With just one Big Ten team playing a nonconference game this weekend, it meant a nearly full conference slate of games. The Big Ten lost its last undefeated team when Nebraska’s comeback attempt against Michigan State fell short, leaving the conference with seven one-loss teams. Despite a slow start to the season, Northwestern showed that they’re looking to make a little noise in the Big Ten West race after they upset Wisconsin in Evanston.

Ohio State 52, Maryland 24

The Buckeyes jumped on the Terrapins early and never really let them off the mat, pulling out to a 31-10 lead at halftime. J.T. Barrett put in another good performance, going 18-for-23 passing for 267 yards and four touchdowns while running for 71 yards and another score. Ezekiel Elliot added 139 yards on the ground on 24 carries for Ohio State.

Stefon Diggs was the playmaker for Maryland that Ohio State needed to shut down, and they did a pretty good job of doing so. Diggs had seven catches for just 52 yards and a touchdown that came well after the game had already been decided. The Buckeye defense picked off Maryland QBs four times, including one brought by for a touchdown by Raekwon McMillan. Ohio State is off next week before hosting Rutgers and Maryland is also idle before going to Kinnick Stadium to take on Iowa.

Purdue 38, Illinois 27

Austin Appleby started for the first time in his collegiate career to lead Purdue to the first Big Ten victory since 2012. Appleby finished 15-for-20 for 202 yards and a touchdown and he rushed for 76 yards and two scores as well. The Boilermakers rushed for 349 yards as a team, led by Akeem Hunt’s 177 yards.

Wes Lunt did what he could to keep the Illini in the game, throwing for 332 yards and two TDs before leaving the game in the 4th quarter with what turned out to be a broken leg. Lunt will be out 4-6 weeks with the injury and Reilly O’Toole will take his place under center. Purdue will host Michigan State on Saturday while Illinois will make a visit to Wisconsin.

Indiana 49, North Texas 24

In the lone nonconference game of the weekend, Indiana easily dispatched Sun Belt foe North Texas to get back in the win column. Nate Sudfeld threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Hoosiers over the Mean Green.

Tevin Coleman hit the century mark in rushing yards for the seventh straight game, racking up 150 yards and a score. D’Angelo Roberts got 102 rushing yards for himself and two TDs for the Hoosiers. Next up for Indiana is a trip to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes.

Northwestern 20, Wisconsin 14

Once again, Melvin Gordon played an outstanding game and once again, Wisconsin’s quarterbacks played poorly, this time leading to a Badger defeat. Gordon did his part, toting the ball 27 times for 259 yards and a touchdown. Tanner McEvoy started the game but was replaced late in the first half after starting the game 4-for-10 for just 24 yards and an interception. Former starter Joel Stave came in, but didn’t fare much better, going 8-for-19 for 113 yards, one score, and he was picked off three times.

Justin Jackson had 162 rushing yards for the Wildcats, with Trevor Siemian throwing for 182 yards and a TD in the upset that put Northwestern at 2-0 in the Big Ten West. Wisconsin will look to even their conference record next week when they welcome Illinois to Camp Randall and Northwestern will try to continue their winning ways when they take a trip to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers.

Rutgers 26, Michigan 24

Rutgers got their first Big Ten victory, sending Brady Hoke one game closer to the unemployment line in the process. Gary Nova was the star of the show, throwing for 404 yards and three touchdowns on the Wolverine defense. The loss dropped the Wolverines to 2-4 on the season and 0-2 in the Big Ten, something they haven’t done since 1967 when they started 0-3 in conference play.

Devin Gardner threw for 178 yards with an interception and ran for 40 and two touchdowns. Derrick Green added 74 yards on the ground but is now out for the season with a broken clavicle. Rutgers has a bye week to prepare for Ohio State and the Wolverines will host Penn State next weekend in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State 27, Nebraska 22

Michigan State looked well on its way to another blowout victory at home as it pulled away from the Cornhuskers to lead 27-3 after three quarters. Nebraska made things interesting with 19 straight points in the 4th quarter, and they even had a chance to get the win before Trae Waynes picked off Tommy Armstrong Jr. with less than minute to go with the Huskers driving in Spartan territory.

