Every week at IUSportCom, we will be taking a look around the B1G Legends and Leaders divisions and keeping you up to date with word from around the conference. Here we check out Week Five developments for the other members of Indiana’s Leaders division as they prepare to enter conference play.
Legends Division–By: Courtney Cronin
Northwestern Wildcats (2-1)-
The Wildcats open up the Big Ten season at Illinois for the 105th meeting between the two teams. Northwestern is coming off of a bye week and their last time on the field was marked by a 24-14 loss at Army. Saturday’s game will likely mark the return to the field of senior and All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa who has missed the first three games while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald believes that Persa is finally healthy enough to play, but will keep his time limited depending upon how comfortable he is on the field.
“He’s going to play in the game on Saturday and how much will be determined as the week progresses,” he said. “It’s a big boost. The guy has been through a lot and I’m excited for him individually. He’s worked so hard to get himself back; it’s been a long road but the chance for him to get out there and play again is a great thing.”
With the start of conference play beginning for all Big Ten teams on Saturday, the emphasis on special teams grows more as games become tighter each year.
“It’s the third and most important phase to winning,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s no bigger change of field position than there is in kicking game. You’ve got points on the line with PAT field goal unit and PAT field goal unit block out there. It plays a big role in conference games as well as every other game in the season.”
Northwestern faces a true test this week with a healthy Persa being a big target for the Illini defense.
“They’re playing together,” he said. “When you watch what they’re doing they’re a little bit different from the way they were utilizing their guys from a year ago. They’re a little bit more three down, more multiple DB look. They added little bit more twisting pressure and a little bit more 5-man up on the line. The kids are playing fast and they’ve gotten after the quarterback pretty well.”
Fitzgerald said that it’s been difficult to prepare for the Illinois defense as the unit allowed only 35 rushing yards against Western Michigan last weekend.
Michigan (4-0) #19 AP/#19 USA Today Coaches-
For Brady Hoke’s continually improving team, it was junior quarterback Denard Robinson who did most of the damage against San Diego State last Saturday on his own. Rushing for over 200 yards on 21 carries, Robinson tied his career high with three rushing touchdowns, with the trio of scores coming in the first half. The Wolverines head into Big Ten play against a Golden Gopher team that has compiled three early losses to USC, New Mexico State and North Dakota State.
“You look at what they did to SC and they were in that game the entire time,” Hoke said. “They’re playing well as a team and aren’t satisfied”
Despite giving up only 10 points in their last two contests, Hoke is still worried about the strength of his defense.
“We don’t play with any consistency,” he said. “When you look at runs and big plays, I think we give up way too many of those things. We haven’t been great at the point of attack. We were better at that last week but you don’t judge the season on one game. I think what’s helped us is the ability to get some turnovers at critical times.”
A true test for the Wolverine defense will be their ability to contain Golden Gophers quarterback MarQueis Grey.
“He’s one of those guys who’s a big athlete,” Hoke said. “He’s a good sized guy and throws the ball very well. He’s got great quickness and does a good job managing the offense. I think he’s a threat to us.”
This week’s battle between Michigan and Minnesota is the first time both head coaches are playing in a Big Ten trophy game. At the end of the day, it’ll be up to how many yards and touchdowns Michigan can put up against the Golden Gophers to determine who will take home the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 2008.
Nebraska (4-0) #8 AP/#8 USA Today Coaches-
Bo Pelini and the Cornhuskers will play their first Big Ten game on the road against Wisconsin. Conveniently, ESPN’s College Gameday will be in Madison to capture all of the action surrounding Nebraska’s welcome to conference play as the Cornhuskers prepare to face the Badgers’ high-octane offense led by quarterback Russell Wilson.
“He is a good player,” Pelini said. “Their offensive staff does a good job of using him correctly. They haven’t changed their offense much. He just fit in and the kid has done a good job of learning how the offense works and how to make it work for himself. I think they took a guy and fit him in as another piece of the puzzle, and that’s the right way to go about it.”
In their final test before the Big Ten season, the Wisconsin defense only allowed 173 yard of total offense (compared to the 612 yards put up by the Badgers). It will be a test for the Cornhuskers to get around the defensive front early to stay alive.
“They’re very sound, fundamentally,” Pelini said. “They’re a good team who is well-coached. The kids know what to do and how to do it. They don’t try to recreate the wheel or anything like that. They just do what they do, and do it well. They have a good understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish. It is a sign of a well-coached football team.”
While Pelini has been trying to keep his players away from getting too excited about the hype of the Wisconsin game, he tends to focus more on everyone being on the same page headed into the conference portion of the season.
“I’ve never coached a perfect game,” he said. Nobody has ever played a perfect game. Some we do better than others, and I hope we play well Saturday night. What I am concerned with most is that our guys understand the game plan today and have a good practice and starting the week off the right way.”
Though the two teams have limited meetings in college football history, this first conference game between the Badgers and Cornhuskers could ultimately be a matchup seen again later in the season.
