There are hallmarks of great teams that aren't difficult to notice. First of all, if you ever stand next to them on the field, it's hard not to notice how different the elite teams look physically. I remember being on the field before the College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Georgia at Lucas Oil Stadium and being amazed by the players I saw on both teams. Compared to what I had seen at other games, everybody in uniform on that field (OK, everybody aside from Bryce Young) looked like they were from a different planet.
But while body types, speed, athleticism and strength are all key components of great teams, there's another intangible aspect that I think sometimes separates certain teams when they reach the top. There's a ruthlessness that's evident. There are no games off, quarters off or even plays. Some teams show up determined to grind you into dust from the opening kick to the final whistle.
It's a ruthlessness I see in Oregon right now.
The Ducks obliterated Illinois 38-9 on Saturday and it was a game that felt over before that halfway mark of the first quarter. This came a week after blasting Purdue 35-0. What's important to me from these games is not the final scores or the opponents. It was how Oregon treated the games.
A few weeks ago, this Ducks team survived a classic college football battle against Ohio State, winning 32-31. There's a strong argument to be made that it was the biggest win in the history of the Oregon program. It was also the kind of win we've seen cause plenty of other great teams to let their guard down -- to celebrate having "made it."
Oregon hasn't behaved in any such matter, though. They were immediately faced with a classic letdown spot, having to go on the road to face a Purdue team nobody gave a chance in hell .. at night ... on a short week. Oregon didn't blink. It was a clinical destruction of the Boilermakers, and it was followed up with another surgical dismemberment of an Illinois team that came to Autzen Stadium with a 6-1 record.
The slow start that besieged this Ducks team feels like years ago. Oregon has now played four Big Ten games, and outside of the Ohio State game where it led 22-21 at halftime, it's had a three-score lead at halftime in every game.
| Opponent | Halftime Score |
|---|---|
at UCLA | 28-10 |
21-0 | |
vs. Ohio State | 22-21 |
at Purdue | 21-0 |
vs. Illinois | 35-3 |
This is a team that understands the most dangerous thing it can do is allow weaker opponents the chance to believe in themselves. They snuff out hope immediately. The only time this team shows any mercy is in the second half when the battle's been won and their opponent knows it's been defeated. And I'm not even sure it's mercy as much as it's Oregon choosing to mitigate the risk of injury before heading to the locker room and moving on to the next team to crush.
I've watched every team in the Big Ten play multiple games, and while I'm not ready to hand anybody anything, one thing I'm certain of right now is the Ducks are the best team in the league. Indiana's a great story, Penn State hasn't lost and Ohio State has plenty of talent. But if you ask me which team will be crowned Big Ten champion in Indianapolis just over a month from now, I'd pick Oregon without hesitation.
They just look and act differently.
Injury concerns ahead of another huge game
We finally get another clash between top-five teams in the Big Ten this week as No. 3 Penn State will host No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday. B while it's a marquee matchup, it also comes with plenty of question marks.
If you missed it Saturday night, Penn State came back from a 10-7 halftime deficit to beat Wisconsin 28-13 at Camp Randall Stadium. It's a comeback made all the more impressive by the fact the Nittany Lions did so without starting quarterback Drew Allar, who suffered what has been deemed a "lower body injury" late in the first half and hobbled to the locker room. He spent the second half on the sideline in full uniform but with a towel over his head instead of a helmet.
Allar is questionable and will be a game-time decision. The severity of the injury isn't clear because Penn State has absolutely no motivation to say, "Oh yeah, he's fine, he'll play." It makes far more sense to force Ohio State to prepare for both Allar and Beau Pribula since they're different players, and Penn State's offense looks different depending on which one is playing.
But while Pribula played well, it's hard to believe the Nittany Lions would have a better shot at winning with him over Allar.
The Buckeyes have no such problem at QB with Will Howard, but they have plenty of problems with the players tasked to protect him. The Buckeyes lost starting left tackle Josh Simmons in the Oregon game, and then during their narrow win over Nebraska, backup Zen Michalski, who was making his first career start in place of Simmons, was hurt in the fourth quarter. This is a problem for so many reasons.
