The national slate wasn't too impressive for college football's fourth week, but there were several important battles taking place in Big Ten Country as conference play kicked off in a big way.
Thanks to the season opener against Indiana, the Buckeyes hosted UNLV before heading into the bulk of the conference schedule. The game went just about as expected with a lot of scoring and playing time for some youngsters.
Penn State and Michigan both hit the road and will return home as winners. For the Nittany Lions, the win was a memorable one.
No. 4 Penn State 21, Iowa 19
Kinnick Stadium's twilight was a thorn in Michigan's side last year, and in 2017 it has the opportunity to do the same for both the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. Last night's showdown with Penn State was the best game of the weekend, and boy was that second half a fun one to watch.
If you are like me and believe that Saquon Barkley is the best player in America, then this game only reaffirmed your stance. Penn State could hand him the ball 50 times a game and that still wouldn't be enough. The junior rushed for 211 yards and a score, caught 12 passes for 94 yards, and added 53 kick return yards. That's 358 all-purpose yards for the Heisman frontrunner.
The Hawkeyes took the lead late in the fourth quarter thanks to an Akrum Wadley touchdown run. With less than two minutes remaining, Penn State drove 65 yards and pulled off the game-winner as time expired; a seven-yard touchdown pass from Trace McSorley to Juwan Johnson.
McSorley threw for 284 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 61 yards as well. Wadley led the way for the Hawkeyes, accounting for 155 yards of total offense with two scores. Quarterback Nathan Stanley threw for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The new Kinnick tradition of waving at the kids at the adjacent Stead Family Children's Hospital remains undefeated.
The kids at the Iowa Children's Hospital have a great view of PSU-Iowa.
— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2017
Watch the whole stadium wave to them soon on ABC or the ESPN App. pic.twitter.com/XpprqVEL54
No. 10 Michigan 28, Purdue 10
Michigan went on the road as 10-point favorites and headed back to Ann Arbor an 18-point winner over the Boilermakers. Purdue kept it close throughout the majority of the game before the Wolverines pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
The biggest storyline surrounding this one is Jim Harbuagh's quarterback situation. Wilton Speight has struggled this season, and he didn't get the chance to bounce back on Saturday. The junior went down in the first quarter with what appeared to be an upper-body injury. Purdue had no x-ray machine available so Speight left the stadium for further evaluations.
Senior John O'Korn took over and was mostly impressive under center. He shook off an early interception and would end up with 270 yards through the air with a touchdown and the one pick. Chris Evans led the way for the Wolverine offense as the sophomore rushed for 97 yards and two scores, including a backbreaking 49-yarder late in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Brohm's Boilermakers used a little bit of trickeration – including a 24-yard pass back to the quarterback to open the game – but the majority of it didn't faze Don Brown's tough defense. Purdue's offense showed signs of life in the second quarter but was otherwise held in check. Michigan allowed just 189 yards of total offense with only 30 of those coming in the running game.
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 4-0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 4-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 3-1 | 3 | 4 |
| Wisconsin | 3-0 | 4 | 3 |
| Iowa | 3-1 | 5 | 7 |
| Minnesota | 3-0 | 6 | 6 |
| Indiana | 2-1 | 7 | 9 |
| Maryland | 2-1 | 8 | 5 |
| Purdue | 2-2 | 9 | 10 |
| Michigan State | 2-1 | 10 | 8 |
| Northwestern | 2-1 | 11 | 11 |
| Nebraska | 2-2 | 12 | 12 |
| Illinois | 2-1 | 13 | 13 |
| Rutgers | 1-3 | 14 | 14 |
Notre Dame 38, Michigan State 18
This was a competitive game for one quarter, but the Spartans made a number of critical mistakes that they just couldn't recover from. Gotta give credit to the Irish as well; they were clearly the better team.