Ameer Abdullah had just 45 yards on 24 carries as the Spartan defense held Nebraska to just 47 yards rushing as a team. Jeremy Langford had 111 yards on the ground as Michigan State won their conference opener and improved to 4-1 overall on the season. Michigan State will travel to West Lafayette to take on Purdue on Saturday and Nebraska will be idle before taking a trip to Evanston to play Northwestern.

What did you think of this weekend’s set of games? Were you rooting for Nebraska to pull off the comeback to cap a crazy Saturday of college football? Let us know your favorite moment of the weekend in the comments below.

Same mediocre play, different week. I’m pretty sure almost every week I write this the top teams in the country are either not playing or struggling against inferior opponents. It happened again this week. Florida State squeaked by NC State while giving up 40+ points. The Seminoles are going to lose eventually; I guarantee it (in my best Men’s Warehouse voice). Oregon, Oklahoma, and Alabama were all idle this week before huge tests against Arizona, TCU, and Ole Miss respectively. Don’t be surprised if one of them goes down in an upset. As you’ll see from the “Big Games this week” section, there are plenty of great games this weekend. Many of which will be season-defining for the teams involved. After this weekend, we will have a much clearer Playoff picture headed into the month of October. So buckle up.

Notable Games Last Week

UCLA 62 Arizona State 27

I’ll be honest; I underestimated Bret Hundley and the Bruins as I predicted them to lose this one. But it’s safe to say now that UCLA is a clear contender in the PAC 12 race and pose a real threat to Oregon (they play in Pasadena on October 11). Hundley looked like a Heisman contender most of the game and if he continues to play like that, UCLA could be looking at a Playoff berth in December.

Missouri 21 South Carolina 20

A week after losing to Big Ten powerhouse, Indiana, the Tigers of Mizzou were able to dispatch South Carolina at Williams-Brice. I can’t make sense of the SEC East right now. They have no clear favorite right now except maybe for Georgia. To me it doesn’t really matter who wins the East because they will get destroyed in the SEC title game by the eventual West Champ. It’s back to the drawing board yet again for Steve Spurrier.

Ohio State 50 Cincinnati 28

What started with the Bearcats scoring on a long touchdown pass early in the game led to an Ohio State romp. Then Cincinnati came back, and then the Buckeyes pulled away again. In the middle of all that was an Ohio State student (and Evan’s Scholar) running onto the field only to get planted into the ground by former Buckeye LB Anthony Schlegel. It was an odd night. The Buckeyes still need to work on their pass defense but the offense behind J.T. Barrett and Zeke Elliot is starting to come together. If they can fix the secondary, it will be fun to watch them make a playoff push.

Big Games This Week

Ohio State at Maryland

The Buckeyes kickoff Big Ten play against the newcomer Maryland Terrapins. It will be fun to watch Ohio State fans take over College Park just like they do to every other stadium in the conference and country every week. Let’s give them a warm welcome to the Big Ten. The offense should excel most of the day, with the only real concern being on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary will have to handle WR Stefon Diggs who was once a Buckeye prospect. If they can do that, they should win big.

Saturday, October 4 at 12:00pm on ABC

Alabama at Ole Miss

Oxford, Mississippi will be rocking as the Crimson Tide roll into town on Saturday. Bama has been struggling against most of its opponents this year mostly because of the inexperience at quarterback. But the Rebels are coming off of a lackluster win over Memphis making it pretty clear that they were looking ahead to this one. I highly suggest you tune in to watch this one. Ole Miss keeps it close but the Tide pull away in the fourth quarter

Saturday, October 4 at 3:30pm on CBS

Stanford at Notre Dame

The Irish have been extremely underrated so far this season and I think as the season goes on we will start to see why they were in the title game in 2012. They’re the least talked about top 10 team by far this season. Everett Golston has been playing lights out so far and I expect that to continue against a good Stanford defense. Brian Kelly is the man in South Bend but look for a repeat of the 2012 game; it will go down to the wire. Notre Dame comes away with the W.

