Jon Joseph

LSU gets Bama, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma at home and does not play Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. LSU is still a viable contender for the SEC title. But on the penalty front, it must get out of its own way. That was a B1G win for SC and the conference. I'm hoping Michigan can give Texas a 4 quarter-game and that Wisconsin is not embarrassed by Bama. B1G vs SEC games will resonate into December.

Thanks, Darren for the reminder that it was Week 1. After a too-long offseason, there is always overreaction positive and negative to Week 1 results ( maybe not in Tallahassee?) The D was OUTSTANDING. The portal newbies fit right in and balled out. The 'stud' portal guys on the FSU roster have failed to play together. And DJU compared to Gabe; well, there is no comparison. From the head coach on down the Oregon team, at least on offense, was not prepared for the opening game. You tell college kids they are terrific and they are going to believe it. The Idaho coaches and players did not know that they were expendable. (Thank you, movie 'Shooter.') The Vandals coaching staff was savvy enough to play the D that UW played vs. the Ducks in the 2023 conference champ game and both Stein and Gabriel were risk-averse. OK, the OL play stank. As noted above, it's nice when you can show up with your C or D game on one side of the ball and win. Darren, with seven at-large PO spots, do cheer for the B1G. The final couple of at-large spots will depend on where the conference as a whole is ranked and the B1G needs more than six teams in the top 25 to match the SEC and a number of ridiculously easy SEC eight conference games schedules. Thanks again, and BUST the Broncos.

The defense was excellent vs Idaho. In last season's LA Bowl, Boise was sticking it to UCLA in the 1st half before Garbers came in at QB and the Bruins D stepped up and showed the game was P5 vs G5. In 2024 is Oregon FSU. or the 1st half editions of Ohio State and Georgia.

Week 2 B1G Story Lines From B1G Tradition The B1G storylines for Week 2 SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Michigan's showdown against Texas is the biggest game of the week, but it's not the only storyline in the Big Ten.

Dropped to 10 in ESPN's FPI; however, I see no lower than No. 7 in the Coaches and AP Polls. Doesn't RJ Young (who?) know that FOX Sports is supposed to be Puddles partner? I'm hoping Boise will slip into the top 25. Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State (should move up,) Michigan, Iowa (a chance to climb if the Hawkeyes defeat Iowa State,) and USC (should move up) will stay in the top 25. If Nebraska defeats CU, and Illinois defeats Kansas they could move into the top 25. How far will 13 LSU and 20 A+M drop? Does an SEC team losing to a top 25 team count as a loss?

USC, my B1G (Traveler) Dark Horse. However, my ACC Dark Horse, VA Tech, lost to VANDERBILT!😒 The SC O-line held its own against some very good D lineman and LBs. And how about a few of those Circus Catches? WOW! It was a bit frustrating watching Dowdell score a TD for Nebraska. But the fastest RB on the planet can't run without holes being opened. It's a risk, but QBs being a legitimate run option in CFB helps open up the running game. Is Dante Moore and the other QBs so far behind DG that he is going to play like Justin Herbert before the Rose Bowl game? I was not impressed by Stein's game plan. Get DG involved in the run game. He was a very good runner at UCF and Oklahoma but he looked tentative Saturday on plays where he could have run for good yardage. And it helps to run RPO plays when its Goal to Go.

With the impressive win by USC, the B1G went 17-1, 2-1 vs the P4. Wins over the B12, Penn State vs W Virginia, and the SEC, LSU. Loss - Minnesota vs UNC. The SEC went 13-3 and 2-2 vs. the P4. 2-0 vs. the ACC, Clemson, and VA Tech, and losses by two ranked teams, A+M and LSU to Notre Dame and USC. And Florida was destroyed by Miami and MariO in The Swamp. Huge game on tap when Texas -6.5 visits Michigan. 9 AM Pacific - FOX Other B1G vs P4 - 9/6 - Northwestern vs Duke - 6 PM 9/7 - Iowa vs Iowa State - 12:30 Illinois vs Kansas - 4 PM Nebraska vs. CU - 4:30 PM OREGON vs G5 Frontrunner Boise State - 7 PM - On Peacock An early conference game - Michigan State at Maryland - 12:30 BUST THE BRONCOS!

