SB Nation - Mike Kafka

Gearing up for the Northwestern Wildcats!

Acid Reign — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:25:00 -0000

This highlight clip comes directly to you from the Northwestern Athletic Department. What a refreshingly modern approach to video! (As opposed to the SEC's antique model...)

War Eagle, everybody! It's time now for a look at Auburn's 2010 Outback opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats. Trying to imagine what will happen in this contest has NOT been easy. Auburn and Northwestern have never played each other in football. There are NO common opponents on the two teams' schedules. Both teams feature wide-open offenses that try to push the tempo. Auburn's spread attack has been more run oriented. Northwestern, without a feature back, has aired it out more. Both teams have tended to favor the 4-man rush on defense, and zone coverage. Both Auburn and Northwestern have had up and down periods, losing games they shouldn't have, and beating ranked teams. For those who are expecting a media-bandwagon "SEC is superior to the Big 10" post in this space, you are going to be disappointed. I think bowl history in the past ten years shows the two leagues to be remarkably even.

Northwestern began the season looking like a lower echelon Big-10 team. After blowing out Towson, the Wildcats struggled to a 27-24 win over Eastern Michigan. Losses on the road to Syracuse and Minnesota followed. The Wildcats appeared to be headed for a third road loss at Purdue, trailing 21-3 in the second quarter. The Wildcat D stepped up, forcing six turnovers. Northwestern would rally to beat Purdue 27-21, salvaging the season. A defensive win over Miami of Ohio followed, but then the Wildcats were shut down in East Lansing, falling to Michigan State 24-14. If you thought the 21-3 deficit was huge against Purdue, Northwestern fell behind 28-3 to Indiana at home. 26 unanswered points provided a miraculous 29-28 win over the Hoosiers. Northwestern appeared to be on the way to a major upset hosting Penn State. The Wildcats led 13-10 at the half, but quarterback Mike Kafka was hurt, the dam broke in the 4^th quarter, and Penn State won going away, 34-13. With a 5-4 record, and games left against Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, it looked like Northwestern was in dire trouble. In Iowa City, quarterback Mike Kafka was limited with a leg injury, and gave way to backup Dan Persa. Then Persa hurt his hand. Kafka limped back on the field, and led Northwestern to a stunning 17-10 upset of the BCS-bound Hawkeyes. In Campaign Illinois, again with Kafka hobbling, the Wildcats downed Illinois 21-16. A huge underdog in their home finale against Wisconsin, Northwestern led much of the day, behind a 326-yard passing effort by Kafka. In the end, it was the Wildcat defense turning the Badgers away again and again. Northwestern won it, 33-31. The Wildcats finished 8-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Offensively, the Wildcats try to run a balanced spread attack. This year, with a young offensive line and a variety of backs, rushing totals have been down. Fireplug freshman Arby Fields is the team's leading rusher, with 294 yards. Quarterback Mike Kafka is close behind with 265. Many of the big Wildcat rushing plays have been on quarterback scrambles, which happens to be one of Auburn's defensive weaknesses. The Tigers have been plagued all year by 3^rd and long plays in which the quarterback pops through the middle for big yards. Auburn will have to contain Kafka, who should be 100% healthy after battling leg ailments in the latter half of the regular season. Northwestern's passing attack is dangerous, if Kafka gets time to throw. Senior H-back Zeke Markshausen has caught a whopping 79 passes, and lanky senior wideout Andrew Brewer has added 49 more. Five Northwestern receivers have at least 23 or more catches, and 8 receivers have ten or more catches. The Wildcats are averaging 266 passing yards per game, and 386 total yards per game. By comparison, Auburn is averaging 214 rushing, and 219 passing, for 433 total yards per game.

Defensively, Northwestern has a stout front seven that has weathered brutal Big-10 trench warfare well. A banged up patchwork Wildcat secondary has managed 15 interceptions. The bad news for Auburn is that all 4 starters should be healthy for the Outback Bowl. Lockdown senior corner Sherrick McManis has 4 interceptions and 7 pass breakups, and I'd expect to see him matched up on Auburn's Darvin Adams for much of the morning. Auburn's Chris Todd will have to be careful airing the ball out, as Northwestern's defensive backs all seem to play the ball well. Where Northwestern has had problems is against pounding running games, and against screens. On the line, the Wildcats look to senior defensive end Corey Wootton. Wootton suffered a major knee injury in last year's Alamo Bowl, and has battled a high ankle sprain all year. Despite that, he's still managed 6 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hurries. All in all, a pretty salty Wildcat defense has tallied 62 tackles for loss and 27 sacks. By comparison, Auburn has 71 TFLs and 25 sacks. Defensively Northwestern gives up 344 yards and 23.3 points per game. Auburn gives up 354 yards per game and 26.9 points per game.

On special teams, Auburn has a few advantages, although a couple of glaring holes remain. Auburn has yet to locate a punt returner who doesn't drop the ball. While this has yet to cost the Tigers meaningful points off a turnover, it has seriously impacted field position. Auburn also has a porous kick coverage unit. Northwestern covers kicks and punts pretty decently, but their returns are only average. Auburn has struggled punting the football with only a 35.4 yard net, but Northwestern is worse, managing only 31.7. Both teams have good placekickers. Auburn's Wes Byrum only missed one field goal all year. Northwestern junior Stefan Demos has hit 18 of 23.

Unit matchups, after the jump!

Auburn defensive line vs. Northwestern offensive line: Auburn enters this bowl with a veteran line anchored by senior All-SEC defensive end Antonio Coleman, who led the SEC in sacks despite ligament damage in his arm. Northwestern is young on the offensive line. The veteran is junior guard Keegan Grant. There are three sophomores: center Ben Burkett, guard Doug Bartels, and left tackle Al Netter. Right tackle Neal Deiters is a redshirt freshman. Auburn has a pair of bullrushing tackles in Jake Ricks and Mike Blanc. And Auburn can bring Nick Fairley off the bench for a breather. Coleman against Netter is a good matchup to watch, but a better matchup will be on the other side, where junior Antoine Carter takes on a freshman tackle. Carter spent the early part of the year injured, but came on against Ole Miss and beyond. The combination gives Auburn speed rushers on both edges, and creates protection problems. Auburn's biggest problem on the D-line has been quarterback contain, and the Wildcats have the guy to exploit it in Mike Kafka. On the other hand, Northwestern has given up 29 sacks. Auburn has 25 on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn linebackers vs. Northwestern runners: Auburn has absolutely been ravaged by injury in the linebacker corps. Juniors Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens have had to play every snap in most games, and have had difficulty holding up as Auburn played 11 games in a row without a break. After a week off, the pair STONED Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, holding the Tide great to 30 yards. Weakside linebacker has been a rotating cast. Sophomore Eltoro Freeman is perhaps Auburn's most talented linebacker, but injuries have held him back. He's trying to recover in time for the Outback Bowl, and is practicing. The only other scholarship linebacker available is true freshman Jonathan Evans. Northwestern runs the ball by committee. Quarterback Mike Kafka seems like the biggest threat, running the zone read with aplomb. The likely bowl starter at running back will be sophomore Scott Concannon, who averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn corners vs. Northwestern receivers: Auburn's Walter McFadden, a senior, will likely spend the day matched up with Northwestern's Andrew Brewer. McFadden has handled a number of dangerous SEC wide receivers well, good for 4 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. Where Auburn may struggle is on the other side. Sophomore Neiko Thorpe has been suspect from time to time, although he does have 1 interception and 8 pass breakups. The battle between Thorpe and Northwestern junior Sidney Stewart will be interesting to watch. Both are tall and athletic. Advantage: Even.

Auburn safeties vs. Northwestern secondary receivers and quarterback: Auburn will need SERIOUS help here from the linebackers and corners. The Tigers start true freshman Darrin Bates at one safety, and sophomore JUCO Demond Washington at the other side. Washington has only started 3 games. Both guys have lots of speed and are hitters, but are short on experience. Redshirt freshman T'Sharvan Bell is first in off the bench in nickel situations. Northwestern has OPTIONS in the slot. As mentioned above, Zeke Markshausen is a mainstay. The Wildcats can go heavy with "superback" sophomore Drake Dunsmore, a 235-pounder with 38 catches. Northwestern is particularly good at running "clear-outs," where the corners are pinched in on slants and posts, and the slot guys go out and up. Quarterback Mike Kafka has the arm to make all of the throws. Huge Advantage: Northwestern.

Punting: Auburn senior Clinton Durst dropped two yards in his punting average this year, finishing at 40.7. In Durst's defense, special teams coordinator Jay Boulware has revealed upon occasion that Durst was instructed to kick the ball out of bounds rather than test our suspect coverage unit. Junior Stefan Demos has struggled likewise for Northwestern, averaging only 35.3 yards per punt. Coverage for the Wildcats has been shaky, giving up 9.9 yards per return. Auburn's been downright bad on coverage, giving up 13.8 yards. Northwestern's 6.6 yard per punt return average won't impress anyone. Auburn has gone through a merry-go-round of return men, and has probably dropped a dozen punts on the ground over the course of the season. The Tigers' 4.5 yard punt return average is among the worst in the nation. It's been a miracle that the punt teams' woes haven't resulted in a loss. This may be the game! Advantage: Northwestern.