Saturday, October 4 at 3:30pm on NBC

Nebraska at Michigan State

Who would have thought that this game would be such a huge matchup in primetime. Not me. In what could be a Big Ten championship preview, Pelini’s Huskers march into East Lansing to take on the favored Spartans. Ameer Abdullah has been playing like a Heisman contender so far this year so the MSU Defense will be put to the challenge. But Nebraska hasn’t seen an offense as good as the Spartans all season. Guys like Connor Cook and Jeremy Langford are a handful for any defense. It’ll be a great four quarters of football, but Sparty comes away with a 3 point victory.

Saturday, October 4 at 8pm on ABC

I also suggest tuning into Arizona-Oregon, Utah-UCLA, Arizona State-USC, Texas A&M-Mississippi State, Oklahoma-TCU, Baylor-Texas, and LSU-Auburn. So go buy a case of beer, fill up your cooler, and sit your butt on the couch all day. It’s a Fall Saturday, so it’s socially acceptable.

Michigan Update

It’s going to get worse in Ann Arbor before it gets better. This has been an absolute train wreck of a season for the Wolverines and I have Brady Hoke on Fire watch any day now. His mishandling of QB Shane Morris’s concussion symptoms is just another incident in a long line of mishaps he’s had at Michigan. They lost to Minnesota this week 30-14 and their schedule doesn’t seem to get any easier (for them at least). They play Rutgers, Penn State, and Michigan State over the next three games. They will lose at least 2 of those, maybe all 3. So long, Brady.
My Playoff if the Season Ended Today

1. Oregon (was idle this week, plays Arizona this week) The Ducks will have plenty of rest heading into their game with the Wildcats. Mariota is good, I mean really good. I don’t anticipate any problems with this one. They are still my Number One.

2. Oklahoma (was idle this week, plays TCU this week) For me, the Sooners are the only equal opponent with Oregon right now. There is a huge drop off to number 3. They take on the Horned Frogs this week and I expect them to roll. The Red River Rivalry is next week. Boomer Sooner.

3. Alabama (was idle this week, plays Ole Miss this week) I bumped up the Tide this week mostly because they have been a little more consistent than Florida State. I still can’t imagine them going undefeated though. As a side note to that: I highly doubt any SEC team goes undefeated. The West is brutal.

4. Florida State (beat NC State 56-41, plays Wake Forest this week) I cannot wrap my head around their struggles so far. It sort of made sense last week since Winston was out. But they have a great defense; there is no reason why they should be giving up 41 to the Wolfpack. Have to believe they get beat eventually as well. As far as I know, the eventual national champion is sitting outside of the top 10.

Just Missed the Cut

5. Baylor
6. Auburn
7. Notre Dame
8. Texas A&M
9. Michigan State
10. Ole Miss
17. Ohio State

With Big Ten play mostly in full swing with five conference games in play over the weekend, the conference also went undefeated in the four nonconference games it had. It was not a particularly entertaining slate of games, with every game ending in at least a 14-point margin of victory. Iowa’s 24-10 victory over Purdue was the closest game of the week.

Wisconsin 27, South Florida 10

It took awhile for the Badgers to get going in this one, as they were held to three points and were tied going into halftime. Melvin Gordon turned it on after the break, rushing for 131 of his 181 yards and both touchdowns after halftime.

Tanner McEvoy was efficient in Wisconsin’s victory, throwing for 160 yards on 11-18 passing and one touchdown. The Badgers open Big Ten play next week with a trip to Evanston to take on Northwestern.

Rutgers 31, Tulane 6

Gary Nova had a record-setting day for the Scarlet Knights, as he threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdowns on the day pushed Nova to 61 on his career, making him Rutgers’ all-time leader in touchdown passes.

Desmon Peoples and Justin Goodwin split the workload for rushing after Paul James’ season-ending injury last week as Peoples ran for 83 yards and Goodwin added 82. Rutgers hosts the dumpster fire that is Michigan football right now next week in Piscataway.

