Remind me to never pick against Ohio State again. Even when the two rivals are trending in entirely different directions, the Buckeyes continue to absolutely own the Michigan Wolverines.
Though I was silly enough to have Harbaugh and Co. covering the spread, it was far from a shock to see Ohio State come away victorious. Was anyone expecting a 62-point massacre against the country's top-ranked defense? Absolutely not. And if you truly saw that one coming then you get some major props from me.
What else is there to say about yesterday's football contest? Dwayne Haskins had a legendary showing and record-breaking performance, the offensive line dominated from start to finish, and the defense actually played pretty well despite the 39 points. I'm pretty sure I only heard Chase Winovich's name mentioned once and Rashan Gary was practically invisible.
We'll see what transpires over the next week as Buckeye fans are rooting for Texas Tom to take down Oklahoma once again. But could a solid showing against Northwestern put Ohio State into the playoff regardless of what the Sooners do against the Longhorns?
There was plenty more action during the final week of Big Ten play.
No. 12 Penn State 38, Maryland 3
It was the Trace McSorley show in Happy Valley as the Nittany Lion quarterback – along with a potent ground attack – had their way with the Terrapins. The senior signal-caller put up 294 yards of total offense and scored three times in his final game in front of the home crowd. Miles Sanders ran for 128 yards while true freshman Ricky Slade chipped in with 64 and a pair of scores. K.J. Hamler led all receivers with 90 yards on three receptions.
Maryland came back down to earth following last week's performance as the offense managed just 259 yards and a first-quarter field goal. Tyrrell Pigrome threw for 185 yards and – after torching the Buckeyes in College Park – Anthony McFarland had a measly 12 yards on six carries.
The Nittany Lions now await their bowl destination. Maryland's rough season is over.
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 11-1 | 1 | 2 |
| Michigan | 10-2 | 2 | 1 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 8-4 | 3 | 3 |
| PENN STATE | 9-3 | 4 | 4 |
| IOWA | 8-4 | 5 | 6 |
| WISCONSIN | 7-5 | 6 | 5 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 7-5 | 7 | 8 |
| PURDUE | 6-6 | 8 | 9 |
| NEBRASKA | 4-8 | 9 | 7 |
| MINNESOTA | 6-6 | 10 | 12 |
| INDIANA | 5-7 | 11 | 10 |
| MARYLAND | 5-7 | 12 | 11 |
| Illinois | 4-8 | 13 | 13 |
| RUTGERS | 1-11 | 14 | 14 |
No. 19 Northwestern 24, Illinois 16
The Wildcats appeared to start their Indy preparation a bit too early when they elected to pull several starters in the game's second half. The Illini scored 10 points in the fourth to make things a little too close for comfort for Pat Fitzgerald. Still, Isaiah Bowser and the Wildcat running game were more than the Fighting Illini could handle in Evanston.
Bowser rumbled for 166 yards on 18 carries and it'll be interesting to watch the Sidney, Ohio native square off with the Buckeyes in Indy. Clayton Thorson threw for 110 yards and accounted for three scores while connecting with 12 different pass-catchers. Quarterback A.J. Bush Jr. totaled 337 yards and the lone Illini touchdown. Chase McLaughlin nailed all three of his field goal attempts.
Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 15
Wisconsin was an 11.5-point home favorite against the Golden Gophers, but Paul Chryst's crew ended up getting a beatdown in Madison.
The Badgers had control of Paul Bunyan's axe dating back to 2004, so this was certainly a sweet win for P.J. Fleck and the Gophs. Minnesota rode tailback Mohamed Ibrahim and its defense forced four Wiscy turnovers to turn the tables in the rivalry. Ibrahim and the rushing attack accounted for 201 yards and three scores while kicker Emmit Carpenter connected on three of four field goal attempts.
Alex Hornibrook returned to action and struggled mightily on the day while throwing for 189 yards with two scores and three interceptions. Jonathan Taylor topped the century mark with 120 yards but failed to find the end zone. Danny Davis led all receivers with 10 receptions for 93 yards and a score.
Minnesota's social media team was also victorious versus their Badger foes.
