We have reached the midway point of an unprecedented college football season, with conference realignment and the expanded playoff heaping storylines onto a sport already oozing intrigue.
With seven weeks down and seven remaining, the Big Ten race features three preseason favorites (Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State) and a massive surprise (Indiana).
It does not, however, include the teams that played for the national championships last season (Michigan and Washington).
Here’s a review of the first half.
Top storyline: West Coast weakness
Oregon has performed like a playoff team, but the Big Ten’s other newcomers are struggling with the transition: USC is 1-3 in conference play; Washington isn’t much better (2-2); and UCLA is dreadful (0-4), which isn’t all that surprising. The trio is winless on the road against Big Ten opponents, wobbly at the line of scrimmage and erratic with basic execution. And each team faces a difficult remaining schedule that makes it easy to envision finishes on the third tier of the standings.
Biggest surprise: Indiana
The Big Ten does not produce a preseason media poll, so Cleveland.com steps into the void each summer. And in the 2024 version, Indiana was picked 17th. At the time, the placement seemed entirely reasonable given the state of the Hoosiers’ roster, their recent history and the coaching change (to Curt Cignetti). A few months later, the projection looks laughable. Indiana is 6-0 and tied with Oregon and Penn State atop the conference. From the looks of their schedule, the Hoosiers should remain in the race deep into November.
Biggest disappointment: USC
The Hotline didn’t have high expectations for the Trojans given the presumed decline offensively and the modest improvement defensively. But they haven’t managed to reach our low bar with second half collapses against Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State. That said, Big Ten officiating has done them no favors. The decision on Minnesota’s touchdown was baffling (given the lack of video evidence) while the missed pass interference calls at the end of the Penn State game were egregious. And the Trojans thought they were leaving the bad calls behind them in the Pac-12.
Best game: Oregon 32, Ohio State 31
The most anticipated game of the Big Ten season somehow managed to exceed the hype as two powerhouse teams went back and forth for 60 well-played minutes last weekend (only one turnover and 11 penalties). The outcome was in doubt until the clock expired with OSU quarterback Will Howard sliding one second too late. The entire spectacle left the Hotline dreaming of a rematch in the conference championship.
Top coach: Oregon’s Dan Lanning
You could make a great case for Cignetti, but our vote goes to Lanning because he won the biggest game of the season thus far and because Indiana’s schedule has been fairly soft. Every decision Lanning made Saturday night worked perfectly, from the rocket onside kick to the 12-men-on-the-field penalty to the plays called and substitutions made. We dinged Lanning for his decisions last year against Washington. He deserves immense praise for his work against the …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
