Iowa looked (as they have seemed to in many rivalry games over the years) unmotivated and basically just going through the motions. Minnesota on the other hand looked excited, motivated and ready to play. No matter how easily Iowa drove down the Gophers throats, the Gophers never gave up.

 

   Iowa, on the other hand, bit on numerous fakes, overran plays, gave up on coverages and seemed to lack drive on defense. Offensively, Iowa would run the ball down the Gophers throats, averaging an amazing 6.4 yards per carry, only to abandon that run in the red zone. The result? Missed field goal/missed field goal/sack/fumble lost/etc. It's seriously like their offensive coordinator was trying to emulate the Chicago Bears' Mike Martz. Why abandon the run? Why would you do such a stupid thing when they clearly cannot stop it? Is it just plain and simple arrogance?

 

    Simply put: Iowa's fans, students and their administration need and deserve answers after this one. Since their three year run from 2002-2004, Iowa has just not been a very good program, and Coach Ferentz is not worth his lofty salary. We'll see how this plays out the rest of the year as the Hawks may very well not win another game.

 

    Now onto the rest of the Big Ten...

 

    I did not expect Nebraska to have such an easy time with Michigan State. The amazing thing is that after losing big to Wisconsin, Nebraska now is in line to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. It's amazing to me how one week Michigan State can pull an upset over on Wisconsin and the next week get steamrolled by the Huskers.

 

    Ohio State does indeed look like a different team with Dan Herron in their backfield (like I predicted several weeks ago). Herron's 160 yards rushing powered Ohio State to an upset victory over Wisconsin. This to me is one of the more surprising upsets of the Big Ten season.

 

    Somehow, someway, Penn State won yet again in what can only be described as a very ugly football game. At the end of three quarters, the score was 7-0. Penn State rallied in the 4th to win this stinker 10-7. Two things come to my mind after watching this game:

 

   1) Could Illinois start 6-0 only to finish the season 0-6?

   2) This Penn State team reminds me so much of the 2009 Hawkeye team that
      lucked it's way into a 11-2 finish. They stunk for three quarters most
      of the time only to come back and win late. Sound familiar?

 

     Michigan won big over Purdue who somehow last week beat Illinois. Next week, it'll be interesting to see how many yards Michigan racks up against a poor Iowa defense. My guess? 600+ yards of total offense for the Wolverines en route to a 44-28 win.

 

     Northwestern defeated Indiana in what was known around the country as "The Big Ten game no one knew existed".

 

     As far as next week goes, the game of the week for me will be (ugh) Purdue visiting Wisconsin. No, there won't be an upset, but the other games are Michigan State hosting Minnesota (should be a butt kicking), Indiana visiting Ohio State (blowout), Northwestern traveling to Nebraska (ouch) and Michigan going to Iowa (as I said, 44-28). So next week, look for some very bad football games, unless you like blowouts of course.

 

    Until then, don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@PigSkinPress), listen to our podcasts (http://pigskinpress.podbean.com/) and of course, always feel free to send us your feeback (fanfeedback@pigskinpress.com).