After a dominating 46-3 season-opening win over Maine last Saturday, Iowa stays home at Kinnick Stadium where it plays four of its first five games of the season.  The Hawkeyes have taken 33 of the last 40 games played in Iowa City and expect to add to that success this week in their first meeting against Florida International, a team that fell 40-10 at No. 14 Kansas last week.  Sept. 6 has been a fairly successful and productive day for the Hawkeyes as they have twice played on that date, winning both contests by a margin of 122-7.

Iowa showed its strength last week with three solid performances at running back and a pair of impressive efforts at quarterback.  The Hawkeyes ran for 245 yards against Maine, led by junior Shonn Greene, whose 109 yards and a touchdown, marked the first time he eclipsed 100 yards since his collegiate debut in the 2005 season opener.  Speaking of freshmen, Jewel Hampton added 68 yards on nine runs for two touchdowns in his first game last Saturday.  Quarterbacks Jake Christensen (9-15-1, 122 yards) and Ricky Stanzi (9-14-0, 90 yards) combined to complete 18 of 29 passes for 212 yards and a score last week.  FIU allowed 128 yards rushing against Kansas, as well as 256 through the air for a total of 384 yards. Rob Mitchell led the team with 13 tackles, including eight solos, as did Scott Bryant who posted 11 total tackles on the day.   

Looking to rebound from a disappointing home-opener loss to Utah last week, Michigan is focused this week on a Miami (Ohio) team it has beaten in all four games in the series.  In fact, the Wolverines have been quite impressive over that span by outscoring the RedHawks, 167-42, and allowing only five total touchdowns in the series.  The teams last met in 2004 when Michigan defeated Miami, 43-10, but only outgained the RedHawks in yards by a 274-250 margin.

Wolverine head coach Rich Rodriguez is hoping some of the magic of that 2004 game returns to help him earn his first victory in Ann Arbor.  That day a freshman by the name of Chad Henne earned a surprise start and threw two touchdowns en route to the Wolverines’ victory.  Henne went on to have a very successful career at Michigan and now Rodriguez is looking for his next star at quarterback. After previously taking only four career snaps, sophomore Nick Sheridan started at the helm of the Wolverine offense last week and completed a team-high 11-of-19 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Steven Threet saw time under center in the second half and connected on 8-of-19 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown.  The U-M offense managed only 203 total yards, including 167 in the air and 36 rushing on 25 attempts.  In a 34-13 home loss to Vanderbilt last week, Miami allowed 269 yards rushing, including 166 by QB Chris Nickson.  The RedHawks’ defense gave up only 91 yards through the air, however, and registered 10 tackles for loss.  Senior linebacker Joey Hudson totaled 14 tackles, including 2.5 TFLs, and one forced fumble in the game.

After a heartbreaking 38-31 loss at California last week, Michigan State returns home to face an Eastern Michigan squad fresh off a 52-0 blanking of Indiana State.  The Eagles have also been shutout when it comes to MSU and Big Ten competition as the Spartans have taken all seven games in the series and EMU is 0-23 against Big Ten teams.

Both teams had no issues scoring points last week, but MSU opted for the air while the Eagles did their damage on the ground.  Michigan State racked up 321 yards passing, including 202 on nine passes to Mark Dell, which marked the fifth-biggest yardage total for a receiver in Spartan history.  QB Brian Hoyer was 20-of-48 passing and tossed a touchdown and an interception in the loss.  Javon Ringer rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns.  EMU limited Indiana State to only 132 total yards on offense, including 57 in the air and 75 on the ground.  The Eagles forced ISU to punt nine times and posted three interceptions on the day, including two by Jermaine Jenkins.

Eastern Michigan outgained Indiana State 637-132 last week and owned 35:04 of the clock.  Quarterback Andy Schmitt was 15-of-20 passing for 160 yards and a score, while Kyle McMahon was 6-of-8 for 64 yards.  Terrence Blevins was dominant in the running game as he totaled 176 yards on 21 carries for two touchdowns.  Seven EMU rushers played key roles in amounting 424 yards on the ground last week.  Receivers Jacory Stone and Ben Thayer had team highs of five receptions and 51 yards, respectively.  Michigan State allowed 203 yards rushing and 264 through the air in last week’s defeat.  MSU’s Greg Jones had a team-best eight tackles against Cal, including two for loss, while senior strong safety Otis Wiley recorded two interceptions for 84 return yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Chris L. Rucker had a career-high seven tackles, including five solos.  

