At first glance, week two's slate wasn't anything to get too excited about. None of the nation's Top 25 squared off against one another as it was mostly cupcake central for all of the Power Five conferences.
Outside of one resurrected rivalry, it was a rather ho-hum week for the Big Ten as well.
Pittsburgh 42, Penn State 39
The buildup to the first interstate battle since 2000 was pretty hyped. A writer for a Pittsburgh site even tried comparing it to Ohio State/Michigan and Alabama/Auburn (lol). A lot of this started with a hilarious (yet totally serious) tweet from an "independent, student-run Penn State news site":
Pitt, at least in its current state, is simply not good enough to be Penn State's rival. We deserve better. https://t.co/2o9M5VFKJ9
— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 8, 2016
The absurdity of said tweet was obvious on Thursday when it was first submitted, and it's even more obvious now after the Nittany Lions fell to a team that is "simply not good enough" to be their rival.
Trace McSorley threw for 332 yards and a touchdown but was picked off in the endzone with just over a minute left in the game, ultimately sealing Penn State's fate. The sophomore signal-caller also coughed up a pair of fumbles on the day. Saquon Barkley scored four times but could only manage 85 yards on 20 carries while also losing a fumble on what looked to be a promising third-quarter drive.
How is it possible for an offensive line to consistently be this bad?
Junior tailback James Conner led the Panthers with 117 yards and a pair of scores, including a fourth-quarter touchdown reception that extended the Pitt lead back to double digits. Quarterback Nathan Peterman threw for three touchdowns though he only tallied 91 yards through the air.
In regard to James Franklin, you probably won't hear a lot of positive thoughts from the Nittany Lion faithful this week.
No. 5 Michigan 51, UCF 14
Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight picked apart the UCF defense on Saturday, throwing for 312 yards and four scores against a porous secondary. The Wolverine ground game was stymied on the day as they averaged less than three yards per carry on 41 attempts. De'Veon Smith led the way on the ground but totaled only 38 yards on 10 carries. Amara Darboh led all pass-catchers with five receptions for 111 yards and a pair of scores. Jake Butt added 86 yards and was also able to find the endzone twice.
Special teams was the story of the day for Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines blocked/tipped four kicks – two punts and two field goals – and recovered a fumble on a kickoff. Jabrill Peppers also added a nice 35-yard punt return that setup one of the Jake Butt touchdowns.
The Knights put up 331 yards of total offense with 275 of those yards coming on the ground.
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 2-0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 2-0 | 3 | 3 |
| Michigan State | 1-0 | 4 | 4 |
| Iowa | 2-0 | 5 | 5 |
| Nebraska | 2-0 | 6 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 2-0 | 7 | 7 |
| Maryland | 2-0 | 8 | 11 |
| Indiana | 2-0 | 9 | 9 |
| Penn State | 1-1 | 10 | 8 |
| Illinois | 1-1 | 11 | 12 |
| Purdue | 1-1 | 12 | 13 |
| Rutgers | 1-1 | 13 | 14 |
| Northwestern | 0-2 | 14 | 10 |
No. 16 Iowa 42, Iowa State 3
Earlier this week, Iowa elected to extend Kirk Ferentz' contract through the 2025 season. He will be making $4.5 million per year during that time period. That's a long time and a lot of money for a coach who really hasn't won anything. Alas, the Hawkeyes clearly have their guy (still) and he's now off to a 2-0 start for the 2016 campaign.
The Hawkeyes handled their in-state rivals on Saturday, relying primarily on quarterback C.J. Beathard and tailback LeShun Daniels Jr. Beathard threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns while Daniels Jr. rushed for 112 and a score. Junior tailback Akrum Wadley had another nice showing as he rushed for a score and found the endzone again on a 26-yard reception.
Wide receiver Matt VandeBerg led all pass-catchers with seven receptions for 129 yards and a score.
No. 10 Wisconsin 54, Akron 10
The Badgers used a balanced attack to take down the Zips in Madison on Saturday. Paul Chryst's offense totaled 586 yards with 292 coming through the air and 294 on the ground. Coming off the victory against LSU, Bart Houston connected on 15 of 22 passes for 231 yards and a pair of scores. Junior wideout Jazz Peavy (awesome name) hauled in seven passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
#Badgers are now 9-0 all-time when Corey Clement rushes for at least 100 yards.
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) September 11, 2016
Corey Clement led the way on the ground with 111 yards and two scores on 21 carries. All of Clement's damage was done in the first half as the Badgers got a bit of a scare when the senior exited the game with an ankle injury before halftime. He was held out for the rest of the game though it appears to have been more of a precautionary move.
The Wiscy defense clamped down on the Zips, allowing only 224 yards of total offense. Akron's lone touchdown came on a punt return in the second quarter.
Nebraska 52, Wyoming 17
Tommy Armstrong and the Husker defense led the way as Nebraska dominated the Cowboys of Wyoming. Armstrong totaled four touchdowns and threw for 377 yards as Mike Riley's squad scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. Alonzo Moore and Jordan Westerkamp were the senior quarterback's favorite targets on the day. Moore hauled in three passes for 109 yards and a score while Westerkamp caught four for 105 and two touchdowns.
Congratulations to Tommy Armstrong for throwing his 57th TD pass, a NU record. 'Twas a good day for the #Huskers QB.
— Jack Housenga (@JackHousenga) September 10, 2016
The opportunistic Blackshirt defense allowed 320 yards on the day and forced six turnovers. For Wyoming, it was a rough afternoon for quarterback Josh Allen. The sophomore threw five interceptions – one of which was returned for a score – and also lost a fumble.
