Standings:
1.) Draper 18-4 (3-2 upset)
2.) Hoying 16-6 (3-2 upset)
2.) Schweinfurth 16-6 (3-2 upset)
2.) Seeberg 16-6 (1-4 upset)
For the first time in 20 years, the Big Ten is in the national spotlight without getting Ohio State involved (first time in 50 years if you don't involve Michigan either). Meanwhile, the SEC picks up the pieces of last week's dismantlings by #1 and #2, and a shootout by any other name threatens to deal a death blow to a 3rd Power 5 conference's Playoff hopes in this young season.
Draper: I've been on Iowa all year at the likely top contender to OSU in the B1G and I stand by it. Kinnick is a tough place to play, but Penn State is 'road tested' at Madison. Unfortunately for both teams, their big wins have aged poorly (Wisconsin, Auburn, and Iowa State). I'm going to lean on the team that has home field and a nasty defense. I'm honestly not sold on Penn State this year. Clifford doesn't have enough to fight the Hawks defense. PSU: 16--Iowa: 24
Hoying: Live by the turnover, die by the turnover. The Hawkeyes have been doing a lot of the former and none of the latter over the last five weeks, paving the way for five straight double-digit wins. The Ballhawkeyes reached the point of absurdity last week, picking off Tua's little brother five times to pace a blowout win over Maryland. What's not clear is whether Iowa can maintain this success without their opponents doing their best Santa Claus impression. Lowly Colorado State was actually +1 against the Hawkeyes and managed to keep the game close well into the second half. Can Iowa score without having consistently short fields to work with? Even if that answer is no, I'm not sure we'll find out against Penn State this week. I'm not on board the Sean Clifford train yet, as his completion rate has hovered around 50% in the two Big Ten games he's played so far. That inaccuracy plays right into Iowa's hands, and it's not like the Penn State offense has the rushing attack to keep the Hawkeyes honest. After this game, the Hawkeyes only have to face the dregs of the Big Ten West (i.e., the entire Big Ten West), so they won't be holding anything back in this one. I don't see a team outside of Ohio State producing the kind of balanced offense required to push the Hawkeye defense out of their comfort zone. The Penn State defense is no slouch, either, but Iowa gets a huge statement win...and stays parked at #3 until Alabama or Georgia loses. PSU: 17--Iowa: 20
Schweinfurth: I have been very impressed with the Iowa defense. The number of turnovers has just been staggering and has caused a lot of lopsided scores. Penn State is pretty good on defense is well, but doesn't get much help from the offense at times. To be honest, the only person that really scares me on the Lions offense is Dotson. This game has the feel of Penn State's week 1 thumper against Wisconsin, except that Iowa is better. Sean Clifford returns Penn State to its Pix Six U glory days here. PSU: 14--Iowa: 20
Seeberg: I see what you did with the title there Hoying, well done! #nerdalert. I realize it's hard to read much into last season, but I'm still more surprised at Penn State's ascension than Iowa's this season, doing it with a decent(?) QB, one standout WR and...and...exactly. The Wisconsin win has been thoroughly devalued- as will the Auburn win in all likelihood this weekend. Iowa, meanwhile, returned a ton of pretty good players just about everywhere and are playing a vanilla type of football that makes Jim Tressel's offense look like Mike Leach. Still, when you force SEVEN turnovers, it's hard to argue. The Hawkeyes are flat out not going to beat themselves, and that's a damn good quality. It's going to take mistake-free football from a markedly more talented team to win, especially in Iowa City, and that just doesn't seem likely. Enjoy another B1G coach of the year trophy/obligatory contract extension, Mr. Kirk. PSU: 16--Iowa: 24
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns
Draper: The Shootout has morphed into a real game this year. Texas is quietly sneaking BACK into the conversation, while everyone is waiting for the hammer to drop on OU. The Sooners have been playing with fire all year, but they never seem to blink in this game of yet. Texas is clicking, but Lincoln Riley will do enough to keep the hat in Norman. UT: 31--OU:34
