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B1G Monday morning: Opposing fates may await Big Ten’s interim coaches

Alex Hickey

By Alex Hickey

Published:

An argument can be made that Wisconsin is the Big Ten West team you least want to run into at the moment. Unless it’s Iowa. We’ll know the answer for certain next week after the Badgers visit the Hawkeyes on Saturday.

But the greater point here is that Wisconsin looks like an entirely different team under Jim Leonhard than it did during the stale final days of Paul Chryst.

The Badgers are 3-1 since Leonhard took over, with the lone loss coming in double overtime at Michigan State. Wisconsin is winning by an average score of 32.3-18.8 in those 4 games. In Chryst’s last 3 games against Power 5 opponents, Wisconsin lost by an average total of 34.3-15.

It seems only a matter of time before things are made official for Leonhard. Perhaps it will be as soon as this week. If not, it’s impossible to see Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh continuing to put things on hold after a win at Iowa.

Unless Wisconsin drops its final 3 games, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which Leonhard is not promoted.

And though he’s not doing a poor job by any stretch, it feels like the opposite may be true for Nebraska interim coach Mickey Joseph.

The Huskers need to win out in order to avoid missing a bowl game for the 5th straight season. And given what he’s working with in terms of talent, simply finishing 2-1 would warrant giving Joseph serious consideration. Or maybe even finishing 1-2.

Trouble is, Nebraska will be an underdog in all 3 of its remaining games — at Michigan, vs. Wisconsin and then at Iowa. It’s far more likely that the Cornhuskers are looking at their second straight 3-9 season than a bowl bid or even a respectable 5-7 finish.

And 3-9 is all but guaranteed if quarterback Casey Thompson’s health remains an issue the final 3 weeks. Without Thompson, Nebraska’s quarterback situation ranks with Rutgers and Indiana in the B1G — miserable.

Backups Chubba Purdy and Logan Smothers presented few flashes of optimism in a 20-13 loss to Minnesota.

Purdy was 6-of-16 for 41 yards and an interception before his merciful benching. Smothers was 5-of-10 for 80 yards. He appears to have a stronger argument for the role of QB2, but doesn’t look like a guy poised to beat the 3 defenses looming in front of Nebraska.

None of that is the fault of Joseph, who quite clearly has the Huskers playing better football. Joseph had the right game plans for beating Illinois and Minnesota, but without Thompson he had no chance.

The Minnesota game is a perfect example.

Nebraska entered the game with the Big Ten’s worst run defense, and the Gophers are second only to Michigan running the ball. The Huskers limited Minnesota to 125 rushing yards. The same Nebraska defense that allowed 233 rushing yards to Georgia Southern.

And that’s all Joseph, who put his stamp on this team by promoting Bill Busch to defensive coordinator. It really feels like he’s making all the right moves and winning over the fanbase. But Scott Frost may have poisoned the well so badly that a complete reset is needed.

This isn’t a situation like Wisconsin, which just needed a new voice. Nebraska needs much more than a voice to make things right.

The Cornhuskers need, in essence, an enema.

So, while Mickey Joseph looks like he should be a head coach somewhere, it’s an uphill battle if that place is to be Nebraska. Maybe he can make it up that hill. But Leonhard’s odds of sticking around feel much better.

Around the B1G horn

Couldn’t watch every game? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

No. 2 Ohio State 21, Northwestern 7

Nothing about this score or Ohio State performance looks all that impressive. But consider this — despite wretched playing conditions with winds gusting to 40 mph, the Buckeyes reached the 20-point mark for a record 70th consecutive game.

This was Northwestern’s second weird-weather game this year, the other a 17-7 loss in a constant downpour at Penn State.

As I wrote Saturday, Ohio State has some concerns, but no reason for full-blown panic.

No. 5 Michigan 52, Rutgers 17

If you tell your grandkids Rutgers led this game at halftime, they won’t believe you.

The Wolverines rattled off 3 touchdowns in a span of 1:41 early in the third quarter to take complete control, and outscored the Scarlet Knights 38-0 after the break. Michigan has outscored its past 4 opponents by a margin of 100-3 in the second half. That’s some Fielding Yost stuff.

Rutgers finished with 14 yards on 19 carries, and only gained 1 first down in the second half.

No. 15 Penn State 45, Indiana 14

Bad as Northwestern is, the Wildcats at least have a pulse. And Evan Hull, who is worth watching.

There is no reason to watch an Indiana football game. The Hoosiers are the Big Ten’s most existentially depressing team. Nothing good can possibly happen.

