Big Ten Bloggers Pick'em

After 2 weeks we still have 2-way tie for first place. Hawkeye State and Buckeye Battle Cry maintained their lead through 2 weeks.

Nobody had a perfect week. Run up the Score accurately picked Oregon over Michigan (the only Oregon pick) but they incorrectly had W. Michigan over Indiana. I don't think that I received picks from Badger Tracker (please correct me if I'm wrong). He'll have some ground to make up but with conference games counting 3 points appiece and Bowl games as 4 there is always a chance.

1		Buckeye Battle Cry	20
1		Hawkeye State	20
3		Lake the Post	19
3		Michigan Sports Center	19
3		Run Up the Score	19
6		Buckeye Lane	18
6		MGO	18
6		PajingJimShikenjanski	18
6		The Nittany Line	18
10		Black Shoes Diaries	17
10		BuckeyeBlog	17
10		Gopher Nation	17
10		Hoosier Report	17
14		Badger Tracker	9

Basketball recruiting

Lets take a quick break from football for a moment. While this week's game vs. Miami (Ohio) is important to the Golden Gopher footballers, I believe that the basketball team has a bigger weekend ahead.

Let's all welcome Ralph Sampson III and Colten Iverson to the Minnesota. Both are top 150 players are both are taking official visits to the U this weekend. I've talked about them before but here is what I know...

Ralph Sampson III - C - 6'11", 220 - RSIII is the son of one of the great college basketball players. 3 or 4 months ago he was not receiving scholarships from big time programs. Tubby was one of the first to call on RSIII. Now Kentucky, Maryland, Georgia Tech and others are pursuing him. Fortunately Ralph's says that the fact that Tubby got to him early is important to him. This weekend is big, we need to "WOW" him and get him to commit soon. The longer he is out there and the fewer legitimate center prospects remain, the harder it will be to land him.

Colten Iverson - PF - 6'9", 240 - Colten is another big man who has gotten hot lately. Florida was high on Iverson and he took an official visit down there, but the lack of playing time early and I believe a recent transfer to Florida has dried up their available scholarships. It seems now that Iverson has his list narrowed to Minnesota, Nebraska and a few others (most think it is down to MN or Neb). I believe that playing time is going to be a factor for Iverson. Well, I guess in that regard we are lucky to be graduating every player over 6'2" (slight exaggeration).

We need help in the paint. These guys are very likely our best available big men out there. I think we legitimately have a shot at them and we clearly need them. Neither of these guys will turn this program around but they will be solid players to build a base. I really feel that this recruiting class has to be solid and the next recruiting class needs to have 2 or 3 studs (top 50 guys). Landing Iverson and Sampson along with the JUCO recruit, Paul Carter is a good start. Getting SG - Devoe Joseph along with these big men is the class I'm hoping to see sign.

Blog Poll Roundtable

With the Blog Poll, the Blog Poll Roundtable, the Big Ten Blogger Pick'em and B10 Blogger Roundtable I barely have time to type my own posts. Oh well it is the price you pay for having such a high profile and wildly popular blog that is all the rage within college sports blogs circles. I have to give what Gopher Nation wants to read. Oh and by the way, by high profile, wildly popular, etc I mean I really appreciate both of my loyal readers (thanks mom).

So on to the Blog Poll Roundtable...

1. By the end of the season, some previously unheralded teams' bandwagons will be so full they'll be having to bump passengers and offer them free vouchers and first-class upgrades; others will have emptied out in a big way. On whose bandwagon are you already scrambling to save a seat? Conversely, which team's bandwagon is being driven by Toonces the Driving Cat, prompting you to leap off now before it careens over a cliff to its fiery death below?

I am on board and ready to ride the TCU Train. This train could come to an abrupt halt after week 2's battle for the best team in Texas. I'm sure that UT is tired of hearing how TCU might show them up and an old fashioned monkey-stomp might end TCU's hopes and dreams real fast. But I really like the Horned Frog's defense and should they pull this win off they'll make a real strong case for a BCS title game as an undefeated team who went into Austin and beat the best the Big 12 has to offer. That will of course be a moot point if USC/LSU remain undefeated but history suggests that one if not both of those teams will endure a loss along the way.

I'm torn on who to go with as my team who's bandwagon will have the wheels come off. Nothing will really compare to the carnage that has followed the Michigan debacle. Nebraska is tempting but is it a total collapse if they just go 5-3 in conference and finish 2nd to Missouri? That is exactly like losing to a 1AA school to end your national title hopes. I'm not real confident in this pick but I'm going to go with Boise State. Last year was a great year. Undefeated, no respect cause they hadn't beat anybody then they statue of liberty their way over Oklahoma in a BCS game. This year they return 11 total starters. New QB, 4 WRs gone and middle of their D is gone. Returning RB is a Heisman candidate, OL is back and DBs are set, but those are a few too many questions marks. Plus they travel to Hawaii this year and that game will mark the end of their little run. They will fall completely off of everybody's radar at that point (if not sooner).

