I’m a huge fan of tough, defensive football. Not sloppy, crazy turnovers which make the defense look better football, but simply teams that make plays on the defensive side of the ball.
That being said, I don’t know if many games this season will match the excitement and entertainment value that Illinois and Michigan provided today. Michigan won 67-65 in overtime in a game that featured over 1,200 yards of total offense. It was the highest scoring game of the season between two Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
It featured everything that we have come to expect from a Michigan game. No defense. Explosive offensive plays. Long third down conversions. An injury to Denard Robinson. A great play from Tate Forcier. A brutal interception from Tate Forcier. A brutal fumble by Tate Forcier. A redemption TD drive by Tate Forcier. An absolutely atrocious defensive breakdown in overtime. A tip-drill touchdown on a crucial play in overtime. It really was a treat.
It’s a tough loss for Illinois which was in the middle of a huge turnaround year (it still is, with a chance to turn three wins into eight), but it’s not going to change anything the Illini do going forward. For Michigan, however, this could get interesting.
I have no clue what the Michigan administration is going to do with Rich Rodriguez, but I have to imagine that a bowl berth is enough of an improvement for him to see another year. At least that’s what I hear from my Michigan-fan friends.
This certainly cements the fact that Rodriguez needs to fire Greg Robinson in the offseason, if not yesterday. I understand Michigan’s defense is young, and there have been key injuries all around. But this is ridiculous. Purdue is pitiful, and it will probably score 30-plus against the Wolverines. I can’t imagine any scenario short of a Big Ten rule that states Michigan opponents must play offense with seven players that will see Wisconsin and Ohio State not score 40.
Although keeping Robinson around for a year would make for good viewing for the rest of us.
I’m not the first person to write that headline. Heck, I wouldn’t have been the first had I written it 10 years ago.
But after today’s showing against Illinois, and this season in general, I think we can all agree that it’s time for Joe Paterno to step down at Penn State and let a new regime come in. In all honesty, he probably should have hung it up last year, as Daryll Clark walked out the door with a host of seniors, leaving behind a young team in a rebuilding state.
There’s no need for Joe Paterno to go through any kind of rebuilding, not at 83 years old. He probably didn’t need to be going through it as a 76-year-old, either, but he did and managed to make it out with a few more quality seasons. Whether or not that was good for the future of the Penn State program, who knows. I don’t know what coaches would have taken that job in 2004 or 2005, and even if I did, there’s no way to say they would have succeeded.
But now — with a young team that, even though it’s hitting some serious bumps in the road this year, has quite a bit of talent — would be a good time for Paterno to hand the reins to someone else. Whether it’s his son Jay or Greg Schiano (not the wisest move, in my opinion) or a great up-and-coming coach like a Jim Harbaugh (this is the best-case scenario for Penn State), it’s time.
Paterno has given more to college football than most anyone in history. He basically put Penn State on the map, and that will never be forgotten. But he needs to realize that now is clearly the time to step away and let the program grow without him.
Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the Big Eleven this season:
#1 Ohio State
Some believe the Buckeyes’ offense might be close to catching up to their defense in terms of dominance, which is saying something with the way OSU’s D played a year ago. The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Brandon Saine, Dan Herron and quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who some believe has become a more committed teammate over the offseason. The key to OSU becoming a national title threat is Pryor, or more specifically, whether or not he’ll make opponents respect his passing game. The good thing for him and the Buckeyes on a whole is that they return four starters to a veteran offensive line that will open up plenty of holes for a deep and talented group of running backs. Defensively, OSU was a top five unit last season and could be once again this year assuming they can generate a pass-rush and the safeties can hold up in coverage. Cameron Heyward is one of the nation’s best defensive ends and Ross Homan is a playmaker at the outside linebacker spot. The secondary isn’t flashy, but cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence are solid. From a schedule standpoint, if they can beat Miami in Columbus in the second week of the season, they should be 6-0 heading into Madison on October 16. From there, they’ll be tested by Wisconsin, Penn State and Iowa, but this is your clear favorite to win the Big Ten.
Joe Lunardi had the Illini as his last team in this morning, so after a good 58-54 bounce-back win against a resilient Wisconsin team, Illinois should be dancing next week.
It was just one of those days for the Badgers, who couldn’t buy a shot until the final few minutes of the game. To illustrate the point, Wisconsin had just 38 points in the first 38 minutes and then scored 16 points in the final 1:46. Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon and Jordan Taylor went a combined 8-35 (23%) from the field and as a team, Wisconsin shot 29% for the game. Give Illinois credit — they were playing defense like their tournament lives depended on it…and it did.
