Alright, let's see what's doin:
- After a two week absence, we have a highlights video:
- Yeah, I know you saw that at LTP already, but, hey, I'm posting it here anyway.
- Stefan Demos: co-Big Ten Special Teams player of the week. Congrats to him, he deserved it after kicking four field goals and being a decent punter, too. But, seriously, Big Ten Conference? You can't pick just one person for your Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week award? It was that hard to decide? I mean, not to take away from the trophy, but if you can't come up with just one winner for something as inconsequential as a Big Ten special teams player of the week award, just give up. If you gave it to either Demos or the other winner, Penn State's Jeremy Boone, it's not like there would be people rioting in the streets that the other one didn't get it.
- This week, we see the first non-injury related depth chart move of the season: David Arnold, who played a lot of the game at linebacker and notably stripped Aaron Valentin for NU's first fumble recovery of the game, is replacing Ben Johnson at starting weak-side linebacker. I played a very slow-paced game of basketball with these two last year. Arnold got me to bite really badly on a pump fake and banked in a game-winning three, and Johnson became probably the first person in the history of Blomquist gym to dunk. That's my analysis.
- Welsh-Ryan Ramblings has been writing a lot about football, and hasn't been half-bad, so check it out. Not sure whether or not he plans on changing the sites name to "Ryan Field Ramblings."
- The HTP Bowl Page has us at a 54% chance of making the postseason and for some reason, they've officially stripped us of any chances of making the Rose Bowl. (Have they gone mad?) What really surprises me about that page, though, is the news that Bruce Feldman has us going to the Humanitarian Bowl. Let me put it this way: if NU isn't one of the top seven teams in the conference, which Feldman appears to be implying, we're not going to a bowl. No bowl will select us unless they're essentially obligated to, so I highly doubt the even Humanitarian Bowl, which I haven't heard of, would give us an at-large bid. It's Pizza PIzza or bust, yo.
- Last, but not least, my Rivalry Esq Big Ten power poll ballot:
- Iowa. (they'll be here until they lose. even if all those wins are by .5 points against Towson.)
- Ohio State.
- Penn State. (my top three was unchanged. These teams are just way ahead of the rest of the conference right now.)
- Wisconsin. (change, +2.)
- Michigan (change, -1.)
- Minnesota (change, -2.)
- Michigan State. (unchanged. I know, they just beat Michigan, and probably should be higher than Michigan by any normal logic. But I'd rather play Michigan State next week than Michigan. Just sayin'.)
- Northwestern. (change, +2.)
- Indiana. (unchanged)
- Purdue (-2. Yeah, I had them too high.)
- Illinois. (I mean, they've had a rough schedule - Mizzou, a dub vs. Illinois State, Ohio State, Penn State - but I can't rank a team that's been nothing but abysmal so far above last, and I'm sure everybody else agrees with me.)
So that's that. If any of this seems silly to you, that's what the comments are for. I got a post on Miami (OH) later, so stay tuned.