M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[lineygoblue]

I would have thought M fans would say Wisky is at least as good as Penn State.

Actually I think Wisconsin is a step better than Penn State.

Here's how I'd rank the conference as a whole:

--

OSU - Nobody is better, standing by themselves

Wisconsin - 2nd best in the conference, had two bad weeks in a row, they seem to have found themselves.

Then I put:

Penn State, Michigan and Minnesota -- all basically equal. Minnesota v Wisconsin result could change things.

Then its:

Iowa, Indiana -- Indiana moves up if they beat Michigan this week. Iowa could have moved up with a win over Wisconsin. I don't give Iowa as much credit for their win over Minnesota as I would have given them credit for a win over the Badgers.

Following that - MSU, Nebraska, Illinois, Purdue .. -- Shake them up in a bag, pour them out. All relatively the same.

Then:

NW, Rutgers, Maryland

[iam416]

OSU, M, Wisc and PSU are in top group of 4. Depending on where they play anyone can beat anyone.

Minnesota and Iowa.

Indiana.

Sparty.

Illinois/Nebraska/Purdue.

Maryland.

NW.

Rutgers.

[lineygoblue]

We'll just have to agree to disagree on your first group.

OSU is head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference. The next two weeks will prove that.

Wisconsin is a bit better than Michigan and Penn State, who are pretty much equal.

Wisconsin will not beat OSU in a rematch in Indy, if that's the pairing.

If Minny gets there vs OSU, the Goofers will be rowing a 2x4 afterward.

After that its like a Tetris game. Place them wherever they fit.

[iam416]

Well, Rutgers is last. Everyone agrees on that.

[lineygoblue]

Well, yeah.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Debatable but I'm tempted to rank Sparty below Illinois. At least based on how each team is playing right now.

[iam416]

Yeah, They should be in that group, at least. I think they'll probably give up, but they do play Rutgers next.

[Hannibal]

I would rank Minnesota in with PSU and UM. They outplayed Iowa and they should have beaten, them.

OSU is still in a group by itself miles ahead of everyone else. I think that it's

OSU
.
.
.
UM, Minnehaha, PSU, Wisky
Iowa, Indiana
Purdue, Illinois, MSU
NfW, Nebraska, Maryland
.
.
.
Rutgers

[iam416]

I should probably have Minnesota in my top group. They were better than Iowa all day on Saturday -- well, except for the first 3 drives. But, even with those, I thought they were better. They went into Iowa and outplayed them and should have won but for a kicking disasters; uncharacteristic drops from the best WR tandem in the B10 and PJ Fleck running on to the field.

[WM Wolverine]

Hannibal's list looks good, might move Illinois up one and Nebraska too without looking at the data.

[iam416]

Illinois has been the recipient of a remarkable run of good luck. They had no business beating Wisconsin. At all. They literally couldn't throw against Purdue, but Purdue's offense was a disaster, including bad TOs, and, of course, they had no business beating Sparty.

Nebraska is better than nFw and Maryland, IMO.

And you people are wrong about Ohio State. Hopefully they can scratch out a win this weekend to clinch a trip to Indy. But it's going to be a war. Penn State +18' is the best bet of the entire season.

[Hannibal]

I feel bad for Fleck. That penalty might have been technically correct, but his behavior was not unsportsmanlike.

[iam416]

I agree completely, Hannibal. I almost posted that.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Based on M's performance against the two, I'd agree Illinois is playing better and going forward will also play better than Sparty. Those guys have tanked. By the 4th quarter, they gooned it up instead of playing good football. Expect that kind of shit to continue. Illinois looks to have its shit together. Lovey is a decent coach and all around good guy. Dantonio is dick. Good chance he and his staff have lost the team.

[iam416]

I'm basing my Illinois/Sparty comparison on the game played between the two a mere two weeks ago. Sparty had to invent new ways to not only lose, but to have Illinois even be within in 14.