Tuesday B1G Blog Roundup: The Agony and Apathy

I hate the fact that the B1G is a bad league. Every time I think we're out of the hole, it pulls us back in.

Nebraska 17 - Michigan 13

Anthony's What to Take article details some of the things that all of us have seen. I wish he would have recommended something to take after the game in addition to from the game. Y'know, like pills or booze. Zach is dead inside, and the same can probably be said for all of us. I won't mention anything more about Michigan's performance; I'll leave that up to the other guys. For now, I'm working very hard at pushing this game down into one of the dark recesses of my mind. Next up: at Northwestern.

Predictions by Corn Nation, followed up by their reaction to what really happened. Can we officially get snooty about how bad Michigan is and say, "Congratulations, Nebraska, you beat a bad team."? Next up: Michigan State.

Iowa 38 - Purdue 14

Iowa put up more yards against Purdue (509) than they have in any game so far. Jordan Canzeri ran for 165 yards, for a whopping 8.3 YPC (and 6.1 YPC as a team)! Jake Rudock went 12/20 for 191 yards through the air, averaging almost a first down with every completion. This game was on the road, so there's no Arrest Report from Kinnick, but Black Heart Gold Pants does have a recap. Adam Jacobi's takeaway from the game addresses Canzeri's great performance. Next up: Michigan (11/23).

Purdue is obviously really bad. Instead of Travis Miller posting any articles like this, he should just re-post a video of himself crying each week and take a vacation. But, hey, at least he can now take part in their drinking game. Next up: at Penn State.

Indiana 52 - Illinois 35

Believe it or not, Indiana's rushing attack is what was the most impressive about this team on Saturday. Tevin Coleman and Stephen Houston combined for 365 yards and four touchdowns on the day. Although that was probably the story of the game, it isn't as though the passing game was dead: Nate Sudfeld was 20/27 for 267 yards and three touchdowns. I should temper all of this with, "Yeah, but it was against Illinois." The Crimson Quarry's recap can be found here. Next up: at Wisconsin.

Nathan Scheelhaase went 38/57(!) for 450 yards, two TDs, and one interception. Steve Hull caught half of those yards (224); that's a valiant effort from each of those guys. They tried. Even running back Josh Ferguson had pretty good numbers: 90 yards on 16 carries, for a 5.6 YPC average. But it was still a loss for the Illini; Tom Fornelli just doesn't know what to say anymore, and Mark Primiano hates everything. Next up: Ohio State.

Wisconsin 27 - BYU 17

James White. Again. 147 rushing yards + 47 receiving = a very good football player. Along with those yards, he also had two touchdowns; the Cougars hadn't allowed more than one rushing touchdown until Saturday. It was damn windy here in Madison on Saturday, but Joel Stave was able to handle it and went 23/32 for 196 yards. All in all, a good performance by the Badgers against a team that had been playing well. On the defensive side of the ball, Chris Borland's return was noticed: 13 tackles/2 sacks. B5Q's Jackson Dahlquist goes over the game and what he liked. It can be summed up with "He likey". Next up: Indiana.

The BYU Cougars had an average/below average performance on Saturday, which is graded by the Cougars' blog Vanquish the Foe. Another wrap up of the game is here; man, those guys over at Vanquish the Foe are very measured and polite in their analysis. If my QB had completed only 46% of his passes, as Taysom Hill did against the Badgers, there would be naughty words.

Minnesota 24 - Penn State 10

The one good thing about being a fan of two teams is that, usually, I can take a little pride in one of them playing well...it just isn't always Minnesota that's on the receiving end of the good vibes. Speaking of good vibes, The Daily Gopher's JDMill was feeling pretty good, too, and doesn't remember much about the game. The stats show a game that would have been difficult to be any closer than it was:

The Gophers held onto the ball eleven minutes longer than Penn State, and PSU had two lost fumbles to Minnesota's one. It's easy to love Gophers football right now. The win was so exciting for Minnesota that they actually broke the Governor's Victory Bell trophy. Next up: Wisconsin (11/22).

Apathy is a recurring theme in the B1G this season. One thing that can be said for Penn State is that they didn't allow Minnesota to score in the second half (not that the Gophers needed to, obviously). If you want to know "Wha Happen" on the Penn State side of things, please head over to Black Shoe Diaries. Next up: Purdue.

Scenario to watch:

It's still the Golden Gophers. They get a week off before facing Wisconsin at The Bank, where their only loss this season is to Iowa. Wisconsin may be tired after playing an Indiana team that puts up a ton of points. A Minnesota win puts them in a very good position to take at least second place in the Legends Division, which isn't too shabby. A Wisconsin win--which would now be considered a darn good one--will put them one step closer to that BCS at-large bowl.