The disaster that's been the Big Ten bowl showing continued last night in Tempe, when Kansas routed Minnesota 42-21. The Gophers were with the Jayhawks at the start, taking a 14-7 lead, and being tied 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. And Eric Decker turned in another sterling performance, catching 8 passes for 149 yards. But the Gophers had no running game and no defense. Todd Reesing lit up the desert sky with 313 yards passing and four touchdowns. And KU receiver Dezmon Briscoe netted 201 yards in receptions.
The loss drops the Big Ten to 0-3. The plus side is that plenty of opportunity is ahead today. In a few hours, Iowa kicks off against South Carolina, followed by Michigan State-Georgia. Winning these two games would be sweet revenge against the SEC. And from the standpoint of repairing the league's PR image, all that really matters is Penn State-USC at 5 EST today, and then Ohio State-Texas on Monday night. The media never cared about the Big Ten's strong performance in the bowl undercard games when the Buckeyes lost the national championship, so there's no reason to think they'll care about a weak undercard if the Lions & Bucks can win.
Happy New Year from Big Ten Country!
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