Phil Harrison brings you five things we learned from each week of Big Ten football. Things are starting to take shape, but there’s still a long way to go after week five.
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There is no B1G carryover for Iowa in 2016
With what the Iowa Hawkeyes had coming back this year, we all thought they would simply pick up where things left off last year. Well, that hasn’t quite happened. There does indeed seem to be some inertia into this year, but more on the side of getting run off the field against Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Iowa has always been a team that builds slow and plays well when it’s full of confidence, but that confidence seems to have been bruised and battered. The offensive line is a work in progress, the defense is giving up far too many big-plays, and the result is a team that is just a shadow of the one we saw last year — before the Stanford Cardinal rocked the collective psyche of the team.
Then again we could also say the same about …
There will be no Sparty party in the B1G this year
The Spartans’ championship hopes have disappeared much like their head coach did last week:
https://twitter.com/SimonNRicketts/status/780364442752147460
In the case of the Michigan State however, unlike Iowa, there is a significant rebuild in progress. Mark Dantonio took his team to the College Football Playoff and got publicly flogged by an Alabama team on its way to a title.
Then this year has transpired.
Although many assumed that Michigan State would just replace the parts it lost after last year, that hasn’t happened — especially at quarterback. Tyler O’Connor may have played over his head last year at Ohio State, but with teams able to prepare for him, they’ve been able to rattle the new starter.
The result has been inconsistent, and mistake-filled football, and a team that’s also sure to be devoid of confidence after two straight-losses in the B1G.
Maryland’s B1G improvement!
Very, very quietly, something has changed in College Park — in a good way. The ‘Terps’ schedule hasn’t been a run through a mine field just yet, but it hasn’t in recent years either and things still managed to get off the rails early. So far this year, D.J. Durkin has led his team to a perfect 4-0 record with a date at Happy Valley coming up next.
So what’s been the difference? The defense and ground game has carried this team. After week five of this fine college football season, Maryland ranks 7th in the country in rushing yards per game (300), and 10th at points allowed on defense (14.5). That’s a drastic improvement from last year.
Four games does not a season make, and there’s plenty of bigger fish to fry the rest of the season, but beat Penn State on the road and folks will begin to take notice. Yes, even against this Penn State squad.
Michigan – Who’s got it B1Gger and better than us?
At the present moment, not many. The Wolverines grinded out a win against a defensive-minded Wisconsin team by just seven points, but the game was controlled by the Maize and Blue throughout. If it were not for three missed field-goals and many lost opportunities on third down, the game could have gotten out of hand.
Jim Harbaugh looks to have the program back among the elite in just two short years, and there’s obviously some things to fix with special teams and penalties, but you have to believe that the Wolverines are the best threat to take down …
Ohio State is rollin’ B1G time
Is this year’s team better than the one that lost a couple minivans full of NFL talent? It may sound crazy to ask that question, but last year’s team didn’t really live up to expectations until the Michigan game of last year. This year has been a different story.
The defense has been a ball-hawking group that is stonewalling everyone, and there’s more speed across the roster and on the bench than you can shake a Buckeye leaf at. And motivation? This team seems to be more hungry than last year’s because of the competition and youth. Oh, there’s also no quarterback quandary with J.T. Barrett taking full command of the offense.
Dare I say that Michigan and Ohio State are on a collision course once again? Time will tell.
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Phil Harrison is a frequent contributor to The Student Section. He is also a featured contributor to collegefootballews.com, and talking10.com. You can follow him on twitter @PhilHarrisonCFB or email him at pharrison28@gmail.com. If that doesn’t work, you can find him in the doghouse at home.
