Sifting through the Big Ten jungle
Posted: Monday September 27, 1999 07:18 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI
It's an annual theme this time of year in the Big Ten: Of its five teams sitting among the nation's Top 15, which will emerge from the rubble come November after they're done beating up each other?
Out of No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 11 Purdue, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 14 Michigan State, the Nittany Lions are still clearly the favorite to represent the conference in New Orleans. Their big question coming into '99, quarterback play, has actually proven a strong point the last two games against Miami (when Kevin Thompson threw the game-winning pass) and Indiana (when Rashard Casey excelled).
But even JoePa's acclaimed crew has shown weaknesses, mainly a running game that sometimes disappears. Its toughest test might come Oct. 23 when it travels to West Lafayette to face a dangerous Boilers squad. Drew Brees is the kind of guy who leads teams to championships, but Saturday his best efforts nearly weren't enough to beat Northwestern.
The Wolverines are right on Penn State's tail after winning on the road at Syracuse and Wisconsin. But one can't help thinking they will falter with such an average running game. Perhaps that downfall could come in two weeks against the Spartans, who seemingly have every cylinder clicking but must go longer to prove themselves than powerhouses like Ohio State.
The Buckeyes, by the way, look like they're on the brink of a disaster every time they take the field. Their future looks great; their chances of playing this January do not.
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Each week, the Glance offers its projected BCS lineup. |
| Sugar:
Florida State vs. Penn State |
Orange:
Georgia Tech vs. Florida |
| Rose:
Michigan vs. ????? |
Fiesta:
Texas A&M vs. Virginia Tech |
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The bowl race at a glance: |
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Sorry, we're taking a week off from projecting a Pac-10 champ after watching our last three picks all lose the next week. It's quickly becoming apparent that the Big East's spot will be decided Nov. 13 when Miami visits Virginia Tech (for now, the Hokies replace the slumping 'Canes in the lineup). Michigan returns home this week but faces a challenge in Purdue. Ditto for Florida, which hosts Alabama. |
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ON:
Thomas Jones. Cavaliers fans think he's overlooked; how do you overlook 212-yard night on national TV? |
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ON:
Rashard Casey. Penn State has a week off, so it will be at least two weeks before we jump back on Kevin Thompson's. |
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OFF:
Ron Dayne. Like the Babe Ruth fans who rooted against Roger Maris in '61, we're starting a pro-Ricky sect.
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OFF:
Arizona* (* - still off). Note to nine apparently drunken AP voters: Washington State hasn't won in a year, it was a Hail Mary and it bounced!
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ON:
Josh Heupel. Believe "The Hype" -- Oklahoma scored six touchdowns Saturday; Heupel passed or ran for all of them. |
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OFF:
N.C. State. At least someone got to tear down the goal posts in Raleigh this year. |
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| Alive ... but very badly burned |
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Alabama's Mike DuBose saves himself from near-certain death with dramatic win over Arkansas. But watch the critics come right back next weekend, seeing as most of them live in dreamland and probably think a rebuilding program has no reason whatsoever to get blown out at The Swamp.
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| Agony of 'Da feet |
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In the USC-Oregon triple-overtime saga, Trojans kicker David Newberry missed three potential game-winning field goals, but that's probably for the best. In the same game, the Ducks lost all-conference booter Nathan Villegas after he twisted his knee celebrating a made one.
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| Thanks, but no thanks |
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After John Cooper won his 100th game in Columbus on Saturday, Buckeye fans yelled, "Speech!" They wanted an explanation of why he can't $&%* win the big one.
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| Florida State at Duke, Saturday |
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No. 1 Seminoles found work for 70 players in last week's 42-10 defeat of North Carolina. This week, they're fitting the managers for shoulder pads.
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| Virginia Tech at Virginia, Saturday |
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Coming off an impressive performance against BYU, Virginia QB Dan Ellis can't wait for a shot at the hated Hokies. Unfortunately for him, Tech monster Corey Moore can't wait for a shot on Ellis.
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| Oklahoma at Notre Dame, Saturday |
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To symbolize the change of times since these two reigned supreme, the Sooners will unleash their major passing game and Notre Dame's cheerleaders will unveil an interpretive dance number, "NCAA Violations in the post-Cold War era."
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| * Three games selected at random |
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Ask the Glance and
you shall receive.
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Remember: this column is updated on Sundays, so don't be that guy who asks,
"Is my team gonna win this weekend?"
To what do you attribute the rapid demise of the Pac-10 this season?
Adam Fox, Modesto, Calif.
Every conference goes through its ups and downs (see the Big Ten circa 1996, when the likes of Northwestern QB Steve Schnur were all-conference selections). It's usually for the same reason: mass exodus of talent leaving at once, in this case Cade McNown, Akili Smith, Brock Huard, Chris Claiborne and Chris McAlister. But one factor specific to the Pac-10 is that the schools recruit softer, finesse-type players to counter each other's pass-happy offenses, which can come back to haunt an Arizona against smash-mouth Penn State or UCLA against bulky Ohio State. Now that they're into conference play, we'll likely see some big numbers coming out of the Pac-10, but a Stanford could easily pass its way to the Rose Bowl, only to get housed by a Michigan or Wisconsin.
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