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B1G Review: Week Ten

Michigan State finally gets its chance to make a statement

By Nick Polak
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Apologies to those waiting on this post, some things came up for me early in the week and I've been super busy as a result. That being said, I'm here now to provide you with some B1G fun, so try to mentally prepare yourselves.

Wisconsin 28 Iowa 9

The Badgers took advantage of turnovers and the Hawkeye's inability to score touchdowns in this one, to turn what was a close game into an easy victory. The entire first half went by with nothing more than a pair of Mike Meyer field goals from 28 and 22 yards out. However, Wisconsin was finally able to get on the scoreboard, on a 44 yard touchdown pass from Joel Stave to Jacob Pedersen, with 1:49 to go in the half. In the 3rd quarter, Stave found 1,567th year senior Jared Abbrederis for a 20 yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 8. Meyer would add another field goal for Iowa before the 4th quarter began, but a pair of James White touchdown runs in said 4th quarter sealed the deal for the Badgers.

Stave wasn't anything more than what he needed to be in this one, throwing for 144 yards on 11/19 passing with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. James White led the rushing attack, picking up 132 on 19 carries, with the 2 fourth quarter touchdowns. Pederson led the team in receiving yards with 73 on 3 catches. For Iowa, Jake Rudock was a disappointment in this one, completing just 12 of 24 passes for 109 yards and an interception. Jordan Canzeri led the Hawkeyes on the ground with 58 yards on 5 carries. Wisconsin won the total yardage battle, 362 to 289.

Minnesota 42 Indiana 39

This matchup between two of the most interesting teams in the Big Ten did not disappoint. These two exciting offenses combined to put on quite the fireworks show, and neither team waited very long to begin lighting up the sky. Philip Nelson put Minnesota on the board first with a touchdown pass to Derrick Engel, before Indiana answered with a Mitch Ewald field goal and a Kofi Hughes touchdown reception off the pass from Tre Roberson. In the 2nd quarter after Ewald kicked another field goal to stretch the lead to 13-7, the Golden Gophers rattled off 21 unanswered points to go into the half. Mitch Leidner ran in a touchdown for 5 yards out, and Nelson found Drew Goodger and Engel for the two other scores of the quarter. After the break, Minnesota scored yet again, this time on a 27 yard David Cobb run. Down 35-13, things were looking bleak for Indiana. Luckily for them, it was at that exact moment that they remembered they were one of the better offenses in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers would score 26 unanswered points of their own. Shane Wynn and Cory Latimer each caught touchdown passes from Nate Sudfeld, while Tevin Coleman and Stephen Houston each had touchdown runs. The Gophers did not keel over and accept this fat however, as Philip Nelson had one touchdown pass left in him, with Maxx Williams being the beneficiary of the 50 yard strike. With 25 seconds remaining in the contest, Sudfeld tried to pass to Latimer out of the backfield. The throw ended up being too early, and behind Latimer, and was ruled a fumble and recovered by Minnesota to seal the victory.

Philip Nelson continued to build on his impressive season at the helm of the Minnesota offense, throwing for 298 yards on 16/23 passing, with 4 touchdowns. David Cobb led the Gopher rushing attack, finding 188 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown. Derrick Engel led the receivers with 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns. For Indiana, Sudfeld and Roberson combined to throw for 269 yards with 3 touchdowns. Stephen Houston and Tevin Coleman both rushed for over 100 yards (111 and 108) and a touchdown. These two explosive offenses abused each other's defense as Minnesota racked up 573 total yards of offense, and Indiana had 496 of their own.

Ohio State 56 Purdue 0

Minimal information to follow.

Braxton Miller passed for 233 yards and 4 touchdowns. Carlos Hyde ran for 111 yards on 8 carries. Jeff Huerman caught 5 passes for 116 yards. Ohio State gained 640 total yards of offense. Danny Etling threw for 89 yards, and the Boilermakers ran for a total of 27 yards on 27 carries. And that's quite enough of that.

