Recap and Quick Hits

This is wholly an MSU fans perspective.  But there were a few things I noticed from the first week of college football.  The first thing is that zero of the B1G of the teams really looked all that great.

-It was pretty obvious that OSU was going to outclass Miami OH, but they really stunk it up to start.  Braxton Miller looks like he really made leaps in bounds.  Of course this was not a B1G team they were playing.

-I liked Penn State's offense.  Up and to the point where their starting running back got hurt.  Should he be out for a while, PSU will really suffer this season.  Their defense was really bad.  While Ohio is probably the best MAC team this year, PSU was supposed to have a good defense.  We will see if this is one a first game jitters thing.

-Taylor Martinez looked really good passing against Southern Miss.  However, Burkhead left with a sprained MCL. That could be a big loss for Nebraska if this is a lingering injury.

-Wisconsin did not look like the team everyone thinks they are.  Their offensive line did not have a lot of push, with Ball averaging less than 4 ypc. Their defense gave up some big plays that allowed UNI to stay in the game.

-I listened to the Purdue game on the Radio, that was a snore fest.  Marve was on fire.

-Northwestern, the last few years has had a lot of play makers on offense.  Syracuse is not exactly the cream of the crop but that was a heck of a game.  It would be smart to pass the ball against Northwestern. 

-Michigan got hit by a steam roller.  I remember that from two years ago.  Never a fun game to watch unless you're an Alabama fan.  I have seen some people say the UM line played well, other said they did not.  I am in the camp that thinks they did not.  I am sure to catch some flack for that.  It did not look like the Alabama defensive line was trying to go for the sack, they got some push stood there and created a wall, that was all they needed.  On rushes they got off their blocks and made tackles.  The wolverine receivers were nothing too great except for Gallon.  (I will say that Gardner has a lot of potential.)  Part of that was also the blanket that the Alabama secondary laid out on pass plays.  It probably isn't fair to pick apart UM when they ran into the likely national champions.  But when you have the kind of pre-season hype as UM did, you should at least show some signs of life.  Robinson was completely ineffective.  Both before and after he injured his shoulder, passes were off.  After the game, Robinson said he needed to be more of a Michigan quarterback.  Whatever that is.  Denard needs to be Denard.  Not something Hoke wants him to be.  Personally, I think UM should have moved the pocket left and right, try to create more space for Denard to either pass or run.  The lack of depth on offense was also a problem against Alabama.  It likely wont be over the next few games, but should be as the season rolls on.

-MSU was pretty uninspiring, offensively.  I thought the line played ok at best, no sacks, and we ran for a healthy 213 yards.  I thought Maxwell played exceptionally mediocre (I wont say bad because we did win, and that's the whole idea).  He certainly has a strong arm and can sling it all over the field.  He also managed 3 interceptions.  One of them was a pass right on the money, in the hands of Lippet who then appeared to toss the ball to the defender.  Having watched that replay numerous times, Lippet was gone for a huge gain if he doesn't pitch it to the defender.  The other picks were uncalled for.  With that, the receivers were not too impressive.  Lippet made a few mistakes, including a fumble after a 35 yard gain. Fowler played solidly, though only had 2 receptions.  Dion Sims I thought was the most impressive. He made crucial grabs and was a big body we needed down field for blocks.  The defense was very good, holding Boise State to 206 yards (Le'Veon Bell had more yards) of offense and no offensive touchdowns.  Some people will say it was a failure because Gholston had no tackles but I found him disruptive.  He was in the offensive backfield a bit and managed a pass deflection.  Darqueze Dennard was very good on pass defense. Adams and Dennard will be tough to beat game in a and game out.  I am happy with the win, even if it was sloppy. 

(Greg Shamus/Getty Images)

Overall, the B1G definitely has some things to show in week 2.  And most of the teams will have weaker opponents which should help.