Creeping the B1G, Sparty No Edition

Ohio State and Michigan did Ohio State and Michigan things, the top of the West had the week off, and Purdue has more Big Ten wins at Memorial Stadium than Illinois does.

Iowa 14, Minnesota 7

A little over two weeks ago, Iowa beat Rutgers by the score of 14-7. At the time, it was viewed as the epitome of offensive ineptitude. Little did we know, that game would look like a barn burner in comparison to whatever it was these two teams did last Saturday. Minnesota, a team that passed the ball a combined five times in its first three games, has thrown the ball 700 times since then. Mitch Leidner did not look good out there, and their baffling insistence on throwing the ball when they led 7-6, handed Iowa the game late. At this rate, I expect them not not run the ball at all against this Saturday, against one of the Big Ten’s most suspect run defenses.

What this means for Iowa: Somehow, some way, Iowa is still in the Big Ten West race. Northwestern might not make a bowl game this season, so the prospect of them holding a tiebreaker over Iowa is slim. If they can hold serve against the rest of the West, and both Nebraska and Wisconsin lose to Ohio State, they could end up winning the division.

Up Next: at Purdue

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What this means for Minnesota: Hopes of winning the West are pretty much gone at this point, but they can spoil the fun for Nebraska and Wisconsin still. They need to focus on Maryland first, however.

Up Next: at Maryland

Purdue 34, Illinois 31 (OT)

Purdue, once again, won a Big Ten game in Memorial Stadium. Illinois is the only Big Ten team Purdue has been able to beat on the road in the Hazell era. This win, however, gives Purdue a winning record and matches the highest win total under Hazell. As per Illinois, well, Lovie Smith has a bigger rebuild in his hands than we all thought at the beginning of the season.

What this means for Purdue: It’s hard to see one more win in the schedule, let alone 3. But who knows, maybe they can surprise two more teams and make a bowl at 5-7? If it works for Nebraska, it works for Purdue.

Up Next: Iowa

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What this means for Illinois: Rutgers, and maybe Northwestern, are Illinois’ only chances at an FBS win this season.

Up Next: at Rutgers

BYU 31, Michigan State 14

Look, losing to Wisconsin was fine; the Badgers have turned out to be a fine team this season. Losing to Indiana, even, was fine. The Hoosiers are much improved this season and it was a road game. Losing to BYU, at home? No. You don’t lose to a 2-3 BYU team that allowed 53 to Toledo just the prior week, especially in blowout fashion. There’s something really wrong in East Lansing (the QBs, the OL, the DL, the secondary —ok that’s everything), and Mark Dantonio needs to fix it ASAP or his team may not make a bowl this season.

What this means for Michigan State: You can kiss any hopes of beating Michigan or Ohio State goodbye.

Up Next: Northwestern

No. 2 Ohio State 38, Indiana 17

This is the second largest deficit in the series since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus. Under Meyer, Ohio State has only led Indiana by more than two scores once in the series, the 42-14 win in 2013 (which is also the largest margin of victory). For some reason, Indiana under Kevin Wilson plays Meyer’s Ohio State close, keeping with them for three quarters before faltering in the fourth. One of these days Indiana will finish this game.

What this means for Ohio State: They’re mortal. Indiana’s defense was able to slow down the Buckeyes for most of the game, but their offense was not able to create when it mattered. Wisconsin has a much better defense, but they also have a much wore offense. Let’s see how Ohio State handles it.

Up Next: at Wisconsin

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What this means for Indiana: On one hand, they seem to always give Ohio State a game, so can we really take anything from this performance? On the other, Ohio State had been averaging 57 points a game until Saturday, and this is their first sub-40 point performance of the season. Indiana’s defense might be legit.

Up Next: No. 10 Nebraska

No. 4 Michigan 78, Rutgers 0

I’m not talking about this game.

What this means for Michigan: I heard Jim Harbaugh told Chris Ash after the game the he didn’t mean to run up the score (a fake extra point to put Michigan up 29 in the second quarter is just routine practice). I’d love to see what would have happened if he did mean to run up the score.

Up Next: BYE

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What this means for Rutgers: Okay, now their biggest beatdown of the season is out of the way. I mean, there’s no way anyone else on their schedule is going to top this, right? Right?

Up Next: Illinois

Idle teams: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern