How spectacular was yesterday? Well, a feisty Jabrill Peppers literally attacked an Ohio State fan on the field and then Jim Harbaugh spent his afternoon whining about a correct call made by the officials.
Could it possibly get any better? Why yes it could! Mike Weber then proceeded to introduce the world (or maybe just me since I am the opposite of hip?) to the term "bum juice" when Michigan's Jourdan Lewis also decided to cry about the officiating.
The Buckeyes topped the Wolverines by a score of 30-27 in a double-overtime thriller that none of us will ever forget.
Elsewhere around the Big Ten, there were a few games that had conference championship and even playoff implications.
No. 7 Penn State 45, Michigan State 12
Needing a win and a Wolverine loss, the Nittany Lions used a second-half explosion to capture the Big Ten's Eastern Division crown. The Spartans got up to a 12-10 lead at the half, but James Franklin's defense would then go on to pitch a shutout as the offense found their rhythm.
Trace McSorley had the best game of his career as the first-year starter continues to excel in Joe Moorhead's offense. The sophomore completed 17 of 23 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns. Chris Godwin led the way with five catches for 135 yards and a pair of scores. The Nittany Lion ground game totaled just 77 yards but wasn't really needed in the regular season finale. Saquon Barkley rushed for just 14 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Confession: Joe Moorhead is a heck of a coach, he looks like a cool guy, and I would like to have a beer with him.
Great TEAM win!!!
— Coach Joe Moorhead (@BallCoachJoeMo) November 27, 2016
Big Ten East Champs!!!#ThreeMoreFeet#WeAre
pic.twitter.com/17rteVGJfQ
The Spartan offense managed to move the ball early on, but settling for four field goals didn't really help their cause. Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry combined for 219 yards through the air but were also sacked four times and hit with a number of negative plays. L.J. Scott led all rushers with 59 yards on 16 carries.
No. 6 Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 17
The Gophs had the edge in Madison at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Badgers answered with 21 points and would take home Paul Bunyan's axe for the 13th-consecutive year.
Corey Clement scored twice in the fourth as the senior hit the century mark on 26 carries. Jazz Peavy pitched in with 83 rushing yards and Dare Ogunbowale added an eight-yard touchdown rush. Freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook exited the game in the second quarter after taking a shot to the chest. Senior Bart Houston would finish the game and complete 9 of 14 passes for 123 yards.
The Badger defense stymied Minnesota's hopes in the second half as they forced four Mitch Leidner interceptions. The senior completed just 9 of 26 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown to go along with the picks. Leidner also led the Gopher ground game as he rushed for 46 yards and a score.
Wisconsin already knew it had a spot reserved in Indy, but the victory gave Paul Chryst an outright division title thanks in part to.....
Iowa 40, No. 16 Nebraska 10
The Huskers needed a victory in Iowa City to have any hope of landing in Indy. Things did not go too well for Mike Riley on Friday as Nebraska failed to show up in another one of its biggest games.
Tommy Armstrong Jr. played despite being banged up with a hamstring injury. The senior complete 13 of 35 passes for 125 yards and a score. Jordan Westerkamp hauled in four passes for 50 yards and Tre Bryant and Terrell Newby combined for 80 yards on the ground.
LeShun Daniels is one-man wrecking crew for the #Hawkeyes on this drive. #NEBvsIOWA pic.twitter.com/r9kSquuIQc
— Heavens! (@HeavensHawkeye) November 25, 2016
The Iowa ground game gave the Huskers troubles throughout the day as LeShun Daniels Jr. and Akrum Wadley each went over 100 yards on the day. Daniels led the way with 158 and two scores while Wadley went for 105 and found the endzone once. C.J. Beathard had an efficient 10 of 15 outing while throwing for 144 yards and a trio of scores.