Kickoffs: Auburn is slightly better on kickoff distance, averaging 62.0 yards to Northwestern's 59.9. Auburn coverage has been worse, giving up 23.6 yards per return, to Northwestern's 21.1. Auburn has kicked 5 balls out of bounds, to Northwestern's 1. Lately, we've cheered kickoffs out of bounds, because the other team usually does BETTER than the 40 on returns! Northwestern averages 20.4 yards on returns. Auburn averages 23.6. The thing to note about the Tiger kick return game is that they discovered sophomore Demond Washington's talents late. Washington wasn't used on returns till late in the season, and he's averaging 32.2 yards per return. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Placekicking: Auburn junior Wes Byrum has had a nearly flawless season, hitting on all of his 49 extra points, and 14 out of 15 field goals. Northwestern's Stefan Demos has a good year, too. Demos has hit on 31 of 32 extra point attempts, and 18 of 23 field goal attempts. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn offensive line vs. Northwestern defensive line: This is a strength vs. strength matchup. The Tiger line has held its own all year, and was only really beaten against Georgia and LSU. Auburn placed junior left tackle Lee Ziemba and junior center Ryan Pugh on some second-team All-SEC units. Auburn runs an array of traps, draws, and misdirection plays. Pulling guards Mike Berry and Byron Issom have been used almost like fullbacks, and have been very effective blocking on the corner. Despite playing in a spread offense, the Tigers have only given up 18 sacks this season. Where Auburn is weakest is handling the speed rush at right tackle. Senior Andrew McCain is a solid run blocker, but has trouble with speed off the edge. I look for Northwestern to at times move senior defensive end Corey Wootton to the right to try and get a mismatch. Wootton vs. Ziemba should be a good battle. Wootton vs. McCain worries me. Wootton is big, at 280, and fast. Wootton isn't the only capable lineman Northwestern has. Junior tackle Corbin Bryant and senior Adam Hahn are solid. Sophomore defensive end Vince Browne is tied for the lead on the team with 4 sacks. There is Wildcat depth in front four, too. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs vs. Northwestern linebackers: Auburn's backs have done well most of the year, and should benefit from weeks of rest. Running back Ben Tate made second-team All-SEC. H-back Mario Fannin was a blocking force and caught 39 balls. Backup H-back Eric Smith is a threat, too. Freshman tailback Onterrio McCalebb is a speed-demon. He's been battling ankle injuries in the last 8 weeks of the season, but should be healthy for the bowl. Juniors Nate Williams and Quentin Davie anchor the Wildcat defense. The pair combined for 160 tackles, including 14 for loss. Davie has been dangerous as a pass rusher too, with 4 sacks, 6 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles. These are prototypical Big 10-sized linebackers at around 235-240, and they won't be bowled over easily! Advantage: Even.

Auburn receivers vs. Northwestern corners: For the Tigers, this is the Darvin Adams show. Left out of All-SEC balloting, Adams finished in the top five in the league in every category, including a spiffy 17.8 yards per catch average. Terrell Zachary holds down the number two spot, and is a threat on the end around. Zachary only has 24 catches on the year, but is averaging 19.4 yards per reception. Northwestern will counter with senior Sherrick McManus and sophomore Jordan Mabin. Mabin has only two passes defended on the season in 12 games, so look for Auburn to try to test him. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. Northwestern safeties: Auburn will go with senior quarterback Chris Todd and a battle tested bunch. Blocking tight end Tommy Trott has been off and on as a receiver, and Chris Todd has struggled to get him the ball late in the season. The main receiving threat of the secondary receivers is Mario Fannin. That bubble screen to Fannin is probably our single most popular pass play, and I look for Northwestern to have the short zone dialed up for that. With a pair of seniors deep for Northwestern, Auburn may have trouble in the middle. Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith are solid, and sophomore Brian Peters are all among the leaders on the team in tackles. Advantage: Northwestern.

Auburn is not going to wow anyone on special teams, but they MUST minimize mistakes! When Northwestern has the ball, Auburn must really run to contain Kafka and the spread. If Auburn loses the battle at the line of scrimmage, it will be a long day of chasing Wildcat receivers. When Auburn has the ball, they have to continue to be multiple. If the Tigers have to rely on either the run or the pass too much, Northwestern has the scheme and players to shut it down. Chris Todd needs to have an accurate game in his Auburn finale, for the Tigers to win.

Prediction: With an El Nino pattern firmly in place, the gulf coast is seeing wave after wave of low pressure systems, mixed with waves of cold air from the northwest. It's been one of the wettest years on record, in the Southeast. Expect rain, for this year's Outback Bowl. Both teams will struggle with the conditions, and Auburn's running game is the difference in this one. Auburn wins, 27-20.

2009 Quarterback Rankings, Final Edition: Across The Board, Marked Improvement Over 2008

grahamfiller10 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:08:08 -0000

Another year has passed and no Big Ten QB has made any kind of national impact...or at least a positive one. Terrelle Pryor was on the tail end of some Heisman lists, but the USC game quickly bucked him off those. Daryll Clark found himself spewing astronomical stats in almost every game...except the ones that mattered on a BCS level.

2009 QB Rankings, First Edition: Optimism!

2009 QB Rankings, Second Edition: Back to Reality!

2009 QB Rankings, Third Edition: You're Better Than This!

One obvious observation - the quarterback play was improved all the way across the Big Ten. In fact, let me illustrate this:

Improved QB Situation from 2008: Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, NW, Wisconsin, Indiana,

Declining QB Situation from 2008: Illinois, Minnesota

Similar QB Situation of 2008: Penn State, OSU, Iowa

In the running back focused league of 2008, QB's struggled with injuries and consistency. Although two of them (Painter, Hoyer) made it to 3rd string status in the NFL, the ratings were horrendous and offenses stagnated badly when the run game was slowed. Last year, only four quarterbacks had a 126 QB rating or higher. This year, that number rose to nine.

Our group of QB's here, who mostly avoided injuries, consists of four seniors, four juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman. Since none of the seven non-seniors are good enough to jump to the NFL right now, that's a good amount of returning starters for next year. Weber and Forcier will face major challenges to their hold on the starting job. Without further adieu, enjoy the 2009 Big Ten Quarterback Rankings, Final Edition.

	QB	Team	Comments
#1	Daryll Clark	PSU	Destroyed Michigan State last week. Rivals has him as the 27th best QB in the nation, for what it's worth. Since this rankings inception in 2008, has always been #1 in my rankings.
#2	Mike Kafka	NW	Played his best game of the year versus Wisky, a mistake free 326 yard, 2 TD performance. Ran the NW Spread well all year and would have semi-torched PSU if not for injury.
#3	Kirk Cousins	MSU	Laser-rocket armed Baptist boy will be an asset for the Spartans for the next two years. Hit a bit of a sophomore wall toward the end of the year, running into Penn State and Purdue defenses who confused him into picks and incompletions. Cousins v. Western: 22-25, 353 yards, 2 TD's. Nice.
#4	Terrelle Pryor	OSU	All he does is win games, right? That's bullshit. He would have won more games if he didn't go noodle armed against Purdue and USC. Does TreS misuse him? Yes. But when Pryor get's unleashed, things get wild. TP is almost impossible to slow on the ground, as witnessed in AA Saturday.
#5	Joey Elliot	PU	A great leader and less injury prone than Painter. 22/13 TD/INT ratio compared to 13/11 for 2008 Painter. Also sported a QB Rating 13 points higher. 8 TD's in his final three games. Definitely one of the pleasant surprises in the Big Ten.
#6	Scott Tolzien	WI	FAR better than the 2008 combo of Evridge/Sherer. Blew apart a couple opponents selling out to stop the run. Things to work on in the offseason: 1) Mobility and 2) Not being so cavalier throwing the ball into coverage. 16/10 TD/INT Ratio.
#7	Ricky Stanzi	Iowa	Worse QB rating than 2008 and almost lost a couple of games with INT's. After an offseason of Tom Brady comparisons and TRE's orgasmic musings about perfect mechanics, took a step backward by throwing some inconceivable picks. Injury won't affect 2010 performance.
#8	Ben Chappell	IND	Another pleasant surprise who made a habit of scaring the hell out of teams in the first half, only to regress terrible in the second half. Stats v. Wisky three weeks ago: 25-35, 323 yards, 3 TD's, 2 Picks. Microcosm of a thoroughly entertaining Hoosier team.
#9	Adam Weber	MN	I called for his benching four weeks ago. After torching State like Stewie torching Brian during the "Got My Money" Family Guy episode, had three consecutive bad performances. This offense can't transition to MarQueis Gray quick enough. Threw the single worst Big Ten pass of the year (the pick6 to Derek Domino of South Dakota St).
#10	Juice Williams	ILL	Juice shredded Michigan and was generally effective versus NW. Early season struggles are hard to overcome on this list though, especially coming from the main catalyst of the Big Ten's most disappointing team.
#11	Tate Forcier	UM	He's not REALLY the worst QB in the Big Ten. But I'm a Michigan fan and he threw four picks against OSU, thus prolonging a 5 game losing streak.

