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| Thursday, September 21 Non-conference struggles has Big Ten reeling By Jeff Potrykus Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Let's end the debate -- or at least table it until the bowl season -- about the Big Ten being the No. 1 football conference in America.
Not based on early returns this season.
Deepest? Perhaps.
But certainly not the strongest.
Sure, the Big Ten still has six teams ranked in the Top 25, more than any other conference. But Penn State dropped from the charts after one week and the remaining six have lost more ground than they've gained.
Consider the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Of the six Big Ten teams ranked, three (Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue) have dropped a combined 15 spots. The other three (Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan State) have climbed a combined nine spots.
In The Associated Press writers' poll, those first three teams dropped a combined 14 spots, while the bottom three have climbed a combined six spots.
Sure, Big Ten teams are 20-12 in non-conference games thus far in 2000, with four remaining before bowl season. That translates to a .630 winning percentage, which looks acceptable, until you consider that the Big Ten's non-conference mark hasn't been below .700 since the 1993 season.
But if you look a bit more closely at those 20 victories, you'll discover that only six came against teams that had winning records last season. The cumulative '99 record of the non-conference foes Big Ten teams have beaten this season is just 105-116.
And we haven't even mentioned the hits the Big Ten took in going 5-6 in non-conference games last week.
Among the lowlights:
Illinois Junior quarterback Kurt Kittner says he will start in the showdown Saturday against visiting Michigan, which is good news for all Illini fans. Kittner suffered a sprained right knee on Illinois' first possession of the second half against California last week and did not return. However, he has been wearing a homemade T-shirt that reads: "Don't ask! Knee is fine." Kittner, who has completed 40 of 67 passes for 406 yards and seven touchdowns, said: "I figure I'll have to wash this every night so I can wear it the next day." ... Tailbacks Antoineo Harris and Rocky Harvey should play a huge role in Illinois' effort to beat Michigan for a second consecutive season. Harris (109.3 yards per game) and Harvey (94.3) have combined for 203.6 yards per game this season to give the Illini the No. 2 rushing offense in the Big Ten at 255.3 yards per game. Indiana They're serving déjà vu in Bloomington these days. Indiana, which plays host to Cincinnati on Saturday, is 0-2 and the main culprit has been the defense. The Hoosiers are 106th nationally in total defense (446.0 yards per game), despite the fact they are allowing only 76.0 rushing yards per game, and 108th nationally in scoring defense (41.0 points per game). That means the pass defense is, to put it politely, suspect. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 64% of their attempts for 740 yards, with seven touchdowns and just one interception. Ironically, Kentucky beat Indiana last week on a fumble return for a touchdown. ... Indiana's two losses have come by a total of 10 points. A year ago, they were 2-3 in games decided by 10 points or fewer. "We've just to continue to believe in what we're doing and finish plays," Indiana coach Cam Cameron said. "Our team has a lot of confidence. You can see that by the way we start ball games. We've had problems, for whatever reason, making the plays we need to make at the end." ... Antwaan Randle El ran for two touchdowns and passed for two against Kentucky. In just 24 games at Indiana, Randle El has 52 touchdowns. ... 27 passing and 25 rushing. That translates into 166 points through their air (including a pair of two-point conversions) and 150 points on the ground. Iowa The Hawkeyes are on a roll -- downhill, without any brakes. The loss last week to rival Iowa State left the Hawkeyes at 0-3 for the first time since 1979. Iowa has now lost its last 11 games, the school's longest skid since dropping 12 in a row over the 1973 and 1974 seasons. And look who is next up: No. 1 Nebraska in Lincoln. "To be honest," Iowa wide receiver Kevin Kasper said after the loss to Iowa State, "I don't even remember the last time we won." Kasper's memory won't improve this weekend. ... Through three games, Iowa is last in the Big Ten and 98th nationally in scoring offense (14.0-point average) and last in the conference and 102nd nationally in rushing offense (74.0-yard average). On the bright side, the Hawkeyes are only 10th in the Big Ten (thanks to Penn State) and 89th nationally in total offense (282.3-yard average). "If you're not frustrated when you're losing," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, "something is wrong. You probably shouldn't be playing." Michigan Maybe Carr should follow the lead of Kittner at Illinois and design a T-shirt that explains the health status of Drew