What a difference a week makes. The guys showed up to play last night. Signs of life in the running game. Solid performance by Sean. The D didn't shut down Ibrahim but did contain him. Personally, I'm not surprised at all. The 4.5-point betting spread was ridiculously low from the beginning.
Yes, it was an advantage to have Minny's second-string QB, but I don't think it would have turned out much differently if Morgan had played. For one thing, even before his injury he hasn't looked that great recently. For another, given the circumstances, the backup performed respectably, but the deck was stacked against him. Still, he looks to have a nice future there.
I think the objective next week is to play a competitive game against Ohio State. The Bucks are loaded as usual and have arguably the best offense in the country. They hung 54 on a pretty decent Iowa D yesterday. Therefore, let's face it, though beating them is not impossible -- a man can dream -- it would rank as a pretty stunning upset. One thing we have going for us is that unlike with Michigan, where expectations were high, nobody thinks we can take down Ohio State. Therefore, there's really not a lot of pressure. Just don't get embarrassed.
Assuming we can give the Bucks a game and not have a repeat of the Michigan fiasco, you look at the remaining schedule...and nobody on it looks fearsome. The two road games are against bad teams. The tougher opponents, Maryland and Michigan State, are at home. As things stand, we should be favored in all four.
And I think some of the "experts" still have a potential 10-2 Penn State slotted in a NY6 bowl. Not bad. Much better than most anyone predicted back in August. But talking about it is one thing. Doing it is another.