All-Big Ten Awards Announced, Swept Once Again By Toto

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Northwestern won 17-10. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Good news, everyone!* The Big Ten announced its picks for the all-conference teams. Naturally, the offensive and defensive player of the year are both Terrelle Pryor. Okay, not true; he's not even honorable mention.

But there's plenty of actual good news. First, the devil media named Kirk Ferentz coach of the year, and here he is reminding them that they can go suck it and he hasn't forgiven them for the slights of the regular season.

Such language, Kirk!

As for the players, here's the link to the voting results. The media named Bryan Bulaga to the first team on offense, while the second team featured four of his friends from the line: Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway, and Tony Moeaki.

On defense, the first team had a little more Iowa representation; Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash all received their no-brainer merits. On the second team, Brett Greenwood and Amari Spievey. Iowa put eight players on the media's honorable mention team: Ryan Donahue, Broderick Binns, A.J. Edds, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Karl Klug, Daniel Murray, Adam Robinson, and Ricky Stanzi.

Not surprisingly, the coaches had a slightly higher opinion of the Hawkeyes; here's the link to their voting results. Bryan Bulaga was named their offensive lineman of the year(!!!), an award the media doesn't give out. Bulaga is joined on the first team by Moeaki and Richardson, both of which are worthy selections. Calloway and Eubanks didn't make the second team--not sure why on Calloway--but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos snuck in on a three-player tie for second-team WR.

On defense, the coaches agreed with the media in putting Sash, Clayborn, and Angerer on the first team roster. They also added Amari Spievey; as coaches, they're more likely to know that the reason Spievey didn't have a ton of picks wasn't that he's not good at football, but that there's just no hope in throwing at him; Spievey was a machine this season, and we're starting to lose hope that he's got more than one game left in an Iowa uniform. A.J. Edds is the lone Hawkeye on the defensive second team.

For honorable mention, it's as follows:Christian Ballard, Kyle Calloway, Ryan Donahue, Brent Greenwood, Karl Klug, and Adam Robinson.

Full All-BXI teams and a few thoughts are after the break.

MEDIA

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	JOHN CLAY, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Tandon Doss, Indiana	Blair White, Michigan State
WR	Keith Smith, Purdue	Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
G	Justin Boren, Ohio State	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Dace Richardson, Iowa
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Kyle Calloway, Iowa
T	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin	Dennis Landolt, Penn State
TE	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin	Tony Moeaki, Iowa
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan State	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Jared Odrick, Penn State
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	GREG JONES, Michigan State	Josh Hull, Penn State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Brent Greenwood, Iowa
DB	Donovan Warren, Michigan	Amari Spievey, Iowa
DB	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern	Brad Phillips, Northwestern
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

COACHES

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	John Clay, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Eric Decker, Minnesota	Tandon Doss, Indiana*
WR	Blair White, Michigan State	Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa* Keith Smith, Purdue*
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa* Joel Nitchman, Michigan State*
G	Dace Richardson, Iowa	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Justin Boren, Ohio State
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Rodger Saffold, Indiana
T	Dennis Landolt, Penn State	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
TE	Tony Moeaki, Iowa	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Jared Odrick, Penn State	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa Linebacker	A.J. Edds, Iowa
LB	Greg Jones, Michigan State	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Donovan Warren, Michigan*
DB	Amari Spievey, Iowa	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern*
DB	Brad Phillips, Northwestern	Brandon King, Purdue*
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue* Jay Valai, Wisconsin*
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Okay. While we're quite happy that Bulaga got such high accolades for the season, we can't be alone in thinking that he was hardly the best lineman in Iowa City, much less the Big Ten. He was either on the sidelines or out of sorts for the majority of the season, and we still haven't seen the elephant-tusk-covered road grader from last season on display. He totally would have deserved a preseason OL of the year, but his performance over 2009 didn't merit such superlatives.

This is hardly a new development from these postseason lists, however; generally, the lists are crafted off of the preseason lists, and anybody whose knee blew out with more than four games left was excised and replaced by someone else. After all, Bulaga was only a second-team All-BXI player last season, even though he was by far the best lineman on the team in 2008. Seth Olsen, meanwhile, had the good fortune to be a first-teamer to start the year, so he was on the first team after 2008, despite a relatively blah senior campaign; we'd have put him about fourth on the list of Iowa linemen for 2009, behind the two bookends at tackle and Rob Bruggeman at center.

Essentially, Bulaga won the award in 2009 for his play in 2008.

At the end of the day, this comes down to stats; there aren't any for linemen, despite the ill-fated attempt to get the "pancake" introduced about a decade ago (for this, we blame Orlando Pace). It's assumed that linemen are sure things, and that as long as they stay healthy, the narrative has stayed true. After all, without stats, most scribes have no time (or no idea) how to watch linemen individually.

Frankly, though it's a subjective stat, we'd love to see how linemen grade out per play (remember that Blake Larsen famously graded at 100% during his senior season at Atlantic; lord, had those knees survived...) Without having the means to undertake such an activity ourselves, we'd imagine that if you graded each Iowa offensive lineman, Kyle Calloway or Dace Richardson would probably be at the top.

If they're not, which is possible, then it would probably be the guy who didn't even get an honorable mention: Riley Reiff. He was stout in relief of Bulaga--hell, we're pretty sure O'Brien Schofield would not have batted Reiff around like a catnip mouse, unlike some Iowa linemen--and he basically forced his way into the starting lineup even before Big Dace went down. But since he wasn't even a projected starter, to say nothing of a preseason honoree, Reiff didn't have much of a chance for postseason mention. Shame, really; dude is legit, and he hasn't even filled out his frame yet.

As for the skill players, it's a little disappointing that Stanzi only made one honorable mention team. But we get how that can happen. Spievey only making second team in the media is flatly ridiculous. If he'd put together that same season in an Ohio State uniform, he'd be getting All-American talk.

Other than that, we don't have a ton of beef; Stanzi killed himself by leading the conference in interceptions when he went down to injury, and the rest of the offensive skill players were far too inconsistent or hurt to merit much consideration. Jeremiha Hunter not getting any honorable mention love is a little disconcerting, but the BXI was lo-ho-hoaded at linebacker this season; we're not quite sure whom we'd place him above. He'll get some love in 2010 if he stays healthy. Also--given the play of Jeff Tarpinian in relief--if Hunter stays healthy between now and next September, there's no position battle at weakside backer next season, right?

So, all in all, a fair list, even if the voting on offensive linemen is basically a year behind schedule. It's a year behind for everyone else, after all. Anybody else that you folks think got shafted? Did Marvin McNutt deserve a nod, or is he still a year away from recognition?

*/Farnsworth'd

They are who we thought they were

Adam Hoge — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:17:28 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Bret Bielema has seen his team commit the same silly mistakes on the road that plagued the Badgers last season. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Browse more photos »

We saw this coming. It was really no surprise.

Dropped passes, muffed kick returns, lapses in coverage, a late-game fumble. For whatever reason, the Wisconsin Badgers -- who have looked so dominating at home for most of the season -- can't put it all together on the road. That was fine against Minnesota and Indiana, but not so much against better teams like Ohio State and Northwestern.

As a result, a close game that was there for the taking fell to the wayside and the Wildcats won 33-31 Saturday at Ryan Field in Evanston, a place UW hasn't won at in over a decade.

The signs were there. Even in some of UW's most impressive wins, there have been issues that continually rear their ugly head. Go back to the Michigan State win when a blowout turned into a 38-30 win when the secondary gave up two long touchdown passes in the final minutes. Go back to the Indiana win when a dominating performance by the rush defense was spoiled by a poor performance by the cornerbacks and the Badgers ended up with a nail-biting 31-28 victory.

There's a lot we knew coming into the game, but there were a few things we didn't know (good and bad):

What we knew

We knew the secondary was bad. Bielema's propaganda has attempted to tell us all season that Wisconsin has depth at cornerback, but the reality is that if you have four "able" cornerbacks you don't have two. Mike Kafka's big game was really no surprise.
We knew the special teams would make a few mistakes. Wisconsin has improved in almost every area this season, but you can easily argue that Bielema's special teams group has regressed. No one was shocked when the coverage units continually gave up big returns to Northwestern. The Wildcats averaged 33.4 yards per return. Issac Anderson's bobbled kick return that he took out of the endzone also hurt. He was tackled at the five yard line and UW ended up punting.
We knew Wisconsin would get its points. The Badgers' offense is for real and despite NU boasting a decent defense, the Badgers found the end zone and put up 31 points.
We knew the Badgers would commit silly penalties. It's become a staple of Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin. While UW has improved in this area at home, Bielema's players still struggle mentally on the road. Issac Anderson committed two penalties in five plays, the second of which wiped out his 11-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter when he was called for an illegal shift. Wisconsin ended up settling for a field goal.