Hoying: Who's the signature skill player in this year's Red River Shootout? Going into the season, you would have been forgiven for saying Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler, sitting at #1 on most preseason Heisman polls. But his play has been uneven, as Oklahoma has struggled to put up its usual big numbers on offense and has dispatched only lowly Western Carolina by multiple scores. No, the fireworks come from RB Bijan Robinson on the burnt orange side of the field, who's been having TreVeyon Henderson-esque days against every [non-SEC] team he's faced. Of course, Oklahoma is going to be an SEC team soon enough; is their defense tough enough to stop Robinson? I doubt it, as they didn't do a great deal to slow down Tulane or Kansas State, and those aren't exactly high-powered offenses. Sark makes a splash and resurrects the age-old question: is Texas back? UT: 31--OU: 27
Schweinfurth: Texas is not back and Oklahoma is overrated. Okay, now that we have that out there, neither of these are impressive. Texas seems to have found a rhythem by settling on one QB. Rattler looks like the QB that was benched last season. Oklahoma just looks getable this year and Texas is due. UT: 28--OU: 24
Seeberg: Earlier this season, I stated the Longhorns would be medicore at best with that silly 2-QB rotation. Well, Sark seems to have settled on a starter and his squad is reaping the benefits. Oklahoma, for their case, has professionally meandered through their schedule so far, but should be as 'up' as they can be for the Red River Rivalry. Have the Sooners been coasting, keeping things close to the vest for this game? Perhaps. Are the Sooners overrated? A more-likely perhaps. Are the Longhorns ALWAYS overrated? Check. This truly feels like a coin flip type of game, for the first time in quite some time. I still trust Lincoln Riley more until I'm shown otherwise. Sooners in a fun one. UT: 31--OU: 38
Draper: The Shootout has morphed into a real game this year. Texas is quietly sneaking BACK into the conversation, while everyone is waiting for the hammer to drop on OU. The Sooners have been playing with fire all year, but they never seem to blink in this game of yet. Texas is clicking, but Lincoln Riley will do enough to keep the hat in Norman. UT: 31--OU:34
Hoying: Who's the signature skill player in this year's Red River Shootout? Going into the season, you would have been forgiven for saying Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler, sitting at #1 on most preseason Heisman polls. But his play has been uneven, as Oklahoma has struggled to put up its usual big numbers on offense and has dispatched only lowly Western Carolina by multiple scores. No, the fireworks come from RB Bijan Robinson on the burnt orange side of the field, who's been having TreVeyon Henderson-esque days against every [non-SEC] team he's faced. Of course, Oklahoma is going to be an SEC team soon enough; is their defense tough enough to stop Robinson? I doubt it, as they didn't do a great deal to slow down Tulane or Kansas State, and those aren't exactly high-powered offenses. Sark makes a splash and resurrects the age-old question: is Texas back? UT: 31--OU: 27
Schweinfurth: Texas is not back and Oklahoma is overrated. Okay, now that we have that out there, neither of these are impressive. Texas seems to have found a rhythem by settling on one QB. Rattler looks like the QB that was benched last season. Oklahoma just looks getable this year and Texas is due. UT: 28--OU: 24
Seeberg: Earlier this season, I stated the Longhorns would be medicore at best with that silly 2-QB rotation. Well, Sark seems to have settled on a starter and his squad is reaping the benefits. Oklahoma, for their case, has professionally meandered through their schedule so far, but should be as 'up' as they can be for the Red River Rivalry. Have the Sooners been coasting, keeping things close to the vest for this game? Perhaps. Are the Sooners overrated? A more-likely perhaps. Are the Longhorns ALWAYS overrated? Check. This truly feels like a coin flip type of game, for the first time in quite some time. I still trust Lincoln Riley more until I'm shown otherwise. Sooners in a fun one. UT: 31--OU: 38
