The Big Ten was a bit odd on Saturday. Unlike last week there were no games between ranked teams, but every game was competitive. Even seemingly obvious blowouts like Michigan State at Purdue and Wisconsin at Illinois were tight into the fourth quarter.
I'm not sure what to make of the Big Ten right now. There are few blowouts, at least five teams could still win the West division, and anyone is beatable. The Big Ten is walking a fine line between parity and mediocrity; I'm curious which side it will end up on by the end of the year.
No. 8 Michigan State 45, Purdue 31
Playing in hideous black and neon yellow uniforms (sorry Joey Galloway), the Boilermakers were at first unable to keep up. Michigan State's Connor Cook and Tony Lippett resembled an NFL-caliber quarterback-receiver duo, although Cook did cool off eventually. Purdue was able to move the ball through the air, and it was within a touchdown at halftime.
Down 38-17 in the early fourth quarter, Purdue capitalized on an interception and an inexplicable failed fake punt to score twice. The Boilermakers got the ball back with three minutes and a chance to tie, but pressure from the Spartan defense (which harassed Purdue QB Austin Appleby all game) forced an errant throw Darien Harris picked off and returned for a touchdown to seal the win.
As the season goes on, I have more and more respect for Purdue. Darrell Hazell has the Boilermakers playing much better than in 2013, and he has somehow tapped into the Ross-Ade Stadium voodoo Buckeye fans know all too well.
Even with Purdue's reputation as a bottom feeder, Michigan State should avoid most of the grief for its performance in West Lafayette. It is surprising that the Spartan offense is superior to its defense, but even geniuses like defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi can only replace so much talent.
Michigan 18, Penn State 13
Michigan earned an scrappy, sloppy, horrible win against a reeling Penn State in a game as ugly as any you'll see – but the Wolverines won a game, and that's all their fans care about right now.
It was a stalemate from the start. Each team had a faulty offensive line, meaning that many drives sputtered in or outside of field goal range. The Nittany Lions led 13-10 at the half thanks to a Devin Gardner pick turned into a touchdown, but Michigan turned excellent field position into two field goals for the lead. Facing fourth and long in its own territory, Penn State took an intentional safety and attempted a last-ditch onside kick. They recovered it, only for a bogus offside penalty to wipe it out.
Would recover the kick but called offsides RT @d_wilburne: Here is the best look pic.twitter.com/4HKu8iDlDZ
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) October 12, 2014
Faulty offensive lines meant neither team could rush for better than 2.1 yards per carry, and the yardage only favored the Wolverines 256-214. Each team had to settle for field goals on stalled drives, and nobody scored more than seven points in a quarter. This is not a game to save on the DVR.
For Michigan, though, the win is a desperately needed moment of happiness. Fans packed the Big House for this game even with the struggle and mutterings of a boycott, and the team can still become bowl eligible without needing to upset Ohio State or Michigan State.
Minnesota 24, Northwestern 17
Kyle Prater (right) was NU's leading receiver in the loss.
A week of strange results across the conference left Minnesota and Northwestern as the only undefeated teams in the the West division. This week the two undefeateds squared off, with the Gophers improving to 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time in a decade.
It was an unusual game for Minnesota. Usually the Gophers can make up for their passing deficiencies with the running game, but they were swamped by Northwestern's defense. Instead, Mitch Leidner led the Gophers to a late lead, offsetting the running problems. The defense did just enough to win; the Wildcats tied the game in the fourth quarter with a 97-yard touchdown drive, but Minnesota's Jalen Myrick took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for the winning score.
Jerry Kill's Minnesota teams are interesting example of success with limited talent. If he can make the passing game something to fear and start landing better recruits, he could turn the Gophers into a top 15 program and Big Ten title contender in the next few years.
Iowa 45, Indiana 29
Iowa has been trying to tamp down a quarterback controversy and boost its boring offense. A game against Indiana's woebegone defense was just what it needed on both counts.
In the first quarter, Iowa exploded for four touchdowns in 3:38 of game time to take a 28-7 lead. The Hoosiers pulled within 28-21, but returning Hawkeye quarterback Jake Rudock propelled Iowa to a couple more scores to ensure he could wear his plaid victory cap.
I'm done giving Indiana the benefit of the doubt; the Hoosiers are worse than the sum of their parts. On a per-play basis, the defense doesn't look bad, but it often forces the offense to score frantically. Most of the time Indiana can get away with it, but not against good defenses. To make matters worse, starting quarterback Nate Sudfeld separated his shoulder in the second quarter, and the backups were not up to snuff. Tevin Coleman is doing all he can to buoy the Hoosiers, busting out for three 40+ yard touchdown runs, but he can't save the season all by himself.
As for Iowa...well, they're one win away from bowl eligibility. The Hawkeyes have underachieved for years under Kirk Ferentz, but when his team takes care of business against teams it's supposed to, Iowa football makes for a tidy, enjoyable viewing experience. Should Iowa knock off Maryland on the road next week, I will have to hold my tongue about Ferentz another week.
Wisconsin 38, Illinois 28
In Week 6, Wisconsin seized up against Northwestern and Purdue sandblasted Illinois. Both teams performed better their bounceback game, but neither looked particularly good either.
| School | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 4-1 (1-0) | 1 | 2 |
| Iowa | 5-1 (2-0) | 2 | 9 |
| Michigan State | 5-1 (2-0) | 3 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 5-1 (2-0) | 4 | 8 |
| Wisconsin | 4-2 (1-1) | 5 | 11 |
| Nebraska | 5-1 (1-1) | 6 | 5 |
| Rutgers | 5-1 (1-1) | 7 | 7 |
| Purdue | 3-4 (1-2) | 8 | 6 |
| Northwestern | 3-3 (2-1) | 9 | 3 |
| Illinois | 3-4 (0-3) | 10 | 14 |
| Maryland | 4-2 (1-1) | 11 | 10 |
| Michigan | 3-4 (1-2) | 12 | 12 |
| Indiana | 3-3 (0-2) | 13 | 4 |
| Penn State | 4-2 (1-2) | 14 | 13 |
Although the Illini have the worst defense in the Big Ten, they stopped Wisconsin early en route to a 14-7 lead. The Badgers dominated much of the second and third quarters behind Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement's 339 rushing yards, but the Illini scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the final line more respectable.
Rutgers is on a bye week, so NovaWatch will be relieved by BeckmanWatch, which answers the question "How did Illinois' Tim Beckman inch closer to his eventual firing?" In the second half of this week's game, he did that by burning sophomore quarterback Aaron Bailey's redshirt.
Bailey performed well, but there are only two good reasons to burn a quarterback's redshirt in midseason: if he is coming off a suspension or injuries force a coach's hand. Doing it like this suggests that Beckman is a poor judge of talent (in which case Bailey should have played sooner) or is mortgaging Illinois' future to try to save his job. Either way, the Illini should mobilize its coaching search committee.
The Badgers continues to struggle against inferior competition, although at some point frequent struggles against “inferior competition” just makes them one's “competition”.
Week 8 features four Big Ten games outside of the Ohio State-Rutgers game: Purdue-Minnesota, Iowa-Maryland, Michigan State-Indiana and Nebraska-Northwestern. I recommend Iowa-Maryland for its delicate combination of crab and corn and Purdue-Minnesota for the gleeful uglyball the Gophers will play. See you all then.
