IT’S PARITY SEASON
Chaos is the watchword as No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2Michigan State struggle in Big Ten openers
Here’s something you probably didn’t know: We in the sports media aren’t all complete idiots.
Many of us, sure. Most? Debatable. But all? Come on, now, that’s too broad a brush.
So the fact we made Ohio State the nation’s first unanimous No. 1-ranked team in the history of the Associated Press preseason poll, for example, was significant.
Likewise, it was significant when all 40 media members who voted in a Big Ten preseason poll picked the Buckeyes to win the league. As it was when Michigan State was voted a unanimous No. 2 in the East Division in that same poll, Wisconsin was picked as the rocksolid favorite (32 of 40 votes) in the West, and so on.
The games all had to be played, of course, but there was a great deal of consensus to help inform the opinions of the masses.
But now here we are. One Saturday into October— and, for all 14 teams, one game into the conference campaign— chaos reigns in the Big Ten. Chaos, baby. It’s ugly and it’s beautiful and it’s everything that makes college football so unendingly dramatic.
Yes, Ohio State still is the league’s top dog; still almost certainly will be No. 1 when the new national top 25 is released on Sunday. But the Buckeyes— who barely escaped Week 5 with a 34-27 victory at Indiana— are shadows of their 2014 College Football Playoff selves. Urban Meyer’s defending champs haven’t had one truly impressive outing yet.
“Look across the country,” the coach said, “and every day you better play. You better play.”
Shoot, the country? Just look across the Big Ten. Michigan State, which entered theweekend ranked No. 2 nationally, needed a final defensive stand to hang on at home 24-21 over lowly Purdue; itwas another in a series of underwhelming performances that belie the Spartans’ lofty standing in the polls.
“You’re the No. 2 team in the nation,” MSU coach Mark Dantonio said. “You’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”
He can say that again. Two weeks from now down the road in Ann Arbor, MSU will get a shot from Michigan that it might not be able to handle. Forget the polls: Is there a better team in the East than the Wolverines, 28-0 winners at Maryland? No doubt, Michigan is playing better ball than the Buckeyes or the Spartans.
And that’s just the East— the West is 10 times crazier.
Tied at 0-1 in league play with Purdue are Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska. The Badgers were supposed to be pushed by the Gophers and Huskers while the rest of the division embarrassed itself. But all three of the supposed West powers are saddled with multiple losses overall and major reasons for ongoing concern.
Meanwhile, Northwestern— which blasted Minnesota 27-0 to get to 5-0— is soaring toward the top 10 and is the only Big Ten team that has played as well as Michigan. Right with the Wildcats is 5-0 Iowa, which took advantage of roughly a half-million Wisconsin mistakes to win 10-6 in Madison.
“We showed the fight that this team has right now,” said Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard.
Everything in the Big Ten is upside-down or at least sideways, not the least of which is Illinois’ 1-0 start— a huge deal after the nonstop beating withstood over the course of the Tim Beckman era.
Beckman was fired before the start of the season, leaving veteran staffer Bill Cubit in the position of interim coach. After the Illini topped Nebraska 14-13 Saturday in Champaign, Cubit wasn’t afraid to entertain the thought that maybe, well, you know. As chaotic as it is in the West, why not something as crazy as Illinois stay in the race?
“We’ve got a shot,” Cubit said. “That’s all you can ask for.”