What we didn't know

David Gilreath would find the endzone. It has been an awful year for punt returner David Gilreath and he probably should have lost his job weeks ago, but Bielema's stubbornness paid off Saturday when his guy broke a 68-yard return for a touchdown that cut NU's lead to 27-24
John Clay would get shutdown. Clay still managed 100 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown, but Northwestern did a great job of limiting UW's potent rushing attack and forced Wisconsin to throw the football. While Scott Tolzien had success in the air, it appeared the offense was a little out of sync all day and that contributed to UW failing to score on its final three possessions.
Wisconsin would lose when scoring 30 or more points. The Badgers entered Saturday's game with a 30-game win streak when scoring 30 or more points. Of course when was the last time Wisconsin failed to win when scoring 30 or more points? Well, that was the last time the Badgers played at Ryan Field when they lost 51-48 to the Wildcats Oct. 8, 2005.

So what's the problem? I've been saying this for weeks: The Badgers are still a year away. They're young and they are going to make mistakes on the road. Are these mistakes becoming a chronic problem under Bret Bielema? Maybe. But this is a different group of players than the veteran group that never put it together last season.

If this team can make strides in what should be a sure-win in Hawaii and carry it over to the bowl game, then I'm confident the mistakes will be limited next year. And if they aren't? Well, then it will be a coaching issue.

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Northwestern Ends on a High Note Over Wisconsin, 33-31

hmlee — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:05:41 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Well, that turned out to be quite the exciting game. I was rather shocked by the final score, though not by who won. Those of you who've been around since the beginning of the season know that this was a tough one for me, as I write about both Wisconsin and Northwestern for The Rivalry, Esq. I grew up a Badger fan and as a current Northwestern Law student also cheer quite hard for the Wildcats. While the Northwestern-Wisconsin rivalry isn't a blood feud like some others in this conference, it was still a difficult game for me. Every play was essentially both good and bad. I cheered and then felt despondent for the entirety of this game. That's not really a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I had hoped earlier this season that things would shake out in such a way that this game would only be important to one team and thus I would be able to pick a side for the game and stick with it. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) this game held implications for both teams. Both teams gained bowl eligibility weeks ago, but the the narrative of their seasons was on the line. While the cheesehead in me is sad that the Badgers lost, I think, in the end I am happy that the game turned out the way it did. Frankly, Northwestern needed this game more.

That might seem to be an odd statement, but, looking at the reality of this conference it makes sense from both a bowl perspective and a recruiting perspective. The current Big 10 standings have three teams at 10-2 on the season, with Ohio State taking the championship based on their better in conference record. OSU will thus claim the Big 10's automatic BCS berth and head to Pasadena to take on the Pac-10 champ. As far as at large berths go, Iowa will probably claim another for the Big 10, and Penn State has an outside chance of grabbing one also. If they didn't get an at large, PSU would be slotted into the Capital One bowl vs. a SEC team.

Wisconsin, then, was priced out of the BCS a long time ago. Even at 10-2, it would have been unlikely for them to move from their slot in the Outback bowl, and at 9-3 (assuming a win in two weeks over Hawaii) they won't drop from that perch either. Further, Wisconsin's team is a young one. They have performed remarkably well for such a freshman-sophomore loaded squad, and I see only bright things ahead of them.

Northwestern was in a similar bowl game spot. With the upset of Iowa and the expected victory over Illinois, Northwestern had vaulted themselves to 7 wins and past the rest of the mushy middle of the Big 10 to claim a ticket to the Champs Sports bowl. The victory today gives them eight wins, but they still sit behind Wisconsin and unless the Badgers falter in Hawaii they will still have a worse record by a game. Because Michigan State lost to Penn State today, there is no team capable of leapfrogging the 'Cats. Northwestern is as stuck as Wisconsin.

So, then, we must look at this game from a recruiting perspective. Wisconsin will always do well in recruiting among Big 10 teams. They are a flagship state school known both for academics as well as athletics. They have the loyalty of an entire state, as well as a history of a great football team and will always be competitive with the upper tier Big 10 teams for recruits. A victory tonight wouldn't have altered that in any meaningful way.

Northwestern, by contrast, could gain a significant boost from this victory. With today's win they have sealed an eight win season after coming from virtually nowhere to reach nine wins last year. They will not only be going to a bowl two years in a row, but a warm weather bowl at that (no Pizza! Pizza! here). Despite the dismal beginning to this season, they defeated two of the three ranked teams they played against, and came one quarter away from upsetting the third when Penn State came to town. These upsets, if they can be combined with the 'Cats first bowl victory in 60 years, would seal the impression in recruits minds that Fitz is determined to build a consistently winning program in Evanston that will compete with the conference's upper tier.

Thus, the team that needed the victory most managed to pull it out, and I am at least moderately happy for that.

After the jump, I do a multiple personality recap of the action on the field...

Bama Hawkeye takes a look at the sweet goods on the line this weekend in the Big 10...

Graham and Law Buck engage in dueling coverage of the OSU and Michigan rivalry game...

The only way to really address the in game action today is for me to look at it both as a Northwestern fan and a Wisconsin fan. Because Northwestern comes first alphabetically, I'll start with them.

Northwestern:

It was good to see the 'Cats start this game off on all cylinders. I like this style of play much better than their "wait until we're down by an absurd margin and then mount a nail-biting comeback" gameplan.

Kafka lead the 'Cats on their opening drive from the Northwestern 25 yard line for a score. The defense then answered that by coming out of the gate and largely containing the John Clay led Badger offense and forcing them to punt away their first possession. Both teams then three and outed before Northwestern managed to end the quarter with a field goal to take a 10 point lead on Wisconsin.

Offense:

I was heartened by the fact that all of Northwestern's running backs - Scott Concannon, Stephen Simmons, and Arby Fields - managed to make contributions to Northwestern's game today. At least Concannon and Fields will be back next year, and I am unsure if Simmons, a senior with another year of eligibility, will stay as well. Even if Simmons is gone, the competition between Concannon and Fields during camp next year will only be a positive for Northwestern. It is true that Northwestern runs a spread offense from the shotgun, but having versatile running backs to compliment the mobile QBs will always make the receivers more dangerous.

The second quarter was not quite as kind to the 'Cats. Wisconsin carried over their drive from the 1st and converted it into a John Clay touchdown. Northwestern managed to get the ball back for all of one play before it was fumbled away by Scott Concannon and recovered by Wisconsin. While I never like to see turnovers, I can't put too much heat on Concannon as he has been quite sure handed for most of the games this year. Wisconsin went to their tight end for a TD to give Bucky a four point lead.

Stephen Simmons then broke off a great 64 yard kick return to put the 'Cats within smelling distance of the Badger redzone. Mike Kafka rattled off several passes to Drake Dunsmore, Zeke Markshausen, Arby Fields, and Andrew Brewer to once again take the lead at 17-14. I was happy to see Kafka playing in a much more mobile and healthy way than in the last few games, and it was great for him to end his last regular season on a winning note. Hopefully he can cap off his time at Northwestern with a bowl victory in a few weeks.

Northwestern's defense three and outed the Badgers and then on their next drive Kafka executed a great end-around pass to Markshausen who pitched it downfield to a wiiide open Sidney Stewart. The ball was perfectly thrown and took advantage of the Wisconsin secondary, which isn't exactly the most dominant in the Big 10.

Northwestern regained their 10 point lead 24-14 and never really looked back. Stefan Demos once again looked his automatic self and tacked on three more field goals for the remainder of the 'Cats 33 points.

Defense:

The final score of today's game really doesn't do the defense justice. Yes, the 'Cats let Bucky come unacceptably close to a comeback win, but the defense played a good game for all 60 minutes. Three different Wildcats had sacks - Brad Phillips, Corey Wootton, and Vince Browne. The 'Cats managed to hold John Clay to only 102 yards rushing and 1 TD, which is pretty good considering he's the best RB in the conference. They also managed to step up in the crucial moments, forcing two turnovers during the forth quarter. Brian Peters recovered a clay fumble, and Jordan Mabin ended the late Badger threat with a great interception of Tolzien in the final seconds.

All in all, a good way to end the season. I think with a healthy Kafka the Wildcats will be very competitive come bowl time, and I'm looking forward to a great Champs Sports Bowl match up.

Go U! NU!

Wisconsin:

Now, I'll let my slightly more depressed dairy state side take over. This really was a trap game for my Badgers. While they were coming off three wins, Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan aren't exactly formidable competition this year. Northwestern is a deceptive team who had only been getting better as the season has gone on. It seemed that the Badgers were in danger of looking past both Northwestern and Hawaii towards the bowl season, and I think that's just what they did.

The Badgers simply played sloppy football, and it cost them the game.