2. What do you think was opening weekend's biggest mirage -- either a "big win" over a team that isn't really as good as everyone thinks, or an embarrassing loss (or embarrassingly close win) that won't seem quite as embarrassing by season's end?

First of all I don't think Michigan's loss to AppState means Michigan is as bad as some are making them out to be. Of course there is no way that a team with aspirations of winning a national title should lose to a 1AA school (or any school for that matter). But AppState was pretty good. They had incredible team speed and a great game plan that was excecuted to near perfection. If they played 9 more times Michigan would probably win all 9, but I would not be shocked to see Michigan win out and still be in the Rose Bowl. Title shot is long gone but this team is still very good.

On the flip side, Virginia Tech had an ugly win but this "near loss" is a mirage. Dealing with the emotions of the pre-game ceremonies and the pressure that built up for the last few weeks led to a flat opening game. And I have to mention the probably "looking past" syndrome. Going to LSU in week 2 with a shot to vault themselves into the #2 ranking is hard to ignore when you are playing East Carolina. VTech will be just fine.

3. Compared to how you felt Friday night, how do you feel now about your team's chances this season? I'm not just talking about your impressions of your own team -- also take into account their prospects relative to this year's opponents, whom you've also gotten a little more acquainted with after this past weekend's action.

Honestly, I feel about the same. This season is going to be a roller coaster ride with a new coach, new systems and a redshirt freshman at QB. I saw a very disappointing first half that was followed by good adjustments and an encouraging 2nd half. Both were finished off by the recurring nightmare of a defense that can't stop anything when it counts.

4. Looking at how those future opponents performed this past weekend, which developments are you most excited about? Which of your opponents' performances have you a little worried?

I didn't see much that gets me too excited. Seeing Michigan State vs. Bowling Green this week will tell us more. Should BG beat the Spartans then I'll have more hope for a couple conference wins.

5. There are now 32 bowls in D-IA football, meaning 64 bowl teams, meaning any given team now stands a better-then-50-percent chance of going to a bowl. To get that number under 50 percent, we'd have to eliminate three bowls. Which ones would you get rid of?

Get rid of the BCS Bowls! Scrap them all and give me a playoff.

6. And finally, in 50 words or less, how happy are you that it's finally football season again?

I'm very passionate about college football and I look forward to watching a tremendous Golden Gopher squad take Gopher Nation to Pasadena!

Big Ten Blogger Roudtable

1. Clearly, Week 1 was a huge week for upsets with Appalachin St. beating Michigan and Clemson beating FSU (though if that really shocked anyone I'd be surprised). What are your upset games for Week 2 and why?

TCU over Texas! I have fallen in love with the Horned Frogs this year as the best non-BCS team in the country. Forget your fascination with Rutgers (Big East I know, but you get the idea), Hawaii or Boise State; TCU is very good. They have a defense that is on par with anybody in the country regardless of conference size. They have a great running game to ease the maturation of their talented freshman QB. Do I really think they'll go into UT and come out with a win? That is a tall order, I have a lot of respect for the Longhorns. But I'm hoping this will be a great game. IF TCU can come away with upset they should run the table and have a legit argument that they should be in the national title game. Boise State was undefeated in 2006 but they didn't beat anybody of significance. If TCU can go into UT and beat the best of the Big 12, it will be hard to keep them from a date with USC or LSU assuming 1 loses along the way.

2. What do you think about the BTN? How'd it look? How were the announcers? Did the first weekend change your opinion of the BTN?

I have thoroughly have enjoyed the BTN thus far. I liked it from 2 angles. 1 - I had all of the Big Ten games right there to watch. Then the post game coverage was much better than I anticipated. 2 - now I get to watch the best games from the other conferences. In the past if there was a big SEC or Big 12 match up (say LSU/Florida or Texas/Oklahoma) on ABC on Saturday afternoon, I was usually forced to watch Michigan State vs. Indiana. Now I get the best of both worlds.

Since Saturday I've watched the replay of Michigan/App State and I watched the 1999 Minnesota/Penn State upset as well as various other programming recapping the coaches press conferences and looking ahead to next week's games.

3. Now that we're a game into the Season evaluate the Big Ten's strength.

Well, the blow to Michigan was a serious blow to the Big Ten overall. I think that Wisconsin and Penn State are solid and will do fine. Maybe Ohio State will get their offense figured out and they'll finish as a top 10 team.

