Big Ten Recap: Wolverines Dominate Wildcats, Penn State Impresses, Sparty Squeaks Past Knights

By Andrew Ellis on October 11, 2015 at 7:15 am
Northwestern never had a chance on Saturday.
Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog
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After watching the Buckeyes come to life in the second half and seeing Maryland's lame duck get a little peeved, Ohio State fans had the opportunity to tune in while the rest of the Big Ten's best took the field. Things went just about as expected on Saturday, but few anticipated the dominance displayed by our rivals to the north. 


No. 18 Michigan 38, No. 13 Northwestern 0

The Wolverines were sharp out of the gate on Saturday as Jehu Chesson took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a score. Jim Harbaugh and Co. refused to take their foot off the pedal as Michigan dominated Northwestern from start to finish.

What else can be said about the Michigan defense? DJ Durkin has turned the unit into one of the nation's elite. The Wildcats' offense met the same fate as BYU and Maryland as they were unable to put up a single point against the Wolverine defense. Michigan has now allowed 38 points through five games, and 24 of those points came in the opener against the fifth-ranked Utes. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis fought off a Northwestern receiver for the defensive play of the game, a 36-yard pick six.

Jake Rudock had an efficient outing, connecting on 17 of 23 passes for 179 yards. The Michigan ground game put up 203 yards on the Northwestern defense. De'Veon Smith led the way with 59 yards on eight carries. Derrick Green added 47 yards and a score. The tight ends accounted for most of the receiving game as Jake Butt and AJ Williams combined for seven receptions and 88 yards. 

The Northwestern offense could only manage 168 yards on the day. Justin Jackson rushed for 25 yards while quarterback Clayton Thorson threw for 106 before the backups took over in the fourth quarter. The Michigan defense recorded four sacks and forced eight punts.  

No. 22 Iowa 29, Illinois 20

The Hawkeyes remain unbeaten after holding off the Ilini in Iowa City. Kirk Ferentz relied heavily on running back Jordan Canzeri who carried the ball 43 times, a new Hawkeye record. Canzeri ran for 256 yards on the day, including a 75-yard touchdown. The senior added a 17-yard touchdown reception as well. Quarterback C.J. Beathard threw for 200 yards and a pair of scores. True freshman Jerminic Smith hauled in four passes for 118 yards.

Junior quarterback Wes Lunt led the Illini offense as he threw for 317 yards and a score. Geronimo Allison, the Big Ten's leading receiver, continued his impressive season with eight catches for 148 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Ke'Shawn Vaughn rushed for 67 yards a score but also had a costly fumble late in the fourth quarter.

B1G POWER RANKINGS: WEEK SIX
School W-L Rank Prev
Ohio State 6-0 1 1
Michigan State 6-0 2 2
Michigan 5-1 3 5
Iowa 6-0 4 3
Penn State 5-1 5 9
Northwestern 5-1 6 4
Wisconsin 4-2 7 6
Minnesota 4-2 8 8
Indiana 4-2 9 7
Illinois 4-2 10 10
Rutgers 2-3 11 12
Maryland 2-4 12 13
Nebraska 2-4 13 11
Purdue 1-5 14 14

No. 4 Michigan State 31, Rutgers 24

The Scarlet Knights have had recent success when donning the all-black uniforms—defeating Michigan last year and Arkansas in 2013—but they fell just short against the Spartans on Saturday night. Rutgers kicked a field goal to tie things up with just over four minutes left in the game, but they were unable to stop Michigan State on the ensuing drive as L.J. Scott scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left. Rutgers got the ball back and drove into Sparty territory when quarterback Chris Laviano elected to spike the ball on fourth down rather than throw a hail mary. Bold strategy. 

Connor Cook completed 23 of 38 passes for 357 yards with two scores and one interception. Despite sitting out much of the game, L.J. Scott led the ground game with 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Aaron Burbridge led all wideouts with nine grabs for 146 yards. 

Laviano led Rutgers with 208 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Sparty secondary struggled to contain senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo who ended the night with seven receptions for 134 yards and three scores.

Penn State 29, Indiana 7

Christian Hackenberg played his best game of the season on Saturday as the Nittany Lions handed Indiana their second-consecutive loss. The junior completed 21 of 39 passes for 262 yards and a pair of scores. Hackenberg was also able to make some plays with his feet, scrambling for a 22-yard pickup and adding two touchdown runs. He has joined Zack Mills as the only Penn State quarterbacks with 7,000+ career passing yards.

Running backs Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley were held out once again for the Nits. The ground game was led by a pair of redshirt freshmen, Nick Scott and Mark Allen. Both had eight carries on the day as Scott notched 57 yards with Allen adding another 45. Wide receivers DaeSean Hamilton and Brandon Polk both caught touchdown passes on the day. 

The Hoosier offense was only able to generate 234 yards against the stout Penn State defense. Senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld dressed for the game but was held out after re-aggravating an ankle injury against the Buckeyes last week. Zander Diamont got the start under center but could only put up 90 yards through the air and another 38 on the ground – including a 12-yard touchdown scamper. Diamont also got banged up in the game as he exited with his arm in a sling and a possible concussion. 

Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 21

Nebraska's late-game struggles continue to be the theme of the Lincoln Era. Husker fullback Andy Janovich scored on a 55-yard touchdown run to give Nebraska the lead with less than four minutes to play. Things were looking fine for the Husks when Wisconsin kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed a field goal with just over two minutes left. Nebraska was then forced to punt, and with less than a minute left, the Badgers drove down the field to set up the game-winning field goal attempt. 

Joel Stave led the Badger offense as he tallied 322 yards and a score. Dare Ogunbowale added 117 yards on 18 carries; getting most of the workload after starting running back Taiwan Deal went out with an ankle injury. Senior wideout Alex Erickson hauled in seven passes for 113 yards. 

Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong ended the day with 179 yards and two touchdowns. Janovich and junior tailback Terrell Newby each notched 59 yards rushing on the day. 

Minnesota 41, Purdue 13

The Gophs only threw for 82 yards against Purdue, but the running game was more than enough on Saturday. Minnesota ran for 326 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry. True freshman Shannon Brooks led the way with 176 yards, including a nice 71-yard touchdown run.

The freshman has been drawing some rave reviews from head coach Jerry Kill, often being compared to Gopher great Marion Barber III. 

The Purdue offense struggled again, turning the ball over four times. Quarterback David Blough threw for 207 yards and a score, but was also intercepted three times. D.J. Knox rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.


So what did we learn this week? Not a lot, really. The Wolverines continue to be on the up and up and next week's showdown with the Spartans should be fun to watch. Michigan State struggled on the road, but like we said, Rutgers tends to rise to the occasion in these games each year. The Big Ten's bottom-feeders still look pretty awful; though we have to give credit to Maryland quarterback Perry Hills for that gutty performance. 

Besides the big one in Ann Arbor next week, you'll want to keep an eye on Iowa traveling to Northwestern and—of course—Black Saturday in Columbus. 

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