Tackle had been a sore spot for the Buckeyes offensive line all year, and Simmons was clearly the best option available. The interior of the line was a strength, led by Donovan Jackson, but guess who was moved to left tackle after Michalski was injured? Yep, Jackson. If Jackson starts at left tackle against Penn State, the Buckeyes will weaken the interior of their line to put Jackson -- their best lineman -- in a position he's not accustomed to playing.
And this will be on the road. In front of 100,000 insane Penn State fans. Against a Penn State pass rush that ranks as one of the best in the country.
You never like seeing huge games like these decided by injuries, but there's a good chance this one will be.
Stat of the week
Oregon is ruthless. Indiana is a wagon. However, outside of those two teams, there may not be a hotter Big Ten team than Minnesota at the moment. After a narrow loss at Michigan (one in which plenty of Minnesota fans will tell you they were robbed of a victory), the Gophers have won three straight and absolutely torched Maryland this week with 48 points.
Oddly enough, this three-game win streak began the week after I openly wondered if the marriage between Minnesota and P.J. Fleck would run its course through the end of the season. Do I deserve all the credit for the win streak? I'll let you decide.
Stiff arm of the week
I hope Bo Mascoe is able to laugh about this, because you can be sure his teammates will give him a hard time about it in the film room.
A quick rant on decision-making
Lincoln Riley receives plenty of criticism, both of the fair and unfair variety. I went after him a bit in last week's column when he answered "I don't know" to a question about why USC keeps blowing leads in the second half. USC did not blow a lead this week, beating Rutgers 42-20 during the early morning hours Saturday.
But while USC didn't blow their second-half lead, Riley sure gave us a glimpse of why they might be!
USC scored a touchdown to go ahead 42-20 in the final seconds of the third quarter. Rutgers got the ball back and then went 62 yards in 15 plays before turning the ball over on downs. It was a grind of a drive -- one in which you could see USC's defense breathing heavily. When the Trojans got the ball back, up 22 points with under 10 minutes to play, they didn't look to churn the clock.
The first snap saw Woody Marks break off a 19-yard run. Then, Miller Moss threw an incomplete pass on the ensuing first down. It was followed by a run for no gain and a short pass on third down. USC did not run the clock. They kept the same tempo they had all game. The result was having to send their defense back out after a 15-play drive two minutes of game time later.
Rutgers then put together another slow, 13-play drive.
After watching his team blow late leads and seeing his defense lose key starters to season-ending injuries in recent weeks, I was blown away by Riley's decision-making in the fourth quarter. By the time the final whistle sounded, USC's defense had been on the field for 89 plays and over 36 minutes. That includes 27 plays and 10:22 in the fourth quarter of a game the team already led by 22 points.
It was a stunning lack of awareness in my eyes.
Going with my gut
Every week I pick the Big Ten games against the spread based on nothing but my gut reaction to the number. No digging into numbers -- just vibes, baby. I even track my record to embarrass myself publicly.
All Big Ten college football betting odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Check out the latest FanDuel promo to get in the game.
No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State: As I've gone over, there are injury concerns for both teams heading into this one, but I'm more optimistic about Allar. There's at least a chance he'll play. I don't know how Ohio State's offensive line is supposed to solve all its problems in a week. That combined with Penn State's nasty defensive front and this game being played at Beaver Stadium makes it feel like Penn State's the choice here. Penn State +3.5
Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois -- Illinois +1.5
Northwestern at Purdue -- Purdue +1.5
No. 1 Oregon at Michigan -- Oregon -15.5
No. 13 Indiana at Michigan State -- Indiana -7.5
UCLA at Nebraska -- Nebraska -7.5
Wisconsin at Iowa -- Iowa -3.5
USC at Washington -- Washington +2.5
Last Week: 4-4
Season: 47-39-1