ASA gets you caught up on all the little things you may have missed in the Big Ten last week.
BIG TEN NOTES
IOWA – The Hawkeyes had just 173 total yards and were outgained by 166 yards in their 27-17 win @ Iowa State. Iowa returned a fumble for a TD in that game. They have now scored at least 1 defensive TD in 4 of their last 8 games.
OHIO STATE – The Buckeyes have now allowed a total of 66 points and 913 total yards in just 2 games this season. The OSU defense has now been well below average for over a full year now. Last season they finished 122nd in pass defense out of 127 teams. DC Kerry Combs is in his 2nd year heading up that side of the ball after former DC Hafley took over as head coach at Boston College last season. Combs was OSU’s defensive backs coach prior to taking over the defense. He had never been a DC before and he is now sitting firmly on the hot seat.
WISCONSIN – The Badger defense continued to impress holding Eastern Michigan to just THREE first downs for the entire game. In their first 8 possessions the Eagles had 10 yards or less in 7 of those. If you subtract their final drive of the game with the outcome already well in hand (UW up 34-7) EMU has only 40 total yards of offense. They had 52 yards on their final drive and ended with 92 total yards for the game.
MINNESOTA – The Gophers held on for a tight 31-26 home win over Miami Oh last Saturday. Minnesota was topped in the stat sheet as the Redhawks had more first downs and more total yardage. The Gopher offense was held to just 4.5 YPP just a week after Miami Oh allowed Cincinnati to gash them for 9.5 YPP in a 49-14 loss.
MICHIGAN – The Wolverines bludgeoned Western Michigan on the ground putting up over 300 yards on 7.8 YPC. That was an overmatched MAC team so it wasn’t a huge surprise Michigan was able to have their way on the ground. Last week they faced a formidable defense and they were able to control the ground game again. Michigan had a huge edge in the trenches again rolling up 343 yards rushing on 56 attempts. In their first 2 games the Wolverines have rushed for 687 yards on 99 carries (6.9 YPC). They’ve only completed a total of 20 passes in their first 2 games, both easy wins.
MARYLAND – The Terps offense is humming so far this year to say the least. In 2 games they have gained a total of 1,070 yards for an average of 6.6 YPP. They’ve scored 92 points in those 2 wins vs West Virginia & Howard. Their fast paced offense is averaging 82 plays per game which, for comparison’s sake, would have placed them 3rd nationally in that category last season. QB Tagovailoa has only 15 incompletions in his 63 pass attempts this season and he’s thrown for 6 TD’s (no interceptions).
ILLINOIS – Since their upset win over Nebraska at home 3 weeks ago, the Illini have gone in the tank. They lost at home to UTSA and then traveled to Virginia last Saturday and were sent home with a 42-14 loss. The Illini pass defense has been terrible allowing their last 2 opponents starting QB’s (UTSA & UVA) complete 46 of their 68 pass attempts (68%) for 685 yards and 6 TD’s. Getting no pressure up front hasn’t helped as Illinois has 1 sack in their last 2 games combined. Now they face a red hot Maryland offense and QB Tagovailoa. Illinois starting QB Peters was injured in the Nebraska game and has not returned. He may be back this week.
RUTGERS – The Scarlet Knights are a perfect 2-0 after topping Syracuse on the road last Saturday 17-7. Rutgers had only 195 total yards on 70 offensive snaps for just 2.8 YPP. They benefitted from another turnover prone team as the Cuse coughed up the ball 5 times in the game. After 2 games Rutgers is already +10 in turnover margin!
