Tag: Wisconsin Badgers (Page 3 of 8)

Michigan State survives scare, remains in contention for Big Ten title

November 20, 2010 /
EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 23: Mark Dell of the Michigan State Spartans scores a touchdown in front of Justan Vaughn of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 23, 2010 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 35-27. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

It took a fat-guy fumble recovery in the endzone to do it (yes, technically the touchdown was given to Kirk Cousins, but my way is more fun), but Michigan State survived a surprising scare from Purdue today to remain alongside Wisconsin and (for the moment) Ohio State as the only one-loss teams in the Big Ten.

The Spartans fell behind 28-13 and 31-20 in this one before making a fourth-quarter comeback. It was aided by an ugly Rob Henry interception and a blocked punt, but it still counts.

Michigan State now goes into next week’s game at Penn State looking to lock up a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1988. If Ohio State loses today or at Michigan, the Spartans would have the tie-breaker in the conference over Wisconsin (head-to-head) and get the Big Ten’s automatic bid to a BCS game. If all three teams win out, the team with the highest ranking in the BCS will get the bid. It’s dumb, but that’s how the conference’s rule works.

What makes it even more dumb is that unlike in 2008, when Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech were had all beaten each other and needed the BCS to sort out the Big 12 South, this year, Michigan State doesn’t have a loss to one of the other two.

The Spartans beat Wisconsin by 10 early in the season, and their one loss is to Iowa, who is not involved in this mess. Ohio State, meanwhile, lost to Wisconsin. So technically, head-to-head should go Michigan State’s way, right? Considering they don’t have a head-to-head loss like the other two.

I’m not saying the Spartans are the most deserving, necessarily, as I think it’s pretty clear that Wisconsin is playing the best football in the Big Ten right now. But those two did meet on the field, and Michigan State did win that game.

Should it shake out with all three teams winning out, it should make for a fun debate on Dec. 5 when all of this is decided.

College Football, External Sports

Baseball fields rule an otherwise lackluster day of college football

November 20, 2010 /
CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 18: A general view of the east end zone and a goalpost mounted to the right field wall as the Northwestern Wildcats practice for a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday November 20 at Wrigley Field on November 18, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Remember the first time you saw this picture — if you’ve seen it — and thought to yourself, “someone’s going to get killed catching a post pattern.”? Well, apparently the Big Ten — and the NCAA — thought the same thing, and Illinois and Northwestern will play their game today at Wrigley Field like you used to play in your backyard — always going toward the “good” end.

No, your eyes aren’t fooling you there. That is the goalpost attached to the wall at Wrigley. The wall that literally cuts into the paint of the end line.

The good news for Northwestern, Illinois and the Big Ten is that this mess of a field has drawn a lot of attention to a game that really doesn’t mean anything. People will tune in to see the wall in the endzone, and how the teams react to always going the same way.

It’s not the only game that is using a baseball field to create attention and ratings, as Notre Dame will play Army at Yankee Stadium tonight. The thought of these two playing at Yankee Stadium — even though it’s the new Yankee Stadium — has evoked a lot of memories of this historical rivalry. And these are two programs that love it when you’re focusing on history, because their history is a lot better than their present.

Both games are pulling in huge money for tickets, probably just for the spectacle. But even on a weak day in college football, neither game is big enough to crack the top five games of the week. Continue reading »

College Football, External Sports

Crazy day in the Big Ten: Wisconsin scores 83, Iowa falters on the road

November 13, 2010 /
IOWA CITY, IA - OCTOBER 23- Quarterback Scott Tolzien of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates with teammates Isaac Anderson and Bradie Ewing after their the University of Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Iowa City, Iowa. Wisconsin won 31-30 over Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

I went out for the afternoon to cover a high school football game, and all hell broke loose in the Big Ten. Well, not all hell, but some, anyway.

The big news is that Iowa, one of the four teams that came into this weekend tied for the top spot in the conference, lost on the road to Northwestern. The Wildcats came back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 21-17 win over the Hawkeyes. Dan Persa hit Demetrius Fields for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining in the game for the winning score.

The loss could be the end of Iowa’s conference title/BCS hopes. They can help themselves out quite a bit next week, however, by taking out Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.

