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Athlon: B1G Coaches Talk Anonymously About B1G Teams for 2022

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iowabuckeyes's picture
August 3, 2022 at 9:27pm
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“In order to get an accurate assessment of teams heading into 2022,” Athlon persuaded some B1G coaches to talk anonymously about their opponents. 

I’m always skeptical of these kinds of quotes: are they legit or the figment of a reporter’s imagination? It’s not as if anyone will confirm or deny something they never said, especially if their names aren’t attached to it. So, I tend to take them with a grain of salt. Here’s the full article. Below are a snippets I found interesting for a few teams.

  • Ohio State: "The sole issue that kept them out of the playoff has been fixed. It's all about how fast [DC Jim] Knowles gets them fit for what he wants. If you're looking for a criticism here, they're short superstars on this side lately. The reality is that no one, not even this team, is built to always win by outscoring the other team, and it finally bit them. You're gonna find out right away with Notre Dame, and that will set the tone for how fast you can expect them to be back as a national title contender. Even if they lose that opener, they can still run through this conference. They're that good."
  • Iowa (crossover opponent): "This program is the definition of overachieving in this sport. Yes, they probably need to be more creative on offense, but they're not listening to the outside, trust me."
  • Maryland: “They're going to be must-see, because you never know if they're going score 60 and win or give up that much. They’ve been killed in the offseason by defensive transfers, and that's the side of the ball where the questions are."
  • Michigan: "This was a changed program in 2021, and the results reflect that. You saw a different energy here; they had more speed than in recent years, and they were still just as physical. They were violent on film. It was Michigan football.”
  • Michigan State: “This is Transfer U. Does that work every season? What's your culture like? It seems like these guys don't set limits like other staffs. Normally, you're working the portal out of extreme need for a position group or to complement a roster. These guys shop the whole store, it seems.”
  • Penn State: "[D.C.] Manny [Diaz] is gonna be really aggressive and press those young guys. It was no shock James grabbed him up; he'll be a head coach on that defense. They've got some nice players, especially in the back end. They'll go single high, they'll blitz, they'll get after it right away."
  • Wisconsin (crossover opponent): "It's UW, so you're running the ball, but they struggle when that's all you can do and teams can cheat you. Their red-zone execution really suffered last year because they were easy to predict. They need new ideas, they need some playmaker receivers, they need to make you respect the whole field."

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