Another meh weekend for the league. There were a couple of higher-profile games and the league went 1-2. Maryland lost at home to Virginia Tech. Michigan State lost at Notre Dame (no shame there.) Northwestern smashed Colorado. Everyone else that was supposed to win did.
1. #5 Indiana (3-0, 0-0)
No surprise here. Probably not good enough for Cig score-wise against that opponent, but they’re 3-0 and in the top 5. Steady as she goes.
Week 4 – Northwestern (2-0) Friday
2. #12 USC (4-0, 1-0)
I’m not dinging
anyone here. We have to remember the three time zone rule with anyone going coast-to-coast. That’s a tough ask for the body clock, especially west to east. Get the win, head back home, prepare for a knock down drag out with an old Pac-8/10/12 foe in the Coliseum.
Week 4 – #20 Oregon (2-1)
3. #7 Ohio State (2-1, 0-0)
Didn’t watch. Whatever. 59-3 over Kent State, as it should be. I’m about as enthused for this as Gus Johnson was.
Week 4 – Illinois (2-1)
4. #17 Iowa (3-0, 0-0)
Ho-hum win for the Hawks in a men vs. boys game. Third, fourth, and fifth-stringers hammering on UNI, zooming past Panther defenders the whole day. I honestly feel bad for programs similarly situated to the Panthers. There’s just no place for them in this college football environment. Any good players get picked over by FBS programs. All they can do is take pay games. They have to do that twice a year now.
Week 4 – at #18 Michigan (3-0)
5. #13 Penn State (3-0, 0-0)
How do we separate Iowa and Penn State? Homer picks. That’s how. Degree of difficulty goes up with a visit from Wisconsin on Saturday. I don’t know how good Wisconsin is but it’s of course a step up from what Penn State’s played so far.
Week 4 – Wisconsin (2-1)
6. #18 Michigan (2-1 3-0, 0-0)
Again, I have no idea how good Michigan is, and the game with Iowa is impossible to diagnose. Michigan trailed most of the first half against the University of Texas (not the one in Austin; the one in El Paso.) They turned on the jets in the second half but are they good or not? No idea. We find out on Saturday.
Week 4 – #17 Iowa (3-0)
7. Nebraska (3-0, 0-0)
Steady here as well. I really like their running back. He looks like a good player. That’s all. Now they have a tricky road test at Michigan State. Nebraska has stepped on this banana peel before.
Week 4 – at Michigan State (2-1)
8. UCLA – (3-0, 1-0)
UCLA’s defense may not be any good. Maybe Purdue’s offense is ok? I don’t know. I guess if you give up nearly 500 yards to Purdue, it’s nice to go for almost 650 yourself and force 3 turnovers. Now here we go – UCLA travels east next week, against a more capable opponent than Rutgers. Something to keep an eye on.
Week 4 – at Maryland (2-1)
9. Northwestern (2-0, 0-0)
This will probably be short-lived, as they travel to Bloomington to take on their former “we stink” roommate in the league that now lives in the penthouse. But for a weekend, Northwestern is a riser, hammering Coach Prime in The Library, 41-7. Speaking of The Library…
CU…that thing is a trainwreck. There’s no juice there at all. Good thing CU could owe Prime up to $33 million if he’s fired without cause. Good stuff, guys. I get that they tried something off the wall, something kind of zany, to drive some support again. They’re in a tough sports landscape here with the Broncos down the road and both the Avalanche and Nuggets having won titles in the last 4 years. Overall it’s a poorly-supported program despite being in one of the nicest towns in these United States. I don’t get it at all. Then they had guys quit after the game? Were they cut?
Week 4 – at #5 Indiana (3-0) Friday
10. Wisconsin (2-1, 0-0)
This is another team that briefly trailed a completely overwhelmed opponent. They did the same thing Michigan eventually did, running up a big scoreline. Still, I just don’t know if they’re good or not. This league has a lot of “are they good or not?” teams this season. I lean not with this particular team.
Week 4 – at #13 Penn State (3-0)
11. Michigan State – (2-1, 0-0)
Tough ask getting a win at Notre Dame, who is really good and one of the teams that can win the title this year. They were never going to win that despite keeping it semi-respectable. Now they host Nebraska. This is a swing game for both teams.
Week 4 – Nebraska (3-0)
12. #20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0)
Tough to really move them up a ton after they eviscerated a poor Portland State team. Nice score, I guess. Real games again for them, heading to USC.
Week 4 – at #12 USC (4-0)
13. Washington (3-0, 0-0)
Still not sure what’s going on with this team either. They played Eastern Washington and it’s the best the Huskies have looked all year but are they good or not?
Week 4 – Minnesota (2-1)
T14. Minnesota (2-1, 0-0), Illinois (2-1, 0-0)
Minnesota and Illinois got fat on smaller teams. Philip John Fleck loves feasting on these teams, as does Bret Bielema. Minnesota travels west and perhaps Washington begins to find a little bit of a groove, while Illinois ramps up significantly. I imagine both teams stay down here for awhile.
Week 4 – at Washington (3-0), at #7 Ohio State (2-1)
16. Maryland (2-1, 0-0)
I put the Terps slightly ahead of Purdue, though I considered a switch here. Same old, same old from Maryland. A promising start, then they trail by 21 going into the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech. Also Virginia Tech gets the ball back with 5:34 left up 9 and Maryland doesn’t touch the ball again. Can’t get a stop. Never change!
Week 4 – UCLA (3-0)
17. Purdue (1-2, 0-1)
Here we go. The slide started last week, losing to Wake, then it continued in the Rose Bowl. They showed some grit in this, falling down 21-7 in the first quarter only to lead briefly in the third. They scored 38 points and had 488 yards of offense on the road. That SHOULD be a win. But, see above.
Week 4 – #3 Notre Dame (3-0)
18. Rutgers (0-3, 0-1)
A better effort. They hung with USC. Is that because Rutgers actually tried? USC didn’t? USC had all of those time zones to travel?
Whatever – there’s the door. Still asking you to leave.
Week 4 – Howard (1-2) Friday
