Mike Cagley, Co-Host of the Big Sports Radio Show
November 1, 2022
This week was a strange one in the Big Ten. Three ranked teams won this weekend, Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois. One lost, Penn State. The headlines after the weekend were dominated by the third tunnel related incident in the last 12 months as Michigan State got way more aggressive off of the field than they ever did on the field. No conference wants the headlines to be about issues like this but clearly there is something going on up in Ann Arbor. Maybe there's something in the water in Ann Arbor that fires people up?
Michigan Stadium courtesy Michigan Athletics.
Michigan Stadium was build in 1927 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Fielding Yost, legendary Michigan football coach, imagined more seating being necessary for Michigan crowds in the future. He made certain the stadium had the footings build in to allow the stadium to be expanded over the years. Fast forward to the present day, Michigan Stadium has hosted events up to 115,000 attendees. With all that foresight, how could they have decided that the two teams would enter and exit the field through the same tunnel? Oh well, no one is perfect.
The Wolverines have had conflicts in the tunnel with Ohio State (last year), Penn State (earlier this year) and Michigan State (last week). Let's be clear, there is no excuse for allowing one team/players on one team "chirping" at the other team/players on the other team - which happens all the time in just about every sport nowadays - escalate into physical violence. Ever. With the evidence that exists right now, the Michigan State players appear to have initiated physical contact and swinging helmets at another player is an action that may escalate into a situation that the law enforcement authorities may decide to address.
One has to wonder both how and why this has happened three times in the last year. There's not a long history of issues in a stadium that has hosted some of college football's biggest games over the last 95 years. Are there any solutions that can be put into place to make sure there is not a 4th event in the near future? It could be as simple as the teams have selected times to go to and through the tunnel to make sure there's no contact before or after a game. Certainly, it seems to be advisable that the teams go in their entirety through the tunnel so that you don't have any more "two against the world" situations materializing in the future.
Michigan doesn't appear to have a long history of this type of behavior - they usually just win games when it comes to the Big Ten. Over the course of a century, winning a lot will create a lot of hard feelings from the teams and fans of the teams that Michigan beats. That said, there have been three incidents in football in the last 12 months and we also had Juwan Howard's short fuse leading to a slap against Wisconsin in basketball. Is there an attitude issue in the Michigan Athletic department that is increasing the chance of behavior that is not positive for the school involved and the Big Ten as a whole?
A root cause analysis needs to be completed. There may be additional solutions that will help address this problem if a proper analysis is executed. Glossing things over may just mean this type of incident may become even more common than it is right now. The root cause identified has to be more impactful than hypothesizing this is a result of the teams involved having the word "State" in their university's name.
Illini Sydney Brown versus Nebraska courtesy David Craan, Illinois Athletics
Bill Belichick is famous for winning big games - such as Super Bowls - by taking away the best player on the opposing team's offense. Bret Bielema spent a couple of years working with Bill Belichick after his firing from the Arkansas head coaching job and before his hiring as the Illinois head coach. It seems this lesson was well learned by Coach Bielema.
Nebraska's star wide receiver Trey Palmer entered today's game ranked fourth in the country in receiving yards per game (111.6) and sixth in receiving yards (781). His big play ability was on display during Nebraska's 43-37 loss to Purdue. Trey Palmer had 7 receptions for 237 yards with 2 touchdowns (one for 37 yards and the other for 72 yards) and 1 rushing attempt for 60 yards. Against Indiana, in a 35-21 victory, Edwards had 8 receptions for 157 yards and 1 touchdown (a 71-yard pass). His knack for breaking big plays was feared throughout the conference.
Trey Edwards was totally neutralized by the Illini defense. He was only targeted 7 times by Nebraska quarterbacks. Edwards caught one pass for one yard. That's it. One pass for one yard. Edwards was the lone consistent big play threat in the Nebraska arsenal. The Illini defensive plan designed by Ryan Walters and executed by the Illini defense and players like Devon Witherspoon, Qwan Martin, and Sydney Brown made sure that struggling Nebraska quarterbacks didn't have the talented wide receiver to bail them out when they were in trouble. Nebraska without Edwards became a team that couldn't make it into double digits.
Another victory keyed by the formidable Illini defense led by its increasingly well-respected defensive coordinator.
J.T. Tuimoloau courtesy Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State was down 21-16 after giving up a touchdown to the Nittany Lions with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter. No one suspected the onslaught that was to come next from the Buckeyes - both on offense and defense.
Penn State didn't play poorly, but the big plays from Ohio State, on both sides of the ball, ultimately did in the Buckeyes. Barring a major injury, the Buckeyes are on a collision course with the Michigan Wolverines on November 26 at 11 am in Ohio Stadium. Northwestern, Indiana, and Maryland still have to play the Buckeyes. If the Buckeyes are focused, the chances are remote that any of these games are even close.
