The Big Ten needed Week 4 to go well to ameliorate weeks of looking like chumps. The conference responded by going 12-1 – its best record of the season – with blowouts, road wins and an upset of a ranked team. For once, the Big Ten looked like an actual power conference.
Indiana 31, No. 18 Missouri 27
Indiana was all smiles after the upset.
After blowing the Bowling Green game last week, the national consensus was that Indiana would get shredded by a ranked Missouri team. Instead, the Hoosiers earned their first win over a ranked team since 2006, in Columbia no less. I'm as surprised as you are.
The Hoosiers led for much of the first half and third quarter, but they traded leads with Mizzou several times in the fourth quarter. Trailing 27-24 with two minutes left, Nate Sudfeld and Tevin Coleman engineered a 75-yard drive to win the game.
Indiana's defense held up surprisingly well against the Missouri spread. The Hoosiers beat a ranked team despite going 1 of 14 on third down conversions, suggesting that things are looking up for Indiana. And man, how much better is the Big Ten East than the West this year?
No. 24 Nebraska 41, Miami (FL) 31
Ameer Abdullah set a Nebraska record for most career all-purpose yards as the Cornhuskers outslugged Miami in front of a record crowd of 91,585 in Lincoln.
Nebraska chose to run on the Hurricanes, to great effect. The Cornhuskers racked up 343 rushing yards, paced by Abdullah's 229 yards and Tommy Armstrong Jr.'s 96 yards.
Although Miami bombed the Nebraska pass defense, they were kept at arm's length throughout the second half. Credit Josh Mitchell for a momentum-changing scoop and score, and the secondary for yielding in the fourth quarter only when the game was out of reach. The home crowd did its part with a Blackout as well.
No. 11 Michigan State 73, Eastern Michigan 14
No. 19 Wisconsin 68, Bowling Green 17
These were two games of total destruction, just what Michigan State and Wisconsin needed. The Spartans had 320 yards of offense in the first half, and they outgained the Eagles by 319. Do the math. Figuratively and literally, it was as though Michigan State suplexed Eastern Michigan over and over and over again.
And oh, poor Bowling Green. The Badgers set a modern era Big Ten record for rushing yards (644), and Melvin Gordon is a shoe-in for offensive player of the week with 253 rushing yards and five TDs. Gordon is now averaging 8.26 yards per carry for his career, tied with Glenn Davis for the highest career average in history.
Iowa 24, Pittsburgh 20
"DOWN IN FRONT!" [Via]
After last week's debacle, Iowa looked like dead meat. Instead, the Hawkeyes knocked off Pitt on the road and upgraded their starting quarterback.
Iowa had trouble stopping Pitt running back James Conner, and the Hawkeyes trailed 17-7 at the half. With the offense stalling, it appeared starting QB Jake Rudock was yanked in the third quarter for CJ Beathard, whose magnificent hair sparked the offense. Iowa got into a late groove, Mark Weisman scored two touchdown runs to take the lead, and the stingy Hawkeye defense held on to preserve the win.
Alas, this may only be a temporary rejuvenation. Kirk Ferentz claimed that Beathard was only in the game because Rudock was hurt, scoffing at the concept of “pulling the starter” for the “better player” to “win the game”. Ferentz is more than a little full of it, so who knows? Iowa's season rolls on, mostly intact.
Northwestern 24, Western Illinois 7
Pay no attention to the margin of victory, this was a game Northwestern was lucky to win. The Wildcats had 283 yards of offense, were outgained by nearly 100 yards at home, and have no passing game to speak of. The only bright spots were Ifeadi Odenigbo (three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery), Justin Jackson (92 rushing yards, one TD) and Solomon Vault (two rushing TDs).
Northwestern fans are mad at the playcalling and the effort. Give credit to Pat Fitzgerald, who said after the game, “[m]y size 12 is going where the sun don’t shine with this team for the rest of the year." If the Wildcats don't shape up, 1-11 is a distinct possibility.
Purdue 35, Southern Illinois 13
Here's how good Week 4 was for the Big Ten: even lowly Purdue had an easy win. The Boilermakers were only slight favorites going into the game, but they jumped out to a 25-0 lead. They did this mostly with takeaways and field position; their four touchdown drives on the day went 23, 44, 26 and 43 yards. Danny Anthrop had five catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and the rushing defense excelled. If they keep playing like this, the Boilermakers could sneak into a bowl game. They just need four more W's... or should I say M's?