FOX and Disney/ESPN with Warner Brothers formed the streaming service, VENU, for a reason. VENU will probably be the primary broadcast site for Super Conference games, but not without a fight. I expect 'left behind teams' to not go quietly but to go screaming to the Justice Department and file a suit or two claiming VENU violates anti-trust laws. Instead of VENU, I'd like to see a Super Conference channel, ala the NFL Network to take the game inventory away from 3rd party media entities that could care less about the viewing public with a percentage of the SC Network revenue being shared with lower division teams.

How about some tough Trojans? B1G win for the B1G and SC. 👍😊

Regroup? Not the B1G from top to bottom including most definitely, USC. 17-1 in B1G Week 1 games. Could and should have been 18-0 but for two FG misses by Minnesota's usually reliable kicker. 1-0 vs. the SEC with USC's thrilling win over LSU last night as LSU came up snake eyes on its last two trips West; one versus UCLA and last night in Las Vegas. A huge win for Lincoln Riley. The defense gave a lot of yards but mostly passing yards. What a difference a change new coaches on the D side of the ball make in SC's toughness including tackling. Oregon lost its 30-plus points per game scoring streak but won the game. LSU was held to 20 points notwithstanding putting up over 400 yards of offense. Say It Ain't So Pawl! The Ducks will regroup. USC is now a contender for the B1G title. No Oregon and no Ohio State and other than at Michigan which now appears to be a winnable game for Troy, all of SC's biggest B1G games are in LA. The Ducks win against Idaho by season's end will be just that, a win. SC's win over an SEC team will reverberate into December and could be meaningful if it comes down to B1G vs. SEC for a Playoff spot. Thanks, Alex for the terrific article. You don't play your best and win; well, plenty of teams this season will not play their best and take the L. OBD vs USC in Indy? Bust the Broncos!

Oregon had the ball 20 minutes more than Idaho and outgained Idaho by close to 300 yards. Won the turnover battle and held Idaho to 15% conversion of 3rd/4th downs. If this is the key to holding Oregon down, I hope all other opponents find the same lock and key. This was one of the weirdest games I have watched in six-plus decades of watching college football. The stats say Oregon should have won by 30+ points. Ohio State struggled for a time vs Akron. Georgia struggled for a half vs Clemson. Oregon put together two (very) late drives to put the game out of reach. The Oregon D throttled Idaho. The O couldn't capitalize on the stat advantage because of O-line issues that are correctable. When you can get a wake-up call and win you are fortunate. Oregon played its C- game and won by ten points over a gritty well-coached opponent. Every year in CFB is a starting over year. Keep the faith. 👍 Boise's O because of the run game put up lots of points vs Georgia State. It's D gave up lots of points. You can bet that Dan will have the D prepared to stop the run game. Boise will not win airing it out vs. this defense. I think the game will be a battle and that's fine. There will be battles in the regular season in a conference that went 16-1 with the SC game being played tonight.

Early lines for Week 2 B1G Games. OREGON -19.5 vs Boise State O/U 61.5 Vegas is still in Puddles corner. Will the Ducks D be able to hold Boise RB Ashton Jeanty - 20 carries, 267 yards 13.35 Yards Per Carry, 6 TDs on the road vs Georgia State to 100 yards or less? Will Jeffrey Bassa be good to go? Michigan +6.5 vs Texas Penn State -31.5 vs Bowling Green Maryland -8.5 vs Michigan State Iowa -2.5 vs Iowa State UW -23.5 vs E. Michigan Illinois +6.5 vs Kansas Nebraska -6.5 vs CU Northwestern -2.5 vs Duke Ohio State -37.5 vs W Michigan

B1G's Saturday Tradition Take on Saturday's Game. 3 takeaways from Oregon’s uncomfortable win over Idaho to open 2024 SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Oregon won its opener. There were no surprises there. But it never felt smooth against the Idaho Vandals. Nothing new, but a good objective view of the game including noting that a walk-on started at center. No matter the health of other O-line guys vs Boise, Poncho best be playing center, the QB of the O-line. Starting a back-up at O-line shows a lack of depth at the position.