One team they cannot stop, however, is Wisconsin, which I think just scored on Indiana again (it doesn’t matter what time you’re reading this, that still works). The Badgers won 83-20 (!) at home today, for their fifth straight win. You’d be hard-pressed to convince me any team is playing better in the Big Ten right now than Wisconsin. The Badgers finish the season with a game at Michigan and at home against Northwestern.

After scoring 83 on Indiana, anyone want to put an over/under on what they’ll score against Michigan? I mean, the baseline has to be like 65, right? Oh, and I forgot to mention, Wisconsin did that without John Clay in the lineup. How this team looked so bad early in the season, and lost to Michigan State by 10, I’ll never know.

College Football, External Sports

Big 12, Big Ten and SEC races should become more clear today

October 23, 2010 /
University of Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones drops back to pass against the University of Texas in the first half of their NCAA Big 12 football game played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, October 2, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Stone (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

My wife essentially makes the schedule in our house. My job is to make sure I stay gainfully employed and just show up to the things she’s set up for us. It’s normally pretty easy and painless, to be honest. And since I’m a scatter-brain most of the time, I completely relinquish the scheduling.

But she messed up this weekend. Big time. We’re signed up for a wine tasting at 6 p.m. (EDT) today, which will be smack dab in the middle of some of the best college football finishes of the day. It also means I’ll be out of commission after 6 p.m. (never drink and blog kids, it never ends up well), so expect heavier blogging early in the day, and not much later. I’ll let you decide if that’s good or bad.

After the jump, I’ll dissect some of the great matchups of the day (there a couple of huge ones), and introduce a couple of new features for this morning forecast post. Continue reading »

College Football, External Sports

It was a collective effort by Ohio State in loss to Wisconsin

October 17, 2010 /
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 02: Head coach Jim Tressell of the Ohio State Buckeyes watches as his team takes on the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 24-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

“Nothing against our special teams,” Pryor said, “but that really hurt us. That kicked us in our rear end.”

That was Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor following Ohio State’s devastating 31-18 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday night – a loss that will cost the Buckeyes the No. 1 spot in the top-25 rankings. What he should have said was that the entire Ohio State program, from the coaching staff to the players to the cheerleaders “really hurt us.” Because nobody, nobody, showed up for the Buckeyes in Madison.

One would have thought that after Alabama fell to South Carolina last week that Ohio State would come out a little more focused for their bout against Wisconsin. This wasn’t a letdown game against an overzealous Northwestern or Illinois team that the Buckeyes had to get through. This was a major battle against another ranked foe that so happened to also play in the Big Ten, so where was OSU’s effort?

On the opening kickoff, Jim Tressel’s vaunted special teams gave up a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, which set the table for Wisconsin the rest of the night. That’s what Pryor was alluding to when he threw his special teams under the bus, although it wasn’t just that group that failed the Buckeyes on Saturday.

OSU’s usually stingy defense was absolutely shredded by the Badgers’ rushing attack for 184 yards – 138 came the first half when Wisconsin built a 21-3 lead. The Badgers didn’t hide from who they are – they lined up toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes and punched them straight in the mouth with John Clay and James White. They didn’t try to go side to side or try to get fancy with their passing game because of whom they were facing: they went right at the Buckeyes over and over and over again, and the end result wasn’t pretty for OSU.

Tressel’s conservative approach once again reared its ugly head too. Down 21-0 in the first half, his playcalling resembled that of a coach hoping that either his backs or quarterback would trip and fall into the end zone by accident rather then fool the defense. Never did he give Pryor a run-pass option or go play action when Wisconsin loaded up to stop the run. It was pathetic and his effort cost his team a chance to get six instead of settling for just three.

Then, with 6:29 remaining in the game and the Buckeyes’ trailing by 10, Tressel decided to punt and it backfired. OSU faced a 4th-and-10 at their 29-yard line, so it was a tough call either way. But they needed points and Wisconsin was eager to run the clock out. Considering his defense had been shredded the entire night, it probably would have been best had he sent his offense back onto the field. At least that would have been the more aggressive move; nobody would have faulted him for trying to get points down 10 with only six and a half minutes left. But he didn’t and along with his team last night, he failed.

Now Oregon will have its shot at the top spot. Of course, if the Ducks play as well as the Buckeyes did Saturday night, their stay at the top will also be short lived.

College Football, External Sports

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