Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable :: Reflections on week one; Heisman talk

The Big Ten schedule enters it second week, and the conference title race hasn't gotten any clearer. Where do we go from here? Who's the real Heisman contender in the Big Ten? Well, Our Honor Defend pops off a few of those questions in this week's edition of the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable.

01. We're all basically in conference play now, sans Purdue who played
visitor to Notre Dame over the weekend. What did you see in the
conference opener that you liked? What did you see that sucked
noodles? If you're one of the Purdue blogs, what did you see against
Notre Dame that has you nervous (or even optimistic) for your
conference opener against Penn State this Saturday? Oh, and, have fun
with that game, by the way.

ZN: I loved that Penn State was able to come back from two different seven-point deficits in the first quarter. PSU's ability to make a big play, and answer every score with a touchdown, will go far when it's time to face Wisky and OSU. I was a bit disturbed by the 120+ yards PSU gave up to ILL in the first quarter. But as we all know by now, PSU is the best team in the conference for a reason, and showed it by clamping down on ILL the remaining 3 quarters.

02. Ole Miss punked #4 Florida in Gainesville. #1 USC got punked by
Oregon State on national television? What's the underlying theme
behind these bizarre upsets? You guessed it: magic. Some kind of
hocus-y pocus-y sorcery in the form of "familiarity". The idea being
pitched around is that these upsets come in conference games because
the underdog has played the heavily favored team before, and thus
isn't afraid of them nor surprised by anything they do. Should I buy
this idea? Or are these upsets more likely the combination of
something more conventional, like great/horrendous gameplanning,
preparation and execution by the underdog/favorite team respectively?

ZN: The upset fairies came down from college football heaven to rain their pixie dust upon USC, Florida and others. Beware, however, as those deceivingly cute angels of football death will return. Watch out, they're coming for your team next!

03. Entering the season, Beanie was the Big Ten's Heisman favorite.
After a few games, Javon Ringer had put up the Heisman stats, though I
don't think anyone could've believed that Ringer would have the hype
machine necessary to get him to New York. Yet, after this week, I see
his name mentioned more and more in the Heisman race. Do you think
Ringer, at this pace, gets to New York on something more than a
courtesy visit (on courtesy visit, see: everyone last year not named
Tim Tebow; everyone in 2006 not named Troy Smith)? How about Daryll
Clark? Is Daryll Clark of Penn State legitimately in the Heisman race
after week 5?

ZN: Javon Ringer is a great workhorse, but won't win the Heisman. He'll be lucky to get an invite to NYC, but only if they invite the top-5 contenders. Daryll Clark has a much better opportunity to win the award. He's a quarterback (7 of the last 8 winners were QBs), and plays on a potential BCS team. If PSU is undefeated at regular season's end, and he has even similar numbers to what he's at now, he's in NYC.

04. With the nonconference schedule basically over, do you think the
Big Ten collectively bettered its standing from the maligned position
it was in before the season began? For every Wisconsin victory over
Fresno State and Penn State thrashing of Oregon State, there's
Michigan's turnover bonanza against the Irish and Ohio State's
neutering by USC. Long question short, what sticks out more: the
positives or the negatives for the conference?

ZN: Positives. More people are talking about Ohio State coming back under Terrelle Pryor, Penn State and Northwestern at 5-0, and Michigan State's darkhorse Heisman contender. And if Michigan wins 8 games, only losing to bowl-bound ND and Utah teams, the loss to Wisconsin won't look nearly as bad.

05. As I'm sure you may have seen on your moving pictures box, the
Ernie Davis movie has been getting a lot of publicity for its imminent
release to theatres. The story, of course, centers around the first
African-American Heisman winner and some of the trials that come from
being a black athlete, playing before the Civil Rights movement and
playing in the Cotton Bowl. Does your football program have an
uplifting story that you think is movie-worthy? If so, please share
it.

ZN: Already done. Something For Joey, the story of John Cappelletti and his dying brother Joey.

(*Ed-I didn't correct any spelling by TOGTM. I think he does it purposely. Umm, yeah...)

Coming tomorrow: Guest blogger Boiled Sports; JoePa's presser rundown.