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B1G stock report: Boiler way, way up (and row the boat into an iceberg)

Alex Hickey

By Alex Hickey

Published:

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. Purdue vs. Top-5 teams

The most haunting sound any Top-5 college football team can hear is a train whistle.

Despite Mel Tucker warning his team about the dangers of Purdue, No. 3 Michigan State was the latest to learn this lesson the hard way with a 40-29 loss at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Buy or sell: Buy.

This has been happening for generations. Purdue now has 17 wins against Top-5 opponents while unranked, making the Boilermakers the nation’s all-time leader in this unique category by a wide margin. Illinois and USC are in second place with 11 such wins.

That cannot be comforting news for current No. 5 Ohio State, which plays host to Purdue next week.

2. Purdue trick plays

Late Friday night, I watched Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid score a goal while surrounded by 4 New York Rangers. I presumed I wouldn’t see a better sports play all year.

I’m not entirely sure McDavid held the No. 1 spot for 24 hours.

https://twitter.com/SchutteCFB/status/1457089559079051270?s=20

Buy or sell: Buy like it’s Bitcoin.

This is nothing new for Jeff Brohm, who is absolutely the maddest scientist in the Big Ten.

3. Aidan O’Connell

Perhaps you are noticing a trend in this stock report. But when you’re hot, you’re hot.

Purdue has rotated 3 quarterbacks this season. O’Connell is finally taking the job by the horns. He torched the Spartans for 536 yards and 3 touchdowns, completing 40 of 54 passes.

Buy or sell: Buy.

O’Connell has flashed the most potential of Purdue’s signal-callers, but turnovers have been his bugaboo. He entered Saturday with 9 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

This was his second-straight game without a turnover. If O’Connell has actually grown out of his turnover phase, he is by far the strongest quarterback in the Big Ten West.

4. Bret Bielema vs. Minnesota

Hard to argue with those results.

Buy or sell: Buy.

Wins over Minnesota are expected when you’re at Wisconsin. When you’re at Illinois and the Golden Gophers are ranked 20th in the CFP, those expectations are altered.

Apparently they should not be. Illinois barely broke a sweat in its comprehensive 14-6 win at Minnesota. And even though the Illini are only 4-6, they now have back-to-back road wins over ranked opponents.

It seems the B1G West will remain top-to-bottom chaos for years to come.

5. Punter pantomiming

The low point for Minnesota on Saturday?

Getting bodied by Illinois punter Blake Hayes via the medium of pantomime. Hayes “rowed the boat,” then snapped the imaginary oars after burying the Gophers deep in their own territory.

Buy or sell: Sell.

I would not advise punters making a habit of this. That said, Hayes might just be the next Marcel Marceau. Because as far as I know, we’re still waiting on the next Marcel Marceau.

6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

About an hour before kickoff, it was announced that Ohio State would be without leading wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Mild concern spread across the internet.

There was no need.

Smith-Njigba broke David Boston’s single-game program record with 15 catches, and became the first Buckeye receiver to cross the 200-yard barrier since Santonio Holmes in 2004. The sophomore finished behind only Terry Glenn in Ohio State’s single-game record book with 240 receiving yards.

Buy or sell: Buy.

With Smith-Njigba, Wilson and Chris Olave, the Buckeyes have the best receiving trio in the country. If one of these 3 Musketeers is missing, the other 2 are clearly capable of picking up the slack.

7. Jahan Dotson

Smith-Njigba wasn’t the only B1G wide receiver balling out on Saturday.

Penn State’s superstar wideout had school records of his own to break, finishing with a program-best 242 yards with 3 touchdowns on 11 catches in a 31-14 win at Maryland.

Buy or sell: Buy.

Dotson is the best receiver in a conference loaded with talent at wideout. It’s no stretch to also call him the best offensive player in the league not named Kenneth Walker III.

8. Wisconsin’s offense

The Badgers look completely unrecognizable on offense the past 3 weeks, and we mean that in the best way possible.

In a 52-3 win at Rutgers, Wisconsin had more than 250 passing yards and 250 rushing yards in a Big Ten game for the first time since an infamous 83-20 destruction of Indiana in 2010. Much-maligned Graham Mertz was magnificent, going 11-of-16 for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Buy or sell: Buy.

I’ve been unrelentingly harsh on this offense since the opener against Penn State. But you can finally count me in as a Badger believer. Scoring 52 points against Rutgers isn’t necessarily worthy of a double-take, but it continues a trend that started when Wisconsin scored 30 at Purdue and then 27 against Iowa.

Wisconsin is now in control of the B1G West, and appears to have a level of offensive competence no one else in the division can match.

Stock down

9. Excitement over PJ Fleck’s contract extension

The plaudits came from all corners, including this one, when Minnesota announced a 7-year contract extension for PJ Fleck this week.

Welp.

Fleck’s Golden Gophers laid an un-golden egg, throwing away a golden opportunity to reach the Big Ten championship game by failing to show up against Illinois.

Buy or sell: Buy.

Keep rowing. This is but a temporary setback.

One thing is clear, though. If Minnesota is to ever win its first Big Ten title since 1967 in Fleck’s tenure, he’ll need to find a better quarterback than Tanner Morgan. Facing the worst pass defense in the B1G, the senior went 15-for-27 for 180 yards and 2 interceptions.

10. Nebraska’s special teams

You wouldn’t think the worst special teams unit in the Big Ten — if not the entire Power 5 — would be capable of embarrassing itself even more this season.

But boy, are these Cornhuskers special.

Nebraska, now 127th in the country in field-goal percentage, went 1-for-3 against Ohio State. Buckeyes kicker Noah Ruggles was a perfect 3-for-3 in Ohio State’s 9-point win.

Not to be outdone by its placekicking game, Nebraska also had a 13-yard punt.

Buy or sell: Sell.

There might be a whole slew of pink slips in Lincoln this offseason, but none is more obvious than the one coming for special teams coordinator Mike Dawson.

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.