Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1 OHIO STATE The good outweighed the bad in C.J. Stroud's first two games as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback. His early- season performance is a wor- risome development for the rest of the league, because he's probably only going to keep getting better. Of more con- cern is Ohio State's defense, which got shoved around the Horseshoe by Oregon. Still, until coach Ryan Day loses to someone in the conference – he's got a 16-0 Big Ten record in two-plus seasons – it's kind of tough to pick against the Buckeyes. 2 PENN STATE The new offense looks to be a work in progress, but the Lions did just enough at Wisconsin to get fans excited about what might be in store. Meanwhile, the defense looks like it has a chance to be special. 3 MICHIGAN The Wolverines lit up Western Michigan in their opener, but it was a costly win. Senior wideout Ronnie Bell suffered a knee injury on a punt re- turn and is out for the year, depriving junior quarterback Cade McNamara of perhaps his most reliable target. 4 MICHIGAN STATE Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III ran wild in the Spartans' opener, totaling 264 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. You might expect crazy numbers in an opener against a middling opponent from a lower division, but Walker did it against defending West Division cham- pion Northwestern. Michigan State looks like it could be the league's sur- prise team this year and may even be the best team in Michigan. 5 INDIANA Michael Penix Jr. certainly isn't as bad as he looked in the Hoosiers' season-opening face-plant at Iowa. The redshirt junior quarterback tossed two pick-sixes in a 34-6 road loss, and that can't help but give pause. But when healthy, he was an effective, efficient passer over the previous two seasons, so we're going to assume that he regains his form and Indiana proves to be a bowl-worthy team this year. 6 MARYLAND The Terps are an interesting enigma. When junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has been sharp, they've looked dangerous. He was sharp in a season-opening 30-24 win over West Virginia, completing 26 of 36 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. 7 RUTGERS The Scarlet Knights continued their upswing with a 61-14 demolition of Temple on opening day. That score is surely not indicative of their out- look in the Big Ten, but it's a sign of progress. Two years ago, in Chris Ash's final season in Piscataway, the Knights scored 159 points in 12 games. 1 IOWA The Hawkeyes have an experienced quarterback in Spencer Petras, a terrific running back in Tyler Goodson and an effective tight end in Sam LaPorta, all juniors. If you're Kirk Ferentz, what else do you need? Well, maybe some muscle on the offensive and defensive lines. This year's Hawkeyes appear to have that, too, as they showed in their shellacking of Indiana on opening day. 2 WISCONSIN Everyone knows the Badgers' formula for success: run the ball, run it again, then run it some more just for good measure. But even Wisconsin needs a quarterback. Is sophomore Graham Mertz the guy? He looked shaky against Penn State in Week 1, with two critical interceptions and several bobbled exchanges. But if Mertz turns it around, look out, be- cause everything else — the defense, the offensive line, the backfield — appears to be good enough to win the division. 3 MINNESOTA The Gophers looked impressive for long stretches of their opener against fourth-ranked Ohio State. But they ultimately lost that game, and even worse, they lost senior Mohamed Ibrahim, the 2020 Big Ten Running Back of the Year, to a season-ending lower-leg injury. Ibrahim's loss really hurts, but this team has other playmakers on offense, starting with senior quarterback Tanner Morgan. 4 PURDUE The Jack Plummer-to-David Bell combination yielded 134 yards in a 30-21 win over Oregon State on opening day. The Boilermakers will need more than that to turn their fortunes around after a 2-4 finish last year, but at the very least, expect to hear Bell's name a lot this season. 5 NORTHWESTERN The Wildcats got pushed around by Michigan State in Jim O'Neil's debut as defensive coordinator, falling to the Spartans, 38-21. Defense has been this program's calling card under Pat Fitzgerald, so that's an ominous sign. 6 NEBRASKA Even before the season began, the Cornhuskers were off to a lousy start. In August, new athletics director Trev Alberts acknowledged that the NCAA was investigating a number of possible infractions, including al- legations that the team held unauthorized off-campus workouts last year. Then the season began with a sloppy 30-22 loss to Illinois, and things went from bad to worse. Scott Frost was seemingly the perfect choice to revitalize this once-great program, but he's well below .500 in three-plus seasons as head coach, and patience is running out. 7 ILLINOIS The Illini looked like they were ahead of schedule after beating Ne- braska in Bret Bielema's first game as head coach. But the Cornhuskers are way behind schedule, so that eye-opening win might not turn out to be a bellwether. One positive development is that redshirt freshman Isa- iah Williams looks like he could be a star in the making, having switched from quarterback to wideout. — Matt Herb B I G T E N ' S B E S T D I V I S I O N A L P R E D I C T I O N S EAST DIVISION WEST DIVISION Ryan Day is 16-0 versus Big Ten competi- tion in his tenure as the Buckeyes' head coach. PHOTO BY BRYAN FULLER/MGOBLOG