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In case you missed it, Nick Saban called all the positive media coverage on Alabama’s dominant start “poison.”
The former Michigan State and current Michigan State coach might have different outlooks right now. Mark Dantonio probably could’ve thanked a few people (myself included) for doubting his team’s ability to quickly turn it around after last year’s mess. Saturday night’s win in Ann Arbor might’ve been fueled by some of that negative press.
It also muddied the waters in the Week 7 B1G Power Rankings:
14. Illinois (LW: 13)
I know. Rutgers had a bye week and Illinois actually had to play football. But that’s how bad the Illini have been. Yes, the game was close for a little bit, but the Illini collapsed in the second half in Iowa City. Illinois was outscored 120-45 the last three weeks. I’m not sold this team can beat Rutgers at home on Saturday.
13. Rutgers (LW: 14)
See what happens when you don’t play a game? You watch other teams look even worse than you! Rutgers has a prime opportunity to pick up its first FBS win of the year on Saturday against aforementioned Illinois. If not, I don’t know when it’ll come.
12. Northwestern (LW: 10)
Dropping the Cats two spots for losing to the No. 4 team in the country might seem severe, but consider this. In three games against Power 5 competition, Northwestern is 0-3 having been outscored 105-38. I get that two of those games were against top-10 teams, but come on. We’re entering Week 7 here. It’s time for Pat Fitzgerald to right the ship and pick up a badly-needed B1G win at Maryland.
11. Nebraska (LW: 12)
So here’s the thing. I actually thought Nebraska played pretty well against Wisconsin. I mean, it was tied halfway through the third quarter. What’s the demoralizing thing? The Huskers were completely dominated at the line of scrimmage in the final 25 minutes. All the frustration about Mike Riley’s inability to develop the offensive line reared its head on Saturday night. It doesn’t get any easier with Ohio State coming to Lincoln.
10. Indiana (LW: 11)
Cupcake season is over. In inclement weather, Indiana rolled past a weak Charleston Southern squad at home. Big deal.
What I’m interested in is how the Hoosiers show up against Michigan and Michigan State the next two weeks. For stretches, we saw in the Ohio State and Penn State games that IU can hang with the big boys. If Tom Allen can just pick up one victory these next two weeks, his team will have a little extra juice before basketball season consumes the IU faithful.
9. Minnesota (LW: 9)
Well, the young Gophers aren’t exactly rowing hard enough in the fourth quarter yet. In consecutive weeks, Minnesota couldn’t hold it together in the final minutes and lost two very winnable B1G games.
An 0-2 start to B1G play certainly quieted the notion that the Gophers could make some noise in the B1G West race in P.J. Fleck’s first year. But if his team quiets Michigan State after what it did in Ann Arbor on Saturday, there will be plenty of people back on Fleck’s bandwagon.
8. Iowa (LW: 8)
So beating a weak Illinois squad didn’t make me want to move the Hawkeyes up on this list? That’s not surprising. For what it’s worth, Iowa’s early season schedule is looking more difficult than originally imagined. Iowa State’s stunning upset at Oklahoma looks a little better now, and losing a one-score game at Michigan State doesn’t seem all that embarrassing. Still, two B1G losses gives Iowa a steep and maybe impossible mountain to climb if it wants to get past Wisconsin.
7. Maryland (LW: 6)
Just when you think the Terps are ready to turn the corner, they lose another quarterback and get smoked in Columbus. That’s brutal luck to be down three scholarship quarterbacks, especially for an offense that has some special skill players in D.J. Moore and Ty Johnson. Wounded quarterbacks or not, Maryland still has three very winnable home games in the next month.
6. Purdue (LW: 6)
Jeff Brohm is officially on the board in B1G play. In fact, he already matched Darrell Hazell’s four-year total of B1G wins at home. For real. I find myself writing about the defensive improvement on a weekly basis. That was evident once again against Minnesota. Purdue didn’t allow a second-half score and capped the game off with a pick-six. It’s certainly a different era in West Lafayette.
5. Michigan (LW: 2)
Sloppy conditions or not, the Wolverines just got beat. It wasn’t by some fluky botched punt this time. Michigan State just looked like the better team. Credit Michigan’s defense for putting the clamps on in the second half, but where were the offensive adjustments? Jim Harbaugh still insisted on throwing the ball in those horrific conditions, and the Wolverines couldn’t stop turning the ball over.
I don’t know if Wilton Speight changes the outcome of that game, either. Michigan’s offense has a challenging matchup at Indiana. Yes, you read that correctly.
4. Michigan State (LW: 7)
I can admit when I’m wrong. So far, I’ve been wrong about Michigan State. If you would’ve told me before the season that this team would be in the top 25 after five games, I would’ve laughed you out of the room. But the Spartans got one of those gritty, us-against-the-world wins in Ann Arbor. Even better, we got to see a dancin’ Dantonio once again.
🤙 #TheBestStartHere pic.twitter.com/qiZm781kWd
— Spartan Football (@MSU_Football) October 8, 2017
It was like we were watching 2015 at Ohio State all over again. It’s amazing what happens when you play solid defense and don’t turn the ball over. Right now, the Spartans are threatening to make some serious noise in the B1G East.
3. Ohio State (LW: 4)
I know, I know. We’re waiting to buy the Buckeyes again until they can beat some quality competition. That matchup in Lincoln on Saturday night won’t be a picnic. But before we press fast forward on Ohio State’s season, consider the cumulative numbers this offense put together in six weeks.
- No. 4 in FBS in scoring offense
- No. 4 in FBS in total offense
- No. 14 in FBS in passing offense
- No. 31 in FBS in passing yards per completion
I get that the offense wasn’t there against Oklahoma. Those numbers won’t mean squat if Ohio State is stymied by better competition. But at the very least, that’s not a sign that the sky is falling.
2. Wisconsin (LW: 3)
I wrote on Saturday night that after watching the way the Badgers put the game away in Lincoln, that Wisconsin bandwagon should’ve filled up. In a hostile environment, Wisconsin played big boy football and dominated Nebraska in the final 25 minutes.
The Badgers did more than just end Nebraska’s home night game winning streak, which dated back to 2008. They essentially took a two-game division lead on the rest of the West. I’m ready to punch the Badgers’ ticket to Indy.
1. Penn State (LW: 1)
Oh, so Saquon Barkley was stuck on single-digit all purpose yards in the third quarter? No worries. Penn State still had a three-score lead. Anybody under the impression that the Lions are all about Barkley are flat out wrong.
Trace McSorley is really coming together with his accuracy in the intermediate game and that defense is playing at a significantly higher level than it did at any point last year. I know the competition hasn’t been good yet, but after six games, Penn State has the No. 1 scoring defense in America. That’s not an accident.
I can’t wait for the Lions’ next two games against Michigan and Ohio State.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.