Kickoff Week is in the books. And while every weekend isn’t going to come with the same level of hype as the opening slate, it’s safe to assume already that the Big Ten has plenty of entertainment in store for fans this season.
There was a major upset in Wisconsin. A division contender in the West shockingly was tripped up at home. The powerhouse rivals in the East put on a pair of offensive shows that already are ramping up expectations for the last Saturday in November.
Of course, there’s a long way to go before then -- thankfully. And it took only one Saturday to offer an important reminder that anything can and will happen between now and the end of the regular season.
Buckle up: It’s only going to get better.
Team of the week: Wisconsin. For all the hand-wringing over the schedule and after seemingly being written off entirely against a top-five opponent to open the year, the Badgers tuned it all out and delivered a performance that sent shockwaves around the country by knocking off LSU. Perhaps more importantly, it put the favorites in the conference race on notice that nothing is going to come easily over a five-week stretch starting on Sept. 24 when the rugged Badgers take on Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa all in a row. Just for good measure, Justin Wilcox erased one more doubt that had hung over the heads of the Badgers all offseason, turning in a fantastic performance in his debut as defensive coordinator -- with predecessor Dave Aranda in the building and on the losing side.
Big man on campus (offense): J.T. Barrett. Healthy, confident and controversy-free, Ohio State’s star quarterback just might force the Weekly Rewind to add a non-Barrett stipulation to this honor at some point instead of just penciling him in over and over. With his trying sophomore campaign fully in the rearview mirror, Barrett returned to his record-setting freshman ways with what appears to be an embarrassment of riches to work with at the skill positions. It’s only one game, and Ohio State will face better defenses than the one Bowling Green brought to the Horseshoe, but opening the year with a school-record seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) might cause some defensive coordinators to lose a bit of sleep.
Big man on campus (defense): Tai’yon Devers. The Minnesota defensive end may not have made all that many plays in the opening win over Oregon State, but he’s the perfect example of quality over quantity. Devers made only two tackles for the Gophers, but they were both sacks that also forced fumbles to put him high on the conference leaderboards in a couple of categories right off the bat. The splashy debut for the three-star recruit wasn’t perfect, since it was brought to a premature end thanks to an ejection for targeting that will force him to watch the opening half this week against Indiana State. But he’s already proven that he doesn’t need many plays to make an impact.
Big man on campus (special teams): Tyler Durbin. Even in the days leading up to kickoff, Urban Meyer still was joking that he didn’t know the name of the walk-on kicker who had unexpectedly made himself a candidate for playing time and wound end up starting against Bowling Green. By the time he had drilled his 11th extra point of the blowout victory, odds are Meyer had it drilled into his memory. A former soccer player at James Madison, Durbin is playing only his second year of competitive football, but he has drawn rave reviews since hitting a 62-yard field goal during training camp. He wasn’t needed for anything other than extra points on Saturday, so the jury may still be out on him at this point. But Ohio State has struggled at the position over the last couple of seasons, and Durbin may be a name to know for the Big Ten contenders.
Best play: Nebraska couldn’t have done a better job paying tribute to Sam Foltz in its first game without the punter after his tragic accident this summer. And Fresno State deserves credit as well for declining the penalty after the Huskers took a delay of game by lining up with only 10 players for their first punt of the season. Nebraska turned what obviously has been a difficult situation for players, coaches and fans into a wonderful moment.
Biggest faceplant: There still is plenty of season ahead for Northwestern, and dropping a nonconference game does nothing to hurt its chances of contending in what should be a wide-open West Division. But losing at home to a Mid-American Conference member certainly raises questions about the viability of the Wildcats in that race, even if a bizarre call when they appeared poised to take a late lead can be pointed to as an excuse for coming up short against Western Michigan. Pat Fitzgerald, though, wasn’t looking to deflect any blame after allowing the Broncos to rack up nearly 40 minutes of possession and almost 100 more yards of offense than the Wildcats, and now he’s got some work to do to get his team back on track.