Draper: What to do here? Arkansas has 2 nice wins but I have less faith in them as a whole. Ole Miss has Kiffy-kins, but it's Ole Miss. Both teams face-planted last week so who rebounds. Honestly, I have no clue. Kiffin can usually cook something up to score so let's go with the home team. Ark: 24--Miss: 34
Hoying: Welcome to the Disappointment Bowl. Each of these teams had high hopes to score a signature win against a top-2 opponent last week, and neither came particularly close. Especially the Hogs. I don't blame them for not being able to move the ball against that invincible Georgia front, but giving up 37 points? To Georgia's backup QB? At least Ole Miss added some garbage time points to make the score look respectable. Arkansas has been battle tested this season in a way that Mississippi hasn't facing 3 ranked teams already and beating 2, but last week doesn't give me much hope for the Hogs going forward. The Rebel offense finds its footing and stomps the Razorbacks into the turf for the second time in as many weeks. Ark: 20--Miss: 34
Schweinfurth: Look, I'm here for good football. These two would be unranked if they played in any other conference. Little Lane and his massive ego are a bit bruised from Saban's woodshedding last week. Arkansas just seems like the lesser team to me, I don't know why. Ole' Miss gets the recovery win. Ark: 17--Miss: 35
Seeberg: Hard to piece together what happened last week to these two teams. Bama and UGA may just be that much better than them (and everybody else, for that matter). Still, a shutout of a power five school is pretty remarkable in 2021, let alone one that was in the top 20. Ole Miss was shellacked for 2.5 quarters (not to mention also shut out for that length of time) until finally finding some rhythm after the game was no longer in doubt. That second-half output at least gives the Rebs a glimmer of optimism, and a home crowd should fire them back up enough to beat the downtrodden Razorbacks. Ark: 16--Miss: 27
Georgia Bulldogs @ Auburn Tigers
Draper: Georgia is really really good (especially on defense). Auburn...had a nice showing vs. Penn State? This may be a rivalry game, but the Tigers simply don't have the horses. The Dawg defense is stifling and while they may (MAY) give up a point this week, it won't be nearly enough to matter. UGA: 27--Aub:10
Hoying: Speaking of the team that ruined Arkansas's feel-good season story, say hello to the invincible Georgia defense. The Dawgs have now played five games and have given up TWO touchdowns, both of which came in garbage time of blowouts. Does Auburn have a particularly effective or innovative offense? No. They have a good rushing attack and a junior quarterback who seems like he's been mediocre forever. This is the second of four consecutive ranked games for Georgia, and I don't expect them to break a sweat once, at least until they face Alabama in December. Bulldogs roll again. UGA: 34--Aub: 10
Schweinfurth: Georgia good. Auburn bad. I will actually be suprised if the Tigers find the endzone here. Not a shutout for the Dogs, but another slaughter. UGA: 31--Aub: 3
Seeberg: Until Georgia actually gives up multiple touchdowns in a single game, there's not a ton to break down here, particularly with a 9th year starting quarterback at Auburn who's yet to be more than "meh" for the entirety of his career. As demonstrated last week, it doesn't even matter who's under center for UGA, Dawgs roll. UGA: 27--Aub: 6
Draper: Georgia is really really good (especially on defense). Auburn...had a nice showing vs. Penn State? This may be a rivalry game, but the Tigers simply don't have the horses. The Dawg defense is stifling and while they may (MAY) give up a point this week, it won't be nearly enough to matter. UGA: 27--Aub:10
Hoying: Speaking of the team that ruined Arkansas's feel-good season story, say hello to the invincible Georgia defense. The Dawgs have now played five games and have given up TWO touchdowns, both of which came in garbage time of blowouts. Does Auburn have a particularly effective or innovative offense? No. They have a good rushing attack and a junior quarterback who seems like he's been mediocre forever. This is the second of four consecutive ranked games for Georgia, and I don't expect them to break a sweat once, at least until they face Alabama in December. Bulldogs roll again. UGA: 34--Aub: 10
Schweinfurth: Georgia good. Auburn bad. I will actually be suprised if the Tigers find the endzone here. Not a shutout for the Dogs, but another slaughter. UGA: 31--Aub: 3
