One half of the college football season is complete, and many questions are yet to be answered. We have had quite a few surprises thus far in the Big Ten conference already, however; who would have thought Iowa would be leading the league and undefeated after seven games? Who would have thought Illinois would be last in the conference, and also have only one win? Who would have thought Indiana would be looking at a bowl berth? And lastly, who would have thought that Ohio State would already have two losses and be behind the eight ball in the conference standings? Hopefully the rest of this season proves to be as exciting as the first half has been. I’m going to follow the same format as espn.com’s midseason reviews, but of course they will be my opinions (and for the record, stats that I don’t know come off of espn.com normally). With that being said, let’s get to it.
Offensive MVP: I wanted to go with Michigan QB Tate Forcier, but I don’t think he is the legitimate MVP. I am going to have to go with Minnesota’s star WR Eric Decker. The numbers don’t lie, and in his case he is head and shoulders above any offensive player in the conference so far this year with the exception of Forcier. Overall, the Big Ten has been pretty disappointing when it comes to star offensive players this season. Decker is 4th in receptions (47), leads the league in receiving yards (731), and is 3rd in TD’s (5). He is far and away the most lethal offensive weapon on a Minnesota team who really is not that good.
Defensive MVP: I really don’t want to agree with ESPN again, but I have to go with Michigan State LB Greg Jones. He leads the nation in tackles with 84, and has recorded five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Jones was the preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and he has played like it all year.
Biggest Surprise: Wisconsin. Where in the world did the Badgers come from? QB Scott Tolzien wasn’t even named the starter until just before the season started, yet there he was leading his team to a 5-0 start. Sure they have stumbled the past two weeks, but both games were against Top-15 teams (#9 Ohio State, #11 Iowa). Tolzien has thrown for 1,436 yards and 9 TD’s, not spectacular numbers, but he doesn’t need to be spectacular with the strong running game behind him. RB John Clay has put up 716 yards and seven TD’s. With Michigan the best team remaining on its schedule, Wisconsin can entertain thoughts of a New Year’s Day bowl in a year that some thought they wouldn’t even be bowl eligible.
Biggest Disappointment: Ohio State. While Illinois has been downright terrible, realistically it isn’t that much of a surprise because Ron Zook’s team tend to underachieve every single year. Jim Tressel’s squad has been disappointing. They dominated USC at home in Week 2, yet somehow found a way to lose as they let the Trojans drive all the way down the field in the waning seconds for the winning touchdown. That wasn’t as bad as last weekend though; they were taken down by a Purdue team that was 1-5 at the time. Sure, Purdue may be the best 1-5 team in the nation, but they had no business beating the Buckeyes. QB Terrell Pryor has shown flashes of brilliance just like last year, but he can’t seem to string it together and be consistent. Turning the ball over four times (as he did Saturday) is not going to cut it. Pryor has tossed just 10 TD’s to go along with 8 INT’s. The Buckeyes need wins at #13 Penn State and at home against #6 Iowa to have any hope at all of another conference title.
Best Game: Notre Dame at Michigan. There have been quite a few great games in the conference this season (Michigan State at Notre Dame, Indiana at Michigan, Michigan at Iowa, USC at Ohio State), but this one tops them all. In just his second career game, Tate Forcier led the game winning 57-yard drive in the final 2:13, showing guts and a glimpse of what is to come during his career in Ann Arbor. WR Greg Matthews caught the game winning 5-yard pass with just 11 seconds left in a definite classic in this rivalry.
Best Coach: Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio. The popular pick here would be Iowa coach Kirk Firentz, but I have to go with Dantonio. Spartan teams of old would have collapsed after the disastrous 1-3 start this team endured, which included a last second upset by Central Michigan and a last second loss at Notre Dame. This team, however, turned it around, beating rival Michigan in overtime and keeping the momentum going over the last two weeks with wins over Illinois and Northwestern. Dantonio has gotten his team to believe, and they enter this weekend 4-3 and looking at a huge game against Iowa. A win here would put them in a tie for first place in the league, something that nobody would have seen coming a month ago. What a turn around it has been in East Lansing.
