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Football Mon Sep 20 2010
Big Ten Football Monday: The Weekend That Was
Michigan State won a wild one against Notre Dame, Wisconsin survived a visit from Arizona State and an anthropomorphic mascot was the only man capable of slowing the Buckeyes.
Come along as we review The Weekend That Was in Big Ten football (plus Notre Dame).
Best win -- Michigan State 34, Notre Dame 31, OT
Best Bachman Turner Overdrive* -- Ohio State 43, Ohio 7
Et cetera -- Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 19 ... Arizona 34, Iowa 27 ... USC 32, Minnesota 21 ... Michigan 42, Massachusetts 37 ... Penn State 24, Kent State 0 ... Purdue 24, Ball State 13 ... Northwestern 30, Rice 13 ... Illinois 28, Northern Illinois 22 ... Indiana 38, Western Kentucky 21.
Best Charley Steiner** -- Dan Persa, Northwestern
Look, I know it came against Rice, but Persa deserves a nod of appreciation after a third straight strong outing. The square-jawed fourth-year junior boosted his passer rating to 192.63 -- second nationally behind Greg McElroy of No. 1 Alabama -- by dicing the Owls for 307 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-32 passing. After similarly sparkling efforts in wins against Vanderbilt and Illinois State, Persa has completed 81.6 percent of his passes (62-of-76) for 769 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. He also has rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
We'll see how Northwestern (3-0) fares in the meat of the Big Ten schedule, but it doesn't look like quarterback will be a problem.
Best go-for-broke -- Michigan State
The Spartans were one of the biggest stories in college football Saturday night after beating Notre Dame in overtime with a touchdown pass on a fake field goal. And less than an hour later, the story grew, bizarrely, to include coach Mark Dantonio's hospitalization following a mild heart attack.
All the excitement came after a wild second half featuring six touchdowns and a Notre Dame field goal to start the overtime period. Michigan State lined up to extend the game with a 46-yard FG, but holder Aaron Bates took the snap, trotted a few steps to his right and found tight end Charlie Gantt wide open for a game-ending touchdown.
P.S. Yes, the play clock ran out before the Spartans snapped the ball, but we'd be here for days to list all the big plays that started a split-second too late. It happens; referees typically have to do some estimating because they can't literally watch the snap and the clock at the same time.
P.P.S. Dishonorable mention goes to Notre Dame outside linebacker Darius Fleming, who looked especially lost as the climactic play unfolded. Lined up in a safety position several yards off the scrimmage, Fleming reacted well enough to the FG fake but drifted aimlessly in some one-man zone coverage while Gantt raced down the field, wide open, a few yards away.
Best teamwork -- Jay Valai and Antonio Fenelus, Wisconsin
Wisconsin's kick coverage units were absolutely hideous against the speedy Sun Devils, but Valai and Fenelus worked together for a final bit of good news on special teams, blocking what would have been a game-tying extra point with 4:09 left.
Really, you've got to blame Arizona State's James Morrison as much as you credit the Badgers. Faced with two edge rushers, he chose the wrong one, stepping outside to block Fenelus while Valai slipped inside to swat down Thomas Weber's kick.
Worst self-defense -- Brutus the Buckeye
Always fond of smacking around overmatched opponents in September, Ohio State had little problem beating the Bobcats of Ohio University. But the visitors got in one good lick before the game: Rufus, the Bobcat mascot, made a bee line for Brutus as the Buckeyes took the field and tackled him to the ground, much to the consternation of the humorless drones who run college sports. The heroic young man in the Bobcat costume was fired, of course, for fulfilling what he said was a longtime dream of taking down the Ohio State mascot.
Worst start -- Iowa
The Hawkeyes trailed 21-7 less than a minute into the second quarter after allowing Arizona a 100-yard kickoff return, an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown and a punt block inside their own 10-yard line. Yet somehow they rallied to tie the score at 27 before the upstart Wildcats mounted a game-winning, 72-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes.
Ripe for the picking -- Penn State
The Nittany Lions looked OK in last week's 24-3 loss at Alabama but weren't especially impressive in beating Kent State by a similar score at home. True freshman quarterback Rob Bolden, understandably, still has a lot to learn, especially with his decision-making. He'll need to play better next weekend or Temple, of all teams, might actually pose a threat -- not to mention the following week's trip to Iowa.
NEXT WEEK
Worth watching -- Um ... Temple at Penn State? (This Week 4 slate is atrocious.)
Also -- Bowling Green at Michigan ... Ball State at Iowa ... Eastern Michigan at Ohio State ... Toledo at Purdue ... Northern Colorado at Michigan State ... Austin Peay at Wisconsin ... Northern Illinois at Minnesota ... Central Michigan at Northwestern ... Akron at Indiana.
* Bachman Turner Overdrive: "Taking care of business"
** Charley Steiner: "Follow me to freedom"
