Only Minnesota lost, and that was on a missed FG as time expired. Best wins on paper were USC, Penn State, and Michigan.
B1G went 17-1 this week
- Thread starter Chriselli
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USC's win last night over LSU was great for the Big Ten.
I loved seeing Kelly so pissed off afterwards.
I loved seeing Kelly so pissed off afterwards.
Don’t know about Michigan. They were playing at home and were up just one score in the fourth before closing it out. I still question their decision to go with an assistant after successfully climbing a mountain to get back into prominence.
B1G is loaded at the top with OSU, Oregon, Penn St. and possibly USC. I think Michigan is going to fall a peg or two.
Disclaimer: I grew up in South Bend as a ND football fan and still enjoy watching them.
I also liked seeing Kelly get beat. ND fans were shocked that a coach would use ND as a stepping stone to a better program.
I live in South Bend. Many ND fans were glad that he took his purple face and arrogant personality to LSU.
It's strange with him because he's basically a really good coach in a lot of respects, but he seems to lose big games just because he's a flaming ahole. I felt the dame about him at ND. Very odd.
Agree about Michigan as they are basically replacing their top 6 OL from last year and I considered that unit their strength in 2023. Actually, their whole offense is new including their QB. They're defense is solid again though but I'm not sure I'd put them in the top 4 or 5 in the B1G right now.
With no conference game openers this year … isn’t this more the expected result.
… with 15 cupcakes on the schedule. (WV, LSU, and UNC were the P4 opponents).
… with 15 cupcakes on the schedule. (WV, LSU, and UNC were the P4 opponents).
Going in, BT teams were solid + favorites in all but 4 games--MN v. NC; USC v. LSU; PSU v. WV; and NW v Miami OH. WV certainly looked like a trap game for PSU but they looked really good in all phases Moss at USC is a great not good QB, and they are hugely improved on D. That new OC at PSU and the new DC at USC look like miracle workers. I do still think USC's DB is still a liability, but overall they have great talent on both sides of the ball.
I watched some or all of all 18 games except OSU, Purdue & NW. Overall, USC, PSU, Washington, IU, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers, and MD met or exceeded my expectations. Minnesota, Oregon, Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin & MSU came up short. I didn't see NW, Purdue or OSU. Here's some of what struck me----
PSU certainly hasn't taken a step back with TA as DC. Their defense looked fierce. Almost physically scary if you're the offensive team. And their QB looked the best I've ever seen from him. Iowa's D also looked great, but they're more reliant on great fit and execution than is PSU. Their TB is a stud. He was out the first half for discipline reasons but ran wild in the 2nd half. McNamara still looks like a bottom 1/3 QB in the BT, but he's a big step up from last year. Great TE but their receivers are average or below for the BT. USC-Iowa would be a very interesting game.
Michigan has QB issues. Neither one that played is anything special. After watching both its a mystery to me why they didn't look for a QB in the portal. Their TE is quite a baller but the WRs don't look like anything special. Right now, I have them behind OSU, Oregon, PSU & USC and even with Iowa.
Minnesota is just a very boring football team. Smallish on D but play very hard. Their new QB from NH was nothing special. Not sure he's any better than Kalickmanis, who is now at Rutgers.
Speaking of Rutgers.....poor competition, but I thought they looked solid. Kalickmanis is a better fit than the kid they had last year, but he's nothing special and definitely a bottom third BT QB....but again, they're like Iowa...they're not going to rely on him doing much. I see Rutgers as having a high floor and a low ceiling.
Billy Edwards is the new QB at Maryland. He's the guy that came in and beat us at home late in the game a couple of years ago. At least in this game, he looked very solid passing the ball, which has been the issue. If he continues to play like he did Saturday Maryland & Nebraska might be the "best of the rest" after OSU, Oregon, PSU, USC, Iowa & Michigan. They do have some talent for a bottom ten BT program.
Wisconsin appears to be treading water right now. The Van Dyke, transfer from Miami, is a very reckless QB. He had a bad strip fumble and should have had at least two ints. He's a guy who throws for a lot of yards, but career-wise he has 23 ints to go with his 54 TDs. in 3 years as a starter. They don't appear to have the running attack or the D they had several years ago. They still appear to be in a transition phase. That Bama game could be a rout.
Oregon obviously wasn't very impressive overall, but I was still impressed with Gabriel, who had great stats. He's a better pure passer than I realized. He didn't run much this game because they didn't need him to. The question is was this just Oregon going through the motions, or are they very overrated?
Washington looked solid v. Weber St., but really nothing special on either side of the ball. I'd put them in the same category as Nebraska & Maryland right now, as their overall talent level is fairly high, although I wasn't blown away by any individual players. I do like them a little more after watching them because they seem well-coached.
I was surprised by the crowd at the MSU game....sold our or nearly so. They really like their athletic transfer QB from Oregon St., but I didn't see all that much from him this game. They look like a bottom 3 BT team to me.
I like Altmeyer, the Illinois QB. Overall, they looked ok.
The UCLA game was a strange one, Very weak performance against a mediocre Hawaii team. Inexperienced head coach, and it looked like it. Right now I feel good about our game in the RB, but I do worry about the first road game for a team with so many transfers. One thing about the UCLA that was interesting was that they did not dominate on the ground as expected. Again, a good sign.
Right now my BT power rankings would be OSU, PSU, Oregon, USC.........then Michigan, Iowa........then Nebraska, Maryland, Washington, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Indiana........then Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, UCLA, NW, and MSU.
One thing I'd add......I don't think any BT team this year is total trash like Rutgers, IU, Purdue, NW have been at times the last few years. I do feel like UCLA and/or MSU might implode.
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It also shows you how unreliable that Rivals ratings can be. Tuttle was a 4-star QB coming out of high school and is now stuck behind a former walk-on and another guy who looks like Tyson Lawton throwing the football.
I read where Tuttle was injured again … the most important ability is availability.
Exactly, Tuttle was in the running to start before he was injured... May be the best thing that could happen for him given he'd be playing behind an inexperienced OL... (and possibly end up being injured worse during the regular season)...
A tip of the hat to him as to how he's managed the Portal, NIL, Undergrad and Grad School to his utmost advantage... People can call him "Clipboard Jack" and all that nonsense they want but he's coming out of all this with at least 3 degrees (I've lost track but I think he's even working on a 4th one)..., along with a starter resume' to allow him to get into coaching if he decides to go that route...
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My boss is a USC fan. He's very happy today. We're both still getting used to the idea that they are B1G . He has a USC jacket, calls it his Big Ten jacket now, lol.
I enjoyed Kelly's response also. This guy wore out his welcome at Notre Dame. Supposedly He wanted to go to a place where He wasn't as restricted in recruiting by academics and other factors. He is 3 years into the new place, so supposedly He is getting the Players He wants, so if He is losing the problem must be the Coaching.
Yea. There is a higher ceiling at LSU — their last three coaches got a national title. I’m enjoying watching Brian Kelly implode.
It’s the face of an Irish drinker, this ruddy complexion seen as the purple badge of whiskey, an honor in his homeland, these facial capillaries bloated in preservative until exploded.
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