Week 3: Big Ten Recap
By: Dakota Isgrigg | November 9t | @dakota_isgrigg | @BoilerInTexas
Another week down and even more surprising results abound in the Big Ten! Let’s take a look!
Purdue (2-0) @ #13Wisconsin (1-0): DNP
Purdue received an unofficial bye week this week as for the second week in a row the Wisconsin Badgers couldn’t take the field due to COVID-19 issues.
This means that Purdue got two full weeks to prepare for a massive game against the Northwestern Wildcats next week.
Up Next:
Purdue: Northwestern
Wisconsin: @Michigan
Minnesota (1-2) 41 @ Illinois (0-3) 14
Minnesota and Illinois came into this week with a guarantee that one would leave the week with their first win. What we saw was a Minnesota offense that couldn’t be stopped as they had more yards on the ground than through the air. Illinois marched out their former 4th string QB and did their best.
For Minnesota, this was the first game that they finally came out on top and that’s got to be a good feeling to finally get off the snide. They put up 216 yards through the air with Tanner Morgan going 17-27 with a TD and an INT. The real story came on the ground with Mohamed Ibrahim toting the rock 30 times for 224 yards and 4 TD’s! As a team they finished with 325 yards rushing and 5 TD’s. Clearly, the run game was working and PJ Fleck was not going to move away from that strategy any time soon. Rashod Bateman finally put up the type of game people were waiting for catching 10 balls for 139 yards and the lone receiving TD. Minnesota will definitely be looking to build some momentum moving forward.
For Illinois this is another disappointing outing as the team continues to struggle with so many key players out due to COVID-19 protocols. The real lone bright spot was Mike Epstein eclipsing the 100 yard mark on the ground finishing with 108 yards and a TD. Coran Taylor struggled on the day only completing 6 passes for 106 yards and a lone TD to Josh Imatorbhebhe. Not much more needs to be said as the Illini continue to try and get something going in 2020. They will benefit from getting more players back from quarantine but until then, it may be a long year in Champaign.
Up Next:
Illinois: @Rutgers
Minnesota: Iowa
Maryland (2-1) 35 @ Penn State (0-3) 19
Boy, who really thought that Penn State would be 0-3 with games against Indiana and Maryland in their first 3 games? Not I that’s for sure. Conversely, after the opening week drubbing of Maryland by the hands of Northwestern, has taken down Minnesota at home and then traveled to Happy Valley and really took it to Penn State in week 3. Both teams are having a different realities that many thought they would as the season got started.
For Maryland, this offense has been a lot of fun and this shows that scoring points is one of the most important things when it comes to football. Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 282 and 3 TD’s, Jake Funk ran for 80 and 1 TD, and Rakim Jarrett caught 5 passes for 144 yards and 2 TD’s. Then after the game was over, the Maryland football twitter account once again brought out the troll game with this tweet:
For Penn State, boy I’m not sure where you go from here. Your 2020 season is already over and I’m not sure what head coach James Franklin can say to his guys to get them to focus up for the rest of this season. They had multiple guys come back after opting out, and now they have no wins to show for it. Sean Clifford finished with 340 yards passing with 3 TD’s….. but he also threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble. An up and down day for the quarterback. They also struggled on the ground finishing with only 94 yards on the ground as a team. Jahan Dotson did show out with 123 yards receiving and Pat Freiermuth also showed up with 91 yards, but that’s about where it stopped. Clifford threw the ball 57 times as the Nittany Lions were battling from behind the entire game. This Penn State team may be checked out from here.
Up Next:
Maryland: Ohio State
Penn State: @Nebraska
Michigan State (1-2) 7 @ Iowa (1-2) 49!
Holy Cow, how much of a difference can 7 days make? Michigan State, a week after upsetting Michigan in Ann Arbor visit Iowa City and lay an absolute egg. Iowa, after a disappointing 0-2 start finally get it together a bit and score an un-Ferentz like 49 points on the day.
For Iowa, this was a game many fans were waiting to see. After the hype surrounding Spencer Petras was dampened after two games that saw the young QB struggle with accuracy, it seemed like the Iowa offense finally got it together and put up some points. Petras finished 15-27 for 167 and 1 TD, nothing special and accuracy is still a point of concern but he didn’t make any mistakes which is what is important. On the ground the Hawks pounded the rock to the tune of 226 yards and 4 TD’s with Tyler Goodson and Mekhi Sargent both finishing with 2 each. The receiving portion of the offense was nothing to write home about with no receiver finishing with more than 38 yards receiving. The real star of the game was the defense as they intercepted the MSU QB 3 times even taking one back 54 yards for a touchdown. This is the Iowa defense we had come to expect at this point. Next week will be telling to see where this Iowa team is.
For Michigan State, this is the definition of a let down game. A week after pulling the major upset over Michigan on the road, the Spartans returned to their Rutger’s game selves rather than keeping up with the version that beat the Wolverines. Rocky Lombardi struggled going 17-37 for 227 yards while tossing 3 interceptions and no touchdowns, safe to say that this is one that Spartans fans will be quick to move on from. The ground game was non-existent as the team finished with only 59 yards on the ground. This was a let down game after last week and there isn’t much more to say than that. Iowa led 35-0 at halftime and many TV viewers were probably quick to move on from this one.
