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Another college football weekend has come and gone. The regular season is more than half over now.
Alabama destroyed another team, Tennessee, who was ranked in the top 10. Whether the Volunteers deserve to be there is a matter of debate. They struggled with Appalachian State in their first game, they struggled with Frank Solich's Ohio team and had to mount a ferocious comeback against Florida. They also barely beat Georgia who lost to Vanderbilt over the weekend.
Who am I kidding? Alabama remains a juggernaut and the clear favorite to win another national title so that they can bore the rest of us to death. Ever wondered what it was like to be around when John wooden with UCLA one those 10 national titles in 12 years and seven in row? We may be going through that same period with Alabama.
Clemson nearly lost to North Carolina State; the Wolfpack doomed because their kicker missed a short field goal at the end of regulation. It was the only game worth watching of the early morning games on Saturday, the other three being Big Ten matchups that were either blow outs or horrible displays of football (Nobody except masochists should have been watching Iowa/Purdue).
Notre Dame lost to Stanford, dropping to 2-5. Michigan State loss to Northwestern which dropped them to 0 – 3 in the Big Ten conference. Both are shocking developments.
Baylor and West Virginia remain as the only two undefeated teams in the Big 12. Baylor moved into the Top 10 this weekend and will play Texas in their next game. The Big 12 will have meetings today about expansion and it's anybody's guess what comes out of it. They are rudderless, and they'll probably make their decision on a whim although you have to believe that the networks they already have contracts with have made strong indications that it's in their best interest to leave expansion on the table for now. The Big 12 schools, especially schools with much influence like Texas and Oklahoma, have a lot to lose if they damage their relationship with the TV networks.
I felt the same about Ohio State as I do about Alabama previous to this weekend; that they were a juggernaut with no clear flaws. The Wisconsin game changed that. Ohio State's receivers played poorly in the first half and that allowed the Badgers to stack against the run. It wasn't until the second half when Buckeye receivers finally made some plays that the Ohio State offense started clicking.
Wisconsin's Alex Hornibrook played for a guy who's in his first few games as a starting quarterback. Nebraska will have to contend with him for the next couple of years; think about that for a minute. Wisconsin's defense is excellent.
I feel better about Nebraska playing both Ohio State and Wisconsin having watch those two teams play each other this weekend. Nebraska has better receivers than Ohio State and I believe that Nebraska's offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf can come up with a game plan that will negate Wisconsin's ferocious pass rush. Langsdorf is the best offensive coordinator Nebraska has had in a while; I've said that before.
Obviously Nebraska will have to play a very good football in order for them to stand up to both Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Huskers played horrifically against Indiana this past weekend, yet still won which is a testament to their will.
Don't write Nebraska off against these teams because you're afraid; we have a decent team that can play against anybody on any given Saturday.
News
Huskers, Wildcats Play to Scoreless Draw - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
The Nebraska soccer team (10-5-2, 4-3-2 Big Ten) and No. 22 Northwestern (13-1-2, 6-1-2 Big Ten) tied 0-0 in front of 973 fans at Barbara Hibner Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The second-ranked Nebraska volleyball team completed a successful road trip with a 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 sweep at Maryland Sunday afternoon at the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
Look at the photo above and focus on No. 87 Brandon Reilly. If you were a betting man or woman, would you predict that Nebraska's senior wide receiver caught the football within peripheral view?
Big Ten
Week 7: Big Ten Stock Report - Off Tackle Empire
Wow, outside of the top two of each division this conference really lacks depth...
A Eulogy for Darrell Hazell - Hammer and Rails
It is hard to say what went wrong for Hazell, but we’ll try to figure it out.
Hazell Fired: What’s Next? - Hammer and Rails
Our, uh, fearless leader of the past 3 1⁄2 seasons has been fired. Who do we look at to replace him?
Dienhart: Purdue finally puts end to Darrell Hazell era « Big Ten Network
Hazell’s hire was an absolute abomination. He was the worst coach in Purdue history. In fact, his tenure will go down as one of the worst in the history of the Big Ten—and arguably the most disastrous since Rick Venturi’s went 1-31-1 at Northwestern from 1978-80.
Purdue could turn to Ohio State for their next head football coach - Land-Grant Holy Land
Don’t be surprised if another rebuilding Big Ten program decides to grab an Ohio State assistant.
Tim Beck!
Our weekly outlook on the Maryland football program.
Minnesota vs Maryland: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - The Daily Gopher
Not much ugly. Just a whole lot of good as the Gophers claimed their first Big Ten victory of the season.
Northwestern’s offense is firing on all cylinders - Inside NU
For the second game in a row, the Wildcats’ offense was dialed in
Northwestern players set a ridiculous amount of records vs. Michigan State - Inside NU
54 points will do that for you.
The Good, Bad, & Ugly In Rutgers’ Loss To Illinois - On the Banks
Believe it or not, when you break down everything that happened in Rutgers 24-7 loss to Illinois yesterday, there were a significant amount of positive things that happened in the game. The problem...
Ohio State won with second-half J.T. Barrett and first-half red zone defense - Land-Grant Holy Land
It was an ugly first half, but the red zone defense kept it close enough for J.T. to bring Ohio State back.
Ohio State’s young defensive front proved to be too much for Wisconsin - Land-Grant Holy Land
A deep cast of characters on the front seven made all the difference for the Buckeyes on Saturday.
Roundtable: What we're thinking after Wisconsin's loss to Ohio State - Bucky's 5th Quarter
What next for the Badgers? We have some thoughts.
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin: 3 things we learned from the Badgers’ overtime loss - Bucky's 5th Quarter
Thoughts on a game that could have been special.
Highlights: Illinois Fighting Illini 24, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 7 - The Champaign Room
Lovie Smith now has his first FBS win as a college head coach. The orange and blue picked up a conference victory for the first time in 344 days against Rutgers on Saturday.
Elsewhere
Arkansas’ De’Andre Coley has now been ejected twice this year for targeting - SBNation.com
The play happened against Ole Miss and will mean a suspension for the beginning of next week’s game.
LSU 45, Southern Miss 10: Post-Game Review - And The Valley Shook
We knew that the honeymoon period of Ed Orgeron’s run as LSU’s interim coach had to end. The emotional wave had to crest at some point. The question was, what type of team would remain, and how would they react to adversity.
3 Things We Can Take Away From Notre Dame’s Loss To Stanford (Jeopardy Edition) - One Foot Down
Notre Dame fans: "Hello darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again...."
The latest developments in Big 12 expansion - ABC News
On the field, the Big 12 has tumbled into a precarious spot this season. For the first time since its inception, the conference doesn't have a single team ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll. As a result, the Big 12's chances of putting a team in the playoff already seem to be dire after just three weeks.
Big 12 candidates are prepared for these 4 expansion scenarios on Monday - SBNation.com
As you can see, just about any outcome is possible today.
‘Last Chance U’ star lineman Ronald Ollie scored an 84-yard TD - SBNation.com
Ronald Ollie has his Piesman moment.
Brian Kelly said a Stanford coach told him ‘bye bye’ after Notre Dame’s loss - SBNation.com
Could he be onto something here?
Ed Orgeron doesn’t exactly have fond memories of coaching Ole Miss - SBNation.com
The feeling is probably mutual.