It’s amazing how trends develop in football. For example: players leaping over each other. I’ve seen it so many times that I’m almost beginning to expect a running back or wide receiver to leap over a defender to gain an extra couple of yards.
Here’s the latest example of a player jumping over a defender as Beanie Wells does his Superman impression in leaping over an Illinois’ defensive back in the Buckeyes’ 30-20 victory last Saturday.
Love the music. And as long as defensive backs are going to keep trying to tackle players low, I think we’ll see more plays like this.
Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 5.
Top 25 Action: No. 8 Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 3 Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC), Saturday 7:45 PM ET ESPN
In their 27-10 win over Arizona State last week, the Bulldogs were able to physically dominate ASU in the trenches, but questions still remain about their inexperienced offensive line. After having trouble with South Carolina’s front four two weeks ago, UGA head coach Mark Richt made some changes that at the very least, worked in the win over ASU. But the Bulldogs’ offensive line will get another stiff test this week against a physical defensive front of Alabama. Tide head coach Nick Saban has his team believing they can win and their 328-92 rushing dominance in a win at Arkansas last week was nothing short of impressive. Last year ‘Bama gave Georgia everything they could handle before finally losing 26-23 in overtime in Tuscaloosa. So it should be another great SEC battle “between the hedges” this Saturday. Georgia is currently a 6.5-point favorite.
No. 24 TCU (4-0, 1-0 MWC) at No. 2 Oklahoma (3-0, 2-0 home), Saturday 7:00 PM ET
The Sooners wrap up their non-conference schedule by hosting an undefeated TCU team that ranks 13th in the nation in points scored. Of course, Oklahoma is the top ranked program in that category, so lets not get ahead ourselves in predicting an upset. The Sooners have outscored opponents 164-42 and are second in the nation with a 40.7 average margin of victory. OU head coach Bob Stoops has been around the block more than enough to know his team can’t relax before conference play. Oklahoma is an 18.5-point home favorite.
No. 22 Illinois (2-1, 0-1 away) at No. 12 Penn State (4-0, 3-0 home)
Entering the season, Ohio State and Wisconsin were considered the class of the Big Ten. While that might still be the case, the conference produces an underrated matchup this Saturday in Happy Valley when the Nittany Lions host the Illini. So far this season, PSU has one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking sixth in total yards, 31st in passing yards, eighth in rushing yards and third in points scored. But the last time the Lions squared off against Illinois, they turned the ball over three times inside the Illini’ 30-yard line in a surprising 27-20 loss in Champaign. Film of that game will almost certainly be shown to PSU players leading up to Saturday’s game. Illinois is currently a 15-point road dog.
Upset Watch: Tennessee at No. 15 Auburn Saturday 3:30 PM ET CBS
Considering they were crushed 30-6 by Florida last Saturday, not too many people will give the Vols a chance this weekend against the Tigers, who are coming off a narrow loss to No. 6 LSU. But Tennessee played better against the Gators than the final score indicated. The UT defense surrendered only 16 first downs and 243 yards against the high-powered Florida offense. That bodes well this week when they take on an Auburn offense that has only managed 17 points in their first eight quarters against SEC opponents and is largely still a work in progress. Oddsmakers have established Auburn as a 6.5-point favorite.
Other notable games: No. 1 USC at Oregon State, Thursday 9:00 PM ET ESPN
Remember the last time USC traveled to Corvallis? The Trojans certainly do.
Mississippi State at No. 5 LSU Saturday 7:30 PM ESPN2
The Tigers are coming off a huge win last week in Auburn. Will they have a letdown against unranked Mississippi State?
Arkansas at No. 7 Texas Saturday 3:30 PM ET ABC
Bobby Petrino’s bunch were hammered last week at home against Alabama. Petrino can probably count on similar results this week in Austin.
Jeremy Maclin helped No. 6 Missouri beat No. 20 Illinois 52-42 in a thriller Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
It was over when… Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon picked off Juice Williams and returned the INT 35 yards for a touchdown with 3:18 left in the game, pushing the score to 52-35 and ending Illinois’ comeback attempt. Gameball goes to… Chase Daniel, who saw a second quarter INT brought back for a touchdown, but settled down and finished the game with three TDs, 323 yards passing and 47 yards rushing. Stat of the game… 1,081: The Tigers and Fighting Illini combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense in their second straight thriller in St. Louis.
