It doesn’t look like that will be the case. Today, Iowa fell, but not to Penn State (no, they beat them gloriously – sigh – earlier this season) and not to Ohio State (they play one another next week). Iowa was stomped into the ground by none other than Northwestern.

Ok, “stomped into the ground” is a little harsh. The game ended up with a score of 17 – 10, which isn’t necessarily bad, until you realize just how mediocre  both of the teams really were today. It’s really easy to claim that this only happened because Ricky Stanzi, the Hawkeyes quarterback, got taken out with an ankle injury in the first half. That definitely contributed to the loss. I’m not buying it, though, that the team deserved to be ranked #4, with or without Stanzi. Iowa may have been undefeated, but what the records don’t show is that they’ve played sloppily in many games and almost lost more than once.

So at this point, the Big Ten title could still go to Iowa, or it could belong to either Ohio State or Penn State. After the Iowa game, all of these teams had one loss. Just a short time after, though, Ohio State and Penn State kicked off, and it quickly became apparent who had the upper hand. Personally, I think that both quarterbacks looked pretty bad today, but when it was put on the shoulders of the rest of the offense to make plays, Ohio State’s players stepped up. Penn State’s embarrassing 24 – 7 loss puts them out of the running for the title.

Yep, this was pretty much the scene all day in Happy Valley. Image: Newscom

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Michigan State finally showed that they actually remember how to play football by crushing Western Michigan 49 – 14. Michigan, on the other hand, didn’t have such a good day, losing 38 – 36 to Purdue. I will say, however, that even though Michigan’s record isn’t so good, they’re hanging in there every week and actually showing some hope for the future under Rich Rodriguez. Wisconsin held on against Indiana (for the record, I think they’re overrated too at #21, but that’s a post for another day), and Illinois overcame Minnesota 35 – 32.

The Big Ten may not be a powerhouse at this point, but hopefully they can rebuild the conference to be competitive nationally again. At least with teams like Iowa rising to such a high ranking, which teams in the Big Ten do consistently every year, they’re remaining attractive to prospective students, which can only lead to strong teams in the future.

Post from: EveryJoe

Big Ten Teams Shake Things Up

Image: sxc.hu

Flu outbreaks, however, can knock down an entire team, and since this strain is so contagious, it is spreading like wildfire across college campuses, where students are always in such close proximity to one another. This isn’t an isolated problem at just a few schools.

My issue is that players are, at times, probably still playing games even though they don’t feel 100%. That leads to outbreaks at other schools, since football is a contact sport. Let’s look at the spread of flu over the past few months:

• Duke: One player was confirmed to have swine flu this August, and dozens of others from the team experienced flu-like symptoms.
• Tulane: A week before their season opener, 27 players had “mild” flu symptoms.
• Washington State: 16 players missed practices right before the season opener, and many also missed the game due to a flu outbreak at the school.
• Georgia: Safety Makiri Pugh tested positive for this strain of the flu and sat out during week one. So far, no other players have reported illness.
• Mississippi: The number of players experiencing symptoms is still growing. We’re sitting at around 30 right now, including quarterback Jevan Snead.
• Wisconsin: So far, at least 10 players have the flu.

None of these school has been as highly affected as Div-II school Stillman, however. They had to cancel their season opener, which couldn’t be rescheduled due to time issues. Ouch.

The problem is that players are worried that missing practices or games is letting the team down. If they are able, they attend, even if they’re still sniffling. Coaches need to be more forceful with players, telling them to stay home and isolate themselves for at least 48 hours before returning to the field. We don’t want to see games get canceled, and we definitely don’t want to see teams lose just because they’re down so many first-string players.

Post from: EveryJoe

Swine Flu: Where Will it Hit Next?

First and foremost, what the crap, Oklahoma State. I think like, the entire state of Oklahoma is bummed out. First, Sam Bradford gets injured. Now this. In case you didn’t watch the game…Oklahoma State, who was ranked #5, got their asses handed to them by Houston. Most people don’t even realize that Houston has a football team. At first, it was just a good game, but Oklahoma State didn’t look like they were really in jeopardy. Whatever adjustments the Cougars made during halftime worked, though. They scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone! Final score? 45 – 35. Ouch, Cowboys. There goes your bowl game bid.

Everyone’s still talking about the Ohio State – USC game, too. I actually watched every minute of this game on a 72 – inch HDTV. Be jealous. I was cheering Ohio State (Big Ten love), but I knew it would be a close game, and I’m not upset that USC won. Every year, people say that Big Ten teams can’t compete with Pac-10 teams, but I think this game proves that they can.

USC's #4 Joe McKnight was key in the win against Ohio State. Image: Newscom

The final score was 18 -15, and it was not an easy game for either team by any means. It came down to a final amazing drive across the field by USC’s Matt Barkley and Joe McKnight, which led to a score and two-point conversion. There just wasn’t enough time left on the clock for the Buckeyes to make anything happen to take back the lead. Ohio State dropped to #11, from being #8 last week, and I personally think it is a good place for them to be. Although some are calling for them to drop farther, if you saw the game, you know that USC just barely outplayed Ohio State, and the win had a lot to do with timing rather than talent.

Florida, Texas, and Alabama all won. *shrug* No big new there. The games sucked, for the most part. It was interesting that Texas was so sloppy against Wyoming in the first half, but other than that, there really wasn’t anything to see.

Other interesting scores:

• On Thursday, #15 Georgia Tech was almost upended by Clemson. Final score, 30 – 27. Read about it more at The Palmetto Scoop and Football Zone TV.
• Connecticut kept up with #19 North Carolina, but ultimately fell 12 – 10. Read about it more at Tar Heel Blue.
• Ouch. Michigan State lost to Central Michigan 29 – 27, who is a better team than people give them credit for. Read about it more at The Niles Star and The Scores Report.
• Wisconsin held on against Fresno State in double overtime. Final score was 34 – 31 – it was a great game. Read about it more at Bleacher Report.
• UCLA beat Tennesse 19 – 15. Another great game. Read about it more at the UCLA website and Ledger-Enquirer.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 in Review

Image: sxc.hu

I’m totally on board with this decision. Not only will it save colleges money, but it will also cut down on paper usage, making it a green decision as well. Some of the colleges that will not be printing media guides anymore include:

• Iowa State
• Ohio State
• Michigan
• Wisconsin

Iowa and all of the Pac-10 schools are also considering the move.

Members of the media will still be able to print information from the schools’ website if they want a hard copy, so they aren’t eliminating guides altogether – just paper versions.

Post from: EveryJoe

R.I.P. College Football Media Guides