Long before Ohio State football and Michigan football turned their complete attention to their annual game this Saturday, the two rivals were headed down divergent paths. The Buckeyes continue to rank among the best in the nation while the Wolverines have flatlined.
The events of this past week highlight the large gap between Michigan and Ohio State, each featured in this edition of Big Ten winners and losers.
Winners: Ohio State
Ohio State began the week by maintaining a foothold in the preliminary College Football Playoff bracket. It ended the week with a 40-point rout of Michigan State despite the absence of its coach, Ryan Day, and 23 players. In between, the Buckeyes’ main rival, Michigan, was put on the defensive as its leadership was forced to denounce speculation that its recent COVID-19 shutdown was a preemptive move to avoid facing the Buckeyes this Saturday in Columbus.
All the while, Ohio State received support from its conference brethren — namely Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez — who said the league should be open to change its rule of a six-game minimum to ensure the Buckeyes qualify for the Big Ten championship showdown and circumvent a cancellation due to Michigan’s coronavirus outbreak.
All around, it was good news for Ohio State.
BETTING: Michigan football opens as massive underdog against Ohio State
U-M FOOTBALL: What we learned during week off, what to watch vs. Ohio State
James Franklin
It has been a disappointing year in Happy Valley, where Penn State has turned smiles upside down. A team that entered the season ranked in the top ten stumbled to an 0-5 record. But the Nittany Lions haven’t quit, and head coach James Franklin deserves credit for that. Penn State has won its last two games — beating Michigan on Nov. 28 and Rutgers last Saturday.
With a matchup against Michigan State looming this Saturday, it’s conceivable the Nittany Lions could enter the Dec. 19 championship week on a winning streak.
Penn State’s performance in the final stretch could sow the seeds for a rebound in 2021. Teams still willing to fight amidst adversity tend to have better prospects for success in the future.
At the very least, the positive results that have come in recent weeks make this year a little more palatable.
Indiana recruiting
After Indiana defeated Wisconsin with its backup quarterback, the positive mojo that has infused its football program this year continued.
As Tom Allen was interviewed on ABC following the 14-6 victory, one player after another celebrated the Hoosiers head coach while walking off the field.
“Best coach in America,” one of them said. “Recruits, come play for this man.”
The praise continued as they stopped to hug Allen and pat him on the back.
“Best coach in the nation right here,” another player said.
Indiana is 6-1 and sits in the top ten of both polls despite being ranked 13th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten in 247Sports’ team talent composite, which assesses overall roster quality. Indiana football has rarely made much headway on the recruiting trail and has often been relegated to second-tier status, in terms of revenue sports, at its own school.
But things could soon change in Bloomington. Allen has the support of his players and the team is fun to watch. Maybe more prospects in the region will start taking a harder look at Indiana, which has become one of the feel-good stories of 2020.
Losers: Jeff Brohm
Following his first season in West Lafayette, when Purdue qualified for a bowl game, Jeff Brohm was given a contract extension increasing his total compensation to $29 million.
Since then, he has gone 12-19.
The latest defeat that tarnished his record came Saturday, when Purdue fell to Nebraska, 37-27.
Brohm has failed to make the Boilermakers into a contender. And since their shocking upset of Ohio State in 2018, Purdue has had one signature victory — a two-point win over Iowa that came two weeks later.
As Purdue’s current losing streak has stretched to four games, it’s clear Brohm hasn’t delivered the bang for the buck. The contract could become an albatross if the administration tires of the losing.
Purdue went all-in on Brohm, and it’s a move that now seems very questionable.
Michigan
Back in September, as he campaigned for the Big Ten to reinstate the season, head coach Jim Harbaugh touted Michigan’s implementation and adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols. He crowed the program the athletic department had implemented was a “model for everybody.” Flash forward to last week and the football team had to pause activities and cancel its last home game of 2020 against Maryland because of an outbreak. At least 12 people had tested positive for the virus.
Michigan’s ability to avoid the brunt of COVID-19 had been its only success story in a 2-4 season.
Worse is that Michigan has had its integrity challenged because of the timing associated with COVID-19-induced shutdown. Athletic director Warde Manuel fought back against baseless speculation that the Wolverines were using the virus as an excuse to avoid playing Ohio State and sabotage its rival’s chances of playing in the Big Ten title game. It wasn’t a fair charge, but it caused a lot of headaches at Schembechler Hall during an unpleasant week for Michigan football.
Wisconsin
At the outset of the season, there was a lot of positive buzz around Wisconsin. The Badgers had just trounced Illinois and its new starting quarterback Graham Mertz looked like the second coming of Joe Montana. But since then, COVID-19 and dodgy performances have sidetracked them.
Wisconsin is just 2-2 entering the final week of the regular season and Mertz has resembled a different 49er, Steve DeBerg, as he’s completed fewer than 60% of his pass attempts in each of his last three games.
The latest disappointment came Saturday, when the Badgers lost to an Indiana team they were favored to beat by two touchdowns.
What happened to Wisconsin? The interruptions caused by the coronavirus appear to have had a deleterious effect and transformed the Badgers from a promising team into a mediocre one.
Contact Rainer Sabin at . Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Big Ten winners, losers: Indiana up, but Michigan football still down
