Spring Games around the Big Ten

Part 1: Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan State.

What's the buzz around the conference these days? Why, Spring Games of course. Here's a quick look at what the people have to say about their teams. Minnesota and Northwestern will hold their spring games April 25 and 26, respectively. Michigan sucks, and because of this suckage, were forced to hold their spring game at a high school, on April 12. So no soup for them. Enjoy...


IlliniTalk's take on the Fighting Illini's spring scrimmage, held April 19.

"The Illini football spring scrimmage was OK, with only one offensive score. But no one got hurt, and the defense looked strong. And the fact that more than 12,000 fans showed up to watch a scrimmage reinforces the excitement Zook and Company are building. We have plenty to look forward to this fall..."

BHGP's take on the Hawkeyes' performance in their spring game, held the 19th.

"If you missed the game, go here: PlayOn Sports, click on the Iowa Spring Game button (don't worry, it's all free), and watch the proceedings. As near as I can tell, it's the audio feed from the radio on top of the visuals from the big screen at the stadium (hence the plugs for, like, Iowa baseball). A couple quick observations--McNutt needs a lot of work, Stanzi needs a lot less, and Christensen's grasp on the starting spot is, uh, tenuous.

Also, the linebackers look great, the offensive line doesn't, and Paki O'Meara is, shockingly, not the answer at tailback.

If you went to the game, by all means, leave some thoughts in the comments, and we'll be going position-by-position over the next couple of days. In the mean time, time to return to the DL as I fight off a nasty head cold the only way I know how-- Tylenol Orange and that Purple Drank, lawya."

Next, let's head over to East Lansing for SpartyMSU's take on the Green and White Game, held the 19th.

"I liked what I saw.. there is reason to continue the Spartan Optimism in the Program. Dantonio’s message seems to be Sinking in.. He stood in the Backfield watching the plays and players intensely. At one point yelling at the White team for being to lax, and not wearing their hats on the sidelines.. His discipline was successfully on display…The Program is headed up…"

And then to The Enlightened Spartan for its thoughts...

"Where is the beef? Solidly on defense. There is no beef on offense. Defensive line played well, has pressure all day in the offensive backfield; the offensive line could't run block worth a crap, with the longest run of just 9 yards by either team the whole game lone. DL = beef; OL = bust."

Up tomorrow: Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin.