What are your guys thoughts on the Big Ten race after the first week of the year?

I'm still somewhat in transition to thinking in divisional set-up mode. It still feels somewhat weird/wrong that we are not directly competing against half the Big Ten in standings at all. That said, it's interesting in it's own right. My view of the race in both divisions is similar to pre-season, but we've definitely got a bit more info.

Changes in my perception
East:
-Michigan moved up some though in my mind as they might finally be using all that talent effectively (it's early though).
-Penn State, despite a decent win, actually moves down a bit for me as I think I was over-ranking them. They won't be bad, but the sanctions limit their talent too much.


West:
-To me, Nebraska now goes to the most likely to win the division, but Wisconsin is very close.
-I was willing to accept that Northwestern's collapse last year didn't matter much for this year and them winning the division, while not my expectation, wouldn't have shocked me. After the 1st game, I don't see the Wildcats with much of a chance
-I might have ranked Iowa favorite pre-season. Northern Iowa has given them fits even when good, but I still can't expect as much from Iowa after struggling against them.

In general its too early to tell or jump to conclusions so my perceptions have not changed too much but some teams moved up or down slightly

East.
1. MSU - even. Offense looked good. Conner Cook has chance for all big ten. We will have much better idea after Oregon next week.

2. OSU - even - hard to tell how good they are, but that was a solid win agsinst Navy. We will have a better idea after they play Virginia Tech.

3. MD - even - looked good against FCS team.

4. Mich -even -looked good against FCS team. We will know much better after Notre Dame how good Michigan is.

5. PSU -up- tough win in Ireland. We willl know better in 2 weeks after PSU plays Rutgers who is better

6. Rutgers -up - impressive win put west. They play PSU in 2 weeks.

7. Indy - down- indy still won but unimpressively against an FCS team in a week where everybody else in the division had decent wins. Indy sinks to the bottom. But its still early and they still won.

West
1. Nebraska - even - Nebby had 700+ yards in offense against crappy team, but still impressive.

2. Iowa - down - Iowa has a history of playing crappy against FCS teams but still winning and sometimes going on to a decent season. In 2009, Iowa opened with 17-16 victory over Northern Iowa and ended up winning the Orange Bowl and ranked #7 in final poll. In 2012 Iowa only beat UNI 27-16 and ended up 4-8. In other words, an early close victory tells us nothing about whether Iowa be any good. Still Iowa has issues on all sides of the ball that need to get fixed.

3. Wisconsin - even - if Wiscy would have won big over LSU, they would be a clear #1 in the west. But the lost and they have some issues.

4. Minny - even - Minny had a solid win agains an FCS team

5. ILL -even - not an impressive win but still a win

6 pur - even

7 NW - way down- bad loss at home to a bad Cal team. NW has some big problems.

I think this week will answer many of your questions.

Right now I like Sparty again. I also think they are strong enough defensively to take Oregon. Whether they will or not will be interesting to watch.

Michigan will show its colors against a Notre Dame squad with internal issues right now. If they are a pretender the flaws will appear, but with a mistake free game I like their chances this weekend.

Ohio State will show us whether their defense is truly okay or substandard. Virginia Tech will have better size on both sides of the ball than Navy and their offense is coming around some. It will be a good test for the Buckeyes.

Get those three under your belt and the answer to the East will become clearer.

In the West it's a push between Nebraska that has to overcome the obligatory stumble and Wisconsin which may (other than Nebraska) have their toughest game behind them (and one they should have won).

(09-01-2014 09:56 PM)goofus Wrote:  2. OSU - even - hard to tell how good they are, but that was a solid win against Navy. We will have a better idea after they play Virginia Tech.

I'm hoping that the weak O-line performance in the first half was in part mentally inexperienced players that needed to learn not to look past the current week's opponent, and they improved their focus in the second half, as opposed to just being a case of heavier players wearing down a smaller D-line.

So I agree, the jury is still out until we see them this coming week against VTech. If OSU can keep their offensive points of attack spread along the line of scrimmage against DBU and what is supposed to be a backfield disrupting red-shirted freshman Marshall on the D-line, that'll be a better sign.

(09-01-2014 08:22 PM)ohio1317 Wrote:  What are your guys thoughts on the Big Ten race after the first week of the year?

I'm still somewhat in transition to thinking in divisional set-up mode. It still feels somewhat weird/wrong that we are not directly competing against half the Big Ten in standings at all. That said, it's interesting in it's own right. My view of the race in both divisions is similar to pre-season, but we've definitely got a bit more info.

Changes in my perception
East:
-Michigan moved up some though in my mind as they might finally be using all that talent effectively (it's early though).
-Penn State, despite a decent win, actually moves down a bit for me as I think I was over-ranking them. They won't be bad, but the sanctions limit their talent too much.


West:
-To me, Nebraska now goes to the most likely to win the division, but Wisconsin is very close.
-I was willing to accept that Northwestern's collapse last year didn't matter much for this year and them winning the division, while not my expectation, wouldn't have shocked me. After the 1st game, I don't see the Wildcats with much of a chance
-I might have ranked Iowa favorite pre-season. Northern Iowa has given them fits even when good, but I still can't expect as much from Iowa after struggling against them.