Minnesota and head coach Tim Brewster proved last Saturday its strong desire to win as the Golden Gophers scored their first fourth-quarter game-winning touchdown since Nov. 18, 2000, and broke their 10-game winless streak in a 31-27 victory over Northern Illinois at the Metrodome.  A gutsy run by Duane Bennett on a 4th-and-1 call at the Northern Illinois 3-yard line resulted in a first down and a game-winning run by him on the next play.

This weekend Minnesota hits the road to Bowling Green, which scored a game-winner of its own in the Metrodome last year in a 32-31 overtime victory over the Gophers.  Minnesota now faces a team fresh off a shocking 27-17 road upset over No. 25 Pittsburgh.  The Falcons were behind 14-0 early and were outgained 137-6 in the first quarter, but managed to outscore Pitt 27-3 the rest of the way to secure the victory. Quarterback Tyler Sheehan, a third-team All-MAC honoree who passed for 388 yards against Minnesota last year, was 24-of-40 passing for 163 yards and a touchdown against Pitt.  Fellow signal caller Freddie Barnes was 2-for-2 for 27 yards and a score.  Jimmy Scheidler, who had just one career reception for minus-4 yards prior to last week, caught three balls for 30 yards and two touchdowns and earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts.  Chris Bullock led the team in both receiving and rushing with seven receptions for 49 yards and seven carries for 44 yards, including a career-long 36-yard run.  Minnesota’s Tramaine Brock had five tackles, Marcus Sherels broke up three passes and Barrett Moen recorded 1.5 sacks for 14 yards last week.

Last Saturday relieved a little stress off Minnesota sophomore quarterback Adam Weber as he did not have to lead the team in both passing and rushing.  Weber was 24-of-37 for 298 yards and two touchdowns, while Bennett ran for 92 yards on 18 carries for two scores.  Eric Decker led the team with 10 catches and 89 yards and one TD.  Bowling Green junior cornerback Jahmal Brown led the team with a career-high 14 tackles last week, including a nation-leading 11 solo stops, seven of which were in the first quarter.  Senior DB Kenny Lewis, the MAC Defensive Player of the Week, recorded six tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one interception in the win last week.  Punter Nick Iovinelli, whose previous long punt of 55 yards came against the Gophers last year, booted a 79-yarder that was downed at the Pitt 2-yard line as one of his eight kicks last Saturday.

Northwestern captured its fourth straight season opener last week with a 30-10 win over Syracuse, but now travels to Duke, a team which opened its season under new head coach David Cutcliffe with a 31-7 win over James Madison.  Duke owns an 8-7 series advantage over the Wildcats and both topped and stopped NU last year in Evanston. After pulling to 20-14 early in the fourth quarter, NU marched to the Duke 7-yard line in the final seconds and had four cracks at the end zone, but came up empty.  Northwestern will look for redemption Saturday as it visits Wallace Wade Stadium.  Both teams are hoping that Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna will not disturb kickoff, nor will any misdirected parachutists, like the one that landed at Duke last Saturday instead of his intended target of UNC.

Northwestern and Duke both put up impressive rushing performances in their opening week wins.  The Wildcats posted 269 yards rushing, which ranked 13th nationally, led by senior Tyrell Sutton and his 144 yards.  He also boasted 41 receiving yards, including a 12-yarder for a touchdown.  Quarterback C.J. Bachér was 23-of-35 passing for 215 yards and three scores, while Andrew Brewer led NU in receiving with six catches for 48 yards.  Leading the way for the Blue Devils’ defense last week was Michael Tauiliili with nine tackles, Wesley Oglesby had four stops, including two for loss, one sack and one forced fumble, and DB Jabari Marshall returned an interception for 67 yards.

Duke, which has only five wins in the last four years, rushed for 218 yards on 48 carries last week, marking the first time the Blue Devils eclipsed 200 yards rushing since Oct. 28, 2006. Senior Clifford Harris carried the ball 17 times for a career-high 95 yards and two touchdowns.  Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis was 17-of-28 passing, including at least one toss to 10 receivers, for 141 total yards.  His two touchdowns went to Eron Riley, who tallied seven catches for 67 yards.  The Northwestern defense allowed Syracuse just 225 total yards and 68 in the second half.  The total was the fewest yards allowed in a NU season opener since 1998.  Malcolm Arrington had 10 tackles on the day, while Quentin Davie and Brendan Smith recorded a sack and an interception, respectively.