Offense:

The one bright spot on the white and red side of the ball was the offense. The Badgers executed a balanced gameplan that got more dangerous as the game went on. Yes, they started off slowly, but Clay managed another triple digit ground game with a score, and Scott Tolzien threw for 235 yards and 2 TDs - both to the newly full strength Garrett Graham. Nick Toon also showed why he's going to be a big threat for years to come, as he had 7 catches for 70 yards, a nice follow up to his 98 yard game at Michigan. I don't know that he will ever live up to his father's stats, but he is definitely a solid part of the Badger offense and has a good chance to be their top receiver for the next year or two.

For all his inconsistency this year, Tolzien had a solid game, throwing only one interception in the closing seconds on a last ditch effort to move the Badgers downfield. For someone who was presumed to be a career backup at best, this season has been a good one and I'm looking forward to next year. Wisconsin finally has a quarterback who can make both the short quick throws and the deep passes. I'd like to see a win against Hawaii and a bowl victory to cap off his first starting season... regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, the competition between him and Curt Phillips will make for an interesting camp next year.

Defense:

Unfortunately, this was not one of the defense's better efforts. They allowed the most points they have all season, even more than they did to Ohio State, and even my other half would agree that the 'Cats are most certainly not the Buckeyes. Frankly, the Wisconsin defense was just not equipped to handle the Northwestern spread. The secondary is the weakest part of the defense and it showed. Kafka burned the Wisconsin defense for 326 yards passing and 2 TDs. The defense also looked completely fooled by the end around to Zeke Markshausen... he's a receiver for goodness sakes! He shouldn't be able to throw a TD! Gah.

This was also only the third game of the entire season in which the Badgers had no interceptions (the other two were against Northern Illinois and Iowa). They did have one fumble recovery, but lost the turnover battle overall. Still.... this is a young unit and can only really get better next year. I just hope we don't draw a spread based team in a bowl game, or it could get ugly.

Special Teams:

Once again, the special teams was a Jekyll and Hyde unit. Two separate returns best show this.

In the second quarter, Isaac Anderson inexplicably picked up a kickoff in the end zone and ran the ball out... to the 5. Ugh. Wisconsin managed to get the ball out to their 18, but the resulting punt gave Northwestern great field position near midfield, and the Wildcats would convert that into a field goal. Sigh.

In the third quarter, though, the special teams partially managed to redeem themselves when David Gilreath returned a a punt 68 yards for a TD which pulled Wisconsin within 3 of Northwestern.

The kick coverage today was similarly mediocre. Northwestern managed one 60+ yard return and several 30 yard returns. Their shortest return was for 12 yards after a Welch field goal. That's not really a dominating performance.

The interesting thing about this game is that both Northwestern and Wisconsin have ST units coached by the head coaches. Northwestern, for the most part, manages to do it right. They constantly execute good returns and usually do not make stupid mistakes. Wisconsin, by contrast, is prone to such mistakes and to sloppily executed tackling on their return coverage. Simply put, as long as Bielema is still coaching that unit, you never know what you're going to get. Until he finally gets a full time coach, it will always be the Achilles heel of this squad. It is long past time for that change to happen.

Disappointing as all that was, I must give credit to the Badgers for not giving up. They fought hard and pulled within two points, taking the game down to the final seconds. They can still end the season strong in Hawaii, and a bowl victory would prove that an excess of youth does not necessarily spell doom in the NCAA. In truth, they can only get better from here.

So...

On to Hawaii, On to the regular season finale, and ON WISCONSIN!!!!

Preview: Michigan State vs. Penn State

LVS — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:02 -0000

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

about 1 month ago: Michigan State's Keshawn Martin (82) scores a touchdown on a 48-yard pass reception during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 49-14. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Your MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS vs. the PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

SPARTAN STADIUM, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

3:30 (ET), ABC (coverage map)

WEATHER: 52 DEGREES AT KICKOFF, TEMPERATURE FALLING AFTER DUSK.

Hey, a game that's not the most important of the season! Your Spartans obviously did the heavy lifting last week against Purdue; in all likelihood, this game is not about whether MSU will make a bowl, but rather, about whether we're going to San Antonio or Orlando or, of course, rollin' down Woodward to Ford Field (!). Penn State, after a season that has to be characterized as quite disappointing, amazingly still has a shot at a BCS berth. You know the backstory: last season, PSU absolutely demolished us; the season before, however, was good times:

It appears that the play-by-play guy attended the Joe Buck school of announcing excitement. Also, I miss Devin Thomas.

So, here cometh TEH GREATEST RIVALRY GAME IN ALL TEH LAND, and the opportunity to beat a team with a pulse for the first time this season. (Says the guy whose team's best win is against Temple. w00t.) The 8-million member PSU blogosphere and commentariat seems surprisingly reticent about this game. But, after last week's defensive fiasco I'm simply not comfortable picking us to win against teams with competent offenses. Penn State is such a team. I'd love to be proven wrong.

More, after the jump.

Big game plz, Colin.

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON DEFENSE: At this point, I think the secondary is probably going to suck no matter what we do, so we might as well stack the box to try to stop the run and get as much pressure on Darryl Clark as possible. Indeed, as RUTS told us, this is what you want to do with Clark:

He's like about any other good, but not great, quarterback. If he has a clean pocket and can set his feet, he's as good as anyone in the country. If he gets hit too much, he gets rattled and starts making bad decisions with the ball. In that sense, he can be knocked back into looking like a talented quarterback in his second or third start -- he thinks he can make throws that he can't actually pull off.

Clark struggled mightily in the Iowa and Ohio State games--and even in the Illinois game--because he was under pressure (ding ding ding da da ding ding). Pressuring him may allow Clark some opportunities to scramble (as Brian said earlier this year, he's "not Michael Vick but isn't John Navarre, either."), but it's probably the best chance to contain the PSU offense. PSU partisans seem to think that our defensive line will have success against their offensive line, and pressure Clark heavily; I'm not so certain. Many anticipated that Penn State's offensive line was going to be the downfall of the team this year, as it was the most inexperienced group in the conference. PSU has allowed only 12 sacks on the season, although it looked overmatched against Adrian Clayborn and Cameron Heyward, among others. But, uh, we don't have Clayborn or Heyward; we've got a defensive line which failed to pressure Joey Elliott (until the last play, of course), and hasn't proven the ability to apply pressure on its own. My suspicion is that, if PSU is content to throw from three-step drops, they'll have a lot of success: we won't have the ability to get to Clark that quickly, and our secondary is obviously vulnerable. Bottom line: stack the box, try to get pressure, hope for the best.

And, about those guys Clark will be throwing to: RUTS sez . . .

Starting WR Chaz Powell is out for the game with a shoulder injury. In his place, you'll see a rotating group including the very tall Brett Brackett and the very quick Curtis Drake. Maybe true freshman Justin Brown gets in the game, but I doubt it. Graham Zug had a nightmare game against Indiana last week, but that was mostly due to fumbling punts. He runs good routes and gets open against passive zone coverages. Really, that goes for the whole group -- if you can press and bump them, they become ineffective quickly. [ . . . ]

Derek Moye is probably our best receiver, but he was totally shut out by Ohio State's press coverage and only had two catches for 28 yards against Indiana. Because of that, I suspect PSU will make an effort to get him involved quickly.

Moye is indeed good: 41 catches for 676 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. He's 6'5", 195 pounds . . . and if you're thinking, "holy hell, he's Mike Floyd in disguise," well, yeah, me too. He's not quite there, talent-wise, but, erm, I wouldn't want to be fighting for a jump ball against him. I suspect that our cornerbacks wouldn't want to be, either. And, yeah, about that Quarless guy: he reminds me a lot of Kellen Davis in that he's ludicrous athletically, but the results don't quite meet the expectations. But, the same could be said of Garrett Graham, and that didn't end so well for us earlier this year.

This is probably Evan Royster's last regular season game for Penn State, as most expect him to jump to the NFL.
Last year, he only carried the ball 12 times against MSU, but those carries were relatively successful, as he averaged 6.6 yards per game. This season, he's been a bit up-and-down: he had big games against Northwestern and Minnesota, but not-so-good efforts against Iowa and Ohio State. MSU's rush defense has been mostly a positive this season, although last week was a bit of a regression. I suspect that Royster will approach 100 yards but not be the deciding factor in this game. His backup, Stephfon Green, has intermittently battled injuries and hasn't played much or well since the Illinois game much earlier this season.

Safe to say at this point: one of my all-time favorite Spartan football players.

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON OFFENSE: . . . we need for Kirk Cousins to have the best game of his career. As a preliminary matter, let's stipulate that we're going to get basically nothing against Penn State on the ground: the Lions are 8th nationally against the run, and our rushing offense is not good. The goal in this game should be to do just enough to semi-effectively set up play action.

