[NU Sports] Big Ten today ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

... or yesterday for those of you not enjoying the wonders of west coast late night football. :)

Intriguing day of action for the Big Ten and much like last week, a mixed bag (and as long as that bag includes an NU win and a Notre Dame loss, I'll take it!!!). Some thoughts ...

* Kirk Ferentz is the new Lloyd Carr - do NOT go west in September, Kirk!:) Actually, Iowa did a heroic job fighting back and had they hit that PAT after the pick to take the lead 28-27 instead of stay tied, I think they might have pulled it out. But give Zona credit for ambushing Iowa with special teams and then coming back with some deep passes late. And someone might want a spatula to scrape Stanzi off the desert turf. Ouch! I hope the Western Wildcats can go all the way to Pasadena - every team in the Big Ten and Pac 10 deserves that trip at least once!:)

* Speaking of passes, how about them Spartans!!! I was actually getting frustrated as Stupid Sparty seemed ready to give the game away (especially after that baffling 4th down call by ND on their OWN 40!), but then the GUTSY call in OT left me stunned ... and it was the first time I saw a smile instead of a scowl on Dantoni's face.

* Wisconsin got lucky. I don't think so many viewers have screamed "WHY ARE YOU KICKING IT TO THEM!?!?!?!" at their TV since Bo Shembechler's infamous decision to kick to Rocket Ismael again and again.

So on the cusp of the conference season, what do we know?

* OHIO STATE is the team to beat. Duh. Like I said last week, the countdown to Bama vs. Bucks in Arizona is on. Only two games against Florida or road trips to Madison and Iowa City can stop it at this point.

* IOWA and WISCONSIN are good, but not great. I expect both to be better by November, but for now, they're definitely beatable.

* PENN STATE has a pretty good freshman back there at QB. If he can minimize mistakes and let Royster carry the load with their D, they're gonna be tough to beat this year and should be back contending for the title next year.

* MICHIGAN has brought Big East football to the Big Ten. Lots of points. No defense. They'll win some games they shouldn't 45-42, but lose to a bad team or two 38-41.

* PURDUE is not nearly as good as I thought they were. They better not turn things around until the end of October.

* MSU makes too many stupid mistakes to make a serious run at the title, but they will upend someone ahead of them this year.

* MINNY has some respect (or else USC is way overrated), but they will be staying home with INDIANA and ILLINOIS this bowl season.

As for NU, we're still making mistakes, but it's all about winning and it's not often a Northwestern team starts 3-0. No letup next week, Cats! We need to come out strong at home and win #4 to head into the Big Ten season with momentum.

Once we're in league play, it really is a tilted schedule that sets up nicely for a young team like us to get some confidence and then grow as a team by the time the big tests come. October features two winnable road games and two must-win home games that will be crucial for bowl position. November steps up the competition big-time and we'll see what this team is really made of ... but we need to keep going one game at a time. BEAT CMU!

But road wins at Vandy and Rice are a nice start! 3-0!

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
==========================