Henson. The junior quarterback is still recovering from a broken foot suffered 10 days before the opener. Carr is being coy, but look for Henson to play against the Illini. "Drew has practiced some, he's thrown some, but it's been under limited conditions," Carr said. "We're not going to know anything until later in the week. He will be able to practice (again), but the question is can he practice enough to get ready for game competition?" A week ago, it appeared redshirt freshman John Navarre had eased the team's concerns at quarterback. However, his shaky performance in the loss to UCLA (8 for 28, 111 yards) would seem to hasten Henson's return to the lineup. And don't forget that the Wolverines blew a 20-point lead at home against Illinois last season and lost, 35-29 ... Michigan's defense will probably be missing two key members of the defensive line. End Jake Frysinger and tackle Eric Wilson are out with injuries. Frysinger hasn't played since he reinjured his right foot in the opener against Bowling Green and Wilson suffered a sprained right knee against UCLA. Michigan State Will someone please leave the Spartans an early wake-up call before their game Saturday against Notre Dame? The Spartans trailed by 10-7 at halftime in the opener against Marshall before rallying for a 34-24 victory. Last week against a struggling Missouri team, they fell behind by 10-0 before rallying for a 13-10 victory. Falling behind the surging Irish might not be a wise move. "Defensively, we've been very solid, but we need to get our offense going early," Michigan State coach Bobby Williams said. "We've been going three-and-out to start games. We need to get our offense in rhythm early. We want to be able to go with our Plan A and not just rely on our Plan B in the second half." ... Williams said that quarterback Ryan Van Dyke, who suffered a bruised right thumb early against Marshall and sat out last week, will return to the starting lineup if he can throw without pain during practice. Freshman Jeff Smoker has replaced Van Dyke and has completed 26 of 48 passes for 295 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. "I would expect he will be ready to go Saturday," Williams said of Van Dyke. Minnesota Minnesota's defensive coaches must be dreading their trip to West Lafayette, Ind., this week. Not only is the campus less than picturesque, but they'll have to face a motivated Brees, one week after a sub-par performance against Notre Dame. Brees and his teammates on offense love to play the Gophers. In the last three meetings, the Boilermakers have averaged 536.3 yards of offense and outscored the Gophers by a combined 148-92. Not surprisingly, Purdue has won all three meetings. Two seasons ago, Brees completed 31 of 36 attempts for 522 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-21 victory. Last season, Minnesota's defense "held" Brees to 28 completions in 41 attempts for 283 yards and two touchdowns. Nevertheless, the Boilermakers won, 33-28 ... Minnesota's top two freshmen -- quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq and tailback Thomas Tapeh -- showed in the 34-9 victory over Baylor that the future is bright for the Gophers. Abdul Khaliq, 12th nationally in pass efficiency, completed 14 of 20 attempts for 172 yards and ran the offense efficiently. Tapeh carried 32 times for 183 yards and a touchdown and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass. ... "Thomas is a big strong running back," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "We gave it to him a lot and I thought he did a pretty good job. He runs hard. He should get better and better." Northwestern Northwestern coach Randy Walker hopes his defense makes the trip to Madison for its showdown with Wisconsin on Saturday. Last week, TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson embarrassed Northwestern's defense by rushing for 243 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Tomlinson saw touchdown runs of 34 and 74 yards wiped out by penalty. This week, he faces Michael Bennett, who rushed for 290 yards two weeks ago against Oregon and is averaging 209.0 yards per game. "We got shredded," Walker said of his run defense. "Part of it was just our lack of the fundamental things. Good defenses get off blocks and tackle well. And we did not do either of those things Saturday. Gosh darn, now, you're going to give up some yards when you do that. The thing I know, though, is that we're better than that." ... Freshman wide receiver Jovan Witherspoon, who left Notre Dame shortly before the start of the season, has enrolled at Northwestern. He will be eligible to play next season. Ohio State As the Buckeyes prepare to play host to Penn State, Cooper can identify with Paterno's pain. He felt it a year ago, when he had to replace several key players on defense. Cooper saw the Buckeyes lose their final three games and finish 6-6. "It's the same thing I went through last year," Cooper said. "If you stay in this game long enough, it will catch up with you. It caught up with us a year ago. But I'm sure his team will be very