Big Ten Championship Game musings

I'm watching Ohio State absolutely demolish Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. The score is currently 45-0 with no end to Ohio State's scoring anywhere in sight.

 

I have to hand it to Urban Meyer. The guy has an offensive system that seemingly allows him to plug almost anyone in at quarterback and not miss a beat. Cardale Jones is carving up the hapless Badgers as if he's been starting all season.

 

But it's not just offense in which the Buckeyes have been dominant. They have rendered Wisconsin's offense one dimensional. Ohio State is stuffing Melvin Gordon and daring Joel Stave to throw, and Stave hasn't been able to do anything through the air.

 

The game is so bad that the Fox broadcast crew is trying hard to convince viewers that, in fact, the Badgers aren't nearly as bad as they look tonight.

 

I'm beginning to believe Urban Meyer could plug ME in at quarterback and go at least 8-4.

 

***

 

Ohio State completes a 59-0 destruction of Wisconsin, and makes a strong case for the four team national championship playoff.

Seventh annual Treasures From the Spartan Attic Big Ten Football Awards

For the seventh year in a row, I give out my much coveted Big Ten football awards. This is my list, and if I can ever find more time to spend on this blog in the next week or so, I'll elaborate further on why I chose these particular honorees.

Most Valuable Player: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

Best quarterback: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

Best running back: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

Best wide receiver: Tony Lippett, Michigan State

Best kicker: Brad Craddock, Maryland

Best defensive linemen: Joey Bosa, Ohio State

Best linebacker: Jake Ryan, Michigan

Best defensive back: Trae Waynes, Michigan State

Best punter, Peter Mortell, Minnesota

Coach of the Year: Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Michigan State 34, Penn State 10

Michigan State won a workmanlike, businesslike 34-10 game over Penn State on Saturday, putting the finishing touches on a 10-2 regular season (7-1 in the Big Ten).
 

In various circles, I've heard that somehow this football season is a "disappointment," but I don't see it that way at all. Reality often does not--and cannot--live up to expectations. And, really, didn't Michigan State end up in exactly the same place they started? The Spartans began the season ranked #8 in the AP poll and they finish the season ranked #8 in the AP poll, with an opportunity to move up if they win their yet-to-be-determined bowl game.
 

Michigan State could still, when the dust clears, end up as the highest ranked Big Ten team.
 

Certainly, the Oregon and Ohio State games did not end with the desired results. Oregon, though, may be the best team in the nation. Beating them in Eugene is no small task for anyone. Ohio State clearly had the Michigan State game earmarked since December 7, 2013 and played its best game of the season. So those are the two losses.
 

What should be encouraging, and maybe even thrilling, for MSU football fans is how the Spartans played in their other ten games--in particular the three game following the Ohio State game. MSU played those games with focus and determination. Granted, the competition that Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State offered was not stellar, but MSU did exactly what they should have done and throttled all three. This isn't as easy to do as it appears on paper. 

 

These are glory years in Michigan State football the likes of which I have never seen in my lifetime. In the past, the pattern was an occasional good season that stood out like an oasis in a desert of mediocrity. Under Mark Dantonio, it's four 10+ win seasons in the last five years. For a geezer like me who remembers the bad old days, this is heaven on earth; and not making the college football playoff will not dampen my enthusiasm one iota.