Seeberg: Until Georgia actually gives up multiple touchdowns in a single game, there's not a ton to break down here, particularly with a 9th year starting quarterback at Auburn who's yet to be more than "meh" for the entirety of his career. As demonstrated last week, it doesn't even matter who's under center for UGA, Dawgs roll. UGA: 27--Aub: 6
Maryland Terrapins @ THE Ohio State University Buckeyes
Draper: Baby Tua's sheen has diminsed after the shellacking vs. Iowa last week. The Bucks, on the other hand, are riding high after handing a better-than-you-think Rutgers team an embarrassing beatdown. It appears Stroud has gotten right, and the connection with Olave and Wilson is improving everyday. Let's not forget that this defense is starting to look, dare I say, competent? Now the Terps will score a bit here, but I don't see them stopping the Bucks this weekend. Treyveyon stays in for more than a quarter and racks up some stats, but the big plays over the top start to show up this week. Mary: 27-OSU: 51
Hoying: When has Ohio State lost games in the Meyer/Day era? Either the opponent was just better (Alabama 2020, Oklahoma 2017, Clemson 2016), or played the Buckeyes strength-on-strength and executed better or got some lucky breaks (Clemson 2019, Michigan State 2015, Michigan State 2013), or had some kind of gimmick to exploit (Purdue 2018, Virginia Tech 2014). Rutgers was not capable of any of these last week, which is why that game was not a trap game (and I correctly picked Ohio State to blow them out). Maryland, on the other hand, presents a bit of a problem. You wouldn't know it from last Friday's absolute disaster against the kleptomaniacal Hawkeye defense, but the Terps have quite the talented gunslinger behind center. You may know him as Tua Tagovailoa's little brother, and he's sitting at #2 in the Big Ten in passing yards per game behind our own Mr. Stroud. Granted, the Maryland passing attack was a bit nerfed this week as their ace receiver Dontay Demus sustained a season-ending injury, but they're still dangerous. This will be a big test for the new-look Silver Bullet secondary. Akron and Rutgers were never going to throw all over us, but this game may tell us how Ohio State may fare against the likes of Sean Clifford, Payton Thorne, and Adrian Martinez (Cade McNamara still sucks, though). Never forget how Anthony McFarland, Jr. almost single-handedly kept the 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes out of the Rose Bowl, and don't sleep on this Terp attack. That being said, good luck stopping a newly resurgent C.J. Stroud and his coterie of elite pass-catchers, backed up by the freshest and possibly (possibly, see the OU-UT writeup above) best running back in the nation. Iowa put up 50 on these guys; there'll be no one to stop us this time. Mary: 24--OSU: 52
Schweinfurth: That was the Buckeye team we have been waiting to see. That was an improved Rutgers team and Ohio State treated them like they were, well, Buttgers. Maryland is a very feast or famine team. They are going to play lights out on offense, or they are going to throw a ton of picks. The multiple looks the Bucks have thrown out the last two weeks should be enough to confuse Taulia. I think a few more picks are in the offing this week. Offensively, just give the ball to TreVeyon and enjoy. This will be a better test to see how Stroud has progressed, and I expect him to continue to improve. The Bucks are going to score, and score often. Maryland may score, but there is no stopping this offense right now. Mary: 21--OSU: 56
Seeberg: Well, last week was fun wasn't it? A short-field TD, a pick 6, and four minutes in the blowout was on. Rutgers is improving, but the gap is still huge, as it is with the Terrapins coming to town. Maryland is likely not as miserable as their wait-we-should-actually-keep-the-ball? performance against Iowa last week. Unfortunately for the visiting team, the Buckeyes don't need seven turnovers to hang half a hundred on you. The D seems to be improving, and getting healthier, in the new system. Not to mention losing about 450 lbs. in deadweight in the form of 2 linebackers! Offensively, Henderson staying healthy is clearly paramount. Get him 12-15 touches and 130 yards and get him out. Keep Olave fed (still can't believe he went without a catch), get Stroud to stop zeroing in on Wilson too obviously, and get to the bye week relatively unscathed. Mary: 17--OSU: 45
