Recaps of the Last 4 Big Ten Games of the Weekend

So, one team did FAR better than expected, another team did what it was supposed to, another won very ugly, and another's halftime adjustments sparked a run of 24 unanswered points.

Of course, we'd rather one team HADN'T pasted another...

After the jump: recaps of the last 4 Big Ten games of Saturday...

---

Michigan vs. UConn

How on earth did THAT happen? Denard Robinson actually looked...good? Michigan looked unstoppable against UConn both on offense and defense. UConn's offensive line, on the other hand...folded repeatedly. The last time I saw an offensive line fold up the way UConn's did was Illinois vs. Tamba Hali. It...didn't work out that well for Illinois at all. In fact, Hali nearly killed their QB.

Back to the game: Denard Robinson SHREDDED the worst tacklers in FBS. It was ridiculous. His completion percentage was off the charts, at 86%.

Now, if someone had told me a week ago that Michigan, and particularly, "Shoelaces" Robinson, was going to do this, I'd have rolled my eyes and said, "Only against a WAC defense." This just isn't working out for the Big East. Pitt, UConn, Cincinnati, and Louisville all lost their opener, leaving Rutgers (who blasted a hapless Norfolk State team), West Virginia (who blasted an equally helpless Coastal Carolina team), Syracuse (who miraculously destroyed an Akron team), and South Florida (who annihilated a hopeless Stony Brook team) at the top of the conference.

Michigan could be dangerous, if their QB doesn't get destroyed against a competent defense by dumb zone reads that send the QB flying into Culmer St. Jean, Michael Mauti, or any other accomplished conference linebacker...

---

Northwestern at Vanderbilt

This one wasn't pretty at all. Dan Persa's first start could have been worse than it actually was, but he managed just enough offense to help the Wildcats take a critical* game in nonconference play.

The Vanderbilt defense (which is the staple of the team given it's decidedly lackluster offense) managed to hold Arby Fields and NU's running game back significantly. Aside from 3 sacks, Persa looked very sharp, passing for all three of Northwestern's touchdowns and no interceptions. Most players making their first start in an SEC venue collapse (or so I've been told...), but Persa completed 19 passes on 21 attempts, well over 90% of his passes! Not bad at all.

NU's defense surrendered a trio of touchdowns; fortunately, their special teams blocked a PAT and caused both of Vanderbilt's 2 point conversions to fail. Without those, NU would have easily faced a tie-ball game, and when Northwestern goes into overtime, they haven't had a great track record (except at home against teams named Wisconsin, argh...). Fortunately, they didn't have to go to overtime and came up with a big win over SEC competition (which is more than can be said for Ohio State)...

---

Purdue at Notre Dame

What happened? I mean, really, what happened? Purdue, you were supposed to have IMPROVED. Instead, you drop your third consecutive game to ND, which is pure idiocy. You don't lose to Notre Dame three years in a row and contend for the Big Ten title...

Robert Marve did more to kill the Boilermakers than Notre Dame did. Two interceptions. Four sacks. How on earth he managed that against ND's lack of defense, I'll never know. And I don't want to know, so stop throwing this "Brian Kelly wins his home debut" garbage around. You want a headline? I'll give you one: "Robert Marve destroys Purdue, fortunately, no one else really joins in."

Purdue was able to record a safety, but that was it. If this Marve is the one we see for most of the season, Purdue will have to be EXTREMELY lucky to reach 5 wins. Thankfully, Western Illinois is on the schedule next week, so Marve should look good against a hopelessly overmatched opponent.

---

Wisconsin at UNLV

Desperate comments before halftime ensued after Nick Toon's fumble near the UNLV endzone was run back into the Wisconsin redzone. Seriously, WTF? The Badgers were up 17-0 when Scott Tolzien threw an interception for a touchdown (he did it TWICE last year against Ohio State, and boy did that game suck). Toon then "fumbled" near the UNLV end zone, a play I thought should have been challenged. Why? It's an 80 yard, potential 14 point swing. You HAVE to challenge that play, even if you lose a first half timeout (I believe all 3 first half timeouts went to waste.)

Ultimately, it was a 14 point swing as UNLV grabbed a diving touchdown reception to pull back within 3 points.

The patented Badger running attack gashed UNLV's run defense for huge gains again and again. John Clay and Montee Ball each had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the game. As for Wisconsin's defense...

Well, there was some concern that the defense would miss Mike Taylor (who was only the 4th best defensive player last year) but the Badgers didn't have any problems picking up the slack. Chris Borland got an early sack, J.J. Watt and Louis Nzegwu both pounded UNLV's QB combination repeatedly, and Aaron Henry recorded a defensive touchdown off a fumble recovery. UNLV at one point had a single play (the 16 yard TD pass that brought the Rebels within 3) that accounted for more than 100% of their total offense (12 yards after that play). The defense played better than anyone expected, and the Badgers got a 41-21 W in Sam Boyd Stadium.

---

I won't be able to do this next week, or the week after, because I'll be attending the Badger games against San Jose State and Arizona State. I will be pulling for you guys to upend 'Bama all the way from Camp Randall. Good luck!