Around the Big Ten: Week 12

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Another week of Big Ten football has passed us by. With Rutgers being on a bye week, Scarlet Knight fans had the opportunity to watch some of the other teams from around the Big Ten duke it out for conference supremacy. Unfortunately, many of the games during this slate were lopsided wins for the better programs in the conference. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any interesting conference games. Here, we give a rundown on all the Big Ten action that took place throughout the weekend. As usual, we will start with the blowouts and work our way to the competitive contests.

The Blowout Wins

Washington 49, Purdue 13: After an embarrassing loss to Wisconsin last week, Washington used Purdue as a way to take out their frustrations. The Huskies dominated the Boilermakers on the ground and through the air as running back Jordan Washington rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown on just five carries, and quarterback Demond Williams threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 19 pass attempts. Running back Adam Mohammed added another three touchdowns on the ground while the Washington defense shut Purdue down, allowing the Huskies to secure the comfortable win.

No.1 Ohio State 48, UCLA 10: The perfect example of a top 10 team with talent throughout the roster taking care of business against a weaker opponent. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was once again efficient through the air while the Buckeyes imposed their will on the ground. The Ohio State defense once again suffocated its opponent by only allowing 222 yards on 48 plays. This time, the Buckeyes’ special teams unit joined the fun as well, as kick returner Loreno Styles Jr. took a UCLA kickoff 100 yards to the house.

No. 8 Oregon 42, Minnesota 13: Another perfect example of a top 10 team with talent throughout the roster taking care of business against a weaker opponent. One thing that sticks out about this game, even more than OSU-UCLA, is that Minnesota is a much better team on paper than the Bruins, but they were routed in a very similar fashion. Their offense couldn’t get anything going. Just 200 yards of total offense for the Golden Gophers on the night. The Ducks used this defensive performance to cruise through Minnesota’s defense and secure the easy win.

No.2 Indiana 31, Wisconsin 7: Wisconsin’s pass rush single-handedly kept this game from being a lot worse. The Badgers registered five sacks on the day. Wisconsin’s offense was awful, which allowed Indiana to once again cruise to an easy victory. However, this game showed a clear weakness in Indiana’s structure. This issue of pass protection, if not resolved, can be disastrous for the Hoosiers come playoff time.

Illinois 24, Maryland 6: Even though the score perhaps isn’t the ugliest, this game was a blowout nonetheless because the Maryland offense could not make the plays needed to make this a competitive game. Despite having five drives in the second quarter, the Terrapins could not score more than 3 points. Maryland only had two drives all game that lasted more than 7 plays. Illinois’ offense wasn’t the most pretty, but it did what it needed to do to pull away, while their defense stonewalled the Terrapins for most of the game.

The Close Contests

Penn State 28, Michigan State 10: The score doesn’t tell the story of this game. This game was 14-10 Penn State until five minutes left in the fourth, where the Nittany Lions tacked on two late touchdowns to pull away. Penn State’s offense used its rushing attack to break the Spartans, running for 240 yards on 50 total carries, with 25 of those carries going to Kaytron Allen. When Michigan State had a chance to respond to the first fourth-quarter touchdown, the Nittany Lions’ defense forced a fumble, which led to the second touchdown on the ensuing drive. If Penn State pulls off a win against Nebraska next week, it could very well be a late November showdown in Piscataway for bowl eligibility.

No.18 Michigan 24, Northwestern 22: Michigan is a conflicting team. They are good, an 8-2 record in the Big Ten is nothing to sneeze at, but they lack the luster of the truly elite Big Ten teams this season. With that being said, their defense did what they needed to do to secure a win. Despite having their offense turn the ball over three times in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines’ defense turned aside Northwestern two times to keep the game within reach. When the Michigan offense finally got it together, they were able to drive down the field to kick the game-winning field goal. It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.

No.17 USC 26, No.21 Iowa 21: Despite being down 21-10 early, USC was able to crawl its way back to preserve its CFP chances. Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 254 yards and a touchdown while the team rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. USC’s defense held Iowa to just 108 total yards after halftime and stopped the Hawkeyes four times to secure the win. It is the Trojans’ ability to make halftime adjustments and pull off a comeback win against a ranked team that makes them our Big Ten Star of the Week.

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