10 Big Things from Week 4

Time for everyone's favorite segment...10 BIG THINGS!

10. Duane Bennett: The Gopher RB took some pressure off of QB Adam Weber and star wideout Eric Decker by rushing for 89 yards on 21 carries. The sophomore ran for three touchdowns.

9. Juice Williams: Will the real Juice Williams please stand up? Voted as the first team All-Big Ten quarterback this preseason, the senior had an awful performance against the Buckeyes. Williams threw for only 79 yards and tossed two interceptions

8. Michigan State struggles yet again: At this point, Sparty fans are probably counting down the days until the start of basketball season. Michigan State struggled for the third straight week, turning the ball over four times. Sparty has turned the ball over six times in the last two games.

7. Iowa has Big Ten Players of the Week...again: The streak continues. The Hawkeyes have had at least one Big Ten Player of the Week in each of the first four weeks. This week it was senior linebacker Pat Angerer and junior defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn. Binns was named defensive player of the week for recording a safety and Clayborn was named sp

ecial teams player of the week for returning a punt for a touchdown.

6. Bad Call in IU-Michigan game: It appeared that Hoosier receiver Demarlo Belcher and the Wolverine defender both had possession of the ball as they hit the ground, which would be ruled as dual possession, giving the ball to the Hoosiers. However, the call on the field was ruled an interception and the play stood even after an official review. This call cost the Hoosiers a chance to mount a comeback drive against Michigan.

5. John Clay: The Badger running back rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown in the

win over Michigan State

4. Bill Lynch's sideline tirade: The Hoosier head man (right) had a good one on Saturday. After the dual-possession/interception play occurred, Lynch sprinted down the sidelines, tossing his headset down and chucking his gum (the flavor was probably gone anyways...)

(Photo credit: espn.com)

3. Tate Forcier: The freshman QB lead the Wolverine comeback over the Hoosiers, throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.

2. Scott Tolzien: The Wisconsin signal caller is for real. The junior threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns in the 38-30 win over Michigan State.

1. Iowa Hawkeyes upset Joe Pa: The Hawkeyes defeated the Nittany Lions for the seventh time in the last eight meetings. The win moved Iowa into the top 25, putting them at 13th in the AP poll and 17th in the Coaches poll

1A. Football in the Heartland blogger beating ESPN Big Ten blogger in pick'em: That's right, I don't want to brag or anything, but I am up four games on ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg in picking Big Ten games.

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

Big Ten News and Notes: Top 25, QB's in Michigan, Flu Bug at Wisconsin, and another Blue Devil Baller at Quarterback?

-The week 1 polls are out, and only two Big Ten squads are in the USA Today Top 25. Penn State jumped up three spots to #5, and Ohio State dropped one spot down to #7. Iowa, who was previously ranked #21, fell out of the top 25 after nearly losing to FCS opponent Northern Iowa. Other Big Ten teams receiving votes included Michigan State (133 votes), Iowa (70), Northwestern (4), Michigan (4), and Minnesota (1)

-Rich Rod named freshman Tate Forcier his starting QB for Saturday's contest against the Fighting Irish. Forcier threw three touchdowns before halftime on Saturday.

-Also in the state of Michigan, Sparty head man Mark Dantonio has yet to decide whether Kirk Cousins or Keith Nichol will start against Central Michigan. Both looked really good against Montana State

-The Wisconsin Badger football team has been hit with the flu-bug. According to numerous sources, including ESPN Big Ten Blogger Adam Rittenberg and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, at least 10 members of the football team have come down with flu like symptoms. However, there is speculation that the number is much higher. There is no knowledge as to whether the players are suffering from the H1N1 virus (or swine flu). "We had a challenging tuesday with the flu bug hitting our team the last few days but they responded well," coach Brett Bielama said on his twitter page. "We are on road to recovery."

-ESPN.com's Pat Forde wrote an funny piece today about the "Thank You Notes" that Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany should send out this week.

-Lastly, I leave you with a tweet from the Big Ten Network's Mike Hall (@BTNMikeHall): "Actually just got breaking news, turns out Air Force is debating starting either Wojo or Chris Duhon at QB against The Gophers this week"

Personally, I'd like to see J.J. Redick get the nod at QB over Wojo or Duhon