Big Ten Recap: Badgers Stumble in Ann Arbor, Sparty Falls Again, and Durkin's Defense Shuts Down Purdue

By Andrew Ellis on October 2, 2016 at 7:15 am
Amara Darboh hauled in the game-winner against Wisconsin.
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This was a big week in college football. The Big Ten had one marquee matchup that turned into a bit of a dud, but the rest of the country was chock-full of great television. 

Best non-Big Ten moment of the weekend? How about North Carolina's kicker nailing a walk-off 54-yarder versus the Seminoles in Tallahassee. He then proceeded to prance around Florida State's field while mocking them with a tomahawk chop. Good for that young fella. 

Let's have a look at what went down within the conference.

No. 4 Michigan 14, No. 8 Wisconsin 7

I was really looking forward to watching this game, and then it started and everything was pretty much awful. Two really bad quarterbacks facing off in what ended up just being a snoozer. The most exciting moment – and one of the better interceptions you'll see all year – came in the waning minutes of the game.

The Wolverines went into halftime with a 7-0 lead thanks to a touchdown from fullback Khalid Hill. Wisconsin answered in the third when freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook connected with Dare Ogunbowale for a 17-yard touchdown strike. Michigan would recapture the lead midway through the fourth when Wilton Speight hit Amara Darboh for what would turn out to be the game-winning 46-yard score. 

The Badgers got the ball back with just under three minutes remaining in the game, but that's when Jourdan Lewis came through with the spectacular interception as Hornibrook went deep in hopes of converting a 4th and long. 

Paul Chryst's offense just couldn't get it going against Don Brown and the Michigan defense. The Badgers could only manage 159 yards on the day. Hornibrook threw for just 88 yards with three interceptions and the one score. Corey Clement rushed for 68 yards on 17 carries.

Speight threw for 219 yards to go along with one touchdown and one pick. De'Veon Smith, Ty Isaac, and Chris Evans combined for 148 yards on the ground.

Indiana 24, No. 17 Michigan State 21 (OT)

I thought it was pretty silly earlier in the week when I saw that Michigan State was only favored by six points over the Hoosiers. Late last night I felt pretty silly myself for thinking that I knew more than the sharks in Vegas. 

The Hoosiers' victory allowed them to reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time in a decade. What exactly is an old brass spittoon? I have no idea, but it sounds pretty mysterious and I would love to have one of my own someday. 

Disregard. It looks like something Paul Bearer used to carry around on Monday Night Raw. The Paul Bunyan Axe for the Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry still reigns supreme.

Richard Lagow led the Hoosiers as he completed 16 of 26 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lagow was also on the receiving end of a five-yard score in the third quarter. Devine Redding led all rushers with 100 yards on 19 carries. Senior wideout Ricky Jones added 124 yards receiving and a touchdown.

The Spartans' three-headed backfield of Gerald Holmes, Madre London, and L.J. Scott combined for 128 yards rushing while Tyler O'Connor added 36 of his own. O'Connor connected on 21 of 35 passes for 263 yards and three scores. R.J. Shelton had himself a day as the senior hauled in seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in overtime. The Hoosiers returned the favor with a miss of their own, but the Spartans were flagged for leaping which gave Indiana new life. Griffin Oakes would then knock in the chip-shot 20-yarder to bring the Hoosiers to 3-1.

No. 15 Nebraska 31, Illinois 16

The Huskers trailed the Illini for much of the game on Saturday, but tailback Terrell Newby led the way in a fourth quarter that saw Nebraska score three touchdowns. The senior ran for 113 of his 140 yards in the game's final quarter and scored twice on his own. 

Tommy Armstrong completed 16 of 23 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also found the endzone once with his legs. Jordan Westerkamp led all receivers with four receptions for 65 yards. 

The Illinois offense had a pretty lackluster day, totaling just 270 yards. Wes Lunt was 13 of 22 for 133 yards. Reggie Corbin led the Illini ground game with nine carries for 72 yards. Lovie Smith's squad struggled to convert in enemy territory and had to settle for three Chase McLaughlin field goals.

Penn State 29, Minnesota 26

Saquon Barkley didn't have a great day against the Gophs. The sophomore ran for just 63 yards on 20 carries, but his 25-yard touchdown run in overtime was enough to give the Nittany Lions their third win of the season.

