Maybe it was a good thing commish Jim Delany had a hat to hit from the criticism at the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif on New Year's Day. Delany's conference went 0-for-2011 on the first day of the new year after starting the bowl season 2-0 (Nebraska loss doesn't count until July 1 friends) with Iowa and Illinois starting things off. The conference wasn't a legendary or leading yesterday with the State of Michigan getting blown out in two games, Northwestern lost another close bowl game, Penn State was "throwing" Urban Meyer a going away party and Wisconsin couldn't bully the Horned Frogs of TCU. It was the first time since 2002 the conference went o'fer on NYD but this one had to hurt for the conference after spending a month saying how they deserved a third BCS bid and had several good teams this season. One day won't change how people within the great plains and lakes feel about their teams. Here are my recaps of the five teams who played yesterday.
Northwestern (Ticket City Bowl vs Texas Tech): The Wildcats fell way behind early to the tune of 31-9 before making it a seven point game at 38-31 before the final outcome of 45-38 at the historic Cotton Bowl stadium. Northwestern, from what I gather, needs to find a "fat" back a.k.a someone who can get short yards on third and fourth down. Congressman Pat Fitzgerald needs to be praised for his team not giving up and they'll eventually win that first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl. Yesterday they just got behind by too much and fell short.
Michigan State (Capital One Bowl vs Alabama): I'm sorry but the Spartans are who I thought they were. I felt they had the easiest conference schedule and biffed it hard in their one loss at Iowa. I'll admit I only watched five minutes of this game but I didn't think they would catch the speed and strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Hats off to Sparty on a good season but things moving forward are about to get much harder.
Penn State (Outback Bowl vs Florida): The Nittany Lions played well enough to win however they throw INTs that led to Gator scores in addition to a blocked punt that put points on the scoreboard. JoePa's young team played well down the stretch plus reached a NYD bowl. They figure to be tough in 2011.
Michigan (Progressive Gator Bowl vs Mississippi State): The Michigan Wolverines got blown out by the number five team in the SEC who had thrown 50+ points on the scoreboard against nobodies during the season. IF and its a big if RichRod is allowed to continue he must fire his entire defensive staff because Greg Robinson's unit (which I know being a life long Chiefs fan) couldn't stop the common cold the past two seasons. The talent seems to be in place on offense but I can't help but draw a Nebraska comparison to Denard Robinson with Taylor Martinez (yes I'm a born and bred Nebraska fan) with both QBs running around calling their own number when things break down. It may be flashy and good but it makes the offense predictable for the opposition.
Wisconsin (Rose Bowl presented by Vizio vs TCU): TCU gets credit for stopping the Badgers enough times to get the win especially on the two point conversion with two minutes left in the game. Bret Bielema's team went with a fake punt early but also used lousy clock management, burnt timeouts and dropped several passes. Wisconsin played the role of Big Ten bullies during the 2010 season and most had thought they would do the same against the Mountain West's (for now) Horned Frogs. It seemed like UW wasted an opportunity and fans will probably cling to a missed 39 yard FG attempt early in the second quarter, but the Badgers were a tad short on this day.
Big Ten fans now turn their attention to New Orleans and the All State Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night pitting THE Ohio State against Arkansas. A loss will make for a long offseason being 2-6 having lost the last six contests.
-Mike Vamosi
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