too, with him being described as "banged up". He was seen limping, and most likely has a lower body injury. Just saying..

Also: Tressel called an onside kick in the 2nd quarter.  Just saying...

Iowa 42, Indiana 24

Ah yes, this game.  You've seen the replay 1,000 times so I'll spare you the details, but somehow Indiana was unable to capitalize on six turnovers or overcome one of the most pathetic applications of instant replay I've ever seen.  They go home blown out, not even covering the spread, on a day that should have been one for the Hoosier history books.  The final score made it look easy.

The fear of Iowa getting away with three quarters of struggle and five Stanziballs never would materialize, though.  It's been on constant replay from the WWL and likely makes permanent the idea that Iowa won't be able to jump Texas of Florabama if the three end undefeated.

Oh, and the disrespect:

But ask yourself this: Is there any doubt which team is better, has played better, and has played better competition? If Iowa were to meet Oregon on a neutral field next week, who would be a double-digit favorite?

Considering Oregon is a 5 point favorite against freaking Stanford this week, I'll suggest that maybe you rephrase the question.

Illinois 38, Michigan 13

The ultra-start of Tate Forcier has officially come to a crashing halt with the entrance of Big Ten defenses not named Indiana.  His QB ratings since that game (not counting Del. St.): 126, 73, 76, 150.  While the 150 against Illinois looks good, and he did vastly improve on his sliding completion percentage, he also gave the ball away twice and was 0-3 on 4th down conversions.

Forcier did, however, break his streak of throwing at least one interception in every Big Ten game. 

And look! Good Juice! Eight for 11, 123 yards, 1 TD, zero picks, and 97 yards rushing.

Predictably, there is total meltdown. Mgo put up some type of point restriction yesterday in an effort to keep only the upber-addicts talking, and MnB, well:

First off, apologies for the deleted threads, basically there was nothing of value being stated in the most recent one, and the game thread had digressed to caps-lock explicatives from yours truly, and really, there's just not much to gleam from that is there?

Which is both kinda of sad but also hilarious. Having to delete posts on your own site because of your own comments is...uncomfortable.

Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34

I can't pretend to have watched a second of this game, but I'll start the recap with a question: Michigan State, how do you give up 42 points to a team that (even with these stats) ranks in the 100s in total point and total yards offensively?

The Only Colors has your Monday morning rant, and draws this conclusion:

So it's not as if the coaching staff didn't have sufficient evidence going into Saturday's game that running the ball up the middle in short-yardage situations wasn't likely to be a successful endeavor.

Apparently they tried anyway.  Sounds fun.

Adam Webber, with Decker unavailable, threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns.

My favorite stat?  The two teams combined for 230 yards in penalties.

Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0

With an offense as dysfunctional as Ohio State's it was only a matter of time before they dropped one to a lesser team.  How Purdue was able to be on the better end of that, though, I don't understand.  Purdue's two passers combined for a 2.5 ypa average (!!!).  They were 2 for 16 on third downs and had three turnovers.

And the things is: Wisconsin hasn't exactly played the cream of the offensive crop, and they still rank in the 40s and 50s nationally in major defensive categories.