Missouri’s defense didn’t look good, but Illinois deserves massive credit for hanging with the Tigers for four quarters. Even though they couldn’t pull out a win, the Illini needed a showing like this to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke and that the program is making strides. Ron Zook is turning Illinois into a competitor and if Saturday night was any indication of what’s to come for them, the Illini are going to battle Ohio State and Wisconsin this year in a weak Big Ten.
As for Missouri, the defense was an issue but what an amazing offense. The season just started but I can’t wait for the MIZZOU-Kansas game.
FOX Sports.com previewed the Illinois-Missouri game this Saturday. FOX thinks the Illini will keep it close.
No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 20 Illinois at St. Louis, — Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET
Last year at this time, would you have believed that this matchup would be a battle between a future No. 1 Missouri and a Rose Bowl-bound Illinois? The Tigers won 40-34 after jumping out to a big early lead and then hanging on, and now they’re looking to make a big early statement as the potential star of the Big 12, or at least the North.
On the other side, Illinois has far more rebounding to do and far more question marks, but this is still a strong team that’s looking to improve upon last year’s breakout success. It might be a big upset if the Illini can pull off the win, but it would be a huge feather in the Big Ten’s cap if it happens.
Meanwhile, if the Big 12 really is supposed to be a challenger to the SEC in the best-conference-in-America argument, Mizzou can’t just win, but it has to win convincingly.
It’s a BCS-game being played in August, and it’s one of the marquee non-conference games of 2008.
This should be a better defensive battle than last year’s shootout, at least for the first half, and then the quarterbacks will take over. Both Daniel and Williams will be tremendous, but the Tiger defense will be a little bit better, and the offense will be more efficient when it needs to be.
Prediction: Missouri 34 … Illinois 27
I don’t see it – a close game, that is. I know this series is usually close and the Illini have an underrated defense, but who doesn’t like the Tigers’ explosive offense on the fast track of the Edward Jones Dome? I fully expect Daniel to stay away from corner Vontae Davis and exploit the rest of Illinois’ below average secondary.
Missouri is currently 8.5-point favorites. I’ll say Tigers win by 10 at least.
The line is old, tired and clichéd by I’m going to use it anyway: Football is back!
This is the opening week of college football with action kicking off Thursday, August 25 and running through Labor Day, Monday, September 1. Below is our Week 1 College Football Primer.
Top 25 Action: No. 20 Illinois at No. 6 Missouri – Saturday, August 30, 8:30pm ET
Ron Zook and the Illini try to build on their 2007 success with a trip to Missouri to take on the No. 6 Tigers. Quarterback Chase Daniel looks to start his Heisman Trophy campaign off with a bang as he’ll face an Illinois defense that ranked 83rd in the nation against the pass last season. Even though this looks like a mismatch in favor of Missouri, clearly oddsmakers feel that the Illini can keep the game close considering the Tigers opened up as 8.5-point favorites.
No. 24 Alabama at No. 9 Clemson – Saturday, August 30, 8:00pm ET
The Tigers are considered the favorites to win the ACC this season, but Tommy Bowden’s crew has found a way to underachieve in the past. Clemson arguably has the best senior quarterback in the country Cullen Harper and the ACC’s best backfield tandem in James Davis and C.J. Spiller. For Alabama, Nick Saban’s team is expected to be improved this year and should give Clemson a game this weekend.
Keep your eye on: Hawaii at No. 5 Florida – Saturday, August 30, 12:30pm ET
Hawaii lost their all-time leading passer Colt Brennan to the NFL and head coach June Jones to SMU, but the Warriors are still expected to light up the scoreboard. The Gators are clearly the better team, led by 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow, but Hawaii is no cupcake opponent. Think there might be some points scored in this game? Oddsmakers have established the over/under total at a whopping 71 points.
Upset Watch: Appalachian State at No. 7 LSU – Saturday, August 30, 5:00pm ET
The Mountaineers couldn’t do it again could they? LSU is solid in the trenches and should be able to overpower tiny App State, but the same was said last year when the Mountaineers rolled into Ann Arbor and knocked off Michigan. With the explosive Armanti Edwards at quarterback, anything is possible.
Other noteable games:
No. 3 USC at Virginia – Saturday, August 30, 3:30pm ET
Washington at No. 21 Oregon – Saturday, August 30, 10:00pm ET
No. 18 Tennessee at UCLA – Monday, September 1, 8:00pm ET
It took 11 years, but the Big Ten finally beat the ACC in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which pits teams from each conference against one another.
