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In the end, as many had hoped, it did not matter that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was suspended for the first three games – at least in the Buckeyes record. With its 40-28 win over the 15th TCU in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night, the Ohio State showed resilience and determination against its tough first opponent. .
The rest of the Big Ten … not so much.
Michigan lost to Notre Dame in the first week and on Saturday they scored 13 penalties for 137 yards in a SMU win. Penn State needed extra time to beat Appalachian State in his first game, but he's still 3-0 and looks amazing! – against anyone. Michigan State exploded a 10-point lead, fourth quarter last week and lost to Arizona State. Nebraska lost at home in Troy. Maryland lost at home in Temple. Northwestern lost at home in Akron. Rutgers lost to Kansas. Oh, and Wisconsin lost Saturday at home against BYU (yes, the same team that lost to Cal) in what has been the biggest surprise of the season so far.
Wisconsin is stunned, Kyler Murray gets his first road test and LSU beats Auburn in another wild game. What else have we learned so far?
A big man from Utah sees a pick-six in sight but can not finish it, Dino Babers climbs into the locker room, a country star joins the wave of Iowa and more.
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Despite all that went wrong for the Big Ten, he still has a real playoff contender and one of the best teams in the country in Ohio – and the Buckeyes did it with head coach Ryan Day . – not Meyer. At 3-0, Ohio State is the only team in the Big Ten with three things that will continue to impress the 13-member selection committee: a win over a neutral site against a ranked opponent, convincing wins and an A on the self. -displaying eye test
That's a good thing, because after Wisconsin's defeat by BYU, the last thing the league needed Saturday night was for defensive end Nick Bosa. and the Buckeyes to go down.
With 41 seconds to go and a chance to send the game in overtime, Wisconsin's fifth-year goaltender Rafael Gaglianone dropped an impressive 24-21 BYU win.
"It was disappointing to drop the team," said Gaglianone, "but I will not let a match define me – or set this season".
A game will not be – but a loss could.
Wisconsin, a team that has always had to fight for respect for the country despite its continued success, will continue to scratch after Saturday's embarrassing home loss. Wisconsin was a 23.5-point favorite against BYU and had a 93.1% chance of winning, according to the ESPN Football Power Index, but could not overcome a deficit in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin was Big Ten's third team to lose Saturday as a two-digit favorite (with Maryland minus-16 and Nebraska minus-10.5).
Last year, even when Wisconsin was unbeaten, the selection committee maintained it among the top four for a majority of rankings in favor of some teams to one defeat due to a weak schedule – and the Badgers beat BYU 40-6. "I still love this team," said Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst at his press conference. "I love them and who they are, that's where we are right now, and I have confidence in the group that chooses to move forward.
"We are 2-1, and we start the Big Ten match against Iowa, and it's a rivalry and all that, we'll continue to educate ourselves about these guys, but I love this group and I'm confident in the answer, but we have to go in. We need to do this. "
At once.
Wisconsin will travel to Iowa on Saturday, one of the last five games on the Big Ten road, with Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue. Iowa embarrassed the Ohio State last year, beating the 55-24 Buckeyes in a game that essentially prevented them from playing in the playoffs last year, despite winning in the Big Ten. In 2016, Iowa beat then-No. 3 Michigan, another spot of ink on a summary of the playoffs.
Wisconsin certainly can not buy another one.
The only other Wisconsin non-conference wins are against Western Kentucky and New Mexico, which does nothing for its playoff summary. This equates to a little more than a slow golf shot.
"In Big Ten play, we know that these games matter," said Wisconsin. Taiwan Deal said. "We still have the Big Ten Championship ahead of us, so our goal will be to go forward."
The rest of the Big Ten should cheer on the Badgers, as this will only help the winner of the Eastern Championship game and the Conference as a whole to present two high-ranking opponents. If Wisconsin continues to stumble, it will devalue a win against the Badgers. Ohio State beat Wisconsin last year and it was not enough.
Last year, however, the Buckeyes lost their non-conference match against Oklahoma.
This year?
Ohio State's victory over TCU is one of the most impressive victories of the season, as well as Clemson's true victory at Texas A & M. The selection committee will take note of the two touchdowns of the Buckeyes, in particular considering the loss of Bosa following an injury. It's a better non-conference win than Georgia or Alabama.
"We've been trying to create exciting but interesting games, whether it's non-conference, nine conference games, or the best teams we can play in the bowl season," said Jim Delany, Commissioner of Sport. Big Ten. days in July. "It's not for everyone, some people prefer to play fewer conference games or FCS, but we believe in the strength of the calendar because we try to do different things.
"That's not to say that everyone plays a [autonomous 5] opponent every week in the non-conference, but you can see that there is a real effort to set up schedules as strong as those of anyone in the country. "
It does not always work like that, though. The non-conference schedule of Wisconsin – Western Kentucky, New Mexico and BYU – was supposed to be a kid's game.
"Every time you lose, it hurts," said the Wisconsin security officer. D & Cota Dixon. "All the preparations you made with the guys you trained with all week, but it's even worse to see that the reaction of the guys on the sideline must accept a loss. the loss itself, but the opportunity we let go … but it's fuel and we'll get better. "
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