Four in conference games were played this past Saturday, all unique and special in their own right as each game will have a ripple effect now on the rest of the season as we move forward. But, I can't help feel like a father of four as I dissect and break down each individual match up. Of course I try my best to treat each game equally with no bias point of view, but one game sticks out more than the rest. Even as all the great parents do from time to time I have some favoritism for one of my four children from this weekends games and I'm sure you can understand why. Michigan at Penn State was already the juiciest game going into the week and boy oh boy did it live up to the hype. Four overtimes later we finally found a winner. Of course when they ask I tell them I love all of them equally, which I do. But, this week I'll be giving one game more attention than the rest.
Michigan 40 Penn State 43
107,884 screaming fans chanted "We are, Penn State!" as the fourth overtime ended after running back Bill Belton fittingly belted himself into the end zone with a two yard score to cap off the most dramatic game in the Big Ten this season. Three plays earlier Belton's number was called on a fourth and one call after Bill O' Brien opted not to attempt another field goal after kicker Sam Ficken had missed two previously in the game. The game had more ups and downs than a ride at Six Flags. Devin Gardner battled through another turnover prone game throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble in the first half, but then rallied back throwing touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter.
He found Devin Funchess late in the fourth quarter for one of his three touchdown passes giving the Wolverines a 34-24 lead. Ficken came in and nailed a 43 yarder with six minutes left to make it 34-27 lead setting up the perfect scenario for Christian Hackenberg to make a dramatic comeback. Hackenberg was every good as his preseason billing had said he could be as the true freshman was poised and calm as he got the ball back for the final game tying drive.
No timeouts and just 28 seconds left the wonder boy completed a 29 yard pass to Brandon Felder and followed that up with a perfect floater down the sideline as he let his go-to receiver Allen Robinson go up and snag the jump ball out of the air landing at the one-yard line. Hackenberg dove the ball over the goal line on the very next play as the screaming Penn State fans echoed through the stadium, making sure their attitude reflected the areas prestige name; Happy Valley. As dishearting the Wolverines were they still drove down and gave kicker Brendan Gibbons a chance to win the game as regulation time expired from 52 yards out. Spoiler alert, he missed. As the elderly folks in the stadium popped their heart medication both teams entered the anxiety filled overtime. Gibbons had another chance to be a hero but had his 40 yard field goal blocked.
Second overtime came and went with neither team showing to much aggresivness trying not to make a mistake. On to the third overtime they went tied at 37. Allen Robinson started the drive out with a reverse that he fumbled and was scooped up by defensive end Frank Clark who was arguably the best defensive player of the game. So after all the dramatics that led up to the moment Michigan could have the credits roll keeping their undefeated season intact. Three conservative runs setting Gibbons up for a 33-yard field goal attempt inbetween the hashes. As he missed his third field goal attempt in a row he sunk his head into his helmet as his heart sunk into his stomach. Fourth overtime on the way.
Gibbons came back and made one putting the Wolverines up three giving wonder boy Hackenberg the opportunity to write his own fairy tale ending script. On third and eight Hackenberg tried to squeeze a ball in the endzone to Robinson that fell inbetween three yellow jerseys as yellow flags flew. A pass interference call set them up at the two yard line. On the next play Belton walked into the corner of the end zone and the cheers of over 100,000 thousand Nittnay Lions fans are still echoing in the acoustics of Beaver Stadium.
As the Penn State players charged the field