Rivals National Recruiting Analyst Greg Smith has thoughts on State of Pennsylvania go unnoticed as a legitimate championship contender, Michiganreinvestment in the trenches and another missed opportunity for Nebraska.
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1. PAY ATTENTION TO PENN’S CONDITION
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Do we talk enough about State of Pennsylvania? The Nittany Lions are the No. 3 team in the country, one of the few undefeated teams left, and they don’t seem to be registering nationally. James FranklinThe program just finished a bye week and has a big game this weekend with Wisconsin. It’s never easy to go to Camp Randall and get a win, so this will be a good test. Additionally, the Badgers appear to have steadied the ship and have been playing their best football of late.
As it stands, Penn State is headed for a playoff appearance no matter what happens in the huge matchup with Ohio State next week. Maybe a good showing in Madison will get people talking about Penn State as a potential national championship team.
But in reality, it’s the game against the Buckeyes that people are really waiting for to consider Penn State as a legitimate contender this year.
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2. MICHIGAN CONTINUES TO BUILD IN THE TRENCHES
We talk about it a lot Michigan The quarterback play of football, but we know that when the team understands this, the signal-caller will benefit from a formidable offensive line. The Wolverines have been built from the trenches as of late and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
On Monday night, the team got a long-awaited verbal commitment from a four-star offensive tackle. André Babalola. The Kansas native offers tremendous potential. He is an extremely athletic lineman who can continue to add weight to his body while refining his game. Pairing him with the offensive line’s current commitment Avery Gach gives Michigan two of the best offensive line prospects in the country.
Last year’s crop of offensive line recruits was also among the nation’s best, led by the Texas native. Blake Frazier. Ground and pound football is here to stay in Ann Arbor.
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3. ANOTHER GREAT EMBARRASSMENT FOR NEBRASKA
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Nebraska fans saw an all-too-familiar movie unfold last weekend in Bloomington. This was a match against a ranked opponent in the Big Noon Kickoff. The coaching staff and players said the right thing before the game: be ready to play. Then the game started.
The Huskers blew their doors Indianalosing 56-7. The resurgence of the Hoosiers under Curt Cignetti has been a fun story this season and they have a legitimately good football team. But they’re only in the first season of building this program without any football tradition.
Nebraska has invested endless amounts of money into the program and has fan support that would make any program jealous. But when it comes to big games, the Huskers just don’t show up. It’s not necessarily a question of talent at Lincoln. Matt Rhule explained how changing the mindset within the program was his biggest challenge.
Unfortunately for the Huskers, the next big challenge is now. A date with Ohio State in Columbus is next with the Buckeyes coming off a bye week and a loss to Oregon.
Nebraska hasn’t beaten a ranked team in over 2,900 days. Good luck ending that streak this week in Columbus.
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