Week 1 is a blur. It’s information overload. There’s so much to react to, and a lot of times in the coming days, I’ll think about things that are important but didn’t make it into my columns over the weekend. They are things I’m going to monitor over the next few weeks to see how they take shape.

These are the questions that I have after Week 1. Some of them, I know the answers (I think). Some of them, we’ll see.

What should we make of the Big Ten West?

The West is not off to a great start. The East won 3 of the 4 crossovers and is 6-1 overall thus far, compared to just 3-5 for the West. Nebraska lost to Illinois, which lost to UTSA. Northwestern was clearly overmatched against Michigan State, the team many expect to finish last in the East. Wisconsin had the ball for 43 minutes against Penn State, yet somehow lost.

Aside from Iowa, I don’t feel great about any of these teams in relation to the East. Sure, Wisconsin will be fine, because that defense is elite. But the offense is a mess right now, and it only has 1 game (Eastern Michigan) before playing Notre Dame and Michigan. Minnesota was impressive in hanging in there with Ohio State, but I want to see the Golden Gophers without the adrenaline of playing Ohio State at home on national TV. Purdue did what it had to at home against Oregon State, but after a rough weekend for the Pac-12, I’m not overreacting to that one.

It’s early, but the stereotypes appear to apply to 2021: The West is significantly inferior to the East.

Can Minnesota win without Mohamed Ibrahim?

All of the optimism surrounding Minnesota’s performance against Ohio State went out the window with the news that the star running back is out for the season with a leg injury. It’s a huge blow after Ibrahim finished second in the country in rushing yards per game last season. The Golden Gophers fed him an FBS-high 28.7 carries per game last year, and Ibrahim got 30 in the opener.

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Trey Potts is next in line, and Cam Wiley will be in the mix, too. I don’t want to discount what Ibrahim has accomplished, because the guy is a beast. But I tend to think the Golden Gophers can still have a good season. The offensive line is terrific, and Potts and Wiley have both had good moments in their careers. Plus, Minnesota can lean on QB Tanner Morgan to throw the ball more.

Where is Jalen Berger?

That’s what I was wondering throughout Wisconsin’s loss to Penn State. Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi was listed as the starter on the depth chart, but the expectation was that he would split carries with Berger, who was Wisconsin’s highest-rated RB recruit in the rankings era and led the Badgers in rushing as a true freshman. Instead, Mellusi got 31 carries (he never had more than 8 in a game before), and Isaac Guerendo got 13. Berger didn’t play a snap and wasn’t even seen huddling with the running backs during the game, even though he was in uniform.

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst dodged the question afterward, instead talking up Mellusi and Guerendo. There’s obviously something going on here; maybe it’s injury-related or maybe it’s a discipline issue. Berger is too talented to not play a single snap. I’ll be honest, I thought he was the next star in this league. Obviously, that isn’t in the cards right now.

This is a situation worth monitoring.

Will Ohio State keep a running back rotation?

The snap counts for Ohio State’s running backs: Miyan Williams (22), Master Teague (12), Marcus Crowley (9) and TreVeyon Henderson (7). It’s safe to assume that Henderson’s workload is only going to rise, as the 5-star true freshman was electric in racking up 85 yards and a TD on 3 touches. The coaches obviously love Williams, as he got the start and ran for a 71-yard TD.

So, where does that leave Teague? In 2019 as JK Dobbins’ backup, he was 7th in the B1G in rushing with 789 yards, averaging nearly 6 yards per carry on about 10 attempts per game. But he never really seized the starting job last year, even though he averaged over 14 carries per game. Trey Sermon starred during the closing stretch. Teague has twice been on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, but it seems like he is in for a backup role yet again.

How long can Cade McNamara hold off JJ McCarthy?

You have to feel for McNamara, as he hasn’t done anything wrong. He played very well against Western Michigan, and he has now thrown 7 TD passes with no INTs on 82 career attempts. He is averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, which across an entire season, would probably put him in the top 25 nationally.

But McCarthy lurks. At the first sign of trouble, fans will probably start clamoring for the 5-star true freshman who led IMG to a national title. That’s not fair to McNamara, but it’s the reality.

Was Indiana’s 2020 season a flash in the pan?

I’m not overreacting to Indiana’s abysmal opener at No. 18 Iowa, in which the No. 17 Hoosiers forgot how to play offense in addition to forgetting how to spell their name. The Hawkeyes do this quite often; they have held 10 B1G opponents to 10 or fewer points since 2018.

Indiana’s early-season schedule is tough, with No. 8 Cincinnati and No. 19 Penn State scheduled in the next month. That means Michael Penix Jr. faces 3 top-shelf defenses in the first 5 games of the season. That’s not easy coming off a torn ACL. He clearly wasn’t on the same page with any of his receivers other than Ty Fryfogle, and that will take some time.

Better days are ahead for Indinia. I mean, Indiana!