October has finally arrived, and its reign as "best month ever" is still running strong. The tenth month of the year brings a lot to the table: football (duh), Halloween, lovely weather, Slim Shady's birthday, pumpkin ales, etc etc. Speaking of pumpkin brews, why has this suddenly become a "cool" thing to hate on via social media? Seems rather silly to me, but I digress.
The flip of the ole calendar also brings the Big Ten schedule to the forefront. Yes, Penn State and Rutgers engaged in their titanic struggle two weeks ago, but we now have a (nearly) full slate of head-to-head Big Ten action. Let's take a look at how things transpired.
Iowa 10, No. 19 Wisconsin 6
If you love offense, then this game definitely wasn't your cup of tea. The Badgers held Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard to just 77 yards passing but the Hawkeye defense forced four turnovers in leading the way to an upset in Madison; snapping Wisconsin's ten-game home winning streak.
Jordan Canzeri led the way again for the Iowa offense, rushing for 125 yards on 26 carries. The lone touchdown of the contest came just before halftime as Beathard connected with tight end George Kittle for a one-yard score. The Hawkeye offense managed just 221 yards on the day and failed to put up any points in the second half.
For the Badgers, senior quarterback Joel Stave did not have his finest day. Stave threw for 234 yards with two interceptions while also losing a pair of fumbles. Both interceptions were courtesy of Iowa defensive back Desmond King; the first of which set up the Hawkeyes' first-half touchdown. King now has five interceptions on the season.
Wisconsin loses 10-6 at home to Iowa. It's the fewest points scored at home by Wisconsin since putting up 5 vs UNLV in 2003.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 3, 2015
No. 16 Northwestern 27, Minnesota 0
The Wildcats' defense continued to impress on Saturday, pitching a shutout while allowing just 173 yards to the Gophs' offense. Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner was held to just 72 yards passing and one interception on the day. Northwestern defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster forced a Leidner fumble in the fourth quarter and linebacker Anthony Walker was there for the scoop and score. The Minny ground game was also held in check, averaging just 2.2 yards per carry.
The Wildcat offense was led by quarterback Clayton Thorson and tailback Justin Jackson. Thorson threw for 128 yards and added another 24 yards and two scores on the ground. Jackson rushed for 120 yards on twenty carries.
Moving to 5-0 on the season obviously calls for some Macarena and hip thrusting.
No. 22 Michigan 28, Maryland 0
Saturday in College Park was pretty much what we've come to expect from the Wolverines. The defense was dominant, running game was solid, and Jake Rudock continued to look like more of a game manager than anything. The senior quarterback finished the day 16 of 32 for 180 yards with one touchdown and a pair of turnovers.
Drake Johnson and Jehu Chesson led the Michigan ground attack. Johnson rushed for 68 yards and a score while Chesson took a sweep 66-yards to the house. Chesson and Jake Butt both hauled in four passes on the day.
The Michigan defense forced three turnovers as the Terps' quarterback situation continues to look disastrous. Junior Caleb Rowe was picked off three times before being benched for the second straight week. Rowe has now thrown 12 interceptions on the season.
| School | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 5-0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 5-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Iowa | 5-0 | 3 | 4 |
| Northwestern | 5-0 | 4 | 3 |
| Michigan | 4-1 | 5 | 6 |
| Wisconsin | 3-2 | 6 | 5 |
| Indiana | 4-1 | 7 | 7 |
| Minnesota | 3-2 | 8 | 8 |
| Penn State | 4-1 | 9 | 9 |
| Illinois | 4-1 | 10 | 11 |
| Nebraska | 2-3 | 11 | 10 |
| Rutgers | 2-2 | 12 | 12 |
| Maryland | 2-3 | 13 | 13 |
| Purdue | 1-4 | 14 | 14 |
No. 2 Michigan State 24, Purdue 21
Michigan State got up to a 21-0 halftime lead before things nearly fell apart in the second half. The Boilermakers had the ball late in the fourth quarter with a chance to pull off one of the season's biggest upsets, but they failed to convert on fourth down, allowing the Spartans to remain among the unbeatens.
Purdue running back Markell Jones caused all kinds of fits for the Spartans. The true freshman rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Quarterback David Blough added 136 yards and a score through the air.
Connor Cook threw for 138 yards and a touchdown, but the Michigan State running game continues to lead the way on offense. True freshman L.J. Scott had the best game of his young career, rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries. Madre London added 97 yards on the ground while Cook chipped in another 48 yards.
Illinois 14, Nebraska 13
Nebraska has had some major issues in the waning minutes of its games thus far, and that continued Saturday in Champaign. The Illini scored the game-winning touchdown with just seconds left on the clock; something that is becoming all too familiar to Husker fans.
Nebraskas three losses: -Hail Mary vs. BYU -In overtime at Miami -Gave up winning TD with :10 left at Illinois
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 4, 2015
Tommy Armstrong struggled for Nebraska, completing just 10 of 31 passes for 105 yards and an interception. True freshman tailback Devine Ozigbo ran for 70 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries. Quarterback Wes Lunt led the way for the Illini as the junior threw for 251 yards and a pair of scores. Wide receiver Geronimo Allison hauled in eight passes for 91 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Penn State 20, Army 14
Penn State struggled with the 1-4 Black Knights on Saturday but a third-quarter touchdown drive helped them to escape with a win. The Nittany Lion offense sputtered as their top two tailbacks – Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley – were both held out due to injury.
Christian Hackenberg struggled through most of the game as he completed 10 of 19 passes for 156 yards and one score. The bulk of his yardage came on the aforementioned third-quarter drive that ended with a touchdown to pass to tight end Mike Gesicki.
Tough to evaluate the Nittany Lion defense as they faced off against Army's option attack. The Black Knights' ground game put up 261 yards and two scores on the day.
It was a bit of an ugly week for the conference as Ohio State and Michigan State both struggled. Northwestern and Iowa put together some impressive performances and the Hawkeyes should find themselves in the Top 25 this week. Michigan's defense continues to look like one of the top units in the country as Jim Harbaugh has the Wolverines on the up and up.
Next week we'll all be watching as the Buckeyes host Maryland amidst all the homecoming festivities. Indiana travels to Happy Valley for what could be an intriguing matchup. The game of the week will take place in Ann Arbor where Michigan will take on Northwestern.
