Hot take: The Big Ten East is good.
On the big stage, both Ohio State and Michigan State made statements Saturday night. The Spartans went on the road and defeated Notre Dome while the Buckeyes traveled to Norman and dismantled Oklahoma.
Michigan, Indiana and Maryland (!!) are also undefeated Big Ten East teams. Life is good right now as every team in the division has a winning record heading into conference play.
It's a bit of a different story in the Big Ten West as just three teams remain unbeaten, but Nebraska's win over Oregon on Saturday was by far the most impressive of the day for teams in this division. The Huskers, who currently sit at 3-0, look like a much different team in Year 2 of the Mike Riley era.
There were some things that didn't go so well — we're looking at you, Iowa — but overall it was a pretty solid weekend for the Big Ten. Stock Up/Stock Down returns to look at things around the conference trending one way or the other.
Stock Up
Noah Brown — Ohio State wide receiver
Ohio State players and coaches have talked Noah Brown up since the spring of 2015 to the point where it became predictable. Essentially every time a player or coach was asked about a young guy who impressed, Brown was the first name mentioned.
A season-ending injury in fall camp ended Brown's 2015 campaign — what was supposed to be his breakout season — before it ever began. He had to settle for Saturday night.
In Ohio State's 45-24 throttling of Oklahoma, the redshirt sophomore from Flanders, New Jersey had five catches for 72 yards and four touchdowns. One of those scores was the college football's catch of the year to date, and it's likely it will still have that title come season's end.
Brown showed he has the ability to be the Buckeyes' true No. 1 option out wide this fall with his latest performance. The Noah Brown hype train is officially in full effect.
Michigan State
I fell into the trap. I thought Michigan State might not be as good this year as it had been the last few seasons. Mark Dantonio surely read my take and laughed at me.
The Spartans looked awfully impressive in their 36-28 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night. They're not going anywhere.
Mike Riley — Nebraska head coach
The first year of the Mike Riley Experience in Nebraska did not go so well. The Cornhuskers finished the regular season 5-7 before a Fosters Farms Bowl (what the hell is that?) victory against UCLA.
But on Saturday, Nebraska proved it has made some improvements since last year in its 35-32 victory over Oregon. Sure, the Ducks surely aren't what they were a few years ago, but this was still a win over a ranked opponent for Riley's bunch. With Illinois, Indiana and Purdue on tap, could Nebraska be 6-0 heading into its Oct. 29 matchup at Wisconsin?
Image via Bruce Thorson–USA TODAY Sports
Stock Down
Kirk Ferentz — Iowa head coach
Who could have possibly predicted this? Not me, that's for sure.
No way would Iowa lose to an FCS school a couple of weeks after giving its head coach a contract extension and a raise. That's impossible. That's not the Kirk Ferentz that I know.
Look, North Dakota State is a good team and a dominant program at that level and I wouldn't be discussing this if it were Illinois, Rutgers or Purdue that lost this game. But Iowa was supposed to be as good as it was last year (which I'll still maintain was rather flukey). You can't lose to an FCS team at home, Kirk. The Hawkeyes are trending down.
Wisconsin's quarterbacks
The Badgers had won of the most impressive non-conference wins for the Big Ten this season when they knocked off LSU on the opening weekend. But things haven't exactly gone swimmingly for Wisconsin since — in particular at quarterback.
Head coach Paul Chryst gave freshman Alex Hornibrook some snaps during Saturday's narrow 23-17 win over Georgia State and apparently Hornibrook played well enough in place of Bart Houston to spark a bit of a quarterback controversy in Madison.
Coach Chryst on quarterbacks Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook:
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 19, 2016
"We need them both. Both have to be ready to play."
That's not really something that's good for the nation's No. 11-ranked team, and it's certainly not ideal when you consider the Badgers travel to East Lansing on Saturday for a date with No. 8 Michigan State.
