By: David Folz
Week six of the Big Ten season brought with it some renewed
confidence for three teams (Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin) and two
teams that badly needed a win to prove a statement but ended up in losses
because they could not stop the opponents offense (Northwestern and
Nebraska.) It also saw the best team in
the conference in Ohio State destroying an opponent, and Ohio State can’t even
play in the postseason. With that here
is what the Big Ten went through in week six, with their matchup reviews.
Michigan State/Indiana: The Spartans were down 27-14 at
halftime, only to rally in the second half to win 31-27 on Saturday. Andrew Maxwell came back in the second half
after a shaky first half, finishing with 290 yards and two touchdowns. In the losing effort for Indiana, Chase
Coffman shined, throwing for 282 yards and three touchdowns, but the defense
let up over 400 yards to the Spartans as Michigan State rallied. Michigan State is 4-2 after the win and will
take on Iowa this Saturday. Indiana
meanwhile has lost their last three in a row, stands at 2-3 and will host Ohio
State on Saturday.
Northwestern/Penn State: The Nittany Lions also made a
comeback for people to acknowledge, having been down 28-17 after the third
quarter on Saturday only to score 22 unanswered points in a 39-28 win over the
twenty-fourth ranked Wildcats. Matt
McGloin shined on the big stage again, throwing for two touchdowns and throwing
for 282 yards in the win. Zach Zwinak
also added a touchdown and 121 yards on the ground. Northwestern had a chance to go to 6-0 for
the first time in 53 years, but Trevor Siemian was erratic throughout the day,
having only 135 yards and a touchdown as the defense struggled to stop McGloin
and falling in the end. Northwestern
falls to 5-1 on the year and will travel to play Minnesota on Saturday while
Penn State has won four in a row to get to 4-2 and has a bye week this weekend.
Illinois/Wisconsin: The Badgers used 21 fourth quarter
points to beat the Illini on Saturday 31-14.
Joel Stave may have been the spark for the Badgers, passing for 254
yards and two touchdowns, and Montee Ball ran for another two scores in the
win. In the loss, Nathan Scheelhaase ran
for a touchdown as well as passed for one as he took a beating from the
Wisconsin defense. With the loss,
Illinois is 2-4 and reeling badly, and it does not get easier with Michigan
next. Wisconsin now is 4-2 following
their win, and will travel to face Purdue on Saturday.
Michigan/Purdue: The Wolverines dominated from the start of
this game, beating Purdue 44-10. Denard
Robinson did not do much throwing the ball, with just over 100 yards and a
touchdown, but added over 230 yards rushing the ball. The offense added three touchdowns on the
ground as they stifled Purdue all day.
In a silver lining for the Boilermakers, Caleb TerBush added a passing
touchdown but it was a bright moment in an otherwise dull day for Purdue. Both teams are now 3-2 on the season with
Michigan hosting Illinois on Saturday and Purdue will be home against Wisconsin
on Saturday.
Nebraska/Ohio State: The Buckeyes offense was unstoppable
against Nebraska Saturday night, totaling nearly 500 yards in a 63-38 rout of
the Cornhuskers. Carlos Hyde had his
best career day, with 140 yards and four touchdowns in the victory as Braxton
Miller threw and ran for a touchdown each.
Taylor Martinez struggled all night, throwing three interceptions in the
loss. The Cornhuskers defense also
struggled, giving up six rushing touchdowns.
Ohio State is clearly the Big Ten’s best team so far this year, and at
6-0, would have their destiny set if not for the postseason ban. Ohio State travels to face Indiana on
Saturday while Nebraska has a bye week to lick their wounds.
Iowa: Iowa had a bye week this past weekend and will go on
the road to face Michigan State on Saturday.
Iowa is 3-2 on the season.
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers had a bye week as well last
week and will host Northwestern on Saturday.
Minnesota this year is 4-1.
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