10 Big Things from Week 3

Another week, another 10 Big Things

10. Sean Lee injured: The Nittany Lions start linebacker sprained his knee in the first half of the game against Temple. He is curretly listed as "possible" on the depth chart for this weeks game against Iowa. If Lee is unable to play, it could be detrimental for the Lions (And great for my Hawkeyes!)

9. Big Ten loses to a MAC school for the second straight week: It was bad enough when Central Michigan defeated Sparty, now Northern Illinois dominated Purdue. Whats next?!

8. Tyler Sash (right): Making his second appearance on the 10 Big Things. Sash had another interception this past weekend, giving him four picks already this season.

(Photo Credit: Hawkeyesports.com)

7. Ralph Bolden: The sophomore runner caught four passes for 62 yards and ran for another 64 yards to continue his string of good play for the Boilers.

6. Wolverine center David Molk: The big fella suffered a broken bone in his foot on Saturday that will require surgery. The anchor of the Michigan line will be out for 4-6 weeks.

5. Greg Jones: The Sparty LB continues to show why he was named Big Ten preseason player of the year. Jones is 3rd in the NCAA in tackles with 38.

4. Hawkeyes continue streak of player of week winners: Iowa punter Ryan Donahue was named co-Big Ten special teams player of the week this week. Iowa has produced a player of the week in each of the first three weeks this season. Jeremiha Hunter was co-special teams player of the week in week 1 and Tyler Sash was co-defensive player of the week in week 2.

3. Indiana undefeated: I have to give Indiana a little bit of credit, they are a little bit better than I thought they would be. I figured they would slip up agaist at least one of these non-conference teams, so I give credit to Bill Lynch and the Hoosiers. However, this doesn't mean they will be sucessful in the Big Ten by any stretch of the imagination

2. Ohio State rights the ship: Great job by the Buckeyes to get back on track and easily defeat Toledo this past week. That's big for them going into the Big Ten schedule. Although Terelle Pryor did throw two picks, which is a bit disheartening.

1. ESPN College GameDay heading to Big Ten Country: College GameDay is going to Happy Valley this coming Saturday for the Iowa-Penn State game. Get fired up Big Ten Fans. I know I am. I'm hoping to see Corso throw on a Herky Hawkeye mask, but I won't count on it.

10 Big Things from week 2

It's time for the second installment of 10 big things from the Big Ten. This week was another extremely exciting week, full of close games, big plays, and even an upset. After going 10-1 in week one, the Big Ten struggled slightly this week going 8-3, but it could have been much worse. So without further ado, lets take a look at those 10 things...

10. Eric Decker: The Gopher wideout had 10 catches for 113 yards on Saturdays win against Air Force. The senior is second in the NCAA in receptions with 19 and third in the NCAA in receiving yards with 296.

9. Gophers christen new stadium with a win: Minnesota's first game in sold-out TCF Bank stadium was a victory over the Air Force Falcons, 20-13. The Gophers played outdoors and on the campus for the first time in 27 years.

8. USC vs. Big Ten teams: I feel like I'm beating a dead (trojan) horse when I say this, but just in case you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years, USC has absolutely dominated Big Ten opponents. The Trojans are 10-0 in their last 10 games against Big Ten teams, nine of those wins are by double-digits. Pete Carroll is a pretty good coach, enough said.

7. Iowa RB's: After a pretty dismal efford against FCS opponent Northern Iowa, the Hawkeye rushers came to play against the Cyclones of Iowa State. The Hawkeyes may have found a new starting running back in freshman Brandon Wegher, who ran for 101 yards and a touchdown. Adam Robinson added another 69 yards as the Hawks rushed for a total of 191 yards. Not great, but getting better.

6. Purdue's PAT struggles: Purdue had a PAT blocked at the beginning of the 4th quarter that would have tied the game at 31-31. That missed PAT came back to haunt them when they scored with one minute to play in the game. Forced to go for two, Kyle Adams caught quarterback Joey Elliott's pass, unfortunately he caught it out of bounds and the Boilers lost 38-36.

5. Michigan in the Top 25: The Wolverines are in the top 25 for the first time in Rich Rod's tenure at UM after knocking off the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on Saturday.

4. Ralph Bolden (right): Purdue's new running back showed that he certainly wasn't a one-hit wonder after rushing for 234 yards against Toledo in week 1. The sophomore ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns against a much tougher Oregon team, and currently leads the NCAA in rushing yards with 357. The Sporting News Dave Curtis wrote a bio about Bolden earlier last week.

Photo credit: www.sportingnews.com

3. Tyler Sash: The Hawkeye safety had three picks and a forced fumble against in-state rial Iowa State, earning him Big Ten co-defensive player of the week. The sophomore has five interceptions in his last five games, dating back to last season, including a crucial interception against last year against Penn State.

2. Big Ten vs. MAC: For some reason, the Big Ten continues to struggle against the Mid-American Conference. Michigan State lost to Central Michigan, Northwestern and Indiana barely snuck by Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, respectively, and in week one Wisconsin nearly blew it at home against Northern Illinois. I don't know if the Big Ten teams overlook these squads or play down to their level or what, but they should be beating them by a lot more than three points and certainly should not be losing to these teams.

1. Tate Forcier (below): The freshman had an outstanding game for the Wolverines, leading them to victory over the 18th ranked Fighting Irish. The freshman signal caller threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns, earning him Big Ten co-offensive player of the week.

Photo Credit: www.mlive.com

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.