Week 7 has come and gone, leaving plenty of interesting developments in the world of Big Ten football. Let’s get right into the games!
The Blowouts
Iowa 37, Wisconsin 0: The score reflects this game perfectly. Wisconsin was dominated on both sides of the ball. The Iowa defense forced three turnovers and held Wisconsin’s offense to less than 100 passing yards. Iowa’s passing game did enough to move the ball as its rushing attack piled up 210 yards on the ground. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens drilled all three of his field
goals as well. Iowa started hot right out of the gate, scoring 17 before the end of the first quarter, and it would only get worse than there for the Badgers.
UCLA 38, Michigan State 13: UCLA used its running game to punish Michigan State in this game, as the Bruins totaled 238 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Their passing attack poured it on even more by adding 180 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The Spartan offense couldn’t get anything going for most of the game, scoring once in the first quarter and then being kept quiet until the fourth quarter, only having 253 yards of total offense.
USC 31, No.15 Michigan 13: If this isn’t proof that USC should be ranked, I don’t know what is. The Trojans dominated this game as their defense forced several turnovers while their offense looked good at all levels. Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and had an average of 8.3 yards per throw. USC piled up a total of 224 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Michigan’s offense struggled to find consistency, as it went 2-9 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down.
No.1 Ohio State 34, No.17 Illinois 16: Scoreboard-wise, I wouldn’t quite call this a blowout. However, the play on the field made it feel that way. The Ohio State defense piled up 21 points off three turnovers while the Illinois offense failed to make any significant headway into the third quarter. Despite the Illini defense putting up a valiant effort, having a -3 turnover rate against the No.1 team in the country is not a recipe for success, as the OSU offense took advantage of good field position several times to sink the Illini.
The best watches in the Big Ten this weekend
Nebraska 34, Maryland 31: Maryland entered the fourth quarter of this game up by seven, but a late surge by Nebraska would be their undoing. Despite throwing three interceptions, Cornhusker quarterback Dylan Raiola led his team down the field several times, throwing four touchdowns on the day. Terrapins quarterback Malik Washington had a good outing himself, tossing the ball for 249 yards and one touchdown. Nebraska would score a touchdown with just over a minute left in the game to take the lead, and its defense would hold on long enough to secure the win.
Minnesota 27, Purdue 20: Purdue is a much better team than last year, it just hasn’t translated to wins. The start of their Power Four schedule featured ranked teams or borderline ranked teams, and Purdue played them better than expected. In this game, the Boilermakers put Minnesota in a seven point hole heading into the fourth quarter, where they would fall apart. They would start by missing a field goal before giving up a touchdown to tie the game. Then Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne would have his pass intercepted by Koi Perich, who would run it back for the Minnesota score. On the ensuing drive, Purdue would turn the ball over on downs deep in Minnesota territory largely thanks to an untimely penalty. The Gophers would get the ball back and hold on to win.
Northwestern 22, Penn State 21: Not only was this game very entertaining, but the result has had a massive ripple effect. Neither team really dominated the other in one category, but Northwestern would do enough to hold on to the win later by forcing Penn State to turn it over on downs. The more important takeaway from this game is that it was the game that got James Franklin fired from Penn State. It is hard to tell where the Nittany Lions will go from here. Will they continue to free fall like they have in the past three weeks? How much talent will they lose to the transfer portal because of this? It will be interesting to see who they hire as well. Many variables in the Nittany Lions’ future will be solved over the coming months/off-season.
No.7 Indiana 30, No.3 Oregon 20: Indiana is legit. They have their win to prove that now. Going into Autzen Stadium to knock off the No.3 Ducks is not an easy feat. To do it by multiple scores is even harder. The Hoosier defense played great, limiting Oregon to 267 yards of total offense, recording six sacks, forcing two turnovers, and running one back to the house. The Hoosier offense, despite one interception, showed consistency across the board, as quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while the running game totaled 111 yards and two touchdowns. All of these reasons combined make Indiana our Big Ten Star of the Week.
