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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. |
| Nov 5 2009, 1:21 PM | Topic: College football |
| Worlds are colliding, and this has nothing to do with trying to kill "Independent George." It's been a busy week, with football coming down the home stretch and hoops starting up. In some ways, it's the best time of the year here. In others, like, just as a random example, trying to get one's Internet column done on time, it's a bit of a challenge. A round-about way of saying that we're running a bit behind here – so let's get right to it. The craziest thing to come out of last week from a numerical point-of-view was the seemingly out of nowhere reawakening of the dormant offenses at Illinois and Minnesota, who, in an interesting coincidence, go head to head this weekend. 7,8: The Illini had seven rushes of 20 or more yards against Michigan. They had eight rushes of that length all season coming in. 6, 8: The Gophers had six pass plays of 30 or more yards against Michigan State. They had eight pass plays of that length all season coming in. 416: Minnesota threw for 416 yards in that game. It was the first time they've gone over 400 in a game since 1995. While they haven't received the same amount of publicity for it, the Gophers' win put them in some elite company. 4: Minnesota and Iowa have both won four games this season that they trailed after the third quarter. Not only is that the most in the country, but no other team aside from those two has more than two such wins. 6, 5: The Hawkeyes' win over Indiana was particularly remarkable given their six turnovers, including five interceptions. Both those numbers are far and away the most in a game for any of the remaining undefeated teams this year. None of the other unbeatens have had more than four turnovers or thrown more than two picks in a game all season. 2 of 8: This week, Iowa faces a Northwestern team that, at least relatively speaking, has had good success against them recently. The Wildcats have handed Iowa two of its last eight home losses. They're the only team to beat the Hawkeyes twice at Kinnick Stadium in that stretch, which encompasses 51 home games. 246: NU looked good offensively last week – at least for a half. The Wildcats put up 246 yards against Penn State in the first half. The Nittany Lions came in allowing 240.2 yards per game, meaning NU exceeded the full-game average against Penn State in the first 30 minutes. That production fell apart in the second half with Mike Kafka on the sidelines nursing an injury. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that has become a familiar theme in their season. 20, 9: NU has had twenty different players start on defense this season, including nine in the secondary alone. Speaking of defensive problems, things got downright ugly for Michigan last week against Illinois. 38, 20: The Wolverines gave up 38 points last week to an Illinois team that hadn't scored more than 20 against a I-A opponent in 364 days. Truth be told, defense hasn't been the only issue for the maize and blue. 11th, T10th: In conference games, the Wolverines are 11th in the Big Ten in total offense, and tied for 10th in total defense. Those struggles give Purdue a chance to end a substantial drought against the Wolverines. 1965-66: Purdue hasn't beaten Michigan in consecutive seasons since 1965-66 – the last two victories in what was actually a five-game win streak against the Wolverines. The Boilers won 48-42 last year. That's not the only streak on the line for Purdue. 11: The Boilers have lost 11 straight road games. That is tied with Utah State for the longest active streak in the nation. 37, 33: Purdue lost by 37 points to Wisconsin last week. That exceeded the Boilers' combined margin of defeat from their other five losses – which was 33 points. 141: Purdue was held to 141 yards in that game – their fewest in a single game since 1995. They're not the only conference team that has had trouble moving the ball against the Badgers (or stopping them from moving it, for that matter). 1951: Wisconsin is leading the Big Ten in rushing offense and rushing defense in conference games. The Badgers haven't finished the season leading the conference in both categories since 1951. The last team to pull that off, by the way, was Ohio State in 1996. That, not the only part of Wisconsin's game that is evoking a bygone era. 1955: Wisconsin's shut-out of Purdue was their first against the Boilers since 1955. Indiana also pulled off a rare defensive accomplishment last week. 5, 6: The Hoosiers picked off five passes against Iowa. For some perspective on that accomplishment, consider this – Indiana had six interceptions all of last season. 1969: Those five IU picks against Iowa were their most in a game since 1969 against Kentucky. Despite the interceptions, the Hoosiers still lost another heartbreaker. But they're not the only Big Ten team that has made a habit of losing close games. 12th: Michigan State's 8-point loss to Minnesota was its 12th loss by eight points or fewer since the start of the 2007 season. That's the second most in the nation behind only Northern Illinois, which has lost 13 by 8 or fewer. 4-3, 7-0: The Spartans are 4-3 when leading after three quarters this season. They were 7-0 last year. While there are many factors you could point to for those late-game collapses, defense has been the most obvious weakness. That is in sharp contrast to the two teams we'll see in action on Saturday in State College. 3rd: Ohio State's shut-out of New Mexico State was its third of the year – the first time they've blanked three teams in the same season since 1996. For what it's worth, they last had four in a season in 1977. 62: The 62 total yards allowed against the Aggies were the fewest in the Tressel era. 3: As for the Nittany Lions, they have given up just three passing TDs all year – that is tied for the fewest in the nation. 1st: The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in the Big Ten in rush defense, total defense, scoring defense, sacks and tackles for loss. Penn State is hoping to ride that defense to a rare double: 1965, 1966: With a win on Saturday, the Nittany Lions would complete their second straight season sweep of Michigan and Ohio State. They'd be the first team to accomplish that since Michigan State did it in 1965 and 1966. We'll have a complete preview of that game and the rest of the day's Big Ten action on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on the Auto Owners Insurance Pre-Game Show. After that, we have four games on the Big Ten Network. That's right – four games. Please, please, please – do yourself a favor and use our Game Finder to see which channels the games are in in your area: It will save you a headache on Saturday. We'll see you then! |
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