Michigan State (3-1) receiving votes in AP/ #25 USA Today Coaches-
The defending Big Ten champions open up conference play on the road against Ohio State. The Spartans are coming off an impressive 45-7 beat down of Central Michigan and hope to contain the impressive offense led by Braxton Miller. For the Spartans, Fifth-year senior B.J. Cunningham leads the Big Ten in both receptions (7.3 per game) and receiving yards (107.0 per game). Head coach Mark Dantonio has hopes that his team will remain focused and at the point of attack consistently when opening up in Columbus
“We have to be able to defend when you go play away and that’s not just on the defensive side of the ball,” Dantonio said. “We cannot have a special teams letdown. Playing well on special teams is so important when you play in away games.”
Against Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic, the Spartans used the second half of these games to play a number of freshmen, something Dantonio says will continue depending upon where they stand in each quarter.
“We got game experience in that respect,” he said. “We learn more about our football team as we go through the season. That’s why we don’t make the statement about whether we have arrived until after the season.”
Similar to the last time the Spartans faced the Buckeyes, Braxton Miller posses the same amount of talents to either run or pass the ball that Terrelle Pryor did. Dantonio feels that this is the biggest grey area for the team in terms of keeping tabs on Miller’s next move at all times.
“With a guy like Troy Smith and Terrelle Pryor, he is a guy that they start young and they make plays and we’re getting him in his second game as a starter,” he said. “He makes a lot of plays running the football and getting out of trouble. Going back to the pass, he’s tough to defend because there’s that unknown factor, that x-factor in terms of if the play breaks down are we going to be able to contain him or is he going to get out.”
The freshman quarterback completed five of 13 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado. The Spartans need to come into this game read to prevent the pass in order to stay afloat.
Iowa (3-1)-
Piling up 453 yards of offense against the University of Louisiana-Monroe last week, the Iowa Hawkeyes look to take this week’s bye to improve on their defensive scheme before facing Penn State on October 8th. Head coach Kirk Ferentz looks for his secondary to get better with run coverage as their next time seeing the field will have PSU’s Silas Redd all over it.
“I have not looked at one play of them this year but we saw him last year and it’s no secret that he’s a good back.”
For Ferentz, the bye-week coming so early in the season while other Big Ten teams are getting more games under their belts isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“First of all you have no choice, you just take what you’re given,” Ferentz said. “This is one time where back in the summer time I thought it was going to be good for us because we have a very young football team. This comes at a very good time for us and gives us a chance to rethink what we’re going to do going forward.”
The Hawkeyes have this weekend to watch a lot of film on Redd in hopes to contain him next week.
Minnesota (1-3)-
After suffering another seizure, Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill was admitted to the Mayo Clinic earlier in the week. As of now, Kill will take the field with his team on Saturday as the Golden Gophers open up their conference play against Michigan. Defensive coordinator Tracey Claeys was on the teleconference in place on Kill and talked about the challenges Michigan throws as them early on.
“Defensively the different looks and the blitzes they throw at you,” he said. “On the other side, hopefully offensively we can take what they give us and stay out of the negative plays and not turn the ball over. The zone read plays creates challenges for us, too.”
Minnesota’s two running backs Duane Bennett and Donnell Kirkwood added over 100 yards to the board combined, helping the Golden Gophers establish a legitimate run game early on.
“Any time you can have two guys, you can run the ball down the hill. They’ve gotten more comfortable when teams stunt up front with where their cuts are going to be. It’s taken a little bit of pressure off the quarterback with how well they’ve been able to run the ball down the hill.
With all the off the field issues Minnesota has faced early on in the season, Claeys says that the team isn’t too distracted with what’s happening with Kill and still adheres to their normal schedule.
“Since it’s already happened once this season, it’s not that big of a distraction. We had a great workout on Sunday and they got through the film. I don’t expect any problems that way and the kids are excited to get the play started and play for the Little Brown Jug.”
According to Claeys, the Golden Gophers have always prepared with the thought in mind that Kill won’t be there. A decision made later this week that Kill will take the field with his team Saturday has got to raise a few eyebrows as many around the Golden Gopher program are bound to be nervous for the chance of another seizure happening on the sidelines.
Leaders Division–By: Jimmy Cavanaugh
Wisconsin (4-0) #7 AP/USA Today Coaches-
The Wisconsin Badgers certainly held serve during their less than demanding non-conference schedule and have an unblemished record to show for it. The level of difficulty ratchets up a few notches this weekend, as the Badgers host the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers in what could be the biggest conference game of the season. Wisconsin and Nebraska are widely considered to be two of the top teams in the B1G and the winner of this game opens conference play in the catbird seat. Head football coach Bret Bielema was very complementary of the Huskers.
“Probably the top thing about Nebraska is that their kids are on board with the scheme, no matter what it is,” he said. “That’s the mark of a successful program.”
Bielema also made clear that he believes these are two teams very much cut from the same cloth.
“These are two similar programs in that we both run the ball very well and play great defense,” he said. “We’ve also got first class players both on and off the field.”
All told, Bielema and his staff understand that this Saturday’s matchup will have implications beyond this weekend, and could go a very long way in shaping the conference picture.
“Wisconsin is excited about the chance to claim the top spot in this conference. We’re 4-0 right now,” Bielema said. “We’ve gotten better in all phases of the game and we’re ready to show that on Saturday.”