Last week was an impressive one for both Northwestern and Duke punters.  Blue Devil sophomore punter recorded a career long 68-yard punt, besting his previous long of 64 against NU last year.  His four punts totaled 214 yards, an average of 53.5 yards per boot, and he placed two inside the 20-yard line.  Wildcat punter Stefan Demos averaged only 32 yards per punt, but landed all six kicks inside the 20 for Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Ohio State enters the weekend looking for its 800th all-time victory and history shows the Buckeyes have a good chance of getting that victory over Ohio University.  Saturday marks the sixth time the two teams have met, with the Buckeyes holding a 135-16 scoring advantage in its five wins, including a 40-16 result in their last meeting, played in Columbus in 1999.

The Buckeyes pitched a shutout in their season home opener with a 43-0 blanking of Youngstown State.  But it was the offense, and primarily one offensive player, that stole the headlines against the Penguins.  Running back Chris “Beanie” Wells, who many critics feel was one of the few Heisman Trophy favorites to start the season, injured his foot in the third quarter.  X-rays showed no broken bones, but Wells has been kept out of practice this week while undergoing treatment.  With a road game at top-ranked USC next week, Ohio State will sit their talented tailback this week and give him the extra rest.  That won’t hamper the OSU offense, however, as 11 different Buckeyes caught at least one pass from Todd Boeckman last week.  He was 14-of-19 passes for 187 yards and even shared the pocket with Terrelle Pryor.  The freshman finished with 35 yards passing and 52 yards rushing, while scoring on an 18-yard fourth-quarter run in his debut.  Pryor was one of 11 freshmen to see the field against YSU, as was DeVier Posey, who had a team-high four catches for 47 yards.  Brian Hartline led the Buckeyes with 59 reception yards on just two catches.  Ray Small and Brian Robiskie, who scored on a 31-yard TD pass, each had three receptions last week.  Ohio’s Noah Keller had 15 tackles in the Bobcats’ 21-20 loss at Wyoming last week. Neil Jereb and Steven Jackson both recorded interceptions as well.  

The Buckeyes’ defense held Youngstown State to just 74 yards of offense, which included minus-11 rushing yards.  OSU also forced the Penguins to punt on nine of its 12 possessions. Tyler Moeller led the way with six tackles, while Lawrence Wilson and Thaddeus Gibson each recorded a sack.  In the Bobcats’ loss, quarterback Theo Scott was 26-of-35 passing for 224 yards and one touchdown and managed to find his primary target Taylor Price 14 times for 139 yards, both of which were career highs.  Chris Garrett led the team on the ground with just 30 yards on 12 carries.  Another notable for Ohio last week was redshirt freshman Donte Harden, who tied the game at 14 in the second quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return.

After a dominant 66-10 season-opening win over Coastal Carolina at Beaver Stadium last Saturday, Penn State remains at home to welcome Oregon State – the lone Pac-10 team the Nittany Lions have never faced on the gridiron.  A win on Saturday gives PSU head coach Joe Paterno yet another chance to take the lead over Florida State’s Bobby Bowden as the NCAA’s all-time winningest football coach.  Paterno tied Bowden last week by earning career win No. 373 in a game that saw the Nittany Lions score the most points in their season opener since 1926.

Penn State’s offense was dominant throughout last week.  The Nittany Lions accumulated 594 yards – their most since posting 661 yards in a 59-34 win at Rutgers in 1995 – and rushed for 334 yards and seven touchdowns while passing for 260 yards through the air.  Sophomore tailback Evan Royster scored a career-high three touchdowns and gained 64 yards on eight carries, one of four PSU running backs to rush for 60 yards or more.  Freshman Stephfon Green had a game-high 89 yards on 10 carries and two scores.  Brent Carter gained a career-high 67 yards and Chaz Powell scored on a 55-yard reverse.  Quarterback Daryll Clark was a consistent 11-of-14 for 146 yards in his first start, which included a five-yard TD pass to Jordan Norwood, who led the receiving corps with 74 yards on four catches.  Quarterback Pat Devlin also saw time under center last Saturday, throwing for 83 yards on 5-of-8 passing.  As for Oregon State, the Beavers limited Stanford to 91 yards passing, but allowed 210 yards rushing in the Cardinal’s 36-28 conference win.  Senior linebacker Bryant Cornell led OSU with 11 tackles, followed by safety Greg Laybourn and linebacker Keaton Kristick with seven tackles each.