Ah, so the main event: MSU's passing offense vs. Penn State's pass defense. It starts wtih the offensive line, obviously. Penn State doesn't have Tamba Hali or Courtney Brown or anyone of similar fear-producing ability, but the stats are certainly there: they lead the conference in sacks, and while Brian noted that:

[t]he numbers are impressive—PSU is 11th nationally with three sacks per game—but there is the whole schedule thing to take into account. Jack Crawford has four sacks, all of which come against the Akrons and Temples on the schedule. In Penn State's three real-ish games, they acquired one sack (Odrick) against Minnesota, three (Crawford, Latimore, Stanley) against Illinois, and two (Hull and Crawford/Lynn) against Iowa.

. . . Penn State sacked Forcier/Robinson 5 times, and then, the next week, sacked Mike Kafka 6 times. Since then, things have cooled down a bit: they weren't able to sack Terrelle Pryor (although Pryor is surely one of the most difficult sacks in the country), and were only able to get to Ben Chappell twice last week. Nonetheless, this is an impressive line; they're led by scary beast Jared Odrick, who has 6 sacks, and the aforementioned Jack Crawford, who now has 5.5. RUTS says that:

Penn State loves to just send the defensive line if they can get away with it. The defensive scheme actually depends on it, but PSU's defensive ends have been several notches below their predecessors. There's no Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, or Tamba Hali on this defensive line, so they'll send linebackers on occasion, and maybe mix in a corner blitz once or twice per game, but that's it.

We can't let them get tons of pressure from the front four alone. I know it's tempting disaster to say that I *want* Navorro Bowman, Sean Lee, and the corners to blitz, but Penn State blitzing and leaving the secondary exposed is how Cousins will be able to throw for lots of yards.

Penn State's defense is statistically impressive against the pass: 16th nationally in pass efficiency defense, and 17th nationally in pass defense. Once again, I'll let RUTS write my preview for me:

Penn State can be thrown on, but they do their best to protect any obvious liabilities in the secondary. Free Safety Nick Sukay has steadily improved throughout the year. Drew Astorino (#28) plays the other safety position, and it's no secret that he's trying to fight through a shoulder injury. CB A.J. Wallace sustained a concussion last week, he's listed as "possible" for Sparty. So there may be opportunities for you in the passing game.

So, PSU is good, but they're not scary in the way that Iowa is: this season, the Lions have allowed 252 yards passing to Northwestern, 263 to Illinois (!), and 298 last week to Indiana. (Note that they won all three of those games, however.) Quite frankly, our passing offense is better than any of those teams'. I think Cousins has a big day, and throws for at least 250 yards; look for B.J. Cunningham to play the Devin Thomas role this time around. If he's able to deliver, Cousins stands in line for first team all-conference honors, so there should be some personal motivation, too.

FINAL PREDICTION: Cut and paste, for starters:

Clark picked our defense apart last year, and while you don't have Derrick Williams anymore, our pass defense is even worse this time around. Also, I have distressing visions of Jared Odrick pwning whoever's blocking him and not giving Cousins enough time to be comfortable.

More generally, Dantonio has done a lot of good things during his time at MSU, but beating teams with appreciably more talent certainly hasn't been one of those things. So, I'll remain skeptical until we finally win one of these games. It's at home, which is good, and I could definitely see the special teams stats ending up very lopsided in our favor. But PSU is the better team, and you're playing for more: a win for us would upgrade our bowl game slightly, but a win for PSU might send you guys to the BCS. So, an upset isn't out of the possibility, but I'm not particularly optimistic.

I wrote that yesterday morning, and honestly, I'm a bit more optimistic now. Penn State fans seem quite worried about this game, and one columnist even questions whether Penn State's players even have their hearts into the game anymore. Which, like, what? Even if that's true, you're playing for the BCS! I'd dismiss it out of hand if the sentiment didn't seem to be a common one across the PSU internets.

One thing that doesn't fit into my normal preview format: if you've been reading previews of this game anywhere else, you'll know that PSU's special teams have been an unmitigated disaster this year, and ours have been very good. I'm normally skeptical that special teams play has any predictive value, but here the discrepancy between the teams seems so great that it may indeed be relevant this week. Keshawn Martin, Brett Swenson, Aaron Bates: keep on doing what you do so well. kthx.

Nonetheless, this is a pretty talented football team we're playing. PSU is excellent on defense, and the offense -- with many of the same players -- ripped us apart last year. It seems that I'm saying this every week now, but truly, our defense will determine whether we win this game. If they show up, we have a chance. If they play like they did last week, we don't. It's awfully tempting to say that MSU wins this game on the strength of the passing game and special teams play. But, visions of Quarless and Zug running rampant across the middle of the field prevent me from tempting fate, for now. Penn State 31, Michigan State 27.

Your thoughts welcome, of course.

Monopoly Piece! Monopoly Piece!

Rodger Sherman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:24:22 -0000

More photos » by STEPHEN HAAS - AP

Because our overenthusiastic coach gets all overenthusiastic for winning.

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So, I went to Champaign yesterday. What follows is a recap of a football game, but also a recap of a metropolitan area.

