Describing every Big Ten team with one word through Week 5
The Big Ten is in a rather unique spot as conference play starts to kick into gear. When the conference play hasn’t gotten that far you have teams like Northwestern being in first place of their division heading into week five of a season.
Going forward though, you can expect the teams in the Big Ten to bombard each other with big hits, explosive offenses, and defensive stands that are commonplace.
Despite those things being known, each team has its own unique way of being them. Of course, you have faces and players that pop in when you hear a team but what about just one specific word? We wanted to tackle that as each team can be described using one word in an accurate fashion. With that, let’s head over to New Jersey to kick things off with James Gandolfini’s favorite school.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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One Word: Aggressive
Rutgers may not be having the most successful year but under head coach Greg Schiano they have shown to be a tough out compared to the years prior to his return. Just last weekend he and Ohio State coach Ryan Day were getting into it during the team’s game. While the scoreboard made it seem as if it was a blowout, the tenacity never subsided from the Scarlet Knights.
Illinois Fighting Illini
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One Word: Fun
Head coach Bret Bielema has the Fighting Illini becoming a rather entertaining team in 2022. They currently stand 4-1 with two wins in the Big Ten. Running back Chase Brown has become a more than reliable weapon for the team with him accumulating over 770 yards in total offense through five games. Next week they have a chance to go to 3-0 in the conference against Iowa in a game they are sure to be favored in.
Iowa Hawkeyes
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One Word: Woof
Remember in Home Alone when Kevin is looking through his older brother Buzz’s possessions? He stumbles across a picture of his girlfriend and he immediately puts it down? The first word he utters is “woof.”
That is exactly what Iowa has become this season. Not sure if it is Kirk Farentz and his message becoming stagnant or if it is the entire conference is evolving and he is stuck in the past. Regardless, this Iowa team is among the worst in all of college football at this point.
Maryland Terapins
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One Word: Tough
Maryland and coach Mike Locksley have built a formidable squad led by their offense. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa may be know for his brother but it is the Alabama transfer who is making Maryland must watch. There offense is strong enough to keep them in any game they have the rest of the way and it nearly was enough to get them a win over a top five team in Michigan. They have a strong October and November schedule ahead of them, including a visit to State College in November.
How they respond and how they play will determine the course of their season over the next few weeks.
Indiana Hoosiers
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One Word: Reeling
While their former quarterback is dominating the Pac-12 up in Washington, Indiana is reeling after back to back losses. After starting the season 3-0, Indiana has lost back to back games against Cincinnati and Nebraska. The Nebraska game especially has this team reeling at the moment as no team had been on less sturdy ground to this point in the season.
Things won’t get easier as their next three games come against Michigan, Maryland and Rutgers.
Purdue Boilermakers
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One Word: Thankful
Just because we are six weeks away from Thanksgiving doesn’t mean people can’t be thankful. For head coach Jeff Brohm, the arrival of receiver Charlie Jones from Iowa has been a god send. He has been the entire Purdue offense this year and has NFL circles already excited to evaluate him come draft time because of it. For now though, he will keep giving Purdue life week after week.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
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One Word: Lacking
Nebraska has gone from being the nation’s premier program in the 90s to now being a laughing stock due to its instability. Head coach Scott Frost came over from UCF where he turned them into a stable, winning machine but he couldn’t bring those two traits. Instead, the former Cornhusker quarterback found himself out of a job and now the program is looking for a restart. With interim head coach Mickey Joseph 1-1 through two games, he can make this team go from lacking leadership to finally having it.
Michigan Wolverines
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One Word: Complete
This very well could be the best team that Jim Harbaugh has coached at Michigan. The defense has never been lacking but the offense is showing itself to be more than reliable with J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum keeping things fluid. A complete Michigan team is a problem for everyone, including Penn State and Ohio State.
Northwestern Wildcats
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One Word: Stuck
It was just a few years ago that Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was being considered for NFL jobs. Now Northwestern is barely holding on in the Big Ten. The offense was abysmal against Penn State despite the defense providing it’s best effort. This team is stuck in the mud presently, if things don’t change soon then Fitzgerald is going to have a magnifying glass over him.
Ohio State Buckeyes
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One Word: Undisputed
With top players at arguably every position, Ohio State is the undisputed champs of the conference till proven otherwise. On offense especially, they may be the deepest and most complete team on paper. The issue? Not all of their 5-star players get to play every game, not a bad problem to have. The undisputed kings of the conference appear to be rolling on to another stop in Indianapolis before heading to the College Football Playoff, again.
Wisconsin Badgers
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One Word: Tough
I will say it, Paul Chryst was a good coach for Wisconsin. Did he get fired prematurely? Perhaps. What we do know is interim head coach Jim Leonhard is going to have this team ready to fight on every play and that toughness was lacking. They may not have the best season but with a brutal defense and a bruiser running back like Braelon Allen, they are going to be a tough out for anyone.
Michigan State Spartans
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One Word: Spoiled
Last year’s Michigan State team was super fun. Kenneth Walker II was running all over the Big Ten and Mel Tucker led his team to its best season in years and earned an extension in the process. Now, however, expectations are at an all-time high and they are not being met. Michigan State isn’t looking to make a change, yet, but Mel Tucker has Spartans faithful spoiled and he needs to remember that.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
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One Word: Seasoned
Tanner Morgan and Mohamed Ibrahim have this Golden Gophers offense rolling. They are averaging 447 yards per game and in the top 30 in the nation. No one expected that out of the fifth year seniors and P.J. Fleck this year but here we are. Consider it the right amount of seasoning to make the Golden Gophers a steak worthy of Saint Elmos.
Penn State Nittany Lions
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One Word: United
This Penn State team is full of leaders both young and old. They compete hard on every play and perhaps that has to do with James Franklin not taking the USC job. Did that make the team come closer and we are now seeing them rise up the ranks because of it? Nobody knows, what we do know is this team is proving to be able to hang with anyone in the conference and it is because of the united front they play with.
