After six weeks of most everyone else playing football, the Big-10 finally decided to join the party. Better late than never, I guess.
However, the Big-10 getting in on the fun does give us more to digest, or mock, however you want to look at it.
The Good:
Wisconsin: Hard to get off to a better start than the Badgers did. Freshman quarterback Graham Mertz went 20-21 for 248 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first career start. With Mertz leading the way the Badgers were about as efficient as you can be, going 8-14 on third downs and cruising to a 45-7 win over Illinois. However, just after the win Mertz tested positive for Covid. If it is confirmed he will now miss a minimum of 21 days.
Alabama: With all the talk about Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, it might just be Mac Jones leading the way as far as the Heisman goes. Jones is off to a sizzling start and he was just as hot against Tennessee. Jones went 25-31 for 387 yards and that was without Jaylen Waddle, the teams top wideout who was lost for the season on Saturday. Even the Tide defense looked a little better holding the Vols to just 302 yards of offense, but again, it was just Tennessee, so the jusry is still out on this Bama defense.
Coastal Carolina: The Chants are still unbeaten on the season and in the Top-25. Hey, Gamecock fans, this is without question the second best team in the state.
The Bad:
Miami: This was supposed to be the bounce back statement game for the Canes. Sure they got a 19-14 win over Virginia but it definitely wasn’t pretty, nor as dominant as most expected. D’Eriq King was solid in a steady rain but the Canes could not get anything going on the ground. The Cavs made them one dimensional, holding them to just 2.5 YPC. If the Wahoo’s could have just hit one more play, the narrative would be entirely different.
Penn State: So much for that playoff elimination matchup next weekend against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions choked bigtime in their opener as Indiana picked up a win over a ranked team for the first time in forever. Some will point to the controversy on the final play in overtime but lets be real, this one should have never come to that. Indiana had just 211 yards of offense and still won. Enough said.
The Ugly:
Ohio State: Ryan Day refusing to kneel on it and run it up on Nebraska is a sign of things to come. Hey, I get it. They are only playing eight games in the regular season and need every bit of help they can get. But be a man and say that. Don’t give us some weak excuse about not having the right personnel on the field to kneel on the ball. Every quarterback knows how to take a knee. Having said all that, it’s Ryan Day and that is what we have come to expect from the Buckeyes head coach.
Virginia Tech: The Hokies dropped one to lowly Wake Forest. Hendon Hooker threw three picks and like Penn State, Virginia Tech just choked. The Deacs rushed for more than 200 yards on that Va Tech defense. The Hokies could not convert in the red zone, committed way to many penalties and lost the turnover battle 3-0. No excuse in losing to Wake.