But here is something I've come across today that I find fascinating. Not one Big Ten team is playing a ranked opponent in a non-conference game. The best we have to offer is Missouri, Oregon and Notre Dame. The former 2 may end up being ranked but the latter is very weak this year. This will not be a banner year for the Big Ten. Michigan was our best shot at getting into the BCS Championship and that ship has sailed.

Big Ten Bloggers Pick'em

Week 1 standings for the Big Ten Bloggers Pick'em

Buckeye Battle Cry and Hawkeye State take the early lead but it is early and things will change when we start offering 3 points for conference games. Here are the standings (f'ing Bowling Green)!

1		Buckeye Battle Cry	10
1		Hawkeye State	10
3		Badger Tracker	9
3		Black Shoes Diaries	9
3		Buckeye Lane	9
3		Gopher Nation	9
3		Lake the Post	9
3		Michigan Sports Center	9
3		PajingJimShikenjanski	9
3		Run Up the Score	9
3		The Nittany Line	9
12		BuckeyeBlog	8
12		Hoosier Report	8
12		MGO	8

My thoughts from Saturday...

College Football Thoughts...

• Teams eliminated from BCS Title game. This list will grow as we go, but in this day of NCAA FB these guys have almost no chance...

1. Michigan
2. Notre Dame
3. Tennessee
4. Florida State
   
5. Hawaii
6. Boise State
7. anybody not currently ranked
   

• I actually liked the BTN - I enjoyed being able to watch replays of some of the Big Ten games from Saturday. I was able to watch Mich/App State live for the 1st half then had to leave for important reasons. Fortunately I was able to watch the 2nd half on Sunday to witness the carnage in full. Apart from game replays I enjoyed the commentary and analysis from the studio. It isn't SportsCenter but I thought they did a fine job and I am a fan.
  
• Could the BTN have had a better opening weekend? - being the only network to carry what was one of the biggest upsets in NCAA FB history had to have been big for the new network. I imagine that Comcast is getting more consumer pressure following this weekend than if it had been a typical "ho-hum" Saturday of Big Ten games.

Big Ten Thoughts...

• Michigan, Michigan, Michigan - Appalachian State was a very good team and I have not doubt they'd beat many D1 schools. But this was supposed to be the class of the Big Ten, at home, sporting one of the best offenses in the nation. This is bad for the Big Ten, bad for Michigan and REALLY BAD for Lloyd Carr.
  
• Lloyd Carr - Please don't tell me the game has passed him by. I find it ludicrous that Sunday morning critics can sit back and actually judge what Lloyd Carr knows and doesn't know. Carr has won 1/2 of the Big Ten titles in the last decade! Even with my standards set to "Minnesota level", that is really good. Obviously he didn't have his team ready to play this week, but lets not get carried away here. I don't think you can exactly point to the 2 games prior to AppSt as anything significant. Sure he defenses were battered by OSU and USC. But that was OSU and USC, not exactly losing to powder puff teams. The game has not passed him by, coaches at his level do not get passed by the game. You can argue that Michigan needs to go another direction, I'll listen to that argument, but give me something more than he's losing games and getting old therefor "the game has passed him by."
• Illini QB Controversy? - I know that the general rule is that you don't lose your starting position due to injury, but could we see a QB controversy in Illinois? Juice Williams gets knocked back to Aug. 23rd and then enters freshman Eddie McGee who goes for 257 yards and a TD (although 2 INTs). Were it not for a key fumble going into the endzone which was returned for a Mizz TD, this game would have been an Illini victory. I don't know the status of Williams, but if McGee can gets to play another game or 2 and gets a couple wins, things could get interesting for Zook.
• Iowa - interestingly only a 16-3 victory. I didn't watch but I think Denny Green would say "the Hawkeye's are who we thought they were gonna be."

Minnesota Thoughts...

• Adam Weber is a freshman - Weber really struggled for at least 2 1/2 quaters on Saturday night. On a regular basis he was missing WRs by a lot. Wheelwright bailed him out with a great catch on the sideline but then was unable to help Weber out by tipping a bad pass to a BG DB. I think Weber will be OK and he seemed to settle down after a horrible pass down the middle to Decker midway through the 3rd Qtr. The game will eventualyl slow down for him and he'll be able to hit the open guys (hopefully by Purdue game he'll get into a groove).
• Amir Pinnix is good - By the end of the year he will be a strong consideration for All-Big Ten.
• C+ for Coach Brewster - I'm going with a split decision on this one. The team did not come out ready to play in the 1st half. But I have always thought the mark of a good coach was shown in his ability to make halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball to give your team a chance. I was impressed that we came back from a 21 point hole, but obviously disappointed that we were down 21 before we made the necessary adjustments.
• D- for the Defense - despite Brewster's excitement and passion for the Gopher D, it was eerily similar to what we have seen the last couple years. In the 1st half the only thing that stopped the Falcons were dropped passes and penalties. Inability to cover anybody, tackle or get a big stop late in the game has been this groups trademark and it looks like it will continue in 2007.
  
