Big Ten Play Begins

Big Ten got underway Saturday, and the important part of the season begins. No more cupcakes, no more scrubs, just conference play left to go. The conference opener is always an important game. You never want to start things off on the wrong foot. Both of our local squads would have games that would test their grit. The Wolverines start things off on the road against the pass-happy Hoosiers, and the Spartans hosted the #9 Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams could easily start things off with a loss, but both passed the test.

The Wolverines defense would be tested by the air-raid offense of the Indiana Hoosiers, and it was not up to the test. The Hoosier quarterback Ben Chappel had 65 pass attempts, including 480 passing yards and three touchdowns. But luckily for Michigan, Denard Robinson has been a bit unstoppable. He had himself another 200-rush and 200-pass yard day, and five touchdowns on top of that. It was back and fourth, no team had a bigger lead than seven. Indiana tied it late on a 19 yard touchdown on 4th and 5, then Denard led the game winning drive. Rich Rod said the touchdown play was supposed to be up the middle to set up the game winning field goal. A win is a win for Michigan, but that defense will be their Achilles heel.

The Spartans hosted the favored and #9 Wisconsin Badgers in their Big Ten opener. It would be a tough test for the Spartans to see if their D could stop the Wisconsin ground game. The Badgers are notorious for their ability to swap runningbacks in and out, with guys like John Clay. MSU played great defense and held the Badger backs in check. They turned the ball over three times, and still won the game. The offense was efficient, and the defense held tough when it had to. The key play was a 4th and 1 touchdown on a play action pass to seal the victory for the Spartans.

So with both teams winning, this sets up a great match-up this Saturday. The annual game for Paul Bunyan's Trophy. Both teams are 5-0, both teams have high hopes. This is a huge game for both, but a tad bit bigger for Michigan. Rich Rod's job could hinder on this game, and if Michigan loses, who know where the season could turn? The Spartans want to keep "big brother" down, and would love to spoil the Denard hype.

But who's gonna win? Well you'll have to read that later...