We gather here today to celebrate the fall of Clemson.
With the Tigers' 27-17 loss at No. 23 Pitt Saturday, Dabo Swinney has two conferences losses before November for the first time in over a decade, and the "Is this the end of Clemson's Dynasty?" pieces are already being written.
I am absolutely here for it.
Let's hit the lowlights from that juicy L, shall we:
Clemson LB Baylon Spector with a late hit against Pitt. pic.twitter.com/nFtVQjeZRG
— Zak (@CaramelPhd) October 23, 2021
Dang. Hate to see that team lose its composure. And what's this? A pitch-six?
DJ Uiagalelei throws one of the worst interceptions you will see, a pick six on a shovel pass. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/ezNTXSYSSX
— Zak (@CaramelPhd) October 23, 2021
Clemson now sits 4–3 on the season. In five games played against FBS programs, the Tigers have managed to top 20 points just once, and that's when they got 21 in a 27-21 loss at North Carolina State.
Dabo always said he'd quit if college players were ever compensated. I'm glad to see he's a man of his word.
But back to why we're truly here: Michigan moved to 7–0, Illinois shocked everyone on earth, Purdue's stay in the top 25 figures to be brief, and Minnesota controls its own destiny? Let's get to it.
Illinois 20, #7 Penn State 18 (9OT)
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ILLINOIS
|
0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
 #7 PENN STATE
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
| BEAVER STADIUM • STATE COLLEGE, PA | ||||||
I've spent the last seven weeks shining up the Big Ten, particularly the Big Ten East. What do I get for it? Penn State, one of the pillars of the East, losing a nine-overtime game, uh, whatever the opposite of thriller is, to what I thought was the worst Power 5 team in the nation, 20-18.
That's not a typo. This game, thanks to a new NCAA rule forcing teams into an effective shootout – alternating two-point conversions – once a game hits the third overtime, went nine deep and still hit the under, with a meager 38 points scored between Illinois and Penn State.
The game went into the books as the longest in NCAA history – as far as overtimes are concerned, at least – and was every bit as bad as it sounds. Behold:
So how did we get there?
Penn State, playing with gorgeous retro end zones for homecoming, welcomed quarterback Sean Clifford back from an injury that knocked him out of the Iowa game two weeks ago and his 42-yard touchdown toss to KeAndre Lambert-Smith helped stake the Nittany Lions to a 10-0 first-half lead.
But then, Illinois went to work on the ground.
Behind Chase Brown's 223 and Joshua McCray's 142, the Illini rushed for a staggering 357 yards on the afternoon, completely manhandling the Penn State defense on the line of scrimmage. It was a lot of this, and it worked.
How your grandpa thinks football should be played at all times pic.twitter.com/x8SZ0advGT
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 23, 2021
I mean, Illinois won this game with 38 passing yards. Thirty-eight!
Meanwhile, Clifford, clearly still not 100%, completed just 19 of 34 for 165 yards (and took four sacks), and the Penn State ground game, which has struggled all season, managed 62 yards on 29 carries.
Still, Penn State had several chances to win the game!
After Penn State hit a field goal in the first overtime, Jaquan Brisker dropped an interception on the ensuing Illinois possession. In the third overtime, Penn State dialed up a quarterback throwback that Clifford dropped all alone at the two. In the fourth overtime, the Nittany Lions knocked out Illinois' starting quarterback, Artur Sitkowski. But alas…
Honestly, if I were a Penn State fan, I'd consider not watching football again this season. That's how bad this loss was for the Nittany Lions.
Days after Illinois coach Bret Bielema threw his entire roster under the bus, the Illini have their first win on the road against a ranked team in 14 years (and I certainly won't be the one to remind you, dear reader, of that game).
NEXT: Penn State (5–2) at Ohio State (6–1); Illinois (3–5) vs. Rutgers (3–4)
#6 Michigan 33, Northwestern 7
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NORTHWESTERN
|
0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
 #6 MICHIGAN
|
0 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 33 |
| MICHIGAN STADIUM • ANN ARBOR, MI | |||||
Playing for the newly minted George Jewett Trophy, named for a man who was smart enough to transfer from Michigan to Northwestern, a better academic institution, the No. 6 Wolverines shook off a slow start to dust the Wildcats, 33-7.
The Wolverines are 7–0 for the first time since 2016, and they got there by playing sound, if not elite football, again.
Blake Corum rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and his battery mate, Hassan Haskins, chipped in with 110 yards and two touchdowns as his own as they helped the nation's No. 6 rushing offense to 294 yards on the ground.
Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara went 20 of 27, albeit for just 129 yards, but the Wolverine defense held Northwestern to 233 total yards – with the Wildcats picking up 75 of those yards on an Evan Hall run that went for six in the second quarter.
The Wolverines won their 15th in 17 tries against Northwestern and head into a huge matchup in East Lansing next weekend, with both Michigan and Michigan State ranked in the top 10 for the game for the first time since 1964.