Iowa 24, Purdue 10

Darrell Hazell’s first Big Ten win will have to be put on hold for at least another week after the Boilermakers lost to Iowa made Hazell 0-9 in conference play. Purdue actually jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the Hawkeyes were led back by two rushing scores by Mark Weisman and a touchdown pass from C.J. Beathard to Kevonte Martin-Manley.

The Boilermakers have some serious offensive issues to address if they are going to get that elusive Big Ten victory. Purdue managed just 156 total yards on offense (72 passing, 84 rushing) in the loss. Purdue visits Illinois next week while Iowa is idle before taking on Indiana in two weeks.

Michigan State 56, Wyoming 14

The defending Big Ten champions made quick work of the Cowboys in their final game before starting conference play. Michigan State jumped out to a 42-14 lead at halftime as the cruised to the victory. Jeremy Langford ran for 137 yards and a touchdown and Connor Cook added 126 yards through the air as the starters sat for most of the second half.

Tony Lippett had 76 yards receiving and a score as the Spartans put up back-to-back games with more than 50 points for the first time since 1978. Michigan State welcomes unbeaten Nebraska into Spartan Stadium in primetime next weekend.

Northwestern 29, Penn State 6

Trevor Siemian, as well as the Northwestern defense, were the stars of this game as Northwestern opened Big Ten play with a win while Penn State dropped to 1-1 in conference play. Siemian threw for 258 yards and ran for three touchdowns as Northwestern led from start to finish.

Anthony Walker’s 49-yard interception return for a touchdown was the highlight of the day for Northwestern’s defense, which held the Nittany Lions to just 50 yards rushing and only allowed the two field goals. The Wildcats host Wisconsin on Saturday and Penn State will have next week off as they prepare for a trip to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines in two weeks time.

Maryland 37, Indiana 15

A week after knocking off Missouri on the road, Indiana got blown out at home by conference newcomers Maryland. The Terrapins lost starting quarterback C.J. Brown for the second half, but it didn’t matter, with backup Caleb Rowe throwing for two scores. The Buckeyes will have to keep an eye on Stefon Diggs on Saturday after Diggs again posted big numbers, pulling in 6 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Tevin Coleman was the lone bright spot on offense for the Hoosiers and he ended up with 122 rushing yards and a score. Maryland hosts its first Big Ten conference game next week when Ohio State visits, and Indiana looks to get back to the winning ways when they welcome North Texas to Bloomington.

Minnesota 30, Michigan 14

The Wolverines made history on Saturday, but not the kind they were hoping for. For the first time in their football history, the Wolverines have lost three games before the month of October. Minnesota dominated this game as David Cobb led the way with 183 yards on the ground for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota won the Little Brown Jug for just the second time in 24 years.

The main thing that will be remembered from this matchup is Brady Hoke’s mishandling of Shane Morris in the second half after this game was as good as over. Morris was already hobbling due to a lower leg injury when he took a nasty hit that left him dazed and barely able to stand on his own. Hoke left Morris in the game after the play, and even allowed him to re-enter the game after Devin Gardner’s helmet came off during a play. Minnesota has the week off, while the Wolverines head east to play Rutgers.

Nebraska 45, Illinois 14

Once again, Ameer Abdullah stole the show as the Cornhuskers easily dismantled the Illini defense in the rout. Abdullah had 196 yards by halftime and finished with 208 on the day as he continues his quest for the Heisman Trophy. Imani Cross added 109 yards on the ground as Nebraska rushed for 458 yards as a team.

Illinois was missing starting quarterback Wes Lunt due to a leg injury suffered last week and went with Reilly O’Toole in his place. O’Toole finished with 261 yards and a score on just 17-38 passing while being intercepted three times. Illinois hosts Purdue on Saturday in Champaign and Nebraska takes a visit to East Lansing to take on Michigan State in the B1G game of the week.

What were your biggest takeaways from the first real weekend of Big Ten play? Will Brady Hoke even make it to the end of the season as the Wolverines’ head coach? Let us know what you think in the comments below!