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Brent Yarina's Bio: BigTenNetwork.com editor Brent Yarina takes you around Big Ten athletics, on and off the court. |
| Nov 7 2009, 5:48 PM | Topic: Talking Big Ten | ||
The play, of course, was Corey Wootton's second-quarter sack of Ricky Stanzi that resulted in a fumble and a Northwestern score after Marshall Thomas picked up the ball in the end zone. As a result, the Wildcats gained some much-needed momentum, cutting Iowa's early lead to 10-7. But, more importantly, Stanzi suffered a "severe" ankle injury on the play and could miss Iowa's final two games. "Obviously it was a big momentum play," Pat Fitzgerald told The Associated Press. "Not only get the sack to cause a fumble but you also get the touchdown. It was greatly important from a momentum standpoint." And just like that, Northwestern upset No. 4 Iowa, 17-10, giving us a tie atop the Big Ten standings between Iowa and Ohio State -- teams that just so happen to meet up in Columbus next weekend. The victor of that game assures itself at least a share of the conference crown and puts itself in great position to claim the outright title, as both teams will be favored in their season finales the following week. Back to Stanzi, though. We very well may not hear from the quarterback again until Iowa's bowl game. Ankle injuries are tough to come back from when their minor, let alone "severe," so the Hawkeyes will have to turn to backup James Vandenberg against Ohio State's dominant defense. If Saturday is any indication, that's not good news for the Hawkeyes. Northwestern, a defense not quite up to the level of Ohio State's, held Vandenberg to 9 of 27 for 82 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Then again, Vandenberg was forced into emergency duty Saturday after spending the week as the No. 2 quarterback in practice. That won't be the case this upcoming week, as Vandenberg will get a vast majority of the reps with the first team. It's going to be a very interesting last couple of weeks, needless to say. One thing's for sure, though: If any team has shown it can come overcome injuries to key players, it's the Hawkeyes. Don't count them out just yet. WEEK 10 SUPERLATIVES Game of the week: Northwestern vs. Iowa - It wasn't the most exciting game, especially in the second half, but the magnitude this game had on the Big Ten title picture trumps any such lulls the struggling offenses created. The whole time you couldn't help but think, OK, how are the Hawkeyes going to pull this one out? It didn't happen, and now next week's Iowa-Ohio State tussle will be a battle for sole possession of first place. Player of the week: RB Ralph Bolden, Purdue - No disrespect to Michigan State's Ashton Leggett, but Bolden did his damage against a Big Ten defense, albeit a struggling Michigan unit. Bolden amassed 136 total yards and scored three touchdowns en route to guiding Purdue to its first win at the Big House since 1966. Game ball of the week: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern - Fitzgerald's Wildcats did something no other team had done to the Hawkeyes in 13 games, and that's beat the Hawkeyes. Even better, Fitzgerald did it with limited playing time from a less-than-healthy Mike Kafka, the team's leading rusher and passer. But the Wildcats got it done and carded their first win over a top-10 opponent since beating Ohio State, then No. 6, in 2004. Statline of the week: QB Daryll Clark, Penn State (12-28, 125 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) - Clark's numbers were far from average, to be polite, but they're even more alarming when you compare them to his stats against Iowa (12-32, 198 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT). That's 24 of 60 for 323 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs combined in Penn State's two biggest games of the year. Random thoughts: Penn State's defense entered Saturday's contest with the conference's gaudiest stats, but the Buckeyes proved their unit is the conference's best by limiting the Nittany Lions to 201 total yards at Beaver Stadium ... Navy beat Notre Dame in South Bend, so it appears that squeaker of a win Ohio State had over the Midshipmen isn't so bad after all ... Michigan State's Keshawn Martin is quickly becoming one of my favorite Big Ten players to watch ... I know it was against Indiana, but I'm convinced running backs grow on trees in Madison following Montee Ball's 115-yard, two-score performance ... At his size, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos is officially the last kick returner I'd want to go up against in the open field ... Nice to see the struggling Scott Tolzien finally get back on track after struggling horribly the past three games ... Where was this the whole season, Illinois? ... The Wolverines have a lot of young talent and a stable of running backs, but they're officially the Big Ten's worst team. |
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