Big Ten Week Four Superlatives

Most Adequate Performance: Ohio State 59-7 win over Akron

Usually, we give out the most impressive performance but to be honest, I didn’t think anyone was truly impressive this week. Everyone was a little bit, eh. That being said, we’ll go with Ohio State who won 59-7 over Akron. They weren’t perfect in the game either and started pretty slow but they took care of business and covered the 48-point spread.

Worst Performance of the Week: Minnesota 14-10 loss to Bowling Green

Entering the season, Bowling Green was expected to be one of the worst teams in the country. They still most likely are but that didn’t stop Minnesota from losing to the Falcons on Saturday by a final score of 14-10. This, of course, one week after we said they had the most impressive win in week three. Tanner Morgan was 5-for-13 for 59-yards and two interceptions, big yikes.

Player of the Week: Northwestern RB Evan Hull

Looking around the Big Ten, there were was a lot of great performances from quarterbacks and running backs particularly. That being said, Northwestern’s Evan Hull was spectacular against Ohio, rushing for 216-yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Other players we were considering was Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (19-for-26, 401-yards, and four touchdowns), Minnesota running back Treyson Potts (27 carries for 141-yards), Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington (five receptions, 148-yards, and two touchdowns), Joshua McCray (24 carries, 156-yards), as well as Taulia Tagovailoa (31-for-41, 384-yards, and three touchdowns).

Game of the Week: Michigan 20-13 win over Rutgers

It was a sloppy game but it was still probably the best game of the week in the Big Ten. Rutgers showed some solid fight but at the same time, while they’ve improved greatly over the last few years, they still don’t have the athletes to beat a team like Michigan just yet. The Wolverines didn’t look nearly as strong as they have the last few weeks but they’ll still an improved team from what they were last season.

Trouble Brewing: Wisconsin

Trouble could be brewing in Wisconsin if the Badgers don’t figure out their offensive issues correctly. While their 41-13 loss to Notre Dame looks worse on paper due to two pick-sixes and a kickoff returned for a touchdown, all in the fourth quarter. The Badgers are in a really tough spot going forward now. They’re 1-2 on the season and while the Big Ten West is certainly looking quite weak, with games against Michigan, Iowa, and even games against Rutgers, Nebraska, and Minnesota, this Wisconsin team could very well be an 8-4 or 7-5 team. They should beat the latter three teams thanks to having a good defense but with Graham Mertz showing no development and the offense being pretty one dimensional, things could go sideways quickly for the Badgers. I don’t think Paul Chryst is on the hot seat but perhaps this season is the final straw that makes Wisconsin rethink their offensive strategy going forward.

Quietly Good: Maryland

This isn’t a week four superlative but really a first quarter of the season superlative. But don’t look now but Maryland is looking like a pretty good team this season. They have a playmaker in quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa and their defense has been pretty solid this season as well. Now, they started the season with a win over West Virginia which was nice but since then haven’t really faced the greatest of schedules with Howard, Illinois, and Kent State. We’ll see how real the Terrapins are this Friday when they take on Iowa. With their offense, I definitely feel Iowa could be on an upset alert.