Tweet tweet. https://t.co/xzoeyYRBNG
— Minnesota Gophers (@GopherSports) November 25, 2018
Iowa 31, Nebraska 28
We got a bit of an appetizer Friday afternoon between the Hawkeyes and Huskers, and it turned out to be a pretty good one in Iowa City.
Down by eight points in the rainy fourth quarter, it was looking like hope was lost when Adrian Martinez threw an ill-timed interception, but a missed field goal gave new life to the Cornhuskers who tied things up with about three minutes left. Iowa's Miguel Recinos made up for the miss and booted a 41-yarder as time expired to give the Hawkeyes the win.
Nate Stanley and Mekhi Sargent led the way as the duo accounted for three of Iowa's four touchdowns. Stanley threw for 152 yards and a pair of scores while Sargent dashed for 173 and a touchdown. Tailback Toren young pitched in with another 83 yards and also found the end zone.
Adrian Martinez had a big day for the Huskers as the true freshman put up 336 total yards with a touchdown and one interception. Running back Maurice Washington was actually the game's leading receiver with seven catches for 102 yards and a score. He was on the receiving end of a 28-yard fourth-quarter touchdown strike that brought Nebraska within eight. Stanley Morgan Jr. added seven receptions for 81 yards.
Did Kirk Ferentz just win a football game or a heavyweight title fight? pic.twitter.com/eK6gOZtCPs
— Trent (@BarstoolTrent) November 23, 2018
Kirk Ferentz was hit with an inadvertent head-butt from his own quarterback at the end of the game. He'll also receive a $500K bonus for win No. 8 thanks to the late scoring drive his quarterback engineered.
Michigan State 14, Rutgers 10
This was a pretty awful showing from the Spartans who needed a late touchdown to rally past mighty Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had a three-point lead with less than four minutes to play until a 22-yard Cody White run put Michigan State back on top. Rutgers then drove down the field but failed to convert in its attempt to go back on top.
Brian Lewerke threw one pass in this game (via a fake field goal) and that resulted in an interception. Rocky Lombardi led the way under center and he had some major struggles. The redshirt freshman completed just 19 of 43 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and one interception. He was erratic from the jump and really never seemed to get comfortable against the country's 77th-ranked defense. Connor Heyward rushed for 81 yards while Darrell Stewart Jr. hauled in seven passes for 53 yards.
Rutgers stayed in this one despite a lackluster offensive performance. Giovanni Rescigno threw for 109 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He was also the team's leading rusher with 61 yards on 13 carries. Tight end Travis Vokelek caught four passes for a nice 69 yards, including the team's lone score.
Purdue 28, Indiana 21
Another week and another spectacular performance from Rondale Moore. This time the freshman phenom hauled in an absurd 12 passes for 141 yards and two more touchdowns. The kid has taken the Big Ten by storm, folks, and he's gonna be fun to watch for the next few years.
We're not even surprised these days when @Rondale_Moore03 does something ridiculous.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 24, 2018
The @BoilerFootball freshman burns the defense and refuses to go down: pic.twitter.com/x4Iidt3Wob
David Blough threw for 310 yards with a trio of scores and one interception. Markel Jones led the Boiler ground attack with 95 yards and a touchdown while Isaac Zico also hauled in a touchdown pass. For the Hoosiers, Peyton Ramsey connected on 36 of 51 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown. Nick Westbrook ended the day with eight receptions for 125 yards and a score. True freshman tailback Stevie Scott topped the century mark and also found the end zone.
Louisville is looking for a coach. USC is probably going to be looking for a coach. And while he's again going bowling and saying all the right things regarding his status at Purdue, #BrohmWatch is definitely on.
Oh hey, the Buckeyes are back at No. 1 in our power rankings and all is right in the world. Next week's showdown in Indy will feature two teams with some serious momentum. Northwestern has won seven of eight with the lone loss coming against Notre Dame and Ohio State is fresh off a dominant performance over Michigan.
We'll have all sorts of coverage this week as the two teams prepare for the conference crown, so be sure to stay dialed in leading up to next Saturday night's kickoff. How are you feeling about this one? If the Buckeyes are victorious, does Oklahoma have to lose for Ohio State to reach the playoff?