First off: the title. We won ourselves a monopoly piece. In a somewhat disappointing turn, I never actually saw any NU players with the trophy, so I'm not 100% sure the hat on wood exists. But we won it. Pat Fitzgerald's next trick will be to pull a rabbit/endless strand of cloth out of the Land of Lincoln trophy.
Second off, football: It took around 3/4 of the year for it to happen, but some players I expected to play well and some I never, ever did have turned into a cohesive football team.
Mike Kafka Not sure how it happened, but the guy turned into a complete college quarterback, even though the running skill he once showed has sort of evaporated with his hammy injury. Iron Mike hasn't thrown a pick since the Indiana game, but busted out a whole arsenal of passing skill we just haven't seen. In the beginning of the year, he was a deadeye passer on those short dinky-dunky routes. Then, yesterday, Illinois did something very difficult. They spent a whole week training, and essentially shut down Kafka's ability to nail these passes: Guarding the middle to protect against those short in routes, putting on a decent pass rush, and limiting receivers' yards after catches. Where week 3 MIke Kafka/Fitz might've tried to have him throw deep, with the operative word being "tried", and then, after realizing that wasn't going to work, would've stuck with the inefficient short passing attack with diminished results.
But now? The dude can complete long passes. He nailed - nailed! - Zeke Markshausen twice on those corner routes, hit Ebert on the same route too. He had Sid Stewart twice, got him the ball both times! Stewart failed to bring in a catch on one of them, but, it was admittedly a tough one. And of course, the 50 yarder to Brewer. Old school Mike Kafka overthrows him or throws a wobbly end-over-end joint that gets picked off. But old Mike is old MIke.
Where did our running game come from? Did last years' just get off the bus from San Antonio? Scott Concannon spend those weeks where he was supposedly out with a concussion in China training with a running back sensei? Did Arby Fields somehow get three miles per hour faster since week one? I don't know. But whatever happened, NU had an effective running game today. Concannon isn't fast, but he's just fast enough to get to the outside corner, and wiley enough to find holes that aren't there and spin out of tackles and he stays on his feet long enough to get five or six yards when he finds that hole. Arby Fields is straight up fast, and actually looked like a running back after being nonexistent for so long. We used four running backs,f five when you consider Persa was effectively being used as a Wildcat player with no option to throw, and all five of them were effective to some extent. We gained 139 yards on the ground. Tell me you thought that would ever happen four weeks ago.
Corey Wootton is absolutely catching wreck right now. This is Corey. We have him for two (two!) more games, so let's enjoy the everloving nonsense out of it. I hope NFL scouts didn't close their file sometime around the Minnesota game, because this is a completely different human being.
I can't say I was pleased with our defense. You're up 18. Cover the guy going deep. Put a safety on him, let him catch the ball and bring him down right after that. But cover him. If Illinois had a quarterback who... well, looked like Kafka did today, they win this game. Easily. Guys were open downfield, and if you can't hit em, they can't do anything for ya. I'd go so far as to say that our defensive unit played well. Wootton, as noted, is back. Q, Brian Peters, and Nate Williams were everywhere. Our defensive line held their own despite only getting one sack and giving up unfortunate amounts of rushing yardage to something called a Michael Leshoure. By all means, the reason Illinois only had 3 points after 3 quarters is because Illinois is Illinois. Dropped passes, missed targets, missed field goals, general malaise and lamentation of the women. But the defense played well enough to give us the W yesterday.
Stefan Demos is no longer the G.O.A.T. But you can't blame the guy for not pulling off a perfect season. That's asking a bit too much of any kicker, much less one also pulling punting duties.
Hunter Bates: true American hero. Now, look, folks, catching a football is hard. Arrelious Benn, as well as our kick returners, should have showed you this today. You know what else his hard? Jumping three feet into the air, getting undercut by the type of human being strong enough to play for a Big Ten football team, flipping over, landing on your back, and not dying. Bates managed to do both, with an end-over-end onside kick. Applause. Hunter, you're good in my book. I'm no longer a little bit annoyed at you for confusing me whenever I see a short white dude with black hair wearing #7 doing things and then wondering which one of y'all it is.
I'm not sure if that last play was a pick. What I'm sure of is that it was awesome.
Words of advice to the U of I PA announcer: Marks-hausen. Not Marchausen. I wouldn't be mad, but he caught the ball like 43 times, including a touchdown. His job is to catch a football while running as fast as he can and then avoiding getting tackled by strong and fast people. Your is to pronounce his name correctly. He did his, but guess which of your jobs is easier? Also, chill out with the descriptors, homie. Jacob Charest did not just "scamper" for a first down, he ran for one. Stephen Simmons wasn't tackled by "a host of Illini", it was, like, two dudes. Say their names, get it over with. Also, the enthusiastic way you yell "FIRST DOWN!" is cool, but, uh, not when your team just was the beneficiary of a penalty or they just recovered their own fumble past the first-down marker. Then you can just say "First down." Chill on the pants-crapping.
With regards to the stadium: it's weird, I go to a college, and I go to games where football is played, but after almost two seasons of being a student, I went to my first college football game. It would be cool if we could have a full stadium with loud, interested fans, all wearing the same color, all cheering, with a band I could hear 150 yards away from the other side of the field, with a student section the size of my school locking arms and bouncing around (which looks awesome, btdubs) Obviously, the fact that our school is 1/6 the size of theirs will prevent any of this from ever happening. But, uh, I'ma take some football roadtrips more often. Illinois isn't really talked about as having a spectacular football atmosphere, but it's a completely different universe from anything you can get at Ryan Field. If you don't accept this, you're wrong.
Not that I have qualms with NU's fanbase. We were audible yesterday. I wasn't sitting in the NU section, but I heard em. And if you're going to play "Hey Baby", as dozens of schools do, don't let it be against NU, because having a few hundred people yell "HEY WHAT? GO WILDCATS" is audible even in a stadium of 60,000.
About which, do any Illinois fight songs contain words? I'm pretty sure it's all just clapping. And then they spell their team name, which always sounds cool, but like every other place that resorts to mass spelling, isn't that impressive when you think about it.
While we're talking about attendance and whatnot, uh, Champaign is, well, awesome, and to some extent, this helps a lot with football games. I don't mean awesome in that Champaign is an innately enjoyable place: it's like 50,000 college students surrounded by a few hours of cornfields. (Sorry. It's true. Big ups to all my farmers out there!) But as Northwestern students, it's tough not to walk through Champaign and get jealous. Public drinking is not so much permitted as expected. You're allowed to sell and take Jagerbombs in the street. And I'm not saying that this is a good strategy because I'm a college student and therefore, yeah, bro, drinking! Sweet! I'm saying this because Evanston/Northwestern's insistence on enforcing laws most college towns turn the other way on don't seem to have any positives: I don't see how our university thinks that making getting caught drinking have major negative implications is a good thing, because I'd think the school has a vested interest in preventing students from drinking themselves to death in their dorm rooms. At U of I, if you get dangerously drunk, they take care of you first and then slap you with a $300 ticket later. And just sayin, students go to football games there. Part of this is just a size thing: with 50,000 students, there's a lot more to deal with there, and they get less nitpicky, and none of this will change until, like Illinois, NU has a quad the size of what is now south campus. (that is to say, not happening.) But having hung out with guys in the Illinois chapter of my fraternity for a few hours yesterday, and when we described the way we do things in terms of doing fun things at NU, the way I would describe their reaction is "sympathetic to our plight". I can say confidently that although I love NU, there's a lot of aspects of life here that I wish were different and shouldn't require much thought or debate to change.
Point being, I probably should just transfer to a state school. That's the life.
I mean, we had N.E.R.D for our Dillo Day concert, remember? They had Jay-Z, with Wale and N.E.R.D. opening. Wale! Damn.
Then again, apparently you have to do various forms of community service and apply to get student basketball tickets there. I show up five minutes before the game and sit front row. Some things are good.
Something that isn't good? Amtrak. The last thing that the people at the U of I chapter of the fraternity said to us was, "hey, hope your trains aren't delayed" and we thought they were joking or something. My friends and I paid for a train, but what we got was a bus that showed up a half hour after we were supposed to board the train. As a New Yorker I'm used to efficient public transportation. When I showed up in this part of the world and found friendly people, delicious pizza, and the El, uh, I was displeased. So imagine me being violently angry after having been awake for about 16 hours yesterday.
Oh, and, Illinois, people, let's get something straight. We don't have a big enough rivalry that there needs to be that much glaring when two guys in Northwestern gear walk into a bar after a game, regardless of the final outcome. We went into this really cool place on Green Street called Legends, the problem is, on the unwelcome sports fans glare-o-meter, with a 1 being "unprovoked loving embraces" and a 10 being "immediate murder upon sight", we were probably getting a 6.5-7 from the middle-aged Illinois fans we saw, which is a step below actually stepping to us and starting something. Chill out, Illinois fans. Coming from somebody who has never been in the city of Boston without wearing a Yankees hat and sweatshirt at all times, the Land of Lincoln trophy shouldn't make me feel like I'm wearing red in Crips territory.

That's pretty much all I got. I'll have more football-y posts as the week goes on and I start thinking more about sports and less about how badly I wish we could throw actual tailgates as the week goes on.

For now, let's just rejoice: I mean, back-to-back winning seasons? This is only the second time since we started playing a 12 game slate that's happened. Think about that. We're bowl eligible for the third time in three years. Uh, same ish there. This doesn't happen very often.

So as I always say, sip with me. Let's enjoy this, and I'll see y'all in a nice, warm place in a month and a half.

Wha Happened? Week Eleven

RossWB — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:30:24 -0000

There were other games played. Stuff happened. Dickheads won, dumbasses lost, many points were scored. So Wha Happened?

Even if they cheat, Michigan's defense can't stop anyone.

Wisconsin 45, Michigan 24
The Punch-A-Bully-While-He's-Down Tour stopped in Madison this week, and the Badgers were all too happy to take their pound of LOLverine flesh. For the fifth straight game, the Big Ten's worst defense gave up thirty or more points -- in fact, the Michigan defense has given up thirty or more points in all but one of their conference games (a 26-20 OT loss to Michigan State that began their current tailspin), an ignominious accomplishment that no other Big Ten team can match. Scott Tolzien had a fine day (16/24, 240 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT) and John Clay continued to firm up his resume for All-Big Ten first team and even Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (if win-loss records didn't matter, Michigan State's Kirk Cousins or Purdue's Keith Smart might be shoo-ins, but win-loss records typically do matter), pounding away for 151 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. And assuming my crack research is correct, if Michigan loses next week and Indiana wins, then Big Blue will finish all alone in the Big Ten cellar for the first time since 1962. Good times ahead for RichRod, no doubt.

Mark Dantonio only looks like he's about to rip the official's throat out with his teeth.

Michigan State 40, Purdue 37
In what amounted to a playoff game for bowl eligibility (Purdue needed to win its remaining games to qualify for a bowl; Sparty needed only to split their remaining two games, and this was far more winnable than the season finale against Penn State), Sparty had one more bullet than the Fightin' Danny Hopes. The highest-scoring conference game of the season turned into a sometimes sloppy shootout between two teams with rifle-armed quarterbacks and inconsistent (to be charitable) defenses. Although, statistically, it was a damn odd game: Purdue killed them in total yards of offense (524 to 362), offensive plays run (92 to 49!), and time of possession (40:39 to 19:21). But Michigan State was all about the big play yesterday. Their first touchdown was a fumble return on the game's first play from scrimmage. Their second touchdown came on a three-play drive that featured a 55-yard pass. Their third touchdown was a one-play drive with a 73-yard touchdown bomb. Their fourth (and final) touchdown drive was set up by a blocked field goal and a 45-yard run. Plus, they made not one, but two 52-yard field goals. (I covet Brett Swenson. I covet him very much.) Joey Elliot channeled the spirit of Purdue gunslingers past and had himself a fine day -- 39/55, 373 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT -- but it wasn't enough and the Boilermakers will be sitting at home for a second straight season. At least their fans can enjoy basketball season.

Bill Lynch: not a fan of Big Ten officiating.

Penn State 31, Indiana 20
Indiana forced four turnovers in the first half, conceded none, jumped out to a 10-0 lead... but still found themselves in a 10-10 stalemate heading into halftime. Why? Because they are Indiana football and that is just what happens to them, especially this year. Bill Lynch again looked like he wanted to choke a ~~bitch~~ Big Ten official after they ignored a potential holding call on Evan Royster's game-tying touchdown run at the end of the second quarter, but the story of Indiana's frustrations this season isn't the screwjobs they've gotten from the refs on more than one occasion. No, it's in their dumbfounding inability to convert the staggering amount of turnovers they've forced into more actual points. Yesterday they converted those four turnovers into one touchdown. Two weeks ago, the six turnovers they forced against Iowa led to just three points (remarkably, none of their three touchdown drives came after Iowa turnovers). The week before that, they turned three second-half interceptions from Mike Kafka into zero points. In the only other game in that span, against Wisconsin two weeks ago, they forced only one turnover but did manage to turn it into a touchdown -- huzzah for efficiency! All told, that's 14 forced turnovers in the last four games, leading to a combined seventeen points. Not coincidentally, they're also 0-4 in those games and they've now been officially eliminated from bowl contention. As for Penn State, the first half looked like an ugly hangover from the Ohio State game, but the second half was a respectable effort that kept them on pace to win ten games this season.

