QB Denard Robinson -low completion percentage, high level of effectiveness. (Icon SMI)

Week 4 was the final tune up before we head into conference play and some of these games this week were just plain UGLY.

The Big Ten managed to win 8 of the 10 games played this weekend but statistically there were some performances that have to be driving the coaching staffs crazy.  Apparently a quarterback completing about 50% of his passes has become acceptable.  Perhaps that is the reason we haven’t seen a Big Ten team in the National Title game in the past few years.

Enough about me complaining about the bad QB performances, here is a recap of this weeks action.   Read the rest of this entry →

No trophy games but there are still plenty of good fantasy potential games to follow this week.  A few teams will try to remain undefeated and a couple will try to recover.  Some will continue to bring us more pleasant surprises this season as they continue to play better than expected and some will have us looking forward to basketball season.  Yet we still have weeks to go and our first Big Ten championship game to play before then.  So what is on tap for this week, grab a cold one and keep reading.

QB Russell Wilson ads new dimensions to already strong Wisky squad (Icon SMI)

South Dakota at #6 Wisconsin

What can you say about the Badgers right now?  They are hitting on all cylinders.  Russell Wilson continues to be impressive and does not appear to be stoppable.  If you do try to stop the passing game then he just feeds the ball to the running attack of Montee Ball and James White.  Then if you manage to stop those guys Wilson takes off running.  It is a defensive nightmare.  One that South Dakota is about to see as the Badgers go rolling by this week.  Look for another big week from the big three and possibly a great guest appearance from WR Nick Toon this week as well.

The rest of the games and the SportCentral B1G preview after the jump.
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Week 3 in the Big Ten and its four undefeated teams brought a few surprises along with a few great performances.  Week 3 also featured five players rushing for over 100 yards, three quarterbacks throwing for more than 300 yards and seven receivers ending the day with 100 yards or more receiving.  Here is a recap of the games.

Michigan State 13 Notre Dame 31

Perhaps the Spartans forgot just how tough the Irish play them every year.  Perhaps they last couple of wins have spoiled them into thinking they had the Irish right where they wanted them.  Perhaps the Spartans just stunk on Saturday.

Notre Dame came out swinging, kicking and gouging.  The Spartans fell behind and they had to go the passing game 50 + to try to catch up.  Kirk Cousins ended the day with 329 yards, 1 TD and 1 bad interception.  The receivers benefited from this passing game as nine different receivers took part in this one.  B.J. Cunningham led receivers with 158 yards.  In the end though the Irish help off the Spartans and managed to take the Megaphone trophy. Read the rest of this entry →

Gratuitous SEO-driven awesome Terrelle Pryor image (Icon SMI)

Ghosts, Goblins, Hawkeyes, Buckeyes and Spartans all look to take to the field in week 9 for this year’s fright fest.  The games look scary as only a few have an impact on the Big Ten title race.

The treat is that many of the games could have fantasy owners jumping up and down like kids with full bags of candy after Halloween.
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Fantasy Feast: Indiana at Illinois

Ben Chappell and company take their show to the Illini. Look for his primary targets, Tandon Doss, Demarlo Belcher and Terrance Turner, to rack up some points. It should be a great day to start the Hoosiers. On the flip side, look for big numbers from the Illinois standouts like Nathan Scheelhaase and Mikel Leshoure. Neither defense is a force that shuts down the offense so look for solid numbers from this game.

Big Ten Title Implications: Purdue at Ohio State

Believe it or not but Purdue is 2-0 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is not. Purdue looks like a team improving though and that is not good when you have to go against the Goliath of the Big Ten. Read the rest of this entry →