Remember that time Ohio State went into yet another "whiteout" and won in an instant classic of a football contest? I'm a big fan of honesty, so I have no problem admitting that I was extremely worried when the Nittany Lions went up by a score of 26-14 with just eight minutes left in the game. But then several funny – and amazing – things happened.
Dwayne Haskins finally found his groove, Binjimen Victor transformed himself into Randy Moss, K.J. Hill scored the go-ahead touchdown, and Chase Young did more freakish things off the edge. What an amazing game that was in State College.
The Happy Valley shenanigans clearly stole the show this weekend, but let's not forget about the other happenings around the Midwest. Five Big Ten programs were off this weekend, but there were still a few other close ones across the conference.
No. 14 Michigan 20, Northwestern 17
The start couldn't have been much worse for the Wolverines. Northwestern scored on its first three drives and Pat Fitzgerald and Co. were up 17-0 midway through the second quarter. The rest of the game, however, would prove to be too much for the Wildcats as they failed to put any more points on the board and fell at home to the 14th-ranked Wolverines.
Karan Higdon gives @UMichFootball the lead late in the 4th quarter! pic.twitter.com/BKgmimTERD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 29, 2018
Karan Higdon is a pretty good tailback and he led the way yesterday for the Maize and Blue. He rumbled for 115 yards and a pair of scores on a whopping 30 carries. I'm still not sure what to make of Shea Patterson. It just seems like a lot of his moments come when he makes it happen with his legs. He threw for 196 and added another 31 on the ground. Nico Collins led all Wolverine pass catchers with six receptions for 73 yards.
Northwestern put up nearly 100 yards on its first two drives but would go on to total just 97 yards in the game's final three quarters. The Wolverines recorded six sacks and Chase Winovich was all over the place. Clayton Thorson threw for 174 yards and new starting tailback John Moten IV also found the end zone.
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 5-0 | 1 | 1 |
| PENN STATE | 4-1 | 2 | 2 |
| WISCONSIN | 3-1 | 3 | 3 |
| MICHIGAN | 4-1 | 4 | 4 |
| IOWA | 3-1 | 5 | 5 |
| MICHIGAN sTATE | 3-1 | 6 | 6 |
| MARYLAND | 3-1 | 7 | 7 |
| INDIANA | 4-1 | 8 | 8 |
| MINNESOTA | 3-1 | 9 | 9 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 1-3 | 10 | 10 |
| PURDUE | 2-3 | 11 | 11 |
| NEBRASKA | 0-4 | 12 | 12 |
| ILLINOIS | 2-2 | 13 | 13 |
| RUTGERS | 1-4 | 14 | 14 |
No. 21 Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 20
The Spartans used four rushing touchdowns to take down the Chippewas in East Lansing. It was a bit of a weird one with Brian Lewerke coming out in the fourth quarter with Michigan State up by 28. But then Central Michigan scored 17 fourth-quarter points prompting Mark Dantonio to bring his starter back into the game.
It wasn't a particularly explosive game for either team, but La'Darius Jefferson, Connor Heyward, and Lewerke got it done on the ground. Jefferson led the way with 56 yards and a score while Heyward pitched in with 48 and a touchdown. Lewerke totaled 39 yard and two rushing scores to go along with 185 and an interception through the air.
Turnovers plagued CMU as quarterback Tommy Lazzaro was picked off twice on the day. David Dowell and Justin Layne – a pair of Cleveland-area products – each picked off a pass. The Spartans held the Chippewas to just 245 yards of total offense. Michigan State's rush defense is tops in America and CMU ran for 63 yards on the day after only tallying five in the first half.
Purdue 42, Nebraska 28
Nebraska has now lost eight consecutive football games, which is a new program record. This one was at least fun to watch, though, as the two teams combined for nearly 1,100 yards of total offense.
David Blough, D.J. Knox, and Brycen Hopkins led the way for the Boilermakers. Blough threw for 328 yards and a touchdown, Knox scored twice on the ground, and Hopkins led all Purdue receivers with five receptions for 83 yards and a score. True freshman Rondale Moore continues to make plays as he hauled in eight for 85 yards.
Adrian Martinez is healthy once again and was mostly pretty good for the Husks. The freshman totaled 414 yards of offense with two passing scores and an interception. Devine Ozigbo was the game's leading rusher with 170 yards and two scores while averaging 10 per carry. JD Spielman had himself a day hauling in 10 for 135 yards and a pair of scores.
Scott Frost is defiant after this fourth consecutive defeat. The coach in his opening statement criticized his reserves for dancing on the sideline before kickoffs. They look like they love losing.
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) September 29, 2018
Nebraska heads to Wisconsin next week so there's a good chance another record gets broken here shortly.
Indiana 24, Rutgers 17
I'm a big fan of Chris Ash and everything he did for the Ohio State defense, but one has to wonder if the seat will ever start getting hot over in the Garden State. I suppose the Hoosiers were favored by 15, so I guess it could have been worse for Rutgers.
Indiana scored on its first four possessions and put up all 24 points in the first half before the Rutgers defense showed up. Peyton Ramsey completed 27 of 40 passes for 288 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also added 51 yards rushing and a score on the ground. Ty Fryfogle led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards ad J-Shun Harris II hauled in a touchdown pass.
The Scarlet Knights got within a touchdown in the fourth quarter thanks to a field goal and a Jonathan Hilliman touchdown rush. Artur Stikowski was benched last weekend but Ash elected to stick with the true freshman against Indiana. He completed 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards with a touchdown an a pick. Raheem Blackshear was the game's leading rusher with 64 yards on eight carries.
Rutgers has now fallen in four straight contests after opening the season with a win over Texas State. The Hoosiers move to 4-1 with the lone loss coming at home to Michigan State.
So that was a fun little weekend even though there wasn't a ton of Big Ten action. The Buckeyes now have four straight games against lackluster opponents before heading to Michigan State on Nov. 10. Urban Meyer and Greg Schiano will need to use the month of October to shore things up on the defensive side of the ball.
No changes to the power rankings this week. Purdue is starting to look like a competent team and I realize Northwestern now has three losses, but I'm not ready to swap spots yet considering the Wildcats went into West Lafayette and came away with a victory in week one.
Penn State is a great team. I still think Wisconsin is really good and should win the West with relative ease. Michigan has a great defense but I'm far from sold on the offense. Iowa and Michigan State are probably both good but they don't exactly strike fear into the opposition. Rutgers, Illinois, and Nebraska are all beyond awful right now.
Next week the Buckeyes host Indiana, Maryland heads to Ann Arbor, Michigan State takes on Northwestern, and the Badgers welcome Nebraska to Madison.
