Big Ten Roundtable of Bloggers: Week Two

By Adam Kiefaber

Every week this season a fellow Big Ten blogging site will host the Big Ten Bloggers roundtable of questions.

This week There Is No Name On My Jersey, which is a Penn State site, is hosting the second regular season Big Ten roundtable of the season. Buckeye Lane will play host the week of the Wisconsin at Ohio State game (September 29th through the November 3rd).

So far we have had a roundtable for the first week of the season and a preseason roundtable. You can see my responses at Buckeye Lane.

Here are There Is No Name On My Jersey’s questions and my responses.

1. Clearly, Week 1 was a huge week for upsets with Appalachin St. beating Michigan and Clemson beating FSU (though if that really shocked anyone I’d be surprised). What are your upset games for Week 2 and why?

I wouldn’t bet on the favorites of any of these games:

Nebraska (-8) at Wake Forest, Miami (OH) at Minnesota (-9), Bowling Green at Michigan State (-18), Oregon at Michigan (-8), Notre Dame at Penn State (17.5), Kent State at Kentucky (+13), TCU at Texas (-9.5) and Virginia Tech at LSU (-12.5).

Let me pick a big one- #9 Virginia Tech to beat #2 LSU-

I’m not sold on VT’s quarterback Sean Glennon, but I think the Hokies will look like a better team this week. There was a lot of pressure on them to do well because of the tragic events that took place on that campus.

2. What do you think about the BTN? How’d it look? How were the announcers? Did the first weekend change your opinion of the BTN?

I lucked out. The BTN was giving a free preview on Insight Cable. I was able to watch the Youngstown State/Ohio State game and the App. State/Michigan at the same time. Overall, it was good. I have no problem paying the $1.10 to get it.

The BTN is still a baby, but it will grow. Once college basketball starts it won’t have to repeat so much of its programming.

Also, right as I was posting this, I noticed that the BTN is replaying the App. State/Michigan game - you have to love that - unless you are a Michigan fan.

3. Now that we’re a game into the Season evaluate the Big Ten’s strength.

My evalution of the Big Ten’s strength after the first week of the season can be summed up in one word: POOP.

POOP- Minnesota, who I thought would be one of more improved teams, blew it. The Gophers lost 32-31 to Bowling Green.
POOP- Michigan, who was the Big Ten’s top-ranked team this preseason, lost to App. State in the greatest upset of all time.
POOP- Also, you don’t know how good Ohio State or Penn State really are because they didn’t play anyone.

The only positives:

Illinois played a tough Missouri team and almost came back.
-and-
Wisconsin beat up on the Pac-10’s Washington State, 42-21.

Sorry I shouldn’t have used the word- poop- the professional way would’ve been to rank the conferences.

BCS CONFERENCES: (Many had the Big Ten at #2 to begin the season - you have to put them at least fourth)

1) SEC
2) PAC-10
3) ACC
4) BIG 12
5) BIG EAST
6) BIG TEN