Another glorious weekend of college football is in the books and our dumb, beautiful sport once again delivered the absurdity we've come to expect from the sport.
We had Nick Saban losing his mind, this Memphis fan hitting the camera with a Marcus Hall Salute, a Tate Martell sighting, and Dabo Swinney surviving a nail-biter against Georgia Tech and leaving with the thousand-yard stare to prove it.
Oh, and Eddie George picked up his first win as Tennessee State coach.
The Big Ten saw two teams knock off ranked Power 5 opponents, while three others nearly did the same before those teams realized they were Purdue, Nebraska, and Indiana, thus incapable of giving us nice things.
#10 Penn State 28, #22 Auburn 20
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #22 AUBURN | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| #10 PENN STATE | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| BEAVER STADIUM • STATE COLLEGE, PA | |||||
Auburn traveled to Penn State for their first Big Ten road game in 90 years, and the two teams treated a prime-time audience to one of the best games of this young season.
Penn State took a 14-10 lead halftime thanks to two touchdown passes from Sean Clifford. Auburn would get the ball to start the second half, but their possession would be short.
Auburn's Kobe Hudson with a fumble on the trick play, just a terrible time for the hands to betray you. pic.twitter.com/P15r4QJEMF
— Zak (@CaramelPhd) September 19, 2021
One hundred six seconds later, Tyler Warren punched it in from the two, moving Penn State's lead to 21-10.
Auburn would cut the deficit to a single point and had two late possessions to force a tie, but Clifford (28 for 32 as he outdueled Bo Nix) and receiver Jahan Dotson (10 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown) were too much as the Nittany Lions held on for a clutch 28-20 win over the Tigers.
Penn State overcame some questionable calls in winning a huge non-conference game against an SEC opponent. The Lions have now won seven straight games and are making a case as the Big Ten's best team after starting last season 0–5.
NEXT: Penn State (3–0) vs. Villanova (3–0)
#3 Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 16
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEBRASKA | 3 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| #3 OKLAHOMA | 7 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 23 |
| MEMORIAL STADIUM • NORMAN, OK | |||||
In a noon kick that infuriated Oklahoma and may have been part of why they bolted the Big 12 for the SEC, the No. 3 Sooners held on for a 23-16 win over Nebraska in Norman.
Here's the thing: As bad as Nebraska has been under Scott Frost (14–22), they played well enough to knock off Oklahoma on the road in a game celebrating the 50th anniversary of 1971's “Game of the Century,” won by No. 1 Nebraska over No. 2 Oklahoma, 35-31.
The Cornhuskers sure had a funny way of honoring that classic, however, as kicker Connor Culp missed two field goals, and then his replacement, Kelen Meyer, had this happen on a third-quarter extra point attempt:
Oklahoma runs the blocked extra point back for two. pic.twitter.com/8zejZe2xP3
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) September 18, 2021
If you're counting along at home, that's a nine-point swing on three kicks in a game Nebraska ultimately lost by seven points.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez played well for the Cornhuskers, going 19 of 25 for 289 yards and a touchdown while chipping in 34 yards and another touchdown on the ground, but he did serve up a costly interception late in the game, and boy was it a beauty:
NEXT: Nebraska (2–2) at Michigan State (3–0)
Michigan State 38, #24 Miami 17
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MICHIGAN STATE | 0 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
| #24 MIAMI (FL) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| HARD ROCK STADIUM • MIAMI GARDENS, FL | |||||
Is Michigan State for real, for real? They might be after dominating No. 24 Miami in their own house for a 38-17 win.
Quarterback Payton Thorne threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns, and Kenneth Walker rushed for 172 yards as the Spartans outscored the Canes 21-3 in the fourth quarter for a win in temperatures that approached 100 degrees.
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker has his team off to a hot 3–0 start in 2021 and now has ten wins as a head coach, with five of those wins coming against ranked teams. Talk about clutch.
Let's get your thoughts on the game, Miami fan:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 18, 2021
NEXT: Michigan State (3–0) vs. Nebraska (2–2)
#8 Cincinnati 38, Indiana 24
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 CINCINNATI | 0 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 38 |
| INDIANA | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| MEMORIAL STADIUM • BLOOMINGTON, IN | |||||
Indiana (1–2) has not had the start to the season many expected but still managed to dominate No. 8 Cincinnati for the first 25 minutes of the game going up 14-0 on the Bearcats.