It's all comin' up ZOOKER, baby.

Northwestern 21, Illinois 16
Oh who fucking cares. Did the ground open up and swallow both of these teams and their glorified Monopoly piece trophy and cast them into the deepest bowels of Hell? No? Meh. Watching Jim Tressel try to decide which sweatervest to wear would have been more entertaining than the first half of this game, which featured incompetent offenses and at least three missed field goals. Action picked up in the second half, but, again, who gives a fuck? Illinois locked up another bowl-free season, continuing the really positive run of momentum they've had since that Rose Bowl run two years ago.

PLAYING QUARTERBACK: UR DOIN IT WRONG.

Minnesota 16, South Dakota State 13
Another week, another dreadful offensive performance by the Gophers. Their lone touchdown was a fumble returned for a touchdown that they needed to take only three yards to get into the end zone. Two of their three field goals came from short fields set up by turnovers (Jackrabbit QB Thomas O'Brien was, sadly, a turnover machine yesterday: he had a pair of interceptions and a pair of fumbles). While some credit is due to SDSU for buckling down in the red zone, this sort of incompetence is hardly new to Minnesota's offense this year. Aside from that offensive explosion against Michigan State on Halloween (and considering how many other teams have sliced up Sparty's defense, Minnesota's performance against them doesn't look quite as impressive), their offense has been dormant for some time: they've amassed fewer than 300 yards of total offense in four of their last five games. But, hey, at least they got that crucial sixth win -- now they can start making travel plans to the Pizza! Pizza! Bowl.

Thinkin Land of Lincoln

Rodger Sherman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:39:32 -0000

So you might remember all the stuff I used to do every week on this site: I used to preview the team we're playing on wednesday, then Friday I'd post Big Ten picks (and mascot death fights) and also pick the game with some analysis about how NU should/will play.

I say "used to" because I did that every week, but last week I didn't because I was really busy.

And if you do something once, and you beat Iowa, you do it the next week. Which is why for the second straight week, I haven't done those posts, but have interviewed my rival SBN blogger, which, in this case, is Joe K of Hail to the Orange.

So here goes:

Is it 100% basketball season yet in illinois, or are people still paying attention to this whole football thing?

Two weeks ago, everyone who paid any attention to Illini athletics at all was clamoring for Basketball season to start, but with the recent unlikely mini win streak the football team has enjoyed there seems to be some renewed interest. A win against you guys and we might even start feeling good about ourselves again. Of course it all dies when we play Cincinnati. Regardless by the time the ACC Big Ten Challenge rolls around football will be squarely off of the table.

Will Juice Williams be remembered around those parts for the three years he was really good, led Illinois to a Rose Bowl, or as that guy who got benched and injured in a down year for Illinois?

Juice will be remembered as a player that excited us as much as he made us cringe. It is impossible not to consider all of the rough times he has experienced here, but at the same time every one of us knows that when he put to use the right way there are few people who can do what he does. He got us to the Rose Bowl and his career isn't over just yet, and I for one am always going to be a big fan of what Juice has done for this team, given the state it was in when he got here and the heights to which he took it.

the rest... after the jump!

Land Of Lincoln or Sweet Sioux Tomahawk?

Neither. I have never been that excited about the Northwestern game, and to be honest neither has the football team (which may explain why we have lost so many games recently.) So I could do without the rivalry trophy all together, it just doesn't stand up to the others around the conference. That's why this whole Land of Lincoln Trophy (LoLTrofy) thing upsets me. Rivalries and their trophies should come about organically and through mutual hatred, not put to a committee. When that happens you get the dry and painful Land Grant Trophy, I am sure that the LoLTrofy will be no less dry and unexciting. I mean for come on, Wisconsin and Minnesota get a gigantic axe, we get a lump of wood with a hat on it?

And now, tell me what's gonna happen saturday. Anything you say can and will be jinxed against you.

Franz/Mike Kafka will have to make plays on his feet if he wants to avoid the Illini pass rush. If he can do so and make good throws the Wildcats will move the ball, if not he could suffer several broken bones.
Also a word of warning Jacob Charest is a hell of a lot better than James Vandenberg, so don't expect a Juice-less Illinois to roll over like Iowa did. We have a very strong running game now and hopefully we will be able to use it to beat you into submission.

This isn't going away anytime soon.

Rodger Sherman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:44:26 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Last name Ever. First name Greatest.

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I'm still letting this one sink in.

It's not every year you even get to play a top five ranked team, let alone beat one. I mean, at NU, it's not every half-century you beat a top five ranked team.

So, just enjoy this. Take all your nonsense about "this season is still kind of disappointing" and "oh, but the refs jobbed Iowa!" (yes, they did) "but Stanzi got hurt!" (first off. kid threw a pick too. and four in a quarter last week. maybe he hits djk on that long ball, but, the dude's not johnny friggin unitas. and second off, every team deals with injuries. we're dealing with them too!) and just take a few seconds, minutes, or hours to think about how great that win was for NU.

That win took a team that looked questionable for bowl season and essentially made them a lock for a postseason bid. If you ask people around NU what their goal is going into every season, I bet they'd say "to win a bowl game." Our program, as you know, has only been to back-to-back bowls once, and only won a bowl game once, and that was before my parents were alive. Either of those things happening would, in my opinion, make this a historic/successful season. This game probably doubled NU's chances at doing both of those things. Think about that for a second.

In fact, think about it the entire time I break down things that went well yesterday.

Our defense. Back. I mean, going into this season, we talked about our defense being an elite unit. And the team that played yesterday - with every starter except Brendan Smith on the field - fit that description: they didn't allow a single sustained drive for points all game long, they forced four - four! - turnovers.
I'm not a fan of hyperbole. (Actually, screw that, I am.) But I honestly don't think it's hyperbolic to call Wootton's strip-and-maim one of the most important plays in NU history. NU historians, if you can disagree with that statement, go ahead, I know I'm not as versed in Wildcats history as I should be. But without that play, we don't win that game. And without that game, well, this is a mediocre season at best. What Ferentz is thinking running a designed naked bootleg at our favorite formerly-formerly dynamic defensive end, I have no idea. But Wootton looked like that guy we knew not just on that one play, but all day: he's got more explosiveness than he had up till this week. He's back.
A boring but effective thing to do in this post is just listing defenders who played excessively well yesterday: Nate Williams, David Arnold (those two dudes were literally making tackles EVERYWHERE), Quentin Davie, Marshall Thomas (apparently, the reason he's been playing all year is because he's really great at hopping on fumbles), well, our whole d-line, subs and starters, Sherrick McManis and Jordan Mabin (let's not talk about the DJK touchdown), Brad Phillips. Applause, all around. The d-line was able to shut down the rush - not totally surprising against a team that was missing it's top 8 running backs - but the pass pressure was something we haven't seen all year. And neither Stanzi nor Vandenberg could settle in, or, for that matter, complete anything.
Mike Kafka cemented his place in our respective memories with the Minnesota game last year, and Persa, regardless of what the future holds (and I'm officially no longer scared), did that yesterday. Great game. Outside of the one ugly pass that got picked, he looked effective passing the ball, and, well, he's faster than Kafka. (less elusive, but faster. Both great runners.) I was not expecting that. Again, applause.
There's some serious slurpage going on here, but Mike Kafka also had a cojones performance. I mean, to come back in after looking suspect at best (both passing and not being able to move) in the beginning and then just running things after Persa's injury.
Scott Concannon. What? Where did this guy come from? He looked bad in the Towson game, then got a concussion, and then all of a sudden he comes back as a great runner against Indiana. I like his style: he's really good at waiting for his blockers to open up a hole where others might just try to plow through with speed, where Concannon knows his best option is to take it slow, see things develop, and then maybe just barely elude a hit. Only 60-odd yards on the day for him, but, damn, the guy doesn't go down unless you really hit him.
And I think who you credit with Concannon's success that he didn't have earlier in the year, and Persa's being able to run with no pretense of passing (something that never happened when he came in to spell Kafka and got stuffed for gains of one or two earlier in the year) is our offensive line. Another unit that was supposed to be decent coming into the year and then looked they couldn't open up a hole for Adrian Peterson. But yesterday, they were getting a major push against Iowa's d-line - Iowa's d-line! Yeah, they weren't great at pass protection, but when Persa came in, that sorta stopped mattering.
I think Stefan Demos could hit a 83 yarder. Just sayin.

So, yeah, I'm still too pumped to write something actually analytical, in case you couldn't tell.

Oh, yeah, and who's coming to Champaign next weekend?