Creepin' The B1G: Week 13 Recap

And we're down to the penultimate Creepin' post of 2014. Yes, I see that look of disbelief on your face, too. Anyway, let's get right to it, shall we?

Ohio State 42, Indiana 27

Ohio State appeared to be on their way to shellacking the Hoosiers just as everyone predicted, scoring touchdowns on their opening two drives to race out to a 14-0 advantage. From there, however, OSU appeared to be already looking ahead to their showdown with Michigan next weekend as a combination of uncharacteristic fumbles and interceptions courtesy of J.T. Barrett and Tevin Coleman running wild (Coleman finished with 228 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns for Indiana) allowed the Hoosiers to run off the game's next 20 points. With merely a couple of minutes remaining in the third quarter and a (likely) shell-shocked Ohio Stadium crowd staring at the game in disbelief, Jalin Marshall took a punt return 54 yards to the house to put the Buckeyes back up 21-20 and more importantly, give them back momentum which they would not relinquish as Marshall would tack three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, all on the receiving end of passes from Barrett.

Minnesota 28, Nebraska 24

Bo Pelini may or may not have killed a few people after watching his team gradually blow a 21-7 lead, with the choke job being completed when Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner ran for the go-ahead touchdown with merely a few minutes remaining in the ball game to go up 28-24. Leidner's touchdown set up the play of the game where Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong tossed what appeared to be a completed pass to his favorite target De'Mornay Pierson-El inside the Minnesota 5-yard line. However, Minnesota defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun stripped the ball from Pierson-El after the catch, sealing the Husker's fate. Nebraska must now beat Iowa on Black Friday to avoid finishing with yet another four-loss regular season under Bo Pelini.

Northwestern 38, Purdue 14

There wasn't a whole lot of noteworthy news from this contest other than the fact that Trevor Siemian went out in the second quarter with a knee injury and will be unavailable for next week's critical tilt against rival Illinois (backup Zack Oliver is projected to get the start) and that said game against Illinois will essentially be a play-in game for a bowl bid as both teams will be sporting 5-6 overall records.

Also, this is the most Purdue thing ever:

This is pathetic. pic.twitter.com/gG4x2cMucG

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) November 22, 2014

Michigan State 45, Big Ten Powerhouse Rutgers 3

BTPR was Sparty's sacrifical Senior Day lamb, getting torched through the air by Connor Cook (16 of 24 for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns), on the ground by Jeremy Langford (16 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs) and Nick Hill (12 carries, 59 yards and 2 TDs). Oh, and of course, I can't forget about that killer Sparty defense doing their thing, forcing three turnovers, including two interceptions from BTPR fan favorite Gary Nova.

Wisconsin 26, Iowa 24

Poor Melvin Gordon, one week after setting the all-time NCAA single-game rushing record, he not only saw it fall to some dude from Oklahoma with a funny name, but he also was held to 208 less yards than last week. Of course, those 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns still helped make the difference in what ended up being a tight contest, despite the Badgers leading 19-3 midway through the third quarter and seemingly holding Iowa in check. Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock however, had other plans, throwing a pair of touchdowns on back-to-back drives to cut the deficit to 19-17 early in the fourth quarter. The Badgers would push it back up to 26-17 on a Gordon touchdown run but Iowa would answer back with yet another Rudock TD pass to cut the deficit back down to two points with five minutes to play. The Badgers however, were able to control the game from there and avoid the choke job.

Maryland 23, Michigan 16

Any sliver of hope Brady Hoke may have had of saving his job was quashed, as the Terps came into Ann Arbor and handed the Wolverines their sixth loss of the season, which means that Michigan will now have to find a way to upset Ohio State next weekend in order to avoid a losing season. The first half of this game was a three-point shootout between Michigan's Matt Wile and Maryland's Brad Craddock, thanks to sheer red zone offensive ineptitude. The second half however, showcased more offensive fireworks (I'm kind of being facetious when I say that) as Devin Gardner score a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter to put Michigan up 16-9 before Maryland rallied for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to ultimately win the game, leading Randy Edsall to throw his headset in jubilation.