It doesn’t get much uglier as a conference than it did for the Big Ten Saturday. Although they didn’t have a team ranked in the top ten fall to a Sunbelt school, and 5 of their 6 losses were by less than a touchdown, they still went .500 on a day that set them up to shine. Lots of folks are back to the drawing board this week, and a few folks are out of chalk. The negatives are obvious, running teams that can’t run, defensive oriented teams that have installed the new screen door scheme, and injuries that could cripple a few teams. The positives are more subtle, but there are a few. Some teams have had new leaders emerge, some have found skill players ready to step up, and others have simply kept a good thing going. Next week will be telling. Since most of the conference will be favored to win, avoiding upsets and getting players healthy will be the focus for most, and we should start to see who the contenders are and who the pretenders are.

Venric Mark- RB Northwestern

James Morris- LB Iowa

The Game: Ohio State makes it look difficult against a feisty Golden Knights team.

The Studs: Corey Brown- The version of Corey Brown that plays offense had a quietly fantastic game against UCF. Besides his six catches, one for a touchdown, he also had a couple of nifty runs that were good enough to make him the second leading rusher on the day. QB Braxton Miller will get most of the publicity, but it was “Philly” doing a superb job of blocking down field that gave Miller a ton of room to run. Orhian Johnson- Johnson had himself a nice game today in a limited role with Ohio State’s defense. He had multiple tackles and was solid in a secondary that was sub par for the second week in a row. An interception and a tipped pass that led to an interception solidified Johnson’s performance as the Buckeye’s best defender.

What It Means: As long as Braxton Miller stays healthy, Ohio State can win games. How many games depends on whether or not the defense decides to play up to their potential. To date, they have underachieved.

Up Next: Cal. This is definitely not Jeff Tedford’s best Golden Bear team, but still, it’s Urban Meyer’s Buckeye debut against a BCS school. This team really needs some adjustments before conference play.

The Game: Penn State loses to Virginia despite a pure guts performance.

The Studs: Matt McGloin- McGloin was all heart today as he aptly led the Lion offense, despite an injury to his throwing arm in the second quarter. If any of his receivers had tried to make a play for him, a bad kicker would’ve had no impact on this game. His stats were modest, 197 passing yards and two touchdowns, but leadership and other intangibles were where “Moxie” shined. Matt Mauti- The entire PSU defense really played their tail off against the Cavaliers today. Mauti the most outspoken of the core group of Penn State players who stayed, showed he is ready to take charge on the field as well. In crunch time Mauti was all over the field, as if to single handedly will his team to victory.

What It Means: Initially I was concerned that if Penn State went to 0-2, Bill O’Brien could lose his team. After today I’m convinced that there is enough on field leadership to keep that from happening. That said, somebody is going to have to step up and make a few of those big time plays that have been lacking thus far.

Up Next: Navy. Both teams need a win, but Penn State may feel more pressure. Playing tight against an option team is a recipe for disaster, good practices this week are vital.

The Game: Minnesota does what they should do against New Hampshire.

The Studs: DL Wilhite- Wilhite played great Saturday even if it was against modest competition. He was second on the team with five tackles, 2 for a loss. He also helped the Gopher’s cause with two and a half sacks and had a forced fumble. We all know who Minnesota’s offense is going to rely upon, Wilhite is trying to answer the same question for the defense.

What It Means: New Hampshire has a history of knocking off FBS teams, and the Gophers have a history of getting knocked off by FCS teams so those picking the upset were not off base. But with Gray at in command it was never really a possibility today. The thing is, that’s how it’s supposed to happen. Big Ten teams aren’t supposed to struggle with opponents from lower divisions,(ahem, Wisconsin) so I really don’t think that Minnesota gets any accolades other than a checkmark in the win column.

Up Next: Western Michigan. Minnesota is a confident team right now and the Gray to Rabe passing connection is clicking. This is a good chance for Jerry Kill’s bunch to start 3-0 and have a little swagger going into their September 22^nd game against Syracuse.

The Game: Purdue hangs tough with the Irish but come up a field goal short.

