Roundtable: What Did You Learn From Big Ten In Week 1?
With one week in the bank, the Big Ten saw its fair share of surprising outcomes in Week 1. There were still a few mainstays, such as Ohio State's dominance and Maryland's inability to field a quality football team, but the opening week of conference play had quite a few anomalies. Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz was nearly perfect in his first start, and Joe Milton showed that he has the makeup to lead U-M on the field this fall. So, what do we make of everything in retrospect?
Eric Rutter: Even though Ohio State is still the top dog on the block, 2020 will be the best chance that any non-OSU team has of taking the Big Ten crown away from Columbus. With Wisconsin canceling its Week 2 game, we have already watched as COVID makes its presence felt in the conference, but it is not likely to be the last such occurrences this season.
With that wildcard at play, the 2020 season will be filled with a lot of upsets. Indiana taking down Penn State in overtime served as the first such major upset, and Rutgers was not predicted by many to defeat Michigan State.
In Michigan's first game, the Wolverines offense put up over 400 total yards and looked quite potent playing on the road, so it is more than possible that U-M upsets Wisconsin when the two teams play (or if they play) for a Week 4 matchup. That same line of thinking can be extended to Michigan's game with Ohio State further down the line. While defeating the Buckeyes will always take a little bit of luck, the turbulent nature of the 2020 season could provide the perfect backdrop for such an upset.
Steve Deace: The biggest thing I learned is this is going to be a stronger year for quarterback play than I envisioned. Wisconsin, obviously pending its Covid situation, has a talent upgrade there in Graham Mertz -- the highest-rated quarterback recruit the school has ever signed. Justin Fields is still really, really good at football. Peyton Ramsey is a dramatic upgrade over the four horsemen of the Apocalypse that Northwestern rotated last year, when it went from first to worst in the West. Noah Vedral gives Rutgers its first competent player at the position in several years, and not coincidentally the Scarlet Knights ended the longest conference losing streak in 30 years. And, of course, there's our very own Joe Milton and his impressive debut.
Furthermore, neither Minnesota's Tanner Morgan or Indiana's Michael Penix played particularly strong games (although Penix did have arguably the biggest two-point conversion run in Hoosier history), but given their resumes you have to assume they'll bounce back as we move forward.
Michael Spath: Chaos will reign in the Big Ten this year. Week 1 already upset the applecart with Northwestern laying the hammer on Maryland, Rutgers beating Michigan State, Indiana pulling off a huge upset over Penn State, Purdue topping Iowa and Michigan dominating Minnesota.
With the Badgers' QB situation in peril due to positive COVID cases, the Big Ten West is truly up for grabs, the Wildcats looking like the early favorite to take advantage thanks to experienced and improved quarterback play from transfer Peyton Ramsey.
If Michigan is as good as it looked at Minnesota, there is a clear pecking order of Ohio State-Michigan in the Big Ten East, but third place could go to Indiana or Penn State. Of course, this is all probably an overreaction to one week of games but... the SEC and Big 12 have experienced just as much wackiness in multiple weeks so expect more hijinks.
Jake Sage: Going into Week 1, I thought that it was too optimistic to think that Michigan would go 7-1. However, after their blowout win against the Golden Gophers, I now believe anything less than going 7-1 would be a disappointment for the Wolverines, as I learned that Michigan is the second best team in the conference.
With Penn State losing both their starting running back Noah Cain and the game to Indiana Saturday, Wisconsin now being forced to stop football activity for at least seven days and Minnesota getting embarrassed by the Wolverines, it's clear that Michigan will be the Buckeyes toughest opponent, not including the coronavirus.
Joe Milton looked like the real deal, as the Wolverines offense looked outstanding against a Gopher defense which gave up just 22.7 points per game a year ago. Even though it is just the first game of the season, Michigan’s performance can’t be ignored. The Wolverines certainly should not be penciled in as College Football Playoff contenders yet, but with everything going on in the Big Ten it is certainly reasonable to say that the Wolverines are the second best team in the conference and should finish the season 7-1.
What was the biggest surprise to you last week? On the other hand, what didn't surprise you? Let us know!