How out of practice are the Boilers at winning? Raised the 'W' flag upside down. In distress perhaps? pic.twitter.com/x9yhEsWqIi
— Boiled Sports (@BoiledSports) September 20, 2014
Maryland 34, Syracuse 20
Syracuse outgained Maryland by 220 yards and demolished Maryland's rushing defense, but Maryland had all kinds of luck against Syracuse. Will Likely had an 88-yard pick six, Brandon Ross turned a swing pass into a 90-yard touchdown, and timely turnovers helped the Terrapins beat the Orange in the Carrier Dome. A late touchdown by Syracuse made the score closer to reality, but it was still a comfortable win for the Terrapins.
Rutgers 31, Navy 24
In a battle of two opponents on the Buckeyes' schedule, Rutgers overcame Navy's triple option offense and a knee injury to Paul James to defeat the Midshipmen in Annapolis.
Rutgers was having success pounding the ball with James, but he left the game after taking a helmet to the knee in the second quarter. Justin Goodwin and Desmon Peoples filled in with a combined 186 rushing yards, while Gary Nova had two short touchdown runs and didn't screw up. Navy drove as far as the Rutgers 6-yard line in the final minute, but the Scarlet Knights' defense held strong. While Rutgers won't win the division, they're playing like a potential bowl team.
In addition, I'm beginning a weekly feature called NovaWatch, which asks the important question "Did Gary Nova prevent Rutgers from winning?" This week: Nope!
Penn State 48, Massachusetts 7
The Terps took care of business at the Carrier Dome. [Via]
The Nittany Lions displayed an active running game for the first time, destroying Massachusetts to improve to 4-0. Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak each had a pair of rushing touchdowns, while Akeel Lynch added 81 yards as a tertiary back. Even more impressive was the Penn State rushing defense, which held UMass to 28 yards (sack-adjusted) on 28 carries.
Minnesota 24, San Jose State 7
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Minnesota can't pass, but they run well. So they run lots and overwhelm the less talented team. Sure enough, David Cobb was a workhorse, Chris Streveler complemented him and the Golden Gophers shut down San Jose State in a lightning-delayed game.
Minnesota is a laughably unbalanced team, and yet they could finish second in the Big Ten West. Their games are as exciting as a rock-paper-scissors tournament, but a boring win is still a win.
Illinois 42, Texas State 35
Illinois outscored Texas State 24-7 in the fourth quarter to survive an upset scare. This game also had a weather delay, after which the Illini recovered from a 21-6 deficit thanks to Josh Ferguson's 233 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. V'Angelo Bentley had a pick-six in the waning minutes to give Illinois a two-score lead, which it needed when Texas State scored soon after. Illinois has struggled in every game this year, including against teams they should have obliterated, but they are 3-1 – more than Michigan can say.
Utah 26, Michigan 10
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 2-1 | 1 | 10 |
| Nebraska | 4-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Michigan State | 2-1 | 3 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 2-1 | 4 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 2-1 | 5 | 8 |
| Maryland | 3-1 | 6 | 6 |
| Penn State | 4-0 (1-0) | 7 | 4 |
| Iowa | 3-1 | 8 | 11 |
| Rutgers | 3-1 (0-1) | 9 | 7 |
| Purdue | 2-2 | 10 | 9 |
| Minnesota | 3-1 | 11 | 12 |
| Northwestern | 1-2 | 12 | 14 |
| Illinois | 3-1 | 13 | 13 |
| Michigan | 2-2 | 14 | 5 |
The Big Ten lost only one game on the day. In a miserable, rain delay-lengthened slog of a game, Utah defeated Michigan at the Big House.
The story of the day was Michigan's failure of an offense, which produced only a field goal (the rest came on a pick six by Willie Henry). Devin Gardner was awful, throwing looping, wobbly balls, locking in on targets and putting his receivers into danger by throwing late over the middle. On Gardner's last drive, he chucked an interception straight at three defenders. Shane Morris replaced him in the fourth quarter, to little effect. Counting the lightning delay, it was five hours and 40 minutes of hell.
Make no mistake about it: Brady Hoke is in hot water. He undermined Gardner all offseason by manufacturing a stupid quarterback controversy, and now he has an actual crisis on his hands. He sparred with defensive coordinator Greg Mattison on the sidelines after Mattison drew a sideline infraction penalty. He refuses to use a statistically superior spread punt formation because pro punt formation is all he knows, which led to a Utah punt return touchdown. Michigan hired a sub-.500 head coach because of his Michigan Man-ness, and this dysfunction is the result. I have no sympathy for their struggles.
That's all for Week 4. Tune in next week for a mishmash of nonconference and Big Ten games. For slowpokes, I recommend Minnesota-Michigan; for speed addicts, Maryland-Indiana; and for fans of gore, Michigan State-Wyoming.
