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Dave Revsine's Bio: Our lead studio host crunches the numbers during football and basketball season. Got a question for Dave? Maybe a stat that caught your eye? Submit a comment below or e-mail Dave on the right. |
| Oct 8 2009, 11:32 AM | Topic: College football | ||
Of this weekend's two biggest games, I'm most interested in seeing the Wisconsin-Ohio State battle. I definitely misjudged the Badgers' QB situation when we saw them on our pre-season tour. I thought it would once again be a liability, meaning that this number would have been their death-knell: 37.6: Ohio State has given up an average of 37.6 rushing yards per game dating back to September 19. That's the fewest yards of any team in the nation that's played at least three games in that span. Here's the thing, though. As we've learned, thanks to Scott Tolzien, this Badgers team can really throw it. In fact, they're about as balanced an offense as you could possibly hope for. 1,080, 1,086: The Badgers have thrown for 1,080 yards this season. They've rushed for 1,086. And yet, there are still plenty of non-believers out there: 1: Wisconsin is the one and only unbeaten I-A team that remains unranked by the AP. Win in Columbus, and that will no longer be an issue. While we're on the topic of the rankings, how about this little gem regarding the Michigan-Iowa battle: 17: This is the first time in the last 17 meetings between these two teams dating back to 1985 that Iowa comes into the game ranked higher than the Wolverines. That '85 game, of course, a legendary 12-10 win by the No. 1 Hawkeyes that still sends a chill down the spine of Iowa faithful. This Michigan team is obviously nowhere near the caliber of the one Bo Schembechler brought into Kinnick Stadium on that October day in '85, but it's probably a bit ahead of where many of us thought they'd be this time of year, thanks in part to the play of Tate Forcier, who has risen to the occasion in his young career. 4, 0: With Michigan trailing in the fourth quarter, Forcier has been awfully good – throwing four TD passes and 0 INTs. How's this for an overall line in those situations: He's gone 19-for-30 for 233 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 4.6 yards per carry, and one rushing TD. With Forcier at the helm, the Wolverines have converted 10 of their 14 third downs while trailing in the final quarter. 47.9 %: Forcier will face his greatest defensive challenge against the Hawkeyes, though. Iowa's opponents have completed just 47.9 percent of their throws this year for the fourth-lowest percentage nationally. 33: And then there's the remarkable rushing touchdowns streak that we mentioned here last week. The Hawkeyes have not allowed a rushing TD in 33 quarters. That's the longest streak since LSU went 37 straight quarters without yielding a score on the ground in 2003. 1920-23: If the Hawkeyes can pull out a win, it would be their 10th straight dating back to last season. That would mark the first time Iowa has won 10 in a row since Howard Jones' boys won 20 straight between 1920-23. Speaking of streaks – here's one that I stumbled upon late last week after last week's "Numbers" that doesn't bode so well for Illinois: 11: Each of Illinois' last 11 bowl seasons has included a win over Ohio State. The Illini haven't made a bowl in a season in which they didn't beat the Buckeyes since 1982. Loss to the Buckeyes aside, though, it's hard to win many games if you can't stop anyone, and that has been a challenge for the Illini. 5, 4: Penn State ran for five TDs against the Illini last week. The Nittany Lions had totaled four rushing TDs in four games coming in. 4: The Illini have just four sacks in four games – the fewest in the Big Ten. They led the conference in sacks last season (and still didn't have all that good of a defense). 50.9 %: Illinois' opponents have converted 50.9 percent of their third downs this season – fourth worst in the nation. This week, they face a Michigan State team coming off a huge win that they hope will be the start of a new trend: 9-8, 2-12: The win over Michigan improved the Spartans to 9-8 on Oct. 1 or later under Mark Dantonio. They were 2-12 in the two seasons before he arrived. While Michigan State is fresh off a close win, Purdue is fresh off another close loss. The Boilers have now lost four games by a total of 18 points, which, when combined with their 21 point season-opening win over Toledo, brings us this little statistical anomaly. +3: The Boilermakers have a +3 scoring differential on the year. They're the first I-A team to have a positive scoring differential for the season despite a 1-4 start since 2006, when Wyoming beat Utah State by 31 points in its season-opener, then lost four games by a total of 21 points. Minnesota knows a thing or two about close games as well, with every game so far in 2009 coming down to the wire. 5: Despite their 3-2 record, the Gophers have trailed in the fourth quarter in all five games so far this season. While the Gophers have found a way to pull out those wins, Purdue hasn't, mostly because of mistakes. Case in point: Last week's six turnover debacle against Northwestern. 17: Not only are the Boilers' 17 turnovers the most in the Big Ten, they're the second most in the nation. Only Miami (Ohio) has coughed it up more times than Purdue. That number helps explain this one, as the RedHawks come into Evanston to take on Northwestern this week in a bit of a rut. 10: Miami has lost 10 straight games. That's the second-longest skid in I-A behind only Western Kentucky's 12 straight losses. History tells us Evanston may just be the place the RedHawks get well. 1963: Miami has won its last six road games at Northwestern, with the 'Cats' last home win in the series coming in 1963. The 'Cats won in Oxford in 2006 in Pat Fitzgerald's first game as NU's head coach. Fitz was a player during the most painful of those defeats, a 30-28 Miami win that was NU's only regular season defeat during the amazing Rose Bowl run of 1995. That Miami team was coached by the late Randy Walker, who later succeeded Gary Barnett in Evanston. Walker began what has continued to be a remarkable trend at NU – winning the close games. 20 of 26: Their 27-21 win over Purdue last weekend was the 'Cats 20th win in their last 26 games decided by seven points or less. Doesn't figure to be a particularly close game in State College where Penn State hosts Eastern Illinois. The Nittany Lions have won their last two games against I-AA competition by a combined 103-13. What it will be is a match-up of two college football mainstays – Joe Paterno and Bob Spoo. Though he obviously has nowhere near the name recognition of Joe Pa, Spoo has been on the Panthers' sidelines since 1987, tying him with Frank Beamer for fifth on the current Division I longevity list. He's been there a while, but it still pales in comparison to Joe. 199: Paterno had won 199 games at Penn State before Spoo coached his first for the Panthers. Penn State has a vintage Paterno defense this year, as evidenced by this factoid: 0: Penn State has given up zero first half touchdowns this season. They're the only team in I-A that has yet to yield a TD in the first 30 minutes. TDs might be hard to come by in Charlottesville this weekend as well, when Indiana visits Virginia. The Hoosiers defense has shown significant progress after struggling last season: 6: Indiana has already picked off six passes this year – that ties last season's total. 17th, 120th: IU is 17th in the nation in sacks per game. That's particularly relevant when you consider that Virginia is dead last nationally in sacks allowed (120th out of 120 teams). We cover all the games on "The Big Ten Football Saturday Pre-Game Show" starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday followed by Michigan State vs. Illinois or Northwestern vs. Miami (Use our GameFinder to find your game and channels). We'll see you then. |
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