Is this Michigan team somehow likable? Of course not:
Blake Corum is cosplaying as Cyclops in his postgame presser pic.twitter.com/XFRIi0PU1Z
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) October 23, 2021
NEXT: Michigan (7–0) at Michigan State (7–0); Northwestern (3–4) vs. Minnesota (5–2)
Wisconsin 30, #25 Purdue 13
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WISCONSIN
|
7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
 #25 PURDUE
|
0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| ROSS-ADE STADIUM • WEST LAFAYETTE, IN | |||||
Well, I hope you enjoyed your time as a ranked team for the first time in 14 years, Purdue.
One week after chugging beers on the field and knocking off unbeaten Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, the No. 25 Boilermakers were torched by Wisconsin, 30-13, at home.
This one was actually tied at 13 at the half, but five Purdue turnovers – three of them interceptions from the arm of quarterback Aidan O'Connell – spelled doom. Well, that, and the six Wisconsin sacks, and the -13 rushing yards Purdue turned in, and the fact that wide receiver David Bell, who torched Iowa last week, spent the majority of the game invisible, and, well, you get the point.
Wisconsin rushed for 290 yards, with Chez Mellusi chipping in 149 and a touchdown and Braelon Allen going for 140 and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Spin move @chez_mellusi just dropped some jaws on this @BadgerFootball TD run. pic.twitter.com/WppA6IUDYF
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 23, 2021
On the other side of the ball, can we give it up for linebacker Leo Chenal? Nine tackles, 5.5 of them for loss, and 3.5 sacks is a hell of an afternoon.
The Badger run game and defense were so strong that quarterback Graham Mertz finished 5 of 8 for 52 yards, and that was totally fine! It was the fourth straight game in which Mertz has completed ten or fewer passes, and somehow Wisconsin has won three of those games.
With the win, Wisconsin snapped an eight-game losing streak against ranked opponents and head to Iowa City next weekend, where they'll get a chance for another such W.
NEXT: Wisconsin (4–3) vs. Iowa (6–1); Purdue (4–3) at Nebraska (3–5)
Minnesota 34, Maryland 16
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MARYLAND
|
3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
 MINNESOTA
|
3 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
| HUNTINGTON BANK STADIUM • MINNEAPOLIS, MN | |||||
Are you ready to say, "Big Ten West champion Minnesota?"
I know, it sounds weird as hell, especially if you remember that Week 4 Gopher home loss to 30-point underdog Bowling Green.
But here we are, after Minnesota's 34-16 win over Maryland, and these Gophers are tied for the division lead with control over their own Big Ten destiny.
With freshmen running backs Ky Thomas and Mar'Keise Irving becoming the fourth and fifth Gopher running backs to top 100 yards in a game this season – Minnesota becomes just the second Big Ten team to have five backs do that in a campaign – P.J. Fleck's team rolled to 326 rushing yards and a comfortable win over a suddenly reeling Maryland team.
Minnesota raced out to a 17-3 first-half lead and never looked back, holding Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to 189 yards through the air to win their third Big Ten game in a row.
And just look at this remaining schedule: at Northwestern (10/30), Illinois (11/6), at suddenly mortal Iowa (11/13), at Indiana (11/20), and Wisconsin at home to end the season on Nov. 27. Do the Gophers really want to catch Ohio State's hands again in Indianapolis? They might!
NEXT: Minnesota (5–2) at Northwestern (3–4); Maryland (4–3) vs. Indiana (2–5)
| Rank | Team | Overall | Conference | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 OHIO STATE
|
6–1 | 4–0 | – |
| 2 |
MICHIGAN
|
7–0 | 4–0 | – |
| 3 |
 MICHIGAN STATE
|
7–0 | 4–0 | – |
| 4 |
 IOWA
|
6–1 | 3–1 | ▲ 2 |
| 5 |
MINNESOTA
|
5–2 | 3–1 | ▲ 2 |
| 6 |
PENN STATE
|
5–2 | 2–2 | ▼ 2 |
| 7 |
WISCONSIN
|
4–3 | 2–2 | ▲ 1 |
| 8 |
 NEBRASKA
|
3–5 | 1–4 | ▲ 1 |
| 9 |
PURDUE
|
4–3 | 2–2 | ▼ 4 |
| 10 |
MARYLAND
|
4–3 | 1–3 | – |
| 11 |
NORTHWESTERN
|
3–4 | 1–3 | – |
| 12 |
 INDIANA
|
2–5 | 0–4 | — |
| 13 |
ILLINOIS
|
3–5 | 2–3 | ▲ 1 |
| 14 |
 RUTGERS
|
3–4 | 0–4 | ▼ 1 |
With Ohio State rolling everyone in its path these days, they're comfortable the top team in this week's set of power rankings. I don't see anyone on the Buckeyes' remaining schedule being able to play within two touchdowns of this team.
Sure, I'm a homer, but I'm also a realist, and this Ohio State team is firing on all cylinders.
Michigan and Michigan State hold down the next two spots in the rankings and meet in East Lansing in six days. That should be a hell of a game and worth your early afternoon attention.
Iowa climbs back up to No. 4, with Minnesota, again the Minnesota who controls its own destiny, up to No. 5.
Penn State slides to six following that embarrassing loss to Illinois, while Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, and Maryland round out the top 10.
I didn't want to move Illinois out of the bottom of the rankings, but when you go to State College and rush for 350+, I have to give you a little bit of love, despite how bad the Illini have looked this season and how much I personally dislike the man coaching that team.
