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Once again, there wasn't a whole lot of action as far as B1G games were concerned thanks to Penn State, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin having the weekend off. Nonetheless, there was still enough action to warrant writing this. Let's have a look, shall we?
Maryland 38, Iowa 31
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 14-0 lead but in true Kirk Ferentz fashion, turtled up and went on to allow Maryland to score 24 unanswered points. This coming despite Maryland losing CJ Brown to an injury, and with backup Caleb Rowe out for the year with a torn ACL, rarely-used third stringer Perry Hills was forced into action. Luckily for Hills, he had this guy named Stefon Diggs to throw to, and he certainly produced for Maryland's offense, racking up 130 yards and a touchdown with his nine catches. Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock also tossed a career-high 56 passing attempts, something that no Iowa quarterback should ever be allowed to do. Iowa did its best to rally from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit but came up short, allowing Maryland to garner its first-ever B1G win at home.
Minnesota 39, Purdue 38
Purdue's offense may finally be clicking on all cylinders, but Darrell Hazell will need to figure out how to get his defense to not blow second half leads. The Boilermakers jumped out to a 31-20 halftime lead, thanks to solid quarterback play once again from Austin Appleby and the running of Raheem Mostert (5 carries, 115 yards, one touchdown) and Akeem Hunt (17 carries, 98 yards). Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner had other plans, though, tossing a pair of touchdowns, including one to KJ Maye, which cut the Purdue lead to 38-36 late in the third quarter, helping to set up Ryan Santoso's go-ahead field goal with a little under five minutes to play in the ball game.
Big Ten Powerhouse Rutgers 56, Ohio State 17
IN MOST GLORIOUS DAY FOR BTPR, OUR TEAM TRAVELED TO OHIO STADIUM AND BEAT THE EVIL BUCKEYES INTO SUBMISSION IN FRONT OF THEIR DEMON FANS. THE PATHETIC BUCKEYES CRIED AND BEGGED FOR MERCY AS DEAR LEADER KIM JONG NOVA THREW FOR 8 TOUCHDOWNS AND 500 YARDS ON THE PATHETIC BUCKEYE SECONDARY. BTPR DEFENSE WAS ONCE AGAIN GREATEST DEFENSE IN THE WORLD, SACKING EVIL QUARTERABCK JT BARRETT FIFTEEN TIMES AND INTERCEPTING HIM EIGHT TIMES. PATHETIC BUCKEYES HAVE NOW REALIZED GREAT SUPERIORITY OF BTPR.*
*[This message was brought to you by BTPR's Ministry of Information, Rutgers Al]**
**Also, here's the actual box score
Michigan State 56, Indiana 17
Except for a case of SPARTY NO, where Sparty allowed a quarterback-less Indiana team to score 14 unanswered points and briefly take a 17-14 lead, Sparty asserted its will upon the Hoosiers, outgaining them to the tune of 662 to 224 total yards. Nick Hill and Jeremy Langford both went over 100 yards rushing and combined for four touchdowns each, while Connor Cook threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-32 passing, with his lone mistake being an interception.
Really, the biggest storyline from this game was the fact that Indiana was starting a true freshman at quarterback, Zander Diamont, in lieu of Nate Sudfeld, whose season ended last week with a shoulder separation. Zander's father, Don, is a famed soap opera actor who starred on The Young and the Restless, and currently is on The Bold and The Beautiful. For me however, I'm about Indiana's new quarterback, since it means I can reference the classic Comedy Central show Drawn Together (see video above).
Nebraska 38, Northwestern 17
Rocking their snazzy new gothic-style uniforms, Northwestern gave Nebraska all they could handle in the first half, taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room. The second half completely belonged to Nebraska though, as the Huskers shut out the Wildcats, with Ameer Abdullah (23 carries, 146 yards and four touchdowns) leading the way. Also, Nebraska's quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. paid a beautiful homage to Eric Crouch circa 2001.