With Cincinnati pinned in their end of the field late in the first half and facing a 3rd-and-10, star Hoosiers linebacker Micah McFadden was ejected for targeting, and the Bearcats used the jolt to outscore Indiana 38-10 the rest of the way and hold on for a 38-24 win.
“We were dominating them to that point,” Indiana coach Tom Allen would say after the game. “Dominating them. They had one first down at that point, almost to the end of the half.”
He had a point, but his quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., did nothing to help his side, finishing 17 of 40 with three interceptions, the last coming with the Hoosiers down six with under four to play.
Indeed, we can't blame angry Indiana students for ripping an entire bleacher out of the stadium.
NEXT: Indiana (1–2) at Western Kentucky (1–1)
#25 Michigan 63, Northern Illinois 10
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N. ILLINOIS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| #25 MICHIGAN | 14 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 63 |
| MICHIGAN STADIUM • ANN ARBOR, MI | |||||
Last year, Rocky Lombardi led Michigan State to a 27-24 upset of the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House. Lombardi returned to Michigan Stadium Saturday but got a much different result.
Behind 606 yards of total offense, the most for any Wolverine team in a non-conference game since 2010, and eight—count 'em—eight rushing touchdowns, Michigan annihilated a bad Northern Illinois team, 63-10.
Michigan racked up 373 rushing yards in this one, the third week in a row that Jim Harbaugh's team has topped 330 yards on the ground. Unlike in last week's win against Washington, Michigan showed they were able to pass a little, as well, as quarterbacks Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy combined for 233 yards through the air.
It's September, so this could all be a ruse, but this Michigan team looks slightly different from recent teams. We'll get a feel for just how good the Wolverines are when they face their rival, Rutgers, at home this weekend.
NEXT: Michigan (3–0) vs. Rutgers (3–0)
Minnesota 30, Colorado 0
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MINNESOTA | 0 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
| COLORADO | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FOLSOM FIELD • BOULDER, CO | |||||
A week after Colorado came within one score of knocking off No. 5 Texas A&M, the Buffalos were no match for Minnesota as the Gophers romped to a 30-0 shutout in Boulder.
Treyson Potts topped 100 yards on the ground again – finishing with 121 and three touchdowns – as he continues to slot in nicely for the injured Mohamed Ibrahim, and the Gopher defense held Colorado to 63 yards of total offense.
That's not a typo. The 63 yards are the fewest surrendered by a Big Ten team against a Power 5 opponent this century.
NEXT: Minnesota (2–1) vs. Bowling Green (1–2)
#12 Notre Dame 27, Purdue 13
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PURDUE | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| #9 TEAM | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| NOTRE DAME STADIUM • SOUTH BEND, IN | |||||
This game kicked off with drama as Notre Dame would not allow Purdue to bring its big, dumb drum into Notre Dame Stadium. The drum, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season, was kept outside the stadium, missing its first game since 1979.
I'd love to tell you this fired Purdue up and they used the slight to upset No. 12 Notre Dame on the road, but that wasn't the case as the Fighting Irish got timely scores to put the Boilermakers away 27-13.
Purdue held Notre Dame to 343 yards of offense and was within four going into the final period, but a 10-0 run from the Fighting Irish to close the game put the drum in a body bag.
Body bag. #GOIRISH pic.twitter.com/XRpl12geYb
— SupermanTDJesus (@SupermanTDJesus) September 18, 2021
NEXT: Purdue (2–1) vs. Illinois (1–3)
#5 Iowa 30, Kent State 7
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KENT STATE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| #5 IOWA | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
| KINNICK STADIUM • IOWA CITY, IA | |||||
Death. Taxes. That Iowa defense forcing turnovers and suffocating opponents.
The Hawkeyes moved to 3–0 on the season, taking advantage of a ruthless defense and a career-high 153 rushing yards (and three touchdowns) from Tyler Goodson to easily handle Kent State, 30-7.
The win was the ninth straight for Kirk Ferentz, the third-longest such streak for him at Iowa, and the 25th straight game in which the Hawkeye defense gave up 24 or fewer points.
Iowa gets another warmup game this weekend when they welcome Colorado State to town. After that, they head to Maryland and then welcome Penn State for what's shaping up to be the best conference game on the front in the of schedule.
NEXT: Iowa (3–0) vs. Colorado State (1–2)
Duke 30, Northwestern 23
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHWESTERN | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 23 |
| DUKE | 21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| WALLACE WADE STADIUM • DURHAM, NC | |||||
Northwestern thought they were getting something in Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson, a five-star prospect and one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the 2017 class.
