What's The B1G Deal - GNOMES HATE IOWA!

Ah HATE WEEK...is there anything sweeter than reviewing the B1G when the HATE WEEK rival just got depantsed by a MAC team? No, there is not. The gnomes agree. This is also the first week of B1G play. Easy to forget with all the HATE floating around. Ok, no more wasting time. Bring on the recap HATE!

Iowa (2-2)

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! They have hands team players that are afraid of the football! I mean, really? To quote Tweeder from Varsity Blues

Just catch the ball! "Oh, a ball. I'm gonna catch it." That's all.

Iowa fans aren't happy with this. Here is a sample of Black Heart Gold Pants story titles. I'm not even going to quote from them. Just click and enjoy the schadenfreude.

- At the Bottom Of Everything

- Central Michigan 32, Iowa 31: Idiots on Parade

- POST GAME SUPERTHREAD: GNASH GNASH REVOLUTION

Gopher gnomes?

Up next? HATE WEEK match-up @ Kinnick versus the much more awesome University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers #ProtectThePig @ 11am on ESPN2.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The gnomes ask that you post HATE WEEK fun in the comments. The would remind you to not cross the line (you should all know where that is).

Now back to your regular alphabetical roundup...

Illinois (2-2)

Really Illinois? Go sit in the corner and think about what you've done. A Lion Eye is understandably displeased.

In an Illini game, I never rise above a 3 on the anger meter. I certainly understand those that do, and I don’t blame them, especially after a game like tonight. But for me, it’s 7% anger, 93% pain. It just hurts so much. I want a winning football program at the University of Illinois so. very. badly. I want in the club. I want regular seven/eight win seasons and occasional Florida bowls. I want relevance.

With each turnover tonight, that relevance slipped further and further away. I picture Northwestern fans seeing our score and laughing and it cuts so deep. I can sense the "I thought Illinois fired Zook" tweets by national writers, every one of them a punch to the gut. When you want something that much, the failure to achieve it hurts. And when you lose at home to a WAC team, proving you’re light years away from your goal, there’s no description that fits the pain. When it hits, it’s hard to breathe.

The gnomes were speechless:

Up next? Penn State comes to Champaign-Urbana. 11am on ESPN.

Indiana (2-1)

Indiana defeated their age old rival, BYE WEEK, in a game that was closer than expected. No recap to share, so here is a Northwestern preview from The Crimson Quarry.

Up next? The Hoosiers travel to Northwestern. 11am on BTN.

Michigan State (3-1)

Welp, that was uglier than expected. Not sure what else to say. The Only Colors?

The final numbers didn't look too bad, but anyone who watched the game knows how close MSU was to being upset by Eastern Michigan. Mark Dantonio watched the game, if you couldn't tell by the video above (or if you knew anything about football).

Coming into the game, the hope was MSU would be able to work out the kinks in the passing game by cruising to a win. That wasn't the case. MSU struggled do to anything through the air and needed some late touchdowns to pull away from the Eagles in a 23-7 victory.

Up next? Ohio State comes to Spartan Stadium. Big matchup, as College Gameday will be there. 2:30pm on ABC.

Michigan (2-2)

Sigh...so the Domers roll over the B1G this year. Denard must have gotten the "INT's can be TD's now" message from the NFL replacements refs a bit early. Maize n Brew breaks it down:

Michigan traveled to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and it got ugly. Not ugly in an Alabama sense, but ugly in a Michigan v Notre Dame 2008 sense. Michigan outplayed Notre Dame for the vast majority of the game but failed to convert on countless red zone attempts.

Up next? BYE

Nebraska (3-1)

The Huskers destroyed something called Idaho State. Corn Nation with the only sentence that matters:

It was a blowout and completely uncompetitive.

Up next? Wisconsin comes to Lincoln. Both teams will be playing in pajamas designed by Adidas. 7pm on ABC.

Northwestern (4-0)

Northwestern finished off their non-con slate undefeated by taking down South Dakota. This is a great start for Fitz's squad. Sippin On Purple is happy about 4-0 but meh about the game:

Well, Northwestern is still undefeated. The game obviously was pretty meh, not because Northwestern didn't play well, but because Northwestern didn't need to play well: the Wildcats were bigger and stronger and faster and it was a two-touchdown game within ten minutes. 38-7 isn't the most impressive scoreline ever recorded against an FCS team, but it's what NU needed. They got in, got out, got the W, and didn't get anybody hurt enough that they won't be playing next week, although there was a scare with Kain Colter.

Up next? They remain undefeated after playing Indiana. 11am on BTN.

Ohio State (4-0)

Kept the theme for the weekend going by coming out sluggish against UAB. Land Grant Holy Land keeps things in perspective:

The 2012 iteration of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team is nothing if not consistent. They start slow but eventually pick up the pace and distance themselves from their opponent. They have holes on offense that are filled by athletic ability and skill. The defense has issues tackling but makes enough big hits and creates enough turnovers to mask the ill effects of such play. The team has yet to reach its potential, but got out of the Horseshoe with another win.

Up next? OSU travels to Michigan State. 7pm on ABC.

Penn State (2-2)

It seems like the ship may have been righted, at least for now. PSU avoided another embarrassing loss by taking down Temple. That's probably one reason that Black Shoe Diaries is still with Bill O'Brien. Here's another:

I bought and own all of the conventional football wisdom: good defense and a strong running game; control the ball, control the clock; and, of course, games are more often lost than won. And it's not like Bill O'Brien ignores those maxims - until this Temple game, Penn State was one of the least penalized teams in major college football. But he seems to have added his own: let's go win.

Steve Addazzio, down 18 points in the 3rd quarter, on the road, with 4th and 5 at the Penn State 40, played it 'safe' and punted. Bill O'Brien, tied 0 - 0 in the first quarter, with 4th and 5 at the Temple 40, tried to win. It worked out, with Allen Robinson hauling in a McGloin pass for a touchdown. Maybe next time it won't work. But if it doesn't, so what. Go win the next play.

Bill O'Brien doesn't coach scared. Man, do I love it.

Up next? PSU travels to Illinois. 11am on ESPN.

Purdue (2-1)

Laid a whooping on BYE WEEK. Painful to watch. Here is a Marshall preview from Hammer & Rails.

Up next? Marshall comes to West Lafayette. 2:15pm (???) on BTN

Wisconsin (3-1)

I can see why Wisconsin fans keep arriving late to games. Letting UTEP score first on my team isn't some I'd want to see either. Monty Ball went out with a concussion but might be back. The running game heated up but still isn't there. And new QB Joel Stave wasn't horrid. Oh and the USA today SID poll increased their ranking (sigh...). Good news? The Badgers are still worth laughing at. Bucky's 5th Quarter?

In what looks to be a season long trend, the Badgers pulled out an ugly 37-26 victory over UTEP on Saturday in front of a late arriving crowd of 79,806.

Up next? Pajama party fight at Nebraska. 7pm on ABC.