I have two words - WEEK ONE.

Please, repeat after me: Week 1; Week 1; Week 1; Week 1. Do not make knee-jerk judgments. OL play is a ballet. Yesterday, Oregon played with a makeshift O line which affects everyone on the line including the tackles. And of course, affects the passing game when the QB does not have, or believes he does not have, time to go through the "West Coast O" progressions. Idaho is a proud FCS program. Idaho was the No. 4 seed in the 2023 FCS playoff. Idaho's coach had bulletin board material the size of Moscow. Idaho was inspired. The Ducks were prepared to play a game they believed would be over at the end of the National Anthem. Talent is one thing, attitude, leverage, and want-to another. Get Poncho back at center with Bedford playing next week and Gabriel using his wheels when the opportunity to do so is there, and I believe we will see a different team vs, Boise, one not coasting on preseason laurels. WEEK 1.

Week 1 - Do not overreact positively. Do not overreact negatively. Come December, the 'close' victory over Idaho is a W, period. Hopefully, this game will send HUey Bris out the door and get the entire program from the coaches to the players to Puddles ready to bring the 'A' and not the 'C-' game versus Boise State and one of the best RBs in the country. Boise scored a lot of points yesterday but for a team with a veteran defense, it gave up a lot of points. Bust the Broncos!

These boys aren't spuds duds. Boise's stud RB ran for 267 yards today. Hopefully, the Ducks come away with the win and have their game face on next week. Any unit have a better than C grade? This is why you want to open against an FCS opponent.

ATTICUS - LATIN - Man from Athens. I get a kick out of U!

Hurricane Warning! Oh no, MariO. Judd Fisch to Florida?

Who's that coming down the track? It's a mean machine in red and black that blew out Dabo without its best running back! UGA looked AWESOME!

GREED on display! The money the Pac-2 purloined from the Pac-10 dimwits means more to the Beavers and Cougars than does the opportunity to compete for a conference title. The idea that these two nonentities will rebuild the Pac-12 is a long con that folks like butt-kissing Canzano buy into. The two paid millions for MW game inventory and in the process, agreed to an extra $10M for every MW team they poach. This is how you rebuild the Pac-12? OBD is stuck playing these Sons of Beavers for the next two seasons but that's enough! PUNISH THE POTATO PICKERS!

After the Gophers kicker booted the game vs UNC on Thursday, the B1G needs Penn State to come through today in Morgantown. J. Smith and Sparty overcame a horrendous coaching decision and the Badgers finally took down W. Michigan. These would have been embarrassing losses. The 1st B1G vs SEC game is SC vs LSU. Which bad defense has improved from 2023? Was Miller Moss's Holiday performance an outlier? Will LSU QB Nussmeier be able to come close to Heisman winner Daniels's 2023 performance? Is there a Tiger WR or two who can replace the talent that matriculated to the League? Michigan will be a home underdog to Texas. Ditto Wisconsin vs Bama. The B1G needs to win one of these three games; these games are remembered in December. MASH the Potato Pickers!

Jonathan Smith, KICK THE DAMN FIELD GOAL + Go Up By 2 Scores! Sparty is fortunate it won a game that should have been 19-10 MSU, not 16 to 10. Minny's kicker missed 2 FG last night, the walk-off missed FG was from 44 yards out but at least Fleck did not miss the chance to score by making senseless decisions.

Me Likey Mr. Mendoza's Pick of OBD Winning the B1G! College football season predictions: Picks for who makes playoff, wins title and more WWW.USATODAY.COM Unexpected results are the norm during the college football season. But even with that challenge, here's our season predictions from our experts.

Thanks, David, great take. No surprise that Mike West beat me to the Texas Tech punch!