Michigan State 29 Michigan 6

I'd say it's about time we start taking Michigan State pretty seriously. While this team is still fully figuring itself out on offense, this defense is unbelievable. Any time you can hold a team that has Devin Gardner, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Jeremy Gallon, and Devin Funchess to a 2 field goal day, that's pretty damn impressive. As lopsided as this game ended up being, Michigan can say that they did lead at one point. Matt Wile hit a 49 yarder just before MSU's Michael Geiger hit a 40 yarder of his own. And that was all for the 1st quarter of play. The two teams again traded field goals in the 2nd quarter, before the Spartans finally broke through to the endzone. Bennie Fowler found himself on the receiving end of a very well thrown pump and go from Connor Cook, and Sparty went into the break with a 13-6 lead. The 3rd quarter was quiet on the offensive side of the ball, aside from another MSU field goal. In the 4th, Cook channeled his inner Matt McGloin, and found himself scampering for a 1 yard touchdown run. Jeremy Langford then busted a 40 yard run with 2:43 to go, to sign, seal, and deliver the win to Mark Dantonio.

Devin Gardner passed for 210 yards on 14/27 passing in this one, with an interception in the red zone to essentially end the game to spice up the stat line. Toussaint powered his way to 20 yards on 8 carries. Jeremy Gallon remembered that he is not Allen Robinson, and caught 5 passes for 67 yards. Gardner ended the day with -46 rushing yards. We're going to talk about that more with more context in a few sentences, but I couldn't wait any longer to write that. Connor Cook ended the day with 252 passing yards on 18/33 for the Spartans with a 1/1 TD/INT ratio. Langford rushed for 120 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown. Bennie Fowler led the MSU receivers with 6 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Michigan State had 394 yards of total offense.

The Michigan State defense has been absolutely dominant this season, and this game was no exception. Aside from the game-sealing interception and holding the Wolverines to just 168 total yards of offense, the Spartans also sacked Devin Gardner 7 times. We all watched Devin Gardner dance around in the pocket for 4 quarters and 4 overtimes, so we know very well how elusive he can be. And yet Sparty dragged him down 7 times. Therefore leading to Devin Gardner rushing for an official -45 yards on the day. What time is it?

Nebraska 27 Northwestern 24

I don't know what the disease is around the Big Ten that leads to the complete inability to defend the last second Hail Mary. All I know is that every member of every secondary in the B1G needs to be immediately checked out by a doctor so they can begin research to find a cure. I mean honestly, swat the ball straight to the ground. That's literally all you have to do. Unless there is a receiver laying on the ground beneath you, the offense will not end up with the ball. All of that being said, I can't help but giggle at the fact that Northwestern is now 0-5 in the Big Ten. So as always, this is your weekly reminder that this team was ranked at one point this year.

In the quest to replace Taylor Martinez, the Huskers again turned to the combination of Tommy Armstrong Jr. and Ron Kellogg III. The Huskers got the game going with an Armstrong Jr. touchdown run, before Treyvon Green found his way to pay dirt twice before the first quarter expired. The second quarter featured yet another Green touchdown run before Quincy Enunwa hauled in a 3 yard TD pass from Armstrong. The third quarter's only score came on a 25 yard interception return by defensive end Avery Moss, who isn't large enough to constitute a FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN, but it was still a lineman, so I'm happy. Jeff Budzein hit a 21 yard field goal in the 4th to put Nerdwestern up 3 with 1:20 to go in the game. Then Ron Kellogg III had the ball on the 49 yard line with no time left on the clock. He scrambled around a little bit to get himself some space, and just chucked it up into the crowd at the goal line. Game over, right?

Oh Fitzy. How many ways did you offend God, that he is punishing you like this?

Armstrong and Kellogg combined for 277 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, with Armstrong also running for 69 yards. Ameer Abdullah continued to be one of the more underrated players in the country, rushing for 127 yards on 24 carries. Jordan Westerkamp led the Huskers in receiving yards with 104 on 4 catches. Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian combined to throw for a paltry 81 yards on the day for the Wildcats, as they chose to do most of their damage on the ground. Treyvon Green led the team with 149 yards on 19 carries, with Colter running for 86 yards of his own on 23 carries. Nebraska out-gained Northwestern in yardage, 472 to 326.

That's enough non-Penn Statey words for this time. Do you even care that I write about these non-Penn Statey teams? Words about non-Penn Statey teams are significantly less fun than words about Penn Statey teams. Go State.

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