If they knock off Nebraska in the notoriously treacherous Camp Randall Stadium, it’ll make it that much harder to refute their claim
Illinois (4-0) #24 AP/#22 USA Today Coaches-
For an Illinois squad that has seen its share of disappointment and mediocrity under head man Ron Zook, a 4-0 start and a top-25 ranking is a welcome early development.
“The main thing we’ve had to do is take care of home field advantage,” Zook explained. “When we do our part and fans do theirs, it makes it a tough place to play and that’s been big.”
The Illini’s strong start can be pinned on two main factors. One is the maturation of a young defense, which Zook went out of his way to praise.
“These guys have really played with a chip on their shoulders early on,” he said. “It’s a week to week process, but so far they’ve really stepped up.”
Nathan Scheelhasse has also shown signs of taking on a larger leadership role from the quarterback position and has showcased a newfound competence throwing the ball.
“(Scheelhasse) is night and day better as a passer from where he was last season,” Zook said. “It’s a tribute to how much work he’s put in on his own. His arm is so much stronger and he’s a completely different thrower.”
Illinois faces another test this week as they take on Northwestern, and star quarterback Dan Persa.
“He’s a great player,” Zook said of Persa. “He took them to great heights last year and he’s a winner and competitor who’s very dangerous, especially in that system.”
It won’t be easy, but if the Illini can contain Persa and the Wildcats, it’ll be another positive step in an already promising season.
Penn State (3-1) receiving votes in AP/USA Today Coaches-
The Nittany Lions have put together a solid, if unspectacular first four games of the season; sputtering at times on offense but relying on a traditionally strong defense. Penn State is one of the B1G’s preeminent purveyors of the “ground and pound” style and #10 scoring defense in the country hasn’t disappointed, but the ground game has lagged behind, which disturbs legendary head football coach Joe Paterno.
“Our offensive line has a ways to go, it’s just not consistent enough right now,” he lamented. “There are just too many unnecessary penalties. It’s neither as physical nor as consistent as we need it to be. We need to be much better running the ball, we have potential but we’re not getting it done right now.”
Strong words to be sure from Paterno, but not all he said about his team was negative. To the surprise of many, Paterno saved his highest praises for what many would consider his team’s biggest question mark – the passing attack.
“I’m happy with our quarterbacks,” he said when asked about their play. “I think they’ve played well. Both make plays, show leadership and the team’s confident with both of them. We’ll take it game to game, but both will be out there this week.”
The Nittany Lions head to Bloomington to face Indiana, and Paterno’s expecting his team not to take the Hoosiers for granted.
“We’ve got to play a good football game,” he said. “We’ve got to play as well as we have all year.”
If Penn State does that, they stand a more than fair chance.
Ohio State (3-1) receiving votes in AP/USA Today Coaches-
The Ohio State Buckeyes enter unfamiliar territory this week as they enter conference play as somewhat of an afterthought. Despite their recent dominance of the B1G, perhaps it shouldn’t be so surprising considering that they’re breaking in a true freshman starting quarterback. Braxton Miller saw his first extensive time last week, with mixed results. He threw two touchdowns, but completed only five passes for 83 yards.
“He made some big plays early with his legs and the two touchdowns were on perfect throws and good catches,” head football coach Luke Fickell said. “All in all, we know what we need to improve on in the passing game and hopefully we do that.”
Still, being forced to start such an inexperienced passer isn’t a position that the Buckeyes are used to finding themselves in.
“Obviously it’s concerning,” he admitted. “We’ve got to give a little more here and there and get better at things we need to do, especially throwing it. This week will be a huge test and we’re excited for the challenge.”
The test will come at home against the always-tough Michigan State Spartans, whose defense impresses Fickell.
“They’re tough because they can get pressure with only three or four guys,” he said. “They have a very good three and four man front and can get in the backfield without sending the extra rusher, which can really bother the offense.
If Braxton Miller can deal with that Spartan defense, it’ll be a nice notch in his belt. If not, the opener could be a stumbling block for Ohio State.
Purdue (2-1)-
The Boilermakers were off last week, and will be thrown right back into the fire as they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday. Danny Hope sounded confident in his team this week, but was careful to compliment Notre Dame as well.
“We feel good out of our open week,” Hope said. “We’re freshened up and we’ve done some advanced prep for Notre Dame. They’re talented, with good skill guys and a big veteran offensive line. They’re by far the best team we’ve played and may be the most talented team we’ll face this season.”
For a Purdue team that struggled against the likes of Rice earlier this year, Hope realizes it’s important to get off to a quick start.
“It’s really important that we start with a strong running game,” he said. “If you hang your hat on it, it can make your offense and even your defense more physical.”
Hope also realizes how big a win over the Fighting Irish could be for his program, but realizes keeping an even keel is equally important.
“It would definitely be a signature win,” he admitted. “But then again we’ve had a couple of those in my time here. (A win) would create confidence though and be a great sign for where the program is headed.”
With a mentality like that, Purdue might just stand a chance this weekend. Hope certainly believes so.