• A+ for Coach Mike Dunbar - I thought Dunbar did a good job considering the jitteriness of his QB. Weber had happy feet and was a mess behind center for at least 2 Qtrs. But Dunbar was able to make some calls to give him a chance. Here are a couple examples...
• 2nd Qtr, Weber drops back to pass, the BG Left DE comes in untouched and sacks Weber. The next play Dunbar calls an option to that side, the same DE was left unblocked, Weber pitches to Pinnix, everyone else is blocked and Pinnix rattles off a 58 yard run. Unfortunately that play was followd up by a fumbled snap and drive is over, but excellent work by the Off Coordinator.
• 3rd Qtr, Weber passes to a wide open Decker down the middle of the field, but throws is 3 yards behind Decker. Weber is clearly not himself at this point. Dunbar then calls 15 straight rushing plays to get Weber settled down and into the flow of the game. His 2nd pass attempt following this rash of rushing resulted in a TD pass to Wheelwright. Give Weber a chance to succeed and managing the QB from the booth is what I expect from Dunbar.
• Recruiting Implications - It has been well documented that several Gopher recruits are taking a "wait and see" approach to committing Coach Brewster. This week probably doesn't bode well for Minnesota. Fortunately certain MN kids are looking at the likes of Michigan and Notre Dame and they didn't exactly have banner weeks in week 1. We need to see a dominating performance this week and sustained improvement into the Big Ten season.
  

Blog Poll Week 1

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	LSU	1
3	Texas	1
4	Oklahoma	1
5	Virginia Tech	1
6	Louisville	1
7	Wisconsin	2
8	California	3
9	West Virginia	3
10	Florida	2
11	Arkansas	1
12	Penn State	1
13	Ohio State	2
14	Georgia	2
15	TCU	3
16	Nebraska	4
17	Auburn	5
18	UCLA	1
19	Missouri	2
20	Boise State	4
21	Tennessee	4
22	Michigan	20
23	Rutgers	--
24	Hawaii	1
25	Georgia Tech	1

Dropped Out: Florida State (#14).

Not much changed in my poll. I have noticed that many have dropped Michigan completely from their poll. I still think that Michigan would beat the likes Rutgers and Hawaii (and probably many teams ahead of them) so I don't really think dropping them out of the top 25 completely is accurate. I watched much of that game and App State is good. I have no doubt that they'd be a bowl team at the D1 level. They aren't BCS worthy and neither is Michigan but the Wolverines are still one of the top 25 teams in the country.

West Virginia and Cal leap-frogged a couple teams mostly because of impressive performances (especially Cal). Other than that it isn't a terribly exciting poll.

UPDATE: GAMES WATCHED...
App State vs. Michigan (4 qtrs)
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota (4 qtrs)
Illinois vs. Missouri (3 qtrs)
LSU vs. Miss State (2 qtr)
Tennessee vs. Cal (1 qtr)
Wash State vs. Wisconsin (1 qtr)
Indiana State vs. Indiana (just a bit)
Toledo vs. Purdue (just a bit)

Post thoughts...

I hope Mobley and Floyd have Comcast.

If you are ready to switch E-MAIL ME, we both get a credit on our bill!

My thoughts prior to Bowling Green

I am going to steal a page from PJS and give you the things that I will be paying attention to...

I don't come into tonights game with expectations of greatness. We aren't Michigan, losing today isn't the end of our season. Playing poorly is nothing except a catalyst to improve. I want us to win, I think we have a team better than predicted and I want us to play great tonight. But this game is just a game and really only the Big Ten season matters. Here is what I'll be watching...

Quarterback - PJS is watching for his demeanor and decision making. I agree, but what I'm most interested in seeing is his game management and most importantly how he responds after mistakes and in any critical moments of the game.

Coaching Staff - Brewster has aroused passion within Gopher Nation, has elevated our recruiting profile and basically has been everything Glen Mason was not. But he has never coached an actual football game. How will his coordinators call the game, how will Brewster manage the game and how ready does he have his players to play?

Ernie Wheelwright - I agree with PJS here, I'm anxious to see him play well. But the pudding for Ernie will be next week and the entire Big Ten season. Can he play at a high level tonight and then back it up with 11 more productive games.

Defense - Can we stop anybody (insert Texas A&M just scored joke here)? Can the front 7 stop the run and can the backfield defend the pass? At least make things difficult for the Falcons.

Freshmen - I'm excited to see Spry, Herndon, Bennett, Thomas and Howell. These guys will be counted on at some point this year so I'm anxious to see what kind of athletes we have here.

Ultimately - we win and we win big. 38-13