[NU Sports] Morning report ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

It was a good morning to have the Big Ten Network - three nail-biting finishes all coming to a head within seconds of each other! The ABC studio "braintrust" just don't know what they're missing with Big Ten football. There is not much room at all in this league between the #2 or #3 team and the #9 or #10 team - it's going to be a mad scramble all year and those close wins are at a premium. We saw three on Saturday morning.

* MICHIGAN STATE may not have saved their season yet, but they did stop the bleeding with a much-needed win. However, the big story of the game is Tate Forcier again. The more I watch, the more I think this freshman will be the first team quarterback for the Big Ten. He just has a gritty gutsiness in the clutch and is a treat to watch. And while his INT hurt, it was more the defensive lack of tackling that cost the Wolverines. Were they looking ahead or did they just run out of luck? No matter, Sparty wins.

* NORTHWESTERN also stopped their bleeding and may have indeed saved their bowl hopes with the late stand against Purdue. Still, you get that many turnovers and have the ball in the red zone that many times and come away with only field goals and something's wrong. The Cats need some heavy work from the offensive line and the offensive coordinator. As for Purdue, four close losses in a row have to take their toll and after coming this/close to a fantastic start, the Boilers may be ready to go into the tank. When does the hoops road to Indy start?

* IOWA suffered a "virtual loss" in another sluggish game against a team they should have clobbered. Regardless, they're 5-0 and have a huge prime time showcase against the Maize and Blue next week. But before you gas up the RVs, bumblebee fans, Michigan's been a bit of a mental block for you as well recently.

* Finally, perhaps it's time I start believing in the Badgers. WISCONSIN went into a slugfest up north and out-physical-ed rival Minnesota. They travel to Columbus next week, but the Badgers are one of the few teams who never seem to be intimidated by the Shoe. If they win that, their toughest remaining games (Iowa and Michigan - no PSU this year) are at home. Maybe the hot seat fired up Bielema a bit ... or godfather Barry pulled some strings with his, um, connections.:)

Couple games that SHOULDN'T be close coming up, but you never know in the Big Ten with Indiana and Ill-noise at home.

Sloppy game, but good to get back on the winning side. Now the Cats have to make sure they beat Miami next week because the forecast right now is for a logjam of teams around 6 or 7 wins in the Big Ten, so we need every victory and already let a couple slip away.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!