One of the game's pivotal plays took place in the second quarter. Tailback L.J. Scott had the ball stripped just inches from the goal line, handing the ball back to the Irish on a touchback. Notre Dame would then score again before halftime, giving them a three-touchdown lead.
Brian Lewerke completed 31 of 51 passes for 340 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Scott rushed for 61 yards while Lewerke chipped in with 56 of his own. The Spartans outgained the Irish by nearly 150 yards, but they were plagued by two lost fumbles and the interception.
Quarterback Brandon Wimbush accounted for two of the Irish scores; one through the air and one with his legs. Dexter Williams and Deon McIntosh also ran for touchdowns.
UCF 38, Maryland 10
Maryland's hot start came screeching to a halt yesterday when the Terps failed to defend their home turf against the Knights. For D.J. Durkin, the loss may reach much further than just the win-loss column.
True freshman quarterback Kasim Hill went down with a leg injury in the first quarter and did not return. Hill has been impressive while filling in for Tyrrell Pigrome since the season opener against Texas. With Pigrome out for the season, Hill became the fifth quarterback to start for the Terps since 2015.
Sophomore Max Bortenschlager took the reins at quarterback and threw for 132 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. D.J. Moore had another fine outing, hauling in eight passes for 83 yards and the team's lone touchdown. The offense just wasn't the same, however, and failed to reach 200 yards on the day. In its two previous wins, Maryland put up 534 yards against Towson and 482 against the Longhorns.
The UCF offense gashed the Terps with 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Knights had a three-week layoff thanks to Hurricane Irma, and they clearly used that extra time to their advantage.
If you're a Maryland fan looking for a silver lining, then look no further than the future Mrs. D.J. Byrnes:
Oh ok pic.twitter.com/6BHtljVuWl
— David Ruff (@dcarterruff) September 23, 2017
Nebraska 27, Rutgers 17
I flipped over to this game at one point and saw it was late in the third quarter and the Huskers were losing at home to Rutgers. Then I remembered that Nebraska fired its athletic director this week and Mike Riley may very well be coaching on borrowed time. Scott Frost, come on down?
The Huskers did rally back and managed to pull out the victory over Chris Ash and the Scarlet Knights. Tanner Lee completed just 50 percent of his passes for 109 yards with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. The duo of Devine Ozigbo and Mikale Wilbon led the charge on the ground. Ozigbo rushed for 101 yards while Wilbon added 78 and a score.
Rutgers managed just 194 yards of total offense. Quarterback Kyle Bolin had a forgettable performance, throwing for just 126 yards and two interceptions.
Indiana 52, Georgia Southern 17
Simmie Cobbs Jr. looked like the love child of Randy Moss and Odell Beckham Jr. when he faced the Buckeyes in week one. Someone help me understand how he caught just two passes for 17 yards against Georgia Southern yesterday.
Regardless of the Cobbs mystery, the Hoosier offense had another fine showing. This time the team was led by true freshman tailback Morgan Ellison. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Ellison hails from Pickerington, Ohio and is a player the Buckeyes showed some late interest in leading up to signing day. He rushed for 186 yards and two scores on 25 carries against the Eagles. Ellison suffered two broken legs in high school, so it's always great to see someone bounce back like this.
So how are things looking with week four now in the books?
Maryland and Michigan both have some serious question marks at quarterback right now. The Wolverines' backup situation is in decent shape if Speight were to miss some time. For the Terps, the Kasim Hill injury – depending on the severity – could be a huge blow to the season.
It will be interesting to see how the Hawkeyes bounce back after that heartbreaking loss, but Iowa fans should feel pretty good about where things stand. There's not a whole lot you can do about Saquon Barkley, but Kirk Ferentz' team showed a lot of resiliency in the second half.
Next week the Buckeyes will head east to Rutgers in a game that should see a lot of Dwayne Haskins and/or Joe Burrow. Penn State hosts Indiana while the Hawkeyes travel to East Lansing. The Wolverines have a bye before they square off with the Spartans on Oct. 7.