The Studs: Ryan Russell- The Purdue defensive line certainly has nothing to hang their heads about. The entire front was ferocious and got after Notre Dame quarterbacks all afternoon. I’m choosing Ryan Russell because it seemed like I saw big number 99 in the backfield all day, this could’ve been due to a consistent double team on Kawaan Short, but Russell had one of five boilermaker sacks on the day, along with seven tackles, two and a half for a loss. Russell should command as much attention as guys like Short and Gaston. Taking him lightly could be hazardous to your quarterback’s health.

What It Means: The Boilermakers will be competitive this year. The folks that predicted Purdue winning the Leaders Division title weren’t as crazy as I thought, they are strong on defense, and if they can get in a rhythm with one quarterback, their offense would be alright too. This team shows determination and against Notre Dame showed that they will play 60 minutes of football every week. I really like the direction Danny Hope has this team going.

Up Next: Eastern Michigan. After a tough game in South Bend, then Boilers get a breather against the 0-2 Eagles from Ypsilanti who are fresh off a loss to FCS Illinois St. Purdue really needs to get this quarterback situation figured out. In what should equate to a live scrimmage, all three guys should get their reps, and maybe settle the argument.

The Game: Michigan gets right against Air Force, well at least their offense does.

The Studs: Denard Robinson- He had almost as many rushing yards as the entire Air Force team, an option team mind you! He threw for 200 yards as well. Robinson accounted for four touchdowns on the day, two through the air and two on spectacular runs. You know he is shifty, but his straight line speed still surprises me every time he puts it on display. He can beat you by himself if you don’t stay home on defense, and as the Falcons found out sometimes when you do stay home he still leaves you in his wake.

What It Means: Nothing can take the taste of an ugly loss out your mouth like winning. Michigan didn’t exactly have it easy this week, as the Falcons will always give you their best shot. Usually their best shot is pretty good, too. The defense had trouble with the option, but that wasn’t a complete surprise, they are a little undersized for a Wolverine defense. The offense looked good in a bounce back game, scoring enough to beat Air Force and to restore a little confidence. Things should be better from here on, as there is no one on their schedule that’s even close to Alabama’s level.

Up Next:UMass. The Minutemen made Indiana look like juggernauts this week so I think this should be good week to put on a show for the fans at Michigan Stadium. The focus should be on keeping guys healthy, no unnecessary injuries, and just taking care of business.

The Game: Northwestern fights it’s way to 2-0 by way of a victory over Vanderbilt.

The Studs: C.C. Ariguzo- Ariguzo led the Wildcats with 10 tackles and a sack. Northwestern plays great team defense, and guys like C.C. are the reason. He is disciplined so you will rarely see him out of position, and he loves to hit. Even if he isn’t the one making the play, he’s usually making it possible for someone else to do so.

What It Means: The Wildcats will always play hard and overachieve as long as Pat Fitzgerald is their coach. This is a nice win in a game against an SEC team that took S. Carolina to the limit. All phases are clicking for Northwestern right now and more importantly they believe.

Up Next: Boston College. Northwestern has the chance to go to 3-0 and all three against BCS schools. This is a semi-aggressive non-conference schedule for the Wildcats and it should prepare them for what could be a wide open Big Ten race.

The Game: Illinois gets it handed to them by Arizona State in the desert.

The Studs: Josh Ferguson- There wasn’t much to get excited about for the Illini as they were beaten in every phase of the game. Ferguson, if nothing else, gave fans a glimmer of hope. He had 100 yards rushing, and also returned kicks for 203 all purpose yards on the day. Going forward I look for Ferguson to completely break out and become the feature back that Illinois needs. He’ll be a great compliment to Scheelhaase this season hopefully taking much of the load off the already injured QB.

What It Means: Everyone in Champaign had better pray that Nathan Scheelhaase gets back. SOON! Without him this offense is a stagnant, sputtering mess. The defense doesn’t have an excuse though. The Illini D boasts several future high draft picks and frankly they flat underperformed. Cream usually rises to the top so I expect the defense to come back strong, and Scheelhaase will be back. This Illinois team could make some noise in conference.

Up Next: Charleston Southern. A weak opponent like this could allow Tim Beckmann to rest Scheelhaase for one more week, and make sure he is healthy before the Illini begin Big Ten play.

The Game: Nebraska cannot stop UCLA’s youthful offense, and loses a high scoring affair in SoCal.

