B1G Performance Grades, Week 5

A look at this week's grades...

I can't think of a better way to spend a flight layover than writing about some college football. It was a nice, much-needed weekend for the league. Ohio State's win over Michigan State was a grinding, gritty game, and Nebraska's comeback was a great prime-time show. The league also saw Iowa get back on-track, Penn State continue their hot streak and Northwestern improve to 5-0. Michigan was off (insert Denard not throwing an INT joke here).

Illinois: F

Oh boy, the Illini are a trainwreck. I don't know where to start, the punch-less offense or the defense turning into complete mush in three out of the five games they've played. Even the special teams were bad. A bowl was always a long shot, but now winning another game looks like an uphill battle.

Indiana: C-

I need to give the Hoosiers some love here for battling back from a 27-point hole in the third quarter. Indiana crawled within eight points in the fourth quarter before NU sealed the deal. This team has some fight in it and the talent to score, now it just needs the defense to come around a bit in order to turn in the Hoosiers' first league win under Kevin Wilson. Baby steps, yes, but the team has some direction unlike, well, the prior team.

Iowa: A

I could downgrade the Hawkeyes for their second-half offensive performance, but I think Iowa was using the chance to get the passing game more in sync. The defense was outstanding all day, the special teams made some contributions and at least some of the faith has returned; especially with how Greg Davis is trying to run his offensive system.

Michigan State: B

The Spartans played the game on their own terms, kept it close and played great defense. Michigan State just couldn't score enough. Major credit to the Buckeye defense for holding the rushing attack to just 34 yards. Yikes.

Minnesota: D

Obviously missing your starting QB puts you in a hole on the road in a league (and rivalry) game, but what in the world happened to Gophers defense? Both lines were getting man-handled at the point of attack by the Hawks. The nail in the coffin was the lack of muscle by the wide-out on the Iowa pick six. He could've won that ball, but instead left Shortell on the hook for it.

Nebraska: A-

The Huskers still have some issues to work out since the team was down by 17 and gave up nearly 30 points at home, but good teams find a way to win no matter how poor they might play at the start. Apologies for the short and generic synopses, but I'm trying to write at an airport bar, on an iPad and get done before my flight. I wasn't prepared for this much pressure!

Northwestern: B

Same old 'Cats. Northwestern grabs a big league and then takes their fans on a roller coaster ride of a game. Some years, the team loses those games and goes 6-6 or 7-5, while in other years they win nine or ten games. This season is taking shape of the latter, as the Wildcats found a way to top Syracuse after giving up a huge lead. Northwestern is now 5-0, ranked in the Top 25 and looks like a team that will end their year in Florida.

Ohio State: A

See Nebraska's performance grade. Seriously though, can the Buckeyes find any weapon other than Braxton Miller? Perhaps his beautiful sixty-yard strike is an indication that the weapon will be Miller's arm. Hey, still safer for his health than him running all the time.

Penn State: A

Complete domination of an inferior team. This tells me two things. The first is that PSU is coached well enough to get up for a far-lesser opponent and that the players are receptive to the coaching staff's message. The second is that once it's game time and the gimmicks of lockerroom speeches are gone, the game plan works and the players know how to execute. Bill O'Brien for Big Ten COY honors? He's got the inside track right now.

Purdue: B

What in the world did the Boilermakers defense do in the second half? I didn't realize colleges offered nap time. Still, they got the job done and like I said in the predictions, I don't think Purdue was too jazzed up to take on Marshall. The Boilers are hungry for league action.

Wisconsin: B

The Badgers played in an extremely tough environment to win in, and they nearly pulled it off. In a wide-open division, Wisconsin has as much of a shot at making it to Indianapolis as anyone else. Defensive lapses continue to plague this program. Still, UW fans should like the clear improvement. With Illinois in Madison next up, the team should get some of their swagger back this week.