You think playing Northern Iowa close in the first game of the year proves that Iowa isn't that good?

Then how do you explain the 2012 season of the Wisconsin Badgers?

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/big-t...hedule.php

(09-02-2014 07:56 PM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(09-01-2014 08:22 PM)ohio1317 Wrote:  What are your guys thoughts on the Big Ten race after the first week of the year?

I'm still somewhat in transition to thinking in divisional set-up mode. It still feels somewhat weird/wrong that we are not directly competing against half the Big Ten in standings at all. That said, it's interesting in it's own right. My view of the race in both divisions is similar to pre-season, but we've definitely got a bit more info.

Changes in my perception
East:
-Michigan moved up some though in my mind as they might finally be using all that talent effectively (it's early though).
-Penn State, despite a decent win, actually moves down a bit for me as I think I was over-ranking them. They won't be bad, but the sanctions limit their talent too much.


West:
-To me, Nebraska now goes to the most likely to win the division, but Wisconsin is very close.
-I was willing to accept that Northwestern's collapse last year didn't matter much for this year and them winning the division, while not my expectation, wouldn't have shocked me. After the 1st game, I don't see the Wildcats with much of a chance
-I might have ranked Iowa favorite pre-season. Northern Iowa has given them fits even when good, but I still can't expect as much from Iowa after struggling against them.

You think playing Northern Iowa close in the first game of the year proves that Iowa isn't that good?

Then how do you explain the 2012 season of the Wisconsin Badgers?

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/big-t...hedule.php

Considering the 2012 Badgers were 7-5 in the regular season after a close win over Northern Iowa, maybe a close game against NI does portent a mediocre season. The only reason Wisconsin was in Championship game was OSU and Penn State were ineligible.

(09-02-2014 08:35 PM)UpStreamRedTeam Wrote:  

(09-02-2014 07:56 PM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(09-01-2014 08:22 PM)ohio1317 Wrote:  What are your guys thoughts on the Big Ten race after the first week of the year?

I'm still somewhat in transition to thinking in divisional set-up mode. It still feels somewhat weird/wrong that we are not directly competing against half the Big Ten in standings at all. That said, it's interesting in it's own right. My view of the race in both divisions is similar to pre-season, but we've definitely got a bit more info.

Changes in my perception
East:
-Michigan moved up some though in my mind as they might finally be using all that talent effectively (it's early though).
-Penn State, despite a decent win, actually moves down a bit for me as I think I was over-ranking them. They won't be bad, but the sanctions limit their talent too much.


West:
-To me, Nebraska now goes to the most likely to win the division, but Wisconsin is very close.
-I was willing to accept that Northwestern's collapse last year didn't matter much for this year and them winning the division, while not my expectation, wouldn't have shocked me. After the 1st game, I don't see the Wildcats with much of a chance
-I might have ranked Iowa favorite pre-season. Northern Iowa has given them fits even when good, but I still can't expect as much from Iowa after struggling against them.

You think playing Northern Iowa close in the first game of the year proves that Iowa isn't that good?

Then how do you explain the 2012 season of the Wisconsin Badgers?

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/big-t...hedule.php

Considering the 2012 Badgers were 7-5 in the regular season after a close win over Northern Iowa, maybe a close game against NI does portent a mediocre season. The only reason Wisconsin was in Championship game was OSU and Penn State were ineligible.

I was waiting for this response. I will give you a pass as you are new to the conference.

That year's Wisconsin Badgers were injury prone all year long and it was sad to see what could have been a great team hampered and held down by injuries, including their starting quarterback. When he came back healthy to lead the team it made a massive difference.

Look at their results late in the season versus early in the season. The two results against Nebraska for instance are a good representation of the reality of that season for Wisconsin. The end of their season should show how quality that team was despite their record.

That result was the cause of endless debate around here. Some people think the season record matters more than results at the end of the season, then some folks such as myself like to analyze with more detail.

To get back to the point, Wisconsin wasn't all dinged up during the first game of the season. Yet Northern Iowa gave them all they could handle...at home in Camp Randle.

(09-02-2014 07:56 PM)He1nousOne Wrote:  You think playing Northern Iowa close in the first game of the year proves that Iowa isn't that good?

Then how do you explain the 2012 season of the Wisconsin Badgers?

http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/big-t...hedule.php

I didn't say I didn't think they weren't good. The thread is about how the 1st week changed perceptions though and I went from Iowa being being close to my favorite in the west, to instead thinking they'll be good, but less likely to win the division. I still wouldn't be at all stunned if they win it, but the struggle was enough reason for me to feel a little more confident in Wisconsin and Nebraska over Iowa than I did before the season. It's not a huge difference, but it's one all the same.

Idk, wisconsin did not really impress me with how they collapsed against LSU. Once LSU figured out Wisc can not pass, the whole game changed. It exposed some issues for wisc, especially at QB. The new starter is not the answer.

Now there is mass confusion on how Wisc communicates their injuries. Is the star RB injured or not? Is last season's starting QB injured or not? Its all very bizzare how Wisc is communicating. They need to get that sorted out because it is making them look clueless.