Northwestern 42, Illinois 21
The Fighting Illini had no answer for the Northwestern ground game on Saturday. Justin Jackson rumbled 173 yard and three scores while freshman John Moten added 128 yards and two scores of his own. Jackson passed Darnell Autry and Tyrell Sutton to moved into the No. 2 spot on the Wildcats' all-time rushing list. He trails only Damien Anderson.
For the Lovie Smith and the Illini, the passing game went for 377 yards and a pair of scores as Wes Lunt threw the ball 54 times on the day. Malik Turner and Justin Hardee both gave the Wildcats fits. Turner hauled in 11 passes for 164 yards and two scores while Hardee added nine for 125.
| Team | W-L | Rank | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 11-1 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 10-2 | 2 | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 10-2 | 3 | 3 |
| Penn State | 10-2 | 4 | 4 |
| Iowa | 8-4 | 5 | 6 |
| Nebraska | 9-3 | 6 | 5 |
| Minnesota | 8-4 | 7 | 7 |
| Maryland | 6-6 | 8 | 8 |
| Northwestern | 6-6 | 9 | 9 |
| Indiana | 6-6 | 10 | 10 |
| Michigan State | 3-9 | 11 | 11 |
| Illinois | 3-9 | 12 | 12 |
| Purdue | 3-9 | 13 | 13 |
| Rutgers | 2-10 | 14 | 14 |
Indiana 26, Purdue 24
Indiana somehow managed to barely beat Purdue in Bloomington. The Hoosiers found themselves trailing with under five minutes remaining in the game, but it was a Devine Redding one-yard touchdown run that would prove to be the difference.
Redding finished the day with 99 yards and the score while Zander Diamont added 42 and a rushing touchdown. Richard Lagow completed 11 of 19 passes for 117 yards and a score but was also plagued by three interceptions.
The Boilermakers were led by quarterback David Blough who threw for 225 yard with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Blough's favorite target was once again DeAngelo Yancey. The senior hauled in six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.
With the win, Kevin Wilson and the Hoosiers will be going bowling for a second straight season.
Maryland 31, Rutgers 13
Maryland hosted Rutgers at noon on Saturday which means no one in the country watched the game or even knew it was taking place. Alas, things went about as expected as Chris Ash continues to deal with one of the more troubled teams in the country.
D.J. Durkin will be playing in a bowl game in his first season as head coach as the Terps picked up their sixth win of the season. Maryland was led by tailback Ty Johnson who ended the day with 11 carries for 168 yards and three touchdowns. His 15.3 yards per carry average pales in comparison to the 29.1 per carry he put up against Purdue last month.
The highlight of the day came on an 83-yard punt return touchdown by senior wideout Teldrick Morgan.
For the Scarlet Knights, quarterback Giovanni Rescigno threw for 203 yards while Justin Goodwin and Robert Martin combined for 159 yards rushing with each finding the endzone on the day.
So that's it for the regular season. It has absolutely flown by, but fortunately we've still got a lot to be on the lookout for.
Taping our @FOXSports CFB Playoff debate show tonight. The big takeaway: We're not that many dominos from three Big Ten playoff teams.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 27, 2016
While the likelihood of three Big Ten teams making the playoff is pretty minimal, it wouldn't be a total surprise if two teams sneak in. For the next week we are going to be hearing about how Penn State may force the Buckeyes out if they are able to take down the Badgers .
Personally, I'm not buying that at all and I don't think you should be either. However, this whole fiasco is unprecedented so it's tough to gauge exactly how the committee is going to handle things. Could Penn State come back down to earth next week against a tough Badger defense? It wouldn't surprise me one bit.
Regardless of who ends up claiming the final three playoff spots, this juggernaut will not be fun to deal with.
Alabama didn't allow a touchdown in November.
— Howie Lindsey (@howielindsey) November 27, 2016
Even crazier:
Alabama didn't allow a play to be run inside their 10 yard line in November.
Wisconsin and Penn State will kickoff next Saturday at 8:00PM ET at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