Draper: Baby Tua's sheen has diminsed after the shellacking vs. Iowa last week. The Bucks, on the other hand, are riding high after handing a better-than-you-think Rutgers team an embarrassing beatdown. It appears Stroud has gotten right, and the connection with Olave and Wilson is improving everyday. Let's not forget that this defense is starting to look, dare I say, competent? Now the Terps will score a bit here, but I don't see them stopping the Bucks this weekend. Treyveyon stays in for more than a quarter and racks up some stats, but the big plays over the top start to show up this week. Mary: 27-OSU: 51
Hoying: When has Ohio State lost games in the Meyer/Day era? Either the opponent was just better (Alabama 2020, Oklahoma 2017, Clemson 2016), or played the Buckeyes strength-on-strength and executed better or got some lucky breaks (Clemson 2019, Michigan State 2015, Michigan State 2013), or had some kind of gimmick to exploit (Purdue 2018, Virginia Tech 2014). Rutgers was not capable of any of these last week, which is why that game was not a trap game (and I correctly picked Ohio State to blow them out). Maryland, on the other hand, presents a bit of a problem. You wouldn't know it from last Friday's absolute disaster against the kleptomaniacal Hawkeye defense, but the Terps have quite the talented gunslinger behind center. You may know him as Tua Tagovailoa's little brother, and he's sitting at #2 in the Big Ten in passing yards per game behind our own Mr. Stroud. Granted, the Maryland passing attack was a bit nerfed this week as their ace receiver Dontay Demus sustained a season-ending injury, but they're still dangerous. This will be a big test for the new-look Silver Bullet secondary. Akron and Rutgers were never going to throw all over us, but this game may tell us how Ohio State may fare against the likes of Sean Clifford, Payton Thorne, and Adrian Martinez (Cade McNamara still sucks, though). Never forget how Anthony McFarland, Jr. almost single-handedly kept the 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes out of the Rose Bowl, and don't sleep on this Terp attack. That being said, good luck stopping a newly resurgent C.J. Stroud and his coterie of elite pass-catchers, backed up by the freshest and possibly (possibly, see the OU-UT writeup above) best running back in the nation. Iowa put up 50 on these guys; there'll be no one to stop us this time. Mary: 24--OSU: 52
Schweinfurth: That was the Buckeye team we have been waiting to see. That was an improved Rutgers team and Ohio State treated them like they were, well, Buttgers. Maryland is a very feast or famine team. They are going to play lights out on offense, or they are going to throw a ton of picks. The multiple looks the Bucks have thrown out the last two weeks should be enough to confuse Taulia. I think a few more picks are in the offing this week. Offensively, just give the ball to TreVeyon and enjoy. This will be a better test to see how Stroud has progressed, and I expect him to continue to improve. The Bucks are going to score, and score often. Maryland may score, but there is no stopping this offense right now. Mary: 21--OSU: 56
Seeberg: Well, last week was fun wasn't it? A short-field TD, a pick 6, and four minutes in the blowout was on. Rutgers is improving, but the gap is still huge, as it is with the Terrapins coming to town. Maryland is likely not as miserable as their wait-we-should-actually-keep-the-ball? performance against Iowa last week. Unfortunately for the visiting team, the Buckeyes don't need seven turnovers to hang half a hundred on you. The D seems to be improving, and getting healthier, in the new system. Not to mention losing about 450 lbs. in deadweight in the form of 2 linebackers! Offensively, Henderson staying healthy is clearly paramount. Get him 12-15 touches and 130 yards and get him out. Keep Olave fed (still can't believe he went without a catch), get Stroud to stop zeroing in on Wilson too obviously, and get to the bye week relatively unscathed. Mary: 17--OSU: 45
Upset Special
Draper: Florida State over UNC
Hoying: Nebraska over Michigan
Schweinfurth: Rutgers over MSU
Seeberg: Boise State over BYU