The Studs: Ameer Abdullah- Abdullah filled in for Rex Burkhead Saturday and did not miss a beat. In fact after Abdullah’s showing Saturday evening I’d say Nebraska is two deep at running back. The sophomore averaged 7 ½ yards per carry against a very fast UCLA defense. He finished with 119 yards and two touchdowns. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he could take the number one spot, but outings like this will calm nerves, especially with uncertainty about Burkhead’s knee still swirling.

What It Means: Where, oh where have the Blackshirts gone. Nebraska’s defense gave way too much in this game, and couldn’t get a stop when they needed it. It honestly felt like the Bruins should have been up by two scores from early on. It was tied at the half but it was just a matter of time. Taylor Martinez and the offense were ok. They just aren’t geared to play in a shoot out. For the Cornhuskers to have any kind of success this year, that defense has to be better than we’ve seen for the last two weeks.

Up Next: Arkansas State. The Red Wolves can put up some stats with their offense, but their defense will certainly give up some stats too. Nebraska should be able to overpower Arkansas State, but the score may be higher than folks in Lincoln are comfortable with.

The game: Wisconsin forgets they have a Heisman candidate in the backfield, and lose to Oregon State in the annual Corvallis upset.

The Studs: Etha Armstrong- If there were any studs this week for the Badgers, they were on the defensive side of the ball. They held a Pac 12 school to 10 points at home and only 78 yards on the ground. They weren’t quite as effective against the Beaver’s passing attack but needless to say I was going defense all the way on this one. Armstrong had 10 tackles against Oregon State (1 for a loss)and hustled all day to try and get the ball back to the Badger offense. But the Badger offense must have liked watching Armstrong play as much as I did because they just kept putting him back on the field.

What It Means: Two weeks into the season it appears that the Badgers aren’t who we thought they were. Could Russell Wilson have been that important to last year’s team? Losing Abbrederis certainly hurt but Wisconsin should have been able to beat the Beavers with their ground game and tight ends alone. This team needs to find itself.

Up Next: Utah State. The Badgers had best not overlook the Aggies. This is a tough team, and they will come to win. There has been a new attitude at Utah State in the last couple of years, and they are riding high off Friday night’s win over in-state rival, and Pac12 member Utah. To avoid back to back upsets, Montee Ball will need more than 15 carries.

The Game: Michigan State keeps it rolling against MAC foe Central Michigan.

The Studs: Andrew Maxwell- After an atrocious game against Boise State, Maxwell bounced back like a true ball player against the Chippewas. He was in command of his offense all day and looked every bit the part of a guy ready to lead his team in the tough games that lie ahead. He threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, which is very nice, but the big number he put up is 0. That’s right he threw 0 interceptions, I know this was a weaker opponent, but this could be what the young quarterback needed to boost confidence in himself and in his receivers.
What It Means: With some measure of success in the passing game Andrew Maxwell is finding a groove for Sparty. Le’Veon Bell should be rested having carried the ball a more human amount of times than his 44 carry effort against Boise St. This team looks like the best in the Big Ten, at least for now.

Up Next: Notre Dame. Michigan State welcomes the Irish who will be in the middle of a three game stretch against Big Ten schools. Both teams are 2-0, and this has “Game of the Week” written all over it. Both teams look good on both sides of the ball, and both have already had quality wins. I anticipate a good one.

The Game: Indiana wins big and loses bigger against Umass.

The Studs: Cameron Coffman- They say as a back up player that you’re only a play away from being the starter. Hello Mr. Coffman, please find your helmet and get in there. I said last week that as Tre Roberson goes, so goes the IU offense. Well, he went. So in comes Coffman and he promptly passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in a little more than a half of football. This was against Umass but still I think he showed that he is ready to give it his best shot, and the Hoosiers are hoping his best shot is pretty good. Personally I think Coffman will be fine throwing the ball around, the trouble comes when teams no longer need to concern themselves with a mobile quarterback like Roberson and can basically pin their ears back and rush. If the line can hold up, and a few receivers make plays, Indiana could salvage something from this season, but that’s a big if….

What It Means: Tre Roberson was the Hoosier’s offense. With him gone, Indiana’s season goes from uphill climb to upMountain climb. Unless someone else steps up in a really big way, the year could be over before it really got a chance to start.

Up Next: Ball State. In state rivalry against a motivated MAC team in the first game after losing the heart of their team spells trouble for Indiana.