A pair of Top 25 matchups highlighted the schedule of games for the Big Ten this weekend. Iowa easily took care of Northwestern at Ryan Field despite losing starting running back Jordan Canzeri early in the matchup and Michigan State, well, you already know what Michigan State did in Ann Arbor.
Iowa 40, Northwestern 10
Jordan Canzeri went down early in this one with a high ankle sprain that should keep him out 4-6 weeks but the Hawkeye offense didn’t miss a beat when Akrum Wadley stepped up in his place. Wadley carried the ball 26 times on the day for 204 and he tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns.
Clayton Thorson showed flashes of his potential for Northwestern, but for the second straight week, the freshman was unable to lead his team to victory. Iowa gets the week off after improving to 7-0 and Northwestern faces a must-win game when they head on the road to take on Nebraska.
Wisconsin 24, Purdue 7
Wisconsin added another notch in the win column when the Boilermakers came to Madison, this time doing so with less dramatics than the previous week. Despite leading by just three points at halftime, it never really seemed like Purdue was going to win this game. The Boilermakers had just 191 yards of total offense and David Blough scored their only touchdown on a QB keep from two yards out.
Joel Stave threw for 322 yards on 30-39 passing and Alec Ingold and Dare Ogunbowale combined to find the end zone three times on the ground for the Badgers. Purdue will take some time to think about what they’ve done during their bye while Wisconsin looks to keep the good times rolling in Champaign against the Illini.
Nebraska 48, Minnesota 25
To have any chance at reaching the B1G Championship Game, Nebraska could not let Minnesota pull off the upset in Lincoln. Both teams now sit at 1-2 in conference play, still poised to make a run should Iowa slip up down the stretch. Mitch Leidner threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort for the Gophers.
Tommy Armstrong Jr. had a solid day throwing the ball, completing 18-26 for 261 yards and three TDs while Terrell Newby provided a nice complement on the ground, racking up 116 yards on 13 carries and two scores of his own. Minnesota will be off to rest up for the remainder of the season and Nebraska stays at home to play Northwestern.
Michigan State 27, Michigan 23
Schadenfreude levels might have hit an all-time high in Ohio around 7:20 p.m. on Saturday. The foregone conclusion that was to be a Wolverine victory slipped through their fingers as quickly as a Blake O’Neill punt. Not much else will be remembered from this game other than Jalen Watts-Jackson scooping up a loose ball and scampering 38 yards for the touchdown.
Michigan State actually outgained the Wolverines by over 150 yards and if you look at just the box score, you would never have guessed that a miracle would be needed to win the game. The Wolverines get some time to think about that play since they’re off this week while Michigan State heads back to Spartan Stadium to face off against Indiana.
Rutgers 55, Indiana 52
It took an incredible 4th quarter comeback capped off by a Kyle Federico field goal as time expired, but Rutgers got in the win column in Big Ten play for the first time this season. The Scarlet Knights trailed 52-27 late in the 3rd quarter before scoring 28 unanswered points to stun the Hoosiers in Bloomington.
Nate Sudfeld threw for 464 yards and four touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to beat Leonte Carroo and his 157 receiving yards and three scores. Rutgers head back home to Piscataway to host the Buckeyes while Indiana will try to spring the upset on Michigan State in East Lansing.
Ohio State 38, Penn State 10
It took about a quarter for the Buckeyes to get going, but once they did, they finally started to look like the number one team in the country. Trailing 3-0 after the first quarter of play, Ohio State went to the ground game to get rolling, scoring three rushing touchdowns in the 2nd quarter, two by J.T. Barrett sandwiching a 10 yard score by Ezekiel Elliott.
Barrett threw touchdown passes to Braxton Miller and Michael Thomas in the second half to close out the Dark Night victory. Saquon Barkley was the star for the Nittany Lions, churning out 196 yards on the ground in defeat. Penn State heads back to Happy Valley this week to take on a struggling Maryland team and Ohio State is back in primetime once again when they take on Rutgers.
What was your biggest takeaway from this crazy weekend of B1G football? Still giggling about the ending up in Ann Arbor?
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