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.
Illinois overcame a second-half 23-point deficit to beat Clemson on the road and unranked Wisconsin upset #5 Duke in Madison to put the Big Ten in position to win. The victory was sealed by #16 Ohio State’s “easy” win against Florida State in Columbus.
The Big Ten won the Challenge, 6-5. It was the first time that Duke lost in the Challenge.
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.
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