B1G stock report: Mel Tucker can’t be stopped, Scott Frost can’t finish

It may be Sunday, but the stock market is open at Saturday Tradition.

This is your weekly recap of the Big Ten’s biggest movers in either direction each given week.

And since we want you to become informed investors, we won’t just recap the obvious — we’ll tell you whether this movement will be permanent, or just a temporary illusion.

Stock up

1. Mel Tucker

Mark Dantonio. Nick Saban. George Perles. Duffy Daughtery. Clarence Munn. Chester Brewer.

What do all these Michigan State coaches have in common?

Winning records in East Lansing. But none of the above started their Michigan State careers with consecutive wins over Michigan.

That distinction is Mel Tucker’s alone following Sparty’s 37-33 comeback victory over the Wolverines on Saturday.

Buy or sell: Buy.

Tucker is the clear frontrunner for national Coach of the Year honors. At this point, all pressure is on Michigan State’s administration to make sure he doesn’t head elsewhere this offseason.

2. Michigan State

Expect to see “No. 2 Michigan State” become a thing this week when the College Football Playoff committee announces its first rankings of 2021.

Buy or sell: Buy.

In case you missed it, I’ve already written a nifty guide explaining why the Michigan-Michigan State winner deserved the No. 2 spot in the first CFP rankings.

Nothing that happened Saturday changes that opinion.

3. Andrel Anthony

I’ll be honest.

Prior to Saturday, I had never heard of Andrel Anthony. And it’s not because I’m bad at my job. (I might be, but for other reasons.) With 14 teams in the Big Ten, I’m not going to know the name of every freshman wide receiver in the conference who has zero career catches.

I won’t soon forget Andrel Anthony.

By definition, just one catch would have made a career game for him. But I don’t know of anyone who has had a more explosive first reception.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1454482352063885312?s=20

Anthony finished with 6 catches for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, only getting outshined by Kenneth Walker’s Superman effort for Michigan State.

Buy or sell: Buy.

The No. 1 at Michigan conjures up names like Anthony Carter and Braylon Edwards. I’m suddenly liking Anthony’s chances of one day ending up in their company.

4. Minnesota

Well, well, well. Look who is alone atop the Big Ten West standings.

Buy or sell: Buy.

Other than Oregon, no team has looked better against Ohio State this season than the Golden Gophers. And if Minnesota hadn’t lost its best player late in the third quarter of that game, perhaps it already would have earned some respect by now.

At 6-2, Minnesota should finally crack the Top 25 this week. And the Gophers have a very manageable schedule before a likely showdown for the West crown against Wisconsin in the season finale.

5. Jerron Cage

This man is 305 pounds.

🚨 BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN 🚨 @CageJerron scoops it and scores to extend No. 5 @OhioStateFB's lead. pic.twitter.com/zpxf00wXtT

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 31, 2021

Buy or sell: Sell.

I don’t see this happening again for a reserve defensive tackle with 5 tackles this season. But that’s also what makes this play so cool. What a beautifully unlikely sequence of events.

6. Rutgers’ bowl hopes

Despite an 0-4 start in Big Ten play, the Scarlet Knights are alive and kicking for a bowl bid after a come-from-behind 20-14 win at Illinois.

Rutgers, 4-4 overall, has games with Maryland and Indiana remaining on its schedule.

Buy or sell: Buy.

“What’s the big deal?” you think to yourself, “everyone makes bowl games these days.”

Everyone except Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights haven’t gone bowling since 2014, their first year in the Big Ten. This would be a massive step forward for Year 2 of the Schianossaince.

Making a bowl also means a chance at winning a bowl game. Rutgers is 0-9 all-time in bowls, including a very real game called the Garden State Bowl in 1978.

7. Kicking nets as linebackers

Look at that form. Perfect wrap-up.

Only thing that can stop @BadgerFootball RB @BraelonAllen these days: The kicking net. 😄 pic.twitter.com/OAt6f4rCDO

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 30, 2021

Buy or sell: Sell.

I don’t think the net has the lateral quickness to make this work. Though it might not need any if it got on the field against Iowa’s offense.

Stock down

8. Scott Frost

As a rule, you should avoid putting yourself in a must-win scenario wherein the game you must win is against Ohio State.

But that’s the pickle Frost’s Cornhuskers face after a disappointing 28-23 home loss to Nebraska. To reach a bowl game — and in theory, save Frost’s job — Nebraska must win its final 3 games against Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa.

If he does it, he’ll have certainly earned his stay of execution.

Buy or sell: Sell.

Scott Frost, composed but clearly displeased, said he did not address the team at length after the game. He let the captains do it.

Said the team has good talent, not great talent. Added that the QB situation is “not a story” and Nebraska’s sticking with Martinez.

— Sam McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) October 30, 2021

What a loser quote from a loser coach.

Not addressing the team is an interesting tactic, to say the least. But the most pathetic thing here is Frost noting that his team has “good, not great” talent.

It’s your fourth year on the job, Scotty. Who the hell’s fault is that?

Nebraska is an incredible 5-18 in one-possession games in Frost’s tenure. But it should be no mystery why with that kind of mind-set.

9. Iowa

With their second straight 27-7 loss, the Hawkeyes look like the worst team to attain a No. 2 overall ranking since South Florida in 2007.

Those Bulls lost 3 straight games from Oct. 18-Nov. 3 after reaching the highest point in program history.

Buy or sell: Sell.

Iowa fans bristled at the notion of “turnover luck” as the Hawks rode the nation’s best turnover ratio to a 6-0 start.

Well, the Hawkeyes haven’t forced a takeaway in their past 2 games. And they’ve lost by a combined count of 54-14.

10. Brian Ferentz

My assessment of Kirk Ferentz’s son as an offensive coordinator:

Buy or sell: Sell.

If his last name wasn’t Ferentz, Brian wouldn’t have a job in the Iowa program above the level of janitor.

Iowa’s national rankings in rushing offense since his 2018 appointment as offensive coordinator:

• 2018: 95th (148.3 ypg)
• 2019: 97th (137.6 ypg)
• 2020: 58th (171 ypg)
• 2021: 103rd (116.6 ypg)

That 2021 stat was through 7 games. Once this week’s numbers are crunched, the Hawkeyes will be down to 105.2 yards per game following their 26-yard showing at Wisconsin.

That’s a pretty clearly established pattern of not being able to run the ball from a guy who theoretically rose through the ranks for his chops as an offensive line coach. Which means running and blocking should be the strength of his offense.

Objectively speaking, there’s no reason Brian Ferentz should have a job next season. But given who his daddy is, Iowa fans should expect more offensive misery next season.