It turns out they didn't.
One week after going 9 of 16 for a mere 66 yards against Indiana State, Johnson committed four first-half turnovers in Durham – three interceptions and a fumble – putting his team in an early 27-0 hole on the road at Duke.
Backup Andrew Marty's heroics weren't enough as the Wildcats fell to Duke, 30-23.
NEXT: Northwestern (1–2) vs. Ohio (0–3)
Maryland 20, Illinois 17
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARYLAND | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| ILLINOIS | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| MEMORIAL STADIUM • CHAMPAIGN, IL | |||||
Nine years ago, Bret Bielema was coming off of three straight trips to the Rose Bowl (all losses) with Wisconsin before making some noise about challenges and coaching on a bigger stage on his way to accepting the Arkansas job.
Bielema promptly went 29–34 in Fayetteville before getting canned. Now back in the Big Ten, Bielema's Illinois fell to 1–3 on the year in a 20-17 Friday night loss to Maryland that was Bielema personified: that beautiful mix of hard-nosed and sheer stupidity.
First, the amazing play to put the Illini up early in the fourth:
Just like they drew it up @IlliniFootball takes the lead! pic.twitter.com/b7fLUaQwhj
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021
Maryland, led by quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa's 350 yards through the air, would tie things up with a little over two to play before Illinois did this on their final 3rd down of the game:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 18, 2021
Yep, that's a dump off to the center, the most dangerous receiver on the field. Mostly because he's ineligible. I love how the referee had to do a double-take before tossing the flag.
Illinois was forced to punt and you can probably guess what happened next. Tagovailoa completed two passes for 31 yards and Joseph Petrino banged in a 32-yard field goal at the final whistle for the winner.
NEXT: Maryland (3–0) vs. Kent State (1–2), Illinois (1–3) at Purdue (2–1)
Rutgers 45, Delaware 13
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DELAWARE | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| RUTGERS | 7 | 28 | 3 | 7 | 45 |
| SHI STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, NJ | |||||
Quarterback Noah Vedral completed 21 of 25 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns as Rutgers improved to 3–0 for the first time since the 2012 season with a 45-13 drubbing of Delaware.
This game was a vital tune-up as the Scarlet Knights prepared for a clash with their hated rivals, Michigan, by playing a team that rocked wing helmets.
Rutgers prepared for their heated rival by playing a team that also wore winged helmets. Greg Schiano's team will try to avenge last season's 48-42 triple-overtime loss to the Wolverines.
NEXT: Rutgers (3–0) at Michigan (3–0)
| Rank | Team | Overall | Conference | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PENN STATE | 3–0 | 1–0 | ▲ 3 |
| 2 | IOWA | 3–0 | 1–0 | ▼ 1 |
| 3 | MICHIGAN STATE | 3–0 | 1–0 | ▲ 2 |
| 4 | MICHIGAN | 3–0 | 0–0 | ▼ 1 |
| 5 | OHIO STATE | 2–1 | 1–0 | ▼ 3 |
| 6 | MARYLAND | 2–0 | 0–0 | – |
| 7 | WISCONSIN | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
| 8 | RUTGERS | 2–0 | 0–0 | – |
| 9 | MINNESOTA | 2–1 | 0–1 | ▲ 1 |
| 10 | PURDUE | 2–1 | 0–0 | ▼ 1 |
| 11 | INDIANA | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
| 12 | NEBRASKA | 2–2 | 0–1 | – |
| 13 | NORTHWESTERN | 1–2 | 0–1 | – |
| 14 | ILLINOIS | 1–3 | 1–1 | – |
We have a new team on top of our power rankings this week, with Penn State ascending to the top spot as a reward for a gutty 28-20 win over No. 22 Auburn.
Iowa slides down into the two spot, with Michigan State and Michigan rounding out the top four and Ohio State fifth. With Maryland and Rutgers both in the top eight, the Big Ten East is shaping up as an absolute meat grinder and the deepest division in college football.
All eyes turn to Rutgers at Michigan Saturday, in our first real clash of the season between teams in the East Division.
On the year, Big Ten teams are 7–1 when ranked, 3–4 against ranked opponents, 18–7 against FBS programs, and 8–5 against Power 5 teams and Notre Dame.
B1G programs are 2–2 against the ACC, 2–1 against the Big 12, 3–1 against the Pac-12 (please don't mention the loss), and 1–0 against the SEC.
