Under The Radar: Big Ten Power Rankings, App State, Pac 12 Redemption Tour and more....
Every Monday we recap things you may have missed this past weekend:
1. Bachie Ball: On Friday Night Michigan State Linebacker Joe Bachie (pronounced like Bocce) made a play to win a hard-fought game over Utah State. While blitzing Utah State's QB he....just watch the play here.
2. Big Ten East Power Rankings: 2018 Big Ten East power ratings based ONLY on what a team had done this year would look like this after Week 1 (a very small sample size that reflects only 1 game). 1. Ohio State based on a dominant 77-31 win over Oregon State. 1A. Maryland based on a 34-29 upset win over #23 Texas. Teams #3-7 really did not differentiate themselves from one another. Penn State and Michigan State had close calls at home, Indiana beat FIU by 10, Rutgers beat Texas State and Michigan lost at #12 Notre Dame 24-17. If this is to be seen as College Football’s best Division it will take improved performances. Hats off to the coaching staffs and teams at Maryland and Ohio State. Despite off-field issues for both schools they were the two Big Ten East teams that showed up best.
3. Speaking of Penn State: If there is cause for concern after a 45-38 OT win over Appalachian State, it is that Penn State played relatively mistake-free football. On offense Penn State did not commit a turnover and allowed just 1 sack. The team had only 2 penalties for 10 yards, did not allow a run of over 22 yards and held the visitors to under 40% on 3rd downs. Most of the time when a Top-10 team gets into a game like this against an underdog, it is the result of turnovers, penalties and mistakes. That was not the case Saturday which is why it was so surprising that Appalachian State, with just 11 starters back and a new QB, could have won the game in regulation.
4. Pac 12 Redemption Tour Postponed: After an underwhelming 2017-18 bowl season the Pac 12 has some ground to cover. Week 1 provided some good opportunities but with Washington losing to Auburn, Arizona losing to BYU, Oregon State giving up 77 at Ohio State and UCLA losing at home against Cincinnati the redemption tour has been delayed. At least Cal scored a solid win over UNC. The Pac 12 deserves credit for always taking on a tough non-conference slate. They’ve just got to start winning some of the big games to regain national respect.
5. Last Year’s Success Won’t Get You a First Down This Year: After Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffin finished last season 11-3 and on a 10-game win streak, there were a number of people who predicted that Florida Atlantic and Coach Lane Kiffin might surprise Oklahoma…..That discussion ended quickly as OU rolled to a 28-0 first quarter lead en route to a 63-14 win. It’s always dangerous to project how teams finished the last season onto this season and this is a case in point.
6. Rocky Top/Country Roads: The neutral site match-up in Charlotte ended with #17 West Virginia thrashing Tennessee 40-14. These teams have two of the best sing-along songs in all of college football. But after WVU QB Will Grier dropped 429 yards and 5 TDs on the Vols, one suspects that WVU's "Country Roads" was sung a lot more often and with a bit more gusto than "Rocky Top" on Saturday afternoon.
7.The Screen Shot of The Week: This fan at Thursday Night’s Purdue-Northwestern game looks a lot like Purdue Pete. Get that man a mallet --if he can get it past stadium security.
