Another week of Big Ten Football has come and gone, with the conference posting a record of 15-3 throughout the week, but losing both of its games against ranked out-of-conference teams. That brings the entire conference’s record to 31-5 on the year.
Since this is one of the weeks where the conference mostly plays group of five teams and FCS teams, a lot of games this week were decided in blowout fashion.
Friday’s Games
Northwestern kicked off the weekend for the Big Ten on Friday against Western Illinois,
where quarterback Preston Stone threw the ball for 245 yards and three touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 42-7 win over the Leathernecks. The Northwestern defense suffocated the Western Illinois offense, only allowing 181 total yards on the day.
Maryland also had a Friday game against Northern Illinois. The Huskies, who beat the national champ runner-up Notre Dame last season, kept it close the whole night with the Terrapins pulling off the 20-9 victory. The game was 13-9 until the fourth quarter, when Maryland quarterback Malik Washington threw a 42-yard pass to Shaleak Knotts for the game-sealing touchdown.
Saturday’s Blowouts
Saturday’s slate was filled with lopsided blowouts, with Big Ten teams winning by at least four scores in several games. The arguably most impressive of these lopsided wins came when No.6 Oregon blew out Oklahoma State 69-3 in the Cowboys’ worst loss in over 100 years. Nothing went right for Oklahoma State as Oregon was able to impose its will on both sides of the ball.
The most lopsided blowout on the scoreboard came when No.1 Ohio State handled Grambling State 70-0. Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns while his backup, Lincoln Kienholz, added 71 yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown later in the game. Ohio State’s defense shut down the Tigers’ offense, only allowing 72 passing yards and 166 total yards.
Nebraska took care of Akron 68-0 as quarterback Dylan Raiola threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns with Emment Johnson adding 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Nebraska had 730 yards of offense in total. Akron, on the other hand, only managed to muster up 175 yards of offense, surrendering a safety in the process.
Washington pulled up points on UC Davis, beating the Aggies 70-10. The Huskies’ offense was led by running back Jonah Coleman, who had 111 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the day. Demond Williams Jr. threw for 254 yards and a touchdown in their blowout win.
USC was able to secure a comfortable win against Georgia Southern despite giving up 20 points. The Trojan offense could not be stopped as they handled the Eagles 59-20 behind quarterback Jayden Maiava’s four-touchdown performance.
Minnesota took home a win against FCS Northwestern State 66-0 in a game where the Golden Gophers’ backups saw plenty of playing time.
Wisconsin was able to overcome a slow start to beat Middle Tennessee 42-10. The Badgers held a 14-10 lead at the half before completely taking over in the final 30 minutes of play.
No.23 Indiana and No. 2 Penn State were able to handle their group of five opponents with ease, as the Hoosiers blew out Kennesaw State 56-9 and the Nittany Lions took care of FIU 34-0.
Saturday’s Best Games/Entertaining wins
Illinois continues to look like a college football playoff and Big Ten title dark-horse after a dominating 45-19 win over Duke. The Blue Devils, who went 9-4 last season, were able to keep the game close until the fourth quarter, where Illinois poured on 17 points to secure the win. Illini Quarterback Luke Altmeyer threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns. The Illini defense also stole the show, forcing four fumbles and grabbing one pick for a total of five turnovers. Both of these performances make Illinois our Big Ten Star of the Week.
In terms of non-blowout wins, Purdue’s win over Southern Illinois was one of the more entertaining watches of the week. The Boilermakes led 24-14 at the half but were unable to truly put away the Salukis until they scored a touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter. Purdue running back Devon Mockobee carried the ball 32 times in this game for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns.
In terms of overall entertaining wins, Michigan State’s double Overtime Thriller against Boston College was the best this week had to offer. With the game locked up at 27 heading into overtime, both teams would score in OT1 to keep the game at 34 each heading into OT2. The Eagles would score in the second overtime; however, they would fail to convert their two-point attempt, leading Michigan State 40-34 before the Spartans would tie it up with a TD of their own and seal the deal with a pass from quarterback Aidan Chiles on their two-point attempt. Chiles threw a total of 4 touchdown passes to secure the win.
Saturday’s Losses
Unfortunately, not all Big Ten teams left Saturday with a win. No.15 Michigan fell in a ranked matchup to No. 18 Oklahoma 24-13, where they struggled to establish a run game. Iowa also fell to rival No.16 Iowa State 16-13 in the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Iowa’s offense struggled mightily in this game, with quarterback Mark Gronowski throwing for only 83 total yards and having an interception. Their defense was able to keep it close, but could not hold on enough for the win.
UCLA is the only Big Ten team to find itself in this section twice, as they are the only team with a 0-2 record. UNLV dealt the Bruins their second loss in a row by a score of 30-23, in a game where UCLA found themselves in an early 23-0 hole they could not dig themselves out of. The Rebels would seal the game after Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava threw an interception late in the game.
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