10 Big Things about Week 1

It's time for a weekly segment that I like to call 10 Big Things. The name pretty much explains itself, I will post the 10 biggest things that occurred in the Big Ten each week, whether it be a great performance, a big injury, a coaching decision or the mistake that cost a team the game. Here's what we've got this week.

10.) Wisconsin at home: The Badgers nearly gave the game away to NIU late at Camp Randall. Leading 28-6 going into the 4th quarter, they gave up two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to cut the lead to only eight. The Badgers even allowed the Huskies to recover an onside kick but failed to convert on a late 4th down. This is not a good start for the Badgers when it comes to finishing a game.

9) Danny Hope (right): The new Boilermaker head honcho picked up his first win on Saturday against Toledo. The new coach, who's still rockin' a Joe Tiller-esque mustache, served as assistant coach for the Boilers last year. Ironically, Tiller also faced off against the Rockets in his first game as head coach back in 1997, but was on the losing end.

(Hope photo credit: http://images.athlonsports.com/d/16726-1/DannyHope.jpg)

8.) Carson Wiggs: The Purdue kicker set a school record with a 59-yard field goal. That's a damn long kick

7.) Michigan State Defense: Granted they were playing Montana State, but the Sparty D only allowed 160 total yards. Big Ten Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Greg Jones led MSU with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

6.) Iowa Running Game: Without the injured Jewel Hampton and the NFL bound Shonn Greene, Iowa's running game was mediocre at best. The Hawkeye backs rushed for 123 yards, but 28 yards came from a reverse to wideout Paul Chaney Jr.

5.) QB's in the state of Michigan: It was a good day to be a QB for the Wolverines and the Spartans. Michigan State starting QB Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns and went 10-17 for 183 yards. Backup Keith Nichol also looked good, going 9 for 18 and throwing two touchdowns. Wolverine starter Tate Forcier tossed two touchdowns and backup Denard Robinson ran for 74 yards, including a 43 yard touchdown run.

4.) Ralph Bolden: Boiler up! The sophomore dashed for 234 yards, the third best in school history for a back making his first career start, scoring two touchdowns and leading the Boilers to victory over Toledo.

3.) Daryll Clark (right): In my opinion, the best passing quarterback in the Big Ten. It's a travesty that this guy was voted the 3rd Team QB in the preseason Big Ten voting, but that's another story. The Nittany Lion captain completed 72.5% of his passes, throwing for a Big Ten leading 353 yards and three TD's.

(Clark Photo Credit: http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/0408/ncf_g_clark_576.jpg)

2.) Brian Rolle: The Buckeye CB put the dagger into the heart of the Midshipmen on Saturday when he intercepted the two-point conversion attempt and took it to the house, giving OSU a four point lead and the win.

1.) Iowa Special Teams: It's damn near impossible to block a field goal two times in a row, but the Hawkeye special teams came through in a clutch situation. When all hope was seemingly lost (and I know that this Hawkeye fan was certainly worried), Broderick Binns and Jerimiha Hunter came up huge, getting their big mitts up there to save the day and keep UNI from pulling off a big upset.