North Carolina 48, Illinois 23
It was a promising start for the Fighting Illini as tailback Ke'Shawn Vaughn opened things up with a 65-yard touchdown scamper. Mentor, Ohio native Mitch Trubisky would answer, however, as the junior quarterback found the endzone four times for the Tarheels. Elijah Hood led a UNC ground game that tallied just shy of 200 yards. The junior tailback rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Vaughn finished the day with 116 yards while quarterback Wes Lunt threw for 127 and a pair of scores. The Illini were hit with 13 penalties for 99 yards as the Lovie Smith Era moved to 1-1.
Minnesota 58, Indiana State 28
The Golden Gopher offense had its way with Indiana state on Saturday, amassing close to 600 yards and 58 points. Mitch Leidner was as efficient as ever, completing 20 of 30 pass attempts for 295 yards and four scores. Two of those scores came courtesy of wideout Drew Walitarsky. The senior hauled in eight passes for 125 yards on the day.
Junior tailback Kobe McCrary had just two carries for four yards last week against Oregon State. He had a much more productive outing against the Sycamores.
Kobe McCray with some video game-like moves on his way to a 50-yard score for @GopherFootball! The Maroon Mamba 2.0. https://t.co/nLmu6yloej
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) September 10, 2016
The juco transfer tallied 176 yards on just ten carries and found the endzone twice. Also, "The Maroon Mamba" is a pretty legit nickname.
Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7
The start of the 2016 season has not been kind to Northwestern. There's really not a whole lot to say about this game except that it took the Wildcats two and half quarters to score any points against the mighty Redbirds of Illinois State. More importantly, they would go on to lose – at home – to Illinois State.
For a guy who was one of the best defensive players in college history, Pat Fitzgerald's love of the prevent defense is infuriating.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 10, 2016
Clayton Thorson threw for 191 yards and the lone Northwestern score. Tailback Justin Jackson was held in check with just 39 yards on 11 carries. The Redbirds were led by wideout Anthony Warrum who hauled in nine passes for 116 yards.
Not good, Pat.
Maryland 41, Florida International 14
The Perry Hills/D.J. Moore connection was strong for the Terrapins as the duo hooked up for 147 yards and a pair of scores. In a bit of a role reversal, Moore also connected with Hills on a trick play that went for 21 yards. Hills would end the day with 210 yards through the air with three scores and another 52 on the ground. He did not play after the third quarter.
In his second game as Maryland's head coach, DJ Durkin matches the win total of Randy Edall's 1st season coaching the #Terps
— Dave Tucker (@TestudoDave) September 10, 2016
The Terps' first touchdown came via a 14-yard interception return by junior linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. Florida International was led by tailback Alex Gardner who rumbled for 109 yards and a score.
Indiana 30, Ball State 20
Ball State's fourth-quarter rally came up a bit short as the Hoosiers managed to move to 2-0 on the season. Quarterback Richard Lagow threw for 266 yards and three scores; the majority of those yards going to wideout Nick Westbrook who finished with three receptions for 133 yards and a pair of scores. Tailback Devine Redding led all rushers with 110 yards on the ground.
The Indiana defense held the Cardinals to just a field goal through the first three quarters before surviving a 17-point barrage in the fourth. Ball State totaled 371 yards to the Hoosiers' 453.
It was a costly victory for Kevin Wilson as Indiana lost starting wide receiver Simmie Cobbs and All-American guard Dan Feeney to injuries. Feeney left with a concussion while Cobbs suffered an ankle injury. After the game, Wilson indicated that Cobbs' injury is likely to require surgery and could cost him the season.
Cincinnati 38, Purdue 20
Turnovers killed the Boilermakers on Saturday as they simply couldn't overcome the five interceptions from quarterback David Blough. Three of those picks came from Cincinnati linebacker Mike Tyson. Blough would end the day with 400 yards passing and two scores to go along with the many blunders. Wideouts Domonique Young and DeAngelo Yancey both topped 100 yards and found the endzone.
Quarterback Hayden Moore led the Bearcats as the sophomore topped 300 yards of total offense and found the endzone five times. The game saw over 1,000 yards of total offense – 512 for the Bearcats and 504 for the Boilers.
It was Cincinnati's first road victory over a Big Ten school since 1957 in Bloomington.
Rutgers 52, Howard 14
Things got off to an ominous start for Chris Ash as Rutgers went down 14-0 against a team that was destroyed by Maryland just a week ago. The Scarlet Knights answered in a big way, though, as they would score 52 unanswered points en route to Ash's first victory as a head coach.
Rutgers was led by quarterback Chris Laviano as the senior threw for 137 yards and three scores. Do-it-all weapon Janarion Grant rushed for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding another 24 receiving. Grant added a beautiful 84-yard kick return score that brought the Knights back to life after going down by two scores.
Defensively, the stat sheet wasn't too awful for Rutgers as they allowed just 253 yards of total offense. The Bison were led by tailback Anthony Philyaw who gashed the Scarlet Knights for 112 yards on the ground.
The conference went 9-4 on the weekend (the Spartans had a bye), but the Northwestern loss was the only real surprise. The Big Ten's best all took care of business and next week should be even more of a challenge.
Week three will of course be headlined by the Buckeyes heading to Norman. Elsewhere, the Spartans will travel to South Bend, Nebraska is set to host Oregon, and Penn State will look to avenge last year's horrendous performance against Temple.
