Tag Archives: big ten

B1G Roadtrippin’: Michigan at Illinois

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This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Champaign to see the Michigan Wolverines take on the Illinois Fighting Illini.  Those of you who know me are probably surprised that I even left the house this weekend, given that I had to save the world from both terrorists and dragons.  But $65 tickets can’t be passed up, and luckily both the terrorists and dragons were there when I got back.

I got into Champaign with my friend about two hours before game time.  My suggestion to any ALDLAND readers contemplating attending a game at Illinois is to get there earlier, because finding parking can sometimes be tough.  By the time we parked, there was maybe an hour and a half to get our tickets from will call and head into downtown Champaign for lunch at Giovanti’s before the game.  If you hit up Giovanti’s, get the chicken tenders, which are pretty awesome.  The curly fries are not to be missed either.
Another reason to get to the game as early as possible is the tailgating scene.  While we did not get a chance to tailgate, we did walk by various parking lots on our way to lunch, and from what I saw, I could tell that Illinois fans know how to tailgate.  Most of the tailgates we passed by seemed to have ample food, drink and fun games to play like bean bag toss or that other game where you throw the little balls that are connected by a rope onto a ladder-like thing.  You know what I’m talking about.

After lunch, we walked back to Memorial Stadium, getting into our seats in the very last row of the upper deck just before kickoff.  They were not the best seats for someone like me who is not thrilled with heights, but that’s what I get for ordering them a week before the game.  Memorial Stadium is a nice venue, holding about 60,000 fans and offering an unobstructed view to every one of them (unless you are looking at the scoreboard, because from our seats some sort of tower-like structure partially blocked our view of the scoreboard).

The game started with Michigan receiving the ball.  Illinois’ run defense, which before the game was listed as one of their strengths, promptly let Michigan tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint bounce outside for a 60+ yard gain.  A couple plays later, and Denard was in the end zone for Michigan’s first touchdown. Keep reading…

B1G Roadtrippin’: Michigan at Northwestern

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A couple weeks ago, ALDLAND took you to the opening of the Big Ten season in Ann Arbor. Now we are taking you on a B1G roadtrip to Evanston, Illinois for the Michigan-Northwestern game. But first, I am sure you have a lot of questions. For instance, you might be asking yourself “who is this cool dude with an awesome hair and beard combo writing this article? He isn’t that one guy, or that other guy who usually bring us the ALDLAND content we know and love!” I’m Brendan, the guy who has promised that he would write about five different articles and has not once written any of them due to a debilitating addiction to FIFA. Debilitating, I tell you!

Anyway, on to the roadtrip/game coverage. If you go to a game at Northwestern, make sure you stay in Chicago, and not in Evanston. Evanston is a fine college town and all, but there isn’t a ton to do and it’s only a 40 minute train ride from Chicago to the stop nearest to the stadium. Plus, you can do fun things like have pizza! Who doesn’t love pizza? Communists, that’s who.

Tailgating in Evanston can be a lot of fun, especially if you are a fan of a team that brings a lot of people to away games. We tailgated for several hours with a bunch of Michigan fans, discussing such varied topics as how much we all love Denard Robinson and how great Denard Robinson is at running with a football in his hands. I learned about an interesting game called Dodgebeer, but that’s a whole different article.

Northwestern’s stadium holds about 40,000 fans and is largely uninspiring. Those of you lucky enough to have taken in a blowout loss at Vanderbilt Stadium would be instantly familiar with Ryan Field. Except you might be confused by the atmosphere, because Northwestern has Dan Persa as their QB and not Larry Smith, and consequently actually get somewhat excited for football games. Nevertheless, their fans were personable, and several complemented me on how I was “a lot nicer than those Iowa fans.” Iowa fans, what the heck?

The game started off well for Michigan, as Denard Robinson orchestrated a Michigan scoring drive capped by Steve Watson’s first career catch and touchdown. Miraculously, he did not throw a pick. This changed in short order, as Denard, clearly momentarily color blind, started giving the ball to the Northwestern players like it was candy on Halloween. Denard’s generosity allowed Northwestern to tie the game and eventually take the lead. Michigan’s offense continued to be lackluster, and at the break they found themselves trailing 24-14.

Sometime between the end of the first half and the start of the second half, Brady Hoke either put the fear of God into Michigan, or Northwestern forgot how to play football, because in the second half Michigan put on a clinic, scoring 28 unanswered points to give them a 42-24 victory. The second half featured an extended cameo by backup QB Devin Gardner after Denard hurt his hand and had to take a drive off. Gardner showed why he has the potential to be a star at Michigan, driving the Wolverines down the field like a seasoned veteran and scoring on a one yard run.

What did this game mean for the now 6-0 Wolverines? Well, it means they are bowl eligible, for one. I’m not sure how many doubts this answered about Michigan’s ability to play on the road, as they came out flat in front of a crowd that was at least a third Wolverines fans. Nevertheless, 6-0 is 6-0, and the country will see whether Michigan is for real this week when they take on the Spartans in East Lansing.

For Northwestern, this had to be a tough pill to swallow. They moved the ball almost at will in the first half, but failed to understand the significance of the first down line in the second half and consequently scored no points. Things are not going to get any easier for Wildcat fans, as Northwestern travels to Iowa City next weekend. A loss there and it’s looking like a trip to the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl for the Wildcats. However, the plus side of that is: pizza.

I hope you have enjoyed my first article for ALDLAND. I hope to write more in the future, however I think my friend Jeremy just called to see if I want to play FIFA . . .

Big Ten play starts this week, and ALDLAND takes you there

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Unlike the other BCS conferences, the Big Ten hasn’t yet begun conference play. That changes this week, though, with a slate of exciting matchups.

Number 8 Nebraska heads to Camp Randall to take on the #7 Wisconsin Badgers in the weekend’s biggest B1G (when did that start, by the way?) game. Suffice to say by the words alone, this is a Big game, making no mention of the large, corn-fed humans who will be colliding with each other throughout the contest. This is Nebraska’s first game in their new conference. Both teams have the same colors, which will make the Huskers feel welcome.

Saturday’s Big Ten schedule also includes Northwestern in Champaign and non-conference Notre Dame headed to West Lafayette to take on Purdue. That pairing leaves Indiana out in the cold, but they get to stay at home and host Penn State in a game that promises to be ugly and unwatched.

Besides Nebraska/Wisconsin, the other major conference matchup is Michigan State at Ohio State. After putting MSU on a one-week suspension last week for their zombie-like performance against Notre Dame the week before, I’m looking for them to make a statement and win a close one in Columbus that finds them ahead early and not quite choking it away late in the fourth quarter.

That leaves one game, a noon contest between 1-3 Minnesota and improbably 4-0 Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor to decide the rights to the Little Brown Jug. The Jug is the oldest rivalry trophy, given to the winner of the Michigan-Minnesota game since their 6-6 tie in 1903. For more on the Jug, including a short video of an old man sharing overly dramatic Jug lore in a noticeably informal setting, click here.

The point of all of this Jug business is that, just like ALDLAND took you live to the opening of the college football season (see here and here), so too will ALDLAND take you live to Ann Arbor for the opening of the Big Ten season. In addition to the game, I will attempt to decipher the particulars of the conference’s new divisions, Legends and Leaders, although I suspect that will be impossible, and I’ll be left with Mark Titus’ conclusion: call them Razzle and Dazzle and be done with it. 

Just like last time, stay tuned here, on twitter, and on flickr for updates throughout the weekend, along with a recap next week.