Oregon State has not faced a Big Ten opponent since playing at Michigan in 1986 and now the Beavers are heading to Beaver Stadium.  They have won three of their last four road games against Top 25 teams and have won four of their last five overall versus Top 25 foes.  OSU racked up 490 yards of offense last week and has averaged 441 yards over the last four outings.  QB Lyle Moevao is fourth in the country with 404 passing yards and seventh in total offense.  His primary targets, Shane Morales (151 yards) and Sammie Stroughter (157 yards), hauled in 13 and 12 passes, respectively, in last week’s lost.  OSU managed only 84 yards rushing, led by Jacquizz Rodgers, which is good news for Penn State as it held CCU to 52 rushing yards on 32 attempts. Linebacker Tyrell Sales led with seven stops and a forced fumble, while Navorro Bowman recorded six tackles.

The Purdue Boilermakers enjoyed an extra week off and are now ready to open their 2008 campaign against Northern Colorado.  Head coach Joe Tiller opens his 12th and final season in West Lafayette just one win shy of tying Jack Mollenkopf as the winningest coach in school history with 84 victories.  This particular weekend has not been kind to the Boilermakers as they have lost all three games played on Sept. 6, most recently in 2003 to Bowling Green and ironically in Tiller’s very first game at Purdue in 1997 against Toledo.

Senior quarterback Curtis Painter has thrown for 8,763 passing yards and 54 touchdowns in his three years at Purdue and has continued to get better and better throughout his career. Last year he completed 63 percent of his 569 pass attempts for 3,846 yards and 29 touchdowns, and threw eight fewer interceptions than the 19 he tossed in 2006. He needs 3,030 passing yards to become the Big Ten career leader, topping Purdue's Drew Brees (1997-2000) and his record of 11,792 yards.  Senior Kory Sheets is the primary running back, having raced for 2,210 yards and 37 touchdowns in his career.  Wideout Dorien Bryant ended his career last year second in Big Ten history with 292 career catches and third with 3,548 receiving yards, so expect senior Greg Orton to be Painter's primary receiver as he hauled in 67 balls for 752 yards last year. Defensively, Northern Colorado is led by senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento and his 135 tackles from last year, junior DE John Eddy and his seven sacks, and safeties Max Hewitt and Stephen Michon, who each had three interceptions in 2007.

Wisconsin returns to Camp Randall Stadium looking to extended the nation’s second-longest home-winning streak to 16 games.  The Badgers are looking to forward to facing Marshall’s Thundering Herd, but the irony rests in if Marshall is prepared for Wisconsin’s Thundering Herd in running back P.J. Hill.

The junior ignited the Wisconsin offense last week with 210 yards rushing on 26 carries, helping the Badgers to 404 yards on the ground in their 38-17 win over Akron.  Hill was just one of three rushers in the country to break the 200-yard mark in week one and his efforts, along with backups Zach Brown (87 yards) and John Clay (71 yards), helped UW to its first 400-yard rushing day since 2002.  The dominant running game allowed the Badgers to have full control over the clock, just as they did last year when they led the nation in time of possession (33:44).  Last Saturday against Akron, UW owned the ball for 35:49 and attempted only one pass after halftime.  Few questions were answered last week surrounding the Badgers’ passing game.  Kansas State transfer Allan Evridge was 7-for-10 passing for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  Marshall allowed Illinois State to throw for 229 yards last week in the Herd’s 35-10 win, but only gave up 98 yards on the ground.  C.J. Spillman totaled 13 tackles on the day, followed by Maurice Kitchens’ 10 stops.  Albert McClellan’s two solo tackles were both sacks and Mario Harvey snagged an interception in the win as well.

In contrast of Wisconsin’s ability to control the ball, Marshall owned the pigskin for only 21:00 last Saturday.  The Herd relied on their rushing attack as well, scampering for 229 yards on the ground and passing for 161.  Darius Marshall gained 115 yards rushing on 20 carries for a touchdown last week, while wideout Darius Passmore was thrilled QB Mark Cann did just that.  Passmore hauled in four balls for 111 yards and two scores, while Cann finished the day 11-of-22 for 161 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.  The Herd struggled on third downs last Saturday, converting only one of its 10 opportunities and were forced to punt six times, although four of Kase Whitehead’s kicks were downed inside the 20.  UW’s defense handled the Zips last Saturday, especially in the first and third quarters when the Badgers pitched a shutout and limited Akron to only 40 yards on 16 plays, and 70 total yards on the ground. Jaevery McFadden led the Badgers with 11 tackles, while Mike Newkirk and O’Brien Schofield each had a sack.