The Gould Standard: Big Ten West Tightens Up. Michigan & Alabama Get It Done.
At the halfway point, the college football season is really starting to take shape. As if the prospect of Georgia and Alabama rolling into the College Football Playoff like two drawling bowling balls knocking over defenseless pins is not exciting enough, Tennessee and Ole Miss are lurking—ready to turn the playoff into an all-SEC tea party.
Which would have the silver lining of letting all of us who live in the part of the world where it just means less get on with the basketball season.
And no, I don’t take Alabama’s problems against Texas A&M as a harbinger of weakness. And if the Crimson Tide has trouble with the Vols this week, I still won’t be pondering whether they can go-all-the-way. Not if they win, anyway.
But enough about the region that could send Herschel Walker to a Senate already populated by Tommy Tuberville.
What really interests me is the Big Ten West.
No doubt, the East will be a three-headed melodrama, beginning with Penn State’s trip to Michigan this week. Throw in Ohio State’s trip to Penn State on Oct. 29 and Michigan’s Big Game at Ohio State on Nov. 26—and the math is pretty simple.
Give me the West, college football’s Bumper Cars Division.
Anyone in the West could win a trip to the Big Ten championship game—except Northwestern, and they’re going to get good jobs after college, so no big deal.
The two pre-season favorites, Wisconsin and Iowa are 1-2 in league games, tied for last place with those Wildcats. How in the heck did Northwestern beat Nebraska in August in Dublin, Ireland?
That was so long ago, it wasn’t even the most recent coach firing in the Big Ten West. Nebraska gave Scott Frost $15 million to leave not long after that. But last week, Wisconsin got into the game, writing an $11 million check to Paul Chryst to leave.
If you’re keeping score at home, the two schools from the Land of Lincoln are tied for the lead in getting coaches fired this season.
As I write this, Illinois’ Bret Bielema had a chance to break the tie after the Illini defeated Iowa in a 9-6 tractor pull. Kirk Ferentz was unlikely to be going anywhere, but his son and offensive coordinator, Brian, certainly seemed vulnerable. Then again, that has been true for years.
The win, Illinois’ first against the Hawkeyes since 2008, put the Illini (2-1) in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten West with Purdue and Nebraska, travels to Purdue on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Illini play host to Minnesota (1-1), which had a bye on Saturday.
Talk about drama.
If Illinois keeps this up, look for a spate of redemption stories about Bielema. It’s easy to forget that before he jumped off a cliff and landed in Arkansas, he guided Wisconsin to three straight Rose Bowls at the end of a remarkable seven-year run.
In Madison, though, he is better remembered as a Badger Benedict Arnold. A couple more Illini wins, and the Bielema Story is going to be very good television.
Please note that the supposedly inferior Big Ten West was 2-0 against the East on Saturday, and both games were road wins. After trailing 13-0 at the half, Nebraska took down Rutgers 14-13. And Purdue outlasted Maryland 31-29 after trailing 23-17 in the fourth quarter.
Speaking of emotion, Michigan was locked in a 10-10 tie at halftime with 23-point underdog Indiana after seeing its running backs coach, Mike Hart, taken off the field on a cart due to a first-quarter seizure.
Told at halftime that Hart would be all right, the distracted Wolverines shook off penalties, turnovers, dropped balls and the pesky Hoosiers to win 31-10. Hart, 36, rushed for 5,040 yards in 2004-07. And as a scribe who was privileged to cover him, I can tell you his name is easier to spell on deadline than that of Michigan’s single-season rushing leader, Tshimanga ``Tim’’ Biakabutuka.
If I cared, I would wonder why Clemson, leading at Boston College 10-3 at halftime before winning 31-3, moved up to No. 4, ahead of Michigan, tied 10-10 at Indiana before winning 31-10, in the AP Poll.
This stuff will sort itself out on the field before the four-team playoff is chosen. Either Michigan will beat Ohio State. Or it won't. All Clemson has to do is stomp through the (yawn) ACC, where reports of improved challengers seem greatly exaggerated.
By the way, though: Is that what a touchdown is worth?
Meanwhile, there was nothing dramatic about the way Wisconsin declawed Northwestern’s Wildcats 42-7. But there undoubtedly were some emotional moments as the Badgers gave their interim coach, Jim Leonhard, 36, a very heart-warming debut. Former walk-on becomes head coach. How cool is that?
Things will get more interesting this week, when the Badgers travel to Michigan State, which has to be feeling hungry. The Spartans are off to a miserable 2-4 start, including 0-3 in the Big Ten, after giving Mel Tucker a $95 million contract last November.
And if you prefer the NFL. . . I’m happy for you.