well prepared both mentally and physically. So we throw the record out the window when we play a team like Penn State." ... After generally sputtering for the first two weeks, the Ohio State offense finally showed a pulse in the victory over Miami. Tailbacks Derek Combs (142 yards) and Jonathan Wells (113 yards) combined for 255 rushing yards and the Buckeyes held the ball for more than 34 minutes. That marked the first time since 1996 that the Buckeyes had two 100-yard rushers ... Last season, the Buckeyes rushed for only 166.5 yards per game. Through three games this season, their average is 199.0 yards per game. "We're trying to run the ball a little better than we did a year ago," Cooper said. "The best defense you can have is when your offense has the ball." ... Ohio State has been penalized 35 times through three games this season. Penn State Paterno needs one victory to tie Pop Warner's mark of 319 and six more to passing Bear Bryant's No. 1 mark of 323. Will he catch Warner this week in Columbus? Don't bet on it. Ohio State's strength this season appears to be its defense. The Buckeyes are 28th nationally in rushing defense (92.0 yards per game) and 44th nationally in total defense (311.3 yards per game). Penn State's offense is offensive. In the loss to Pittsburgh, the Nittany Lions gained 64 rushing yards, the third time this season they've failed to gain 100 yards. In their 23-10 victory over Ohio State last season, tailback Eric McCoo rushed 22 times for 211 yards. In four games this season, McCoo has rushed 42 times for 192 yards. Paterno admitted Tuesday that members of the defense are becoming a bit frustrated sensing they must play a near-perfect game because of the offense's shortcomings. "I think there is a little bit of that," he said. "That the minute they let the other guy on the board or if they do create some field position for the offense and they haven't taken advantage of it ...but I think it's just human nature that there is bound to be some frustration." ... Penn State is 5-2 in conference openers since joining the Big Ten. Five of those games have been away from home and the Nittany Lions are 4-1 in those games. Purdue As he prepared his team for Notre Dame, Tiller talked about his offensive philosophy and noted that if the Boilermakers started running the ball 40 times a game, something would have to be amiss. Well, something must be wrong because the Boilermakers ran the ball 43 times, passed just 24 times and lost a game they should have won. Brees attempted only 22 passes and completed 13. The only time he has had lower totals was in the 1997 opener against Toledo, his first game at Purdue. Brees completed 11 of 21 attempts in that game and the Boilermakers lost, 36-22. "I think had we thrown more, we might have won," Brees said of the loss to the Irish. "But maybe had we taken out those throwing plays that weren't that good on my part, we could have won as well." ... If history is an accurate barometer, Brees is due for a big day against Minnesota's defense. His overall numbers against the Gophers: 59 for 78 (75.6%) for 805 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions ... Purdue is 17-3 at home under Tiller. The only losses came against Penn State in 1997 and against Penn State and Wisconsin last season. Wisconsin Why are the Wisconsin players and coaches so excited this week? Opening conference play against Northwestern rather than Michigan as they did a year ago, is one reason. The other is that after this week all of the NCAA suspensions will be cleared from the books. Bennett, who is averaging 209.0 yards per game and 7.2 yards per carry, returns from a one-game suspension. Wide receiver Nick Davis will be back after missing all three games. Although the Badgers should be at full strength when they meet Michigan on Sept. 30, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez knows his team won't be as sharp as he would have hoped. "We're probably not as far along right now as we were during two-a-days," he said. "We have not had continuity in our teams as we've practiced. I felt at the end of two-a-days we were as far along as any team that I've ever had here. As we get people back we'll get close to that point." ... Don't be surprised to see the Badgers shuffle their offensive line for the third time this season. Sophomore tackle Ben Johnson is eligible to play after serving his three-game suspension. Johnson was the No. 1 left tackle entering the season but might move back to the right side to replace Brian Lamont, who surrendered at least two sacks and was called for holding another time against Cincinnati ... In 12 games last season, UW quarterbacks were sacked 13 times for 76 yards in losses. In three games this season, Brooks Bollinger has already been sacked 11 times for 67 yards in losses. Jeff Potrykus covers the Big Ten for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. | ALSO SEE Big East notebook Big 12 notebook Big West notebook Conference USA notebook MAC notebook WAC notebook | ||||
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