[NU Sports] Evening report ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

A couple of good ole' defensive games among the late games.

* Kirk Ferentz is the new Lloyd Carr and just has JoePa's number. Talk about a great first quarter for PSU ... but when they couldn't go up 14-0 and settled for three and Iowa hung around, you kind of got the feeling where the story was going. The Nittany Lions' senior leadership faded down the stretch while Iowa's youth came up with a big win. Should be a fun game with Michigan in two weeks under the lights at Kinnick.

As for PSU, it will be interesting to see how they rebound. Their schedule is still set up well for a Rose Bowl run with OSU visiting, but they can't afford any more slips.

* Meanwhile in West Lafayette, both of the offensive juggernauts somehow played a low-scoring game. Every time I flipped over, it seemed like the Irish were getting some help from the zebras, but Purdue still had plenty of chances. After three straight tough losses, it will be interesting to see how the Boilers respond next week against NU. Hopefully for us, they take the Sparty route and some out emotionally flat.

So what do we know of the Big Ten after this reshuffling first week?

* Team to beat: Ohio State. The big question coming into the year was the D, but it appears to be better than ever. If Pryor and Herron catch fire, it's tough to see anyone staying close until their big stretch run in November of PSU, Iowa and Michigan.

* Darkhorse: Michigan. I know Iowa's been the popular pick for weeks and will be even more now, but I still don't believe in them. They just have PSU's number. The Maize and Blue have much more fire and explosiveness - they get PSU and OSU at home and if they can survive their next two against Sparty and the Hawkeyes, they could move up to the team to beat.

* Pretender: Wisconsin. I'm not a Hawkeye believer, but Iowa's a 9-win team. The Badgers are living a charmed existence right now and the clock could strike midnight in Minneapolis next week.

* Still in the hunt: Penn State and Minnesota. The Lions still have a favorable schedule and I like the Gophers' physicality for the October and November home stretch.

* Stick a fork in them: Illinois and Michigan State. I haven't put NU in here yet, but that could change after next week. However, Sparty and the Illini both have a recent history of packing it in after tough losses and they're on the verge of collapse.

And one thing we know for sure is that nothing will be easy in the Big Ten this year. Purdue and especially Indiana appear much better than expected. I don't expect either to be bowling this year, but I could see an upset or two from each.

Should be a fun ride - hopefully Fitz can get NU back on track next week.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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