Around the Big Ten

[iam416]

[iam416]

[drok]

1 game does not a season make

[iam416]

[drok]

I tend to agree. Not really sure about Minnesota so far. We will find out soon.

[drok]

All that said, that was one of the most enjoyable games to watch in a long time. Maybe my fav of the Harbaugh era.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I think Wisconsin and M are very similar. They both have one-dimensional offenses and pretty good defenses.

Not sure I get the "one dimensional offenses" thing. Gattis' offense took the field with a heavy lean to ZR/RPO stuff. It was just janky and poorly executed though to the point of gross inefficiency. Who cares the cause.That lasted through the Illinois game and the first quarter of the PSU game..... but you could see the tinkering going on. I'd like to think this was a cooperative effort between the coaches with Harbaugh sitting back at the head of the table doing a CEO thing. It's looked good and really, anything but one dimensional. There's a nice blend of the 2018 power stuff that M did well with, arc-zone reads and such along with a smattering of PA, RPO and pure ZR.

OTH, Wisonsin has been doing what they do for 40 years. I really don't see that offense as being other than very run heavy with a bit of PA stuff and screens but, in the final analysis they feature an almost pure run offense if the opponent allows them to dictate it. They ARE ONE DIMENSIONAL.

I like Coan better than Shea

Man, not me but I'm a homer so consider that. Shea is ascending as Harbugh likes to say. Playing with confidence. He still does his JOK imitation but last night he was damn near perfect on his reads and keep/give decisions. His passes were, for the most part, supper accurate given the conditions. The fade to DPJ in the endzone was a perfect throw for him to go up and get. The Sanistril drag route was near perfect - a bit behind. I don't think Coan reads defenses or makes those throws like Shea is doing right now. Shea two weeks ago? Yeah, Coan was better.

. Different or consistent I can go with but "better"? No.

I think the raw numbers support that Wiscy has a better scoring D but I think looking beyond those numbers I like Brown's approach better and that's a purely subjective eyeball sort of thing. It's a big play defense that can turn a game around with soul crushing plays. It's true, like with Hamler, it can also give up soul crushing plays. I like bold.

Good grief ..... the circumstances involved in M's avalanche loss to the Badgers in Madison are so vastly different next week for osu than they were a month ago for M that such comparisons are pretty weak. I don't think this is a good measure of which team between M and Wisconsin is "better." That's like me asserting that after osu loses next week in Madison, M and osu are teams about equal in quality. That's a laugher.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[WM Wolverine]

Shea is still leaving tons of yards by not pulling; which just makes things tougher on him throwing the ball when he's not a threat to run.

[iam416]

[Tom W]

All that said, that was one of the most enjoyable games to watch in a long time. Maybe my fav of the Harbaugh era.

Agreed- and you can even have the tailgate brats the next day!

[iam416]

I gotta say, though, I love wildly optimistic Buchanan. Just gotta sit back, poke and prod and wait for the gems to come. Good times.

[drok]

I'd still take Wisconsin again if they re-played in Madison. And who cares between Coan and Shea...both are very mediocre.

[iam416]

[drok]

Outside of last night's game, there is little to suggest that this offense is truly "hitting it's stride". Hoping it is true, but I'm still pretty skeptical.