Trace McSorley completed just 19 of 41 passes but was able to hit a number of big plays en route to his best yardage total of the season. The sophomore threw for 335 yards and a score and added another 73 and a touchdown on the ground. Chris Godwin caught four passes for 97 yards and freshman wideout Irvin Charles scored on an 80-yard reception.

Mitch Leidner threw for 241 yards along with a touchdown and an interception. The Gopher ground game got it going as both Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks topped 100 yards on the day. Brian Smith led all pass-catchers with seven receptions for 101 yards.

Legendary Minnesota true freshman defensive end Tai'yon Devers missed the game with an ankle injury. One has to think that Trace McSorley's stat line would have been significantly less impressive if he had to deal with Devers and his pass rush.

Yes, we will be keeping track of him for the rest of the season because I like him that much.

B1G POWER RANKINGS: WEEK FIVE
Team W-L Rank Prev
Ohio State 4-0 1 1
Michigan  5-0 2 2
Nebraska 5-0 3 4
Wisconsin 4-1 4 3
Maryland 4-0 5 7
Minnesota 3-1 6 6
Indiana 3-1 7 9
Michigan State 2-2 8 5
Iowa 3-2 9 8
Penn State 3-2 10 10
Northwestern 2-3 11 12
Illinois 1-3 12 11
Rutgers 2-3 13 13
Purdue 2-2 14 14

Northwestern 38, Iowa 31

The Hawkeye fanbase has to be elated that the administration and athletic supporters elected to keep Kirk Ferentz around for another decade or so. Since the extension was announced less than a month ago, Iowa has fallen at home twice. Two weeks ago it was to North Dakota State of the FCS and yesterday's loss came at the hands of a Northwestern squad that was 1-3 heading into the matchup. 

Quarterback Clayton Thorson and tailback Justin Jackson accounted for all five of the Wildcats' touchdowns. Thorson threw for 164 yards and a trio of scores while adding another with his legs. Jackson rushed for 171 yards and, with the game tied at 24, scored on a 58-yard scamper late in the third quarter. Senior wideout Austin Carr hauled in all three of Thorson's touchdown passes.

The Hawkeye offense could only manage 283 yards on the day. C.J. Beathard threw for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception. LeShun Daniels Jr. ran for 72 yards and a score. Akrum Wadley struggled to get anything going as the junior rushed for just 35 yards on 14 carries, though he did find the endzone twice.

Looking at the bright side for Iowa, they may be able to avoid about $2 million that Ferentz is set to bring home (over the length of his contract) if the Hawkeyes reach seven wins on the season. That could help to make a ridiculous buyout a little bit less absurd.

Note: Internet searches for "Kirk Ferentz buyout" peaked around 2:30PM yesterday. 

Maryland 50, Purdue 7

The Terrapins are not as bad as many thought they'd be. In his first year at the helm, D.J. Durkin actually has Maryland looking like a solid football team, and his Big Ten debut was a memorable one. Yes, Purdue is awful, but the Terps were damn impressive on Saturday as they moved to 4-0 on the season. 

Maryland's passing game was pretty much non-existent, but they didn't exactly need it against the Boilermakers. Perry Hills did toss a pair of touchdown passes but he ended the day with just 87 yards on 13 attempts through the air. True freshman Tyrrell Pigrome also threw a touchdown pass in limited action.

The ground game was a different story for the Terps as they amassed 400 yards on the day. Ty Johnson ran for 204 yards on just seven carries which my math tells me is quite good. He scored twice including one from 76 yards out. Lorenzo Harrison added another 78 yards and a score.

The Boilermakers tallied just 205 yards of total offense. David Blough threw for 132 yards and a score. Markell Jones was held in check with just 23 yards on 12 carries.

My #sources are saying it's not a good thing when you're being out-rushed 400-10. 

Not a bad little weekend in the conference. We didn't quite get the fireworks that Clemson-Louisville and Tennessee-Georgia delivered, but the Hoosiers handing Dantonio his second conference loss was a bit unexpected. The Buckeyes obviously rolled over Rutgers and neither Michigan nor Wisconsin did anything that should invoke fear across the state of Ohio. 

Next week's conference slate can best be described as "meh." Michigan is traveling to Rutgers where they will surely trounce the Scarlet Knights. The Spartans host BYU as they will look to avoid a third straight loss. The Hoosiers – who have been a tad bit pesky lately – will make their way to Columbus.

Are the Durkin-led Terps going to screw around and end up in the Top 25? A win at Happy Valley next week could certainly help their case.

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