Indiana turned to quarterback Jack Tuttle for a spark, and naturally he left with an injury. Replacements Dexter Williams and Brendan Sorsby were nowhere near ready for a Big Ten defense. And running the ball is not an option. Indiana hasn’t rushed for more than 70 yards against a single Big Ten opponent this season.

Naturally, this abomination of an offense will be featured against Ohio State on the next FOX Big Noon Kickoff.

Michigan State 23, No. 16 Illinois 15

The Big Ten was gift-wrapped for the taking, but the Illini looked the horse in the mouth.

There are many reasons Illinois lost this game, but scoring 1 touchdown on 4 trips into the red zone is the ultimate decider.

As for the Spartans, this was obviously an impressive showing with 8 players suspended for their roles in the postgame fight against Michigan.

Mel Tucker has now won a game as a full-score or more underdog in each of his 3 seasons at Michigan State. The Spartans were a 16.5-point dog against the Illini. They beat Miami as a 7.5-point underdog last year and Michigan as a 22.5-point underdog in 2020.

Iowa 24, Purdue 3

Credit to Petras and the suddenly competent Iowa offense for its most productive back-to-back games since the first 2 games of 2019.

Freshman running back Kaleb Johnson is a star in the making, breaking through for 200 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

It seems odd that this year’s Iowa team dominated this year’s Purdue team when the opposite took place a year ago. Iowa’s not as good as last season, and Purdue has been a better team than it was in 2021.

But not on Saturday.

Wisconsin 23, Maryland 10

Maryland had scored 27 points or more in 10 straight games, but the weather and Jim Leonhard’s defense put a stop to that.

In a bizarre testament to the Old Testament weather, Taulia Tagovailoa and Graham Mertz finished with the exact same number of passing yards: 77 apiece.

Obviously, the inability to pass worked in Wisconsin’s favor. Running backs Braelon Allen and Isaac Guerendo both broke 100 yards for the Badgers.

Minnesota 20, Nebraska 13

Minnesota rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit, breaking a 32-game losing streak in games where the Gophers trailed by double digits. Naturally, the last time Minnesota rallied from such a deficit was in 2014 … against Nebraska.

Freshman Athan Kaliakmanis took over for the injured Tanner Morgan. Though he completed only 50% of his passes (6-of-12), Kaliakmanis passed for 99 more yards than Morgan did on his 8 attempts.

It’s difficult to imagine PJ Fleck pulling the rug from under his 6th-year senior, but Kaliakmanis might need to get a possession or two each game as Minnesota looks to its future.

Week 10 MVPs

1. RB Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)

Iowa has failed to reach 200 yards as a team 3 times this season. So you better believe an Iowa running back hitting 200 yards by himself is going to get the top treatment.

And you can tell he really means it when he says it’s one of the best feelings he’s ever had. Bonus points for genuine excitement and sincerity.

2. OLB Nick Herbig (Wisconsin)

Herbig returned from missing last week’s game with a knee injury to remind everyone why he’s one of the Big Ten’s best defensive players. Herbig had 4 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup as the Badgers stifled Maryland’s potent offense.

3. RB Kaytron Allen (Penn State)

Allen finished with 158 all-purpose yards (86 rushing, 72 receiving) and 3 touchdowns to lead Penn State’s blowout of Indiana.

4. OLB Aaron Brule and MLB Cal Haladay (Michigan State)

Michigan State’s linebacker corps made key plays throughout its upset over No. 16 Illinois.

Haladay had 9 tackles, including 3.5 TFL. Brule registered 5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, a sack and a fumble recovery.

5. Offensive line (Michigan)

Michigan’s front 5 earned the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best offensive line last season and must be considered a favorite to repeat at this point.

Running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards each gained precisely 109 yards against Rutgers, with Corum doing it on 20 carries and Edwards 15. Corum scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground, while Edwards caught one and picked up 52 yards on 3 receptions.

All of it is a credit to left tackle Ryan Hayes, left guard Trevor Keegan, center Olusegun Oluwatimi, right guard Zak Zinter and right tackle Karsen Barnhart, though Hayes missed this one with what is believed to be a minor injury.

Plays of the week

Wisconsin running back Isaac Guerendo’s footwork down the sideline for this 89-yard touchdown run is exquisite.

If Penn State tight end Brenton Strange made this catch against you in a video game, you’d log out immediately because the game was cheating.

Blooper of the week

Do you believe in foreshadowing? Because Purdue’s train provided a hint of things to come against Iowa.

Alex Hickey

Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.