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Football Mon Oct 04 2010
Big Ten Football Monday: The Weekend That Was
The Iowa Hawkeyes maintained their excellent Steel Curtain impression, Michigan State closed the door on Wisconsin and I continued my blood feud with Denard Robinson, everyone's favorite new college football superstar.
Better late than even later, we review The Weekend That Was in Big Ten football (plus Notre Dame, because they own this town).
Best win -- Michigan State 34, Wisconsin 24
Et cetera -- Iowa 24, Penn State 3 ... Ohio State 24, Illinois 13 ... Michigan 42, Indiana 35 ... Northwestern 29, Minnesota 28 ... Notre Dame 31, Boston College 13.
Sitting this one out -- Purdue (they petitioned for clemency)
Best Charley Steiner** -- Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
I won't say it would be a disappointment -- that's going too far -- but I think after five weeks it's clear the Hawkeyes will be missing an opportunity if they don't win the Big Ten championship this season. That isn't to say they will win it, or even that they're the No. 1 contender. But with this team, this defense, this defensive line and this destructive, dreadlocked defensive end, Iowa has every chance to beat Ohio State and any other team in the conference.
Clayborn, a 6-4, 285-pound fifth-year senior, was a holy terror against Penn State's freshman quarterback and patty-cake offensive line, finishing with a game-high 10 tackles, including three of them behind the line of scrimmage.
He and line mates Karl Klug, Mike Daniels, Christian Ballard and Broderick Binns got a great rush with only four men and held the overmatched Nittany Lions to 54 rushing yards and 3-of-13 on third-down conversion attempts.
The group's best effort came at the end of Penn State's 70-yard drive to open the second half. It was one of only two especially successful drives the Lions managed all night, but it had them poised to cut Iowa's lead to 17-10.
Clayborn and the defensive line came through on the goal line, stuffing runs up the middle on second- and third-and-goal. On fourth down from the 1-yard line, they stoned rookie quarterback Rob Bolden again on an uncommonly tentative option run. Linebacker Jeremiha Hunter hit Bolden first at the line of scrimmage and Ballard cleaned up, keeping Bolden from falling forward into the end zone.
Best hype machine -- Denard Robinson, Michigan
I have nothing against the kid personally, but this is driving me nuts. When Robinson wins the Heisman Trophy in a few months -- if he can stay healthy all season -- it will be a triumph of national observers who aren't able or willing to actually watch most of his games. They'll see highlights of his stunning touchdown runs and read in wonderment of his record-setting yardage totals.
But if you look a little closer, Robinson's otherworldly production is primarily a function of the Rich Rodriguez spread offense, which is once again terrorizing the college football world after a rocky transplant from the mountains of West Virginia.
Denard Robinson might be the country's most dynamic athlete, but all we really know is he's the most athletic guy who gets the ball on nearly every play, with a terrific supporting cast. I'd venture there are at least 40 other college football players who could put up similar numbers if they were in his shoes. Remember how awesome Pat White was a few years ago at WVU?
OK, but so what? It's not Robinson's fault he's in a great spot -- and he's obviously not the only player succeeding because he's in a system that takes advantage of his skills.
Mostly I just want people to stop acting like he's a real quarterback. He's not. He's a fantastic athlete, with sprinter's speed, great instincts and serious wiggle, and he deserves all the accolades you would give any tailback with instant-touchdown potential on every play.
But he is a painfully raw passer, no matter what his yardage totals suggest. The vast majority of his completions are wide receiver screens or slant passes where the other guy does most of the work with yards after the catch. Saturday at Indiana, 180 of his 277 passing yards (65 percent) came after the catch. Throws more than 10 or 12 yards down the field are an adventure.
(The notable exception was by far Robinson's best pass of the day: a 42-yard bomb to Junior Hemingway, delivered under extreme duress, that set up Robinson's game-winning, 4-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left. So good on him for that one.)
If you want to give Robinson the Heisman because he's our most terrifying running threat, go ahead. He's the most exciting player in college football. Just don't tout him as the best.
Will I ever get through a Big Ten column without ranting about Denard Robinson? Tune in next week to see.
Best put-away drive -- Michigan State
The Spartans captured the weekend's best win by responding strong after Wisconsin drove 70 yards to pull within 27-24 with 10:53 left. Starting at their own 16-yard line, Kirk Cousins, Edwin Baker & Co. went 84 yards to all but seal the victory, chewing up more than 8 minutes.
Cousins got the drive started by converting on a pair of third-and-long passes, including a 35-yarder to Larry Caper that flipped the field from the MSU 28-yard line to the Wisconsin 37. Baker and the offensive line took over from there, wearing down the Badgers on the ground.
Finally, on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Don Treadwell or Mark Dantonio or whoever was calling the plays broke a string of eight runs with a pass: Cousins faked a handoff and threw to B.J. Cunningham, who had slipped behind the defense along the back line of the end zone.
Best Milton Berle -- Jim Tressel, Ohio State
Like Uncle Miltie, Tressel always shows just enough to win, especially in Big Ten play. I have no real idea if Saturday's uninspiring win at Illinois was a sign of weakness or another case of the Buckeyes waiting to bring out the big guns until they're absolutely necessary. Certainly the performance was nothing all that special, save for 66- and 35-yard runs by Terrelle Pryor. Once he got banged up on the first drive of the third quarter, Ohio State just grinded out the win with Dan Herron and the offensive line. Oh well.
Worst penalty -- Justin Green, Illinois
Illinois, accordingly, hung around until the very end, but the final blow came on third-and-1 with 3:11 left. Trailing 17-13, the Illini needed a defensive stop -- and they got it ... but Green, the cornerback on the far side of the field, had managed to line up offsides. Ohio State had new life, and four Herron runs later, an insurmountable 24-13 lead with 1:49 left.
Least impressive -- Notre Dame
The Irish had a 21-0 lead before Boston College gained its second offensive yard, but whew, was it a sloppy mess after that. Brian Kelly couldn't have been happy -- and by the looks of all that yelling on the sideline, he was not.
NEXT WEEK
Worth watching -- Michigan State at Michigan
Also -- Illinois at Penn State ... Indiana at Ohio State ... Minnesota at Wisconsin ... Purdue at Northwestern.
** Charley Steiner: "Follow me to freedom"
dkirk / October 4, 2010 10:19 PM
Ten bucks says this "Jim Reedy" guy has never played football, never coached football and, obviously, doesn't understand how 4.32 speed and a rocket arm translate to the game. Stick to writing childrens' books, Jim...please.