Up Next:
Iowa: @Minnesota
Michigan State: Indiana
Nebraska (0-2) 13 @ Northwestern (3-0) 21
Well Nebraska, you wanted to play football so bad, tried to fight the Big Ten, and now look at where you’re at. Is this really what you were fighting for? A winless team after you had an entire extra week to prepare for the Wildcats? For Northwestern, this is continued to be a night-and-day better season than last year as the defense has been formidable to say the least.
For Northwestern, this was an important one to win in their battle for the Big Ten West. This helps keep them on top in the standings as the rest of the league outside of Purdue (who sat because of Wisconsin) and Wisconsin (who definitely won’t play enough games to qualify for the CCG) who are the only other undefeated teams in the West. Peyton Ramsey has continued to do just enough on offense to be effective finishing 16-27 for 169 yards, tossed 2 TD’s but also finished with 2 interceptions as well. That said, when your defense can turn Nebraska over two times as well it’s a little more okay in the end. The defense was key here holding the Huskers to only 1 touchdown on the day and forcing two field goals as well. When you can do that, you will find some success. Northwestern now sits at the top of the West with an even more important match up in West Lafayette next week in what may decide the new favorite to win the West.
Nebraska, I’m sure there isn’t much more I can say that you haven’t already said yourself. You wanted to play football and look where you are. An offense that can’t seem to decide what they want to be, and a defense that isn’t really all that great either. To be fair, you only gave up 21-points, which normally is enough, but when your offense struggles to do much of anything? It get’s a bit harder. Is there also a new QB controversy in Lincoln? Both Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey played in this one, but both struggled in their own way. Martinez finished 12-27 for 125 yards, no touchdowns and 1 interception. McCaffrey finished 12-16 for 93 yards, no touchdowns and 1 interception. It will be interesting to see the news out of Nebraska this week as to who will get the nod after another disappointing Saturday.
Up Next:
Nebraska: Penn State
Northwestern: @Purdue
#23 Michigan (1-2) 21 @ #13 Indiana (3-0) 38
Guys, as much as I hate to say it, Indiana is good at football, and they deserve to be at the top of the Big Ten East in the year of our lord 2020. Michigan on the other hand…… they got the winged helmets still… so that’s something.
Indiana broke a decades long streak of losing to Michigan in emphatic fashion as they led from start to finish with it only being as close as 7-7 in the first quarter. Penix Jr. Finished 30-50 for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns as he played a very good game. Stevie Scott carried the load on the ground with 24 carries for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ty Fryfogle went for an insane 142 yards receiving on 7 receptions and 1 touchdown, Whop Philyor caught 11 passes for 79 yards, Miles Marshall caught 1 touchdown, and Peyton Hendershot caught the other. This was a dominant win for Indiana as they continue to play some dominant football and all eyes turn to their match up with Ohio State on November 21st.
Boy, not sure there is much to say when it comes to Michigan football in 2020. This feels like something similar to Penn State, I’m not sure what there is left to play for the Wolverines. They are almost certainly out of the race for the East and the way their defense looks right now, they don’t have much hope against the Buckeyes( (not that they had much of a chance in other seasons). Joe Milton had a good statistics day finishing 18-34 for 344 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. We don’t need to mention the rushing stats (team: 18 carries for 13!!!! yards) and the receiving stats are a bit more respectable. This was probably due to being so far behind most of the game. Ronnie Bell had a good game catching 6 balls for 149 yards and a TD, Cornellius Johnson had 82 yards and a score, and Roman Wilson rounded off the receiving scores. The Michigan defense was gashed all game, forced no turnovers, and was abused all day long. Not much else you need to say.
Up Next:
Indiana: @Michigan State
Michigan: Wisconsin
Rutgers (1-2) 27 @ #3 Ohio State (3-0) 49
We have finally arrived at the game of the day! The mighty Scarlet Knights travel to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes, trying to play spoiler to OSU. Ohio State quickly reminded them that they are still king and to head home safely.
For Ohio State, not sure what conclusions you can really draw from this game. After a slow start in the first quarter that saw the score only at 7-3 OSU before the Buckeyes ripped off 28 points to effectively end this one where the Knights stood. Fields finished 24-28 for 314 and 5 touchdowns through the air. The rushing stats were a team effort as they finished with 203 yards on the ground as a team and 2 touchdowns there as well. Garrett Wilson (1), Chris Olave (2), Jameson Williams (1), and Jeremy Ruckert (1) were on the receiving end of Justin Fields five touchdown tosses. The defense forced 2 fumbles and held Rutgers down most of the night. OSU continues to roll and there is no reason to expect anything to change from here.
Rutgers on the other hand has been pretty fun to watch so far this season even though they have only won 1 game. They have mixed things up trying to do what they can to move the ball and score points. I don’t believe that they had many thoughts that they would keep up with OSU and the fact they held Ohio State to 7 points in three of the four quarters, will be a bright spot as they move forward. Noah Vedral threw for 165, we saw a bit of Artur Sitkowski who put up 62 yards through the air as well. The only passing touchdown was thrown by Johnny Langan. As a team, they finished with 141 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns. This was a feelgood game for Rutgers who once again showed that they wouldn’t lie down as they have in the past. That is in itself good for the conference in the long run. The Scarlet Knights get a winnable game as they host Illinois next week in what may be a very fun game to watch next week.
Up Next:
Rutgers: Illinois
Ohio State: @Maryland
What did you guys take away from this week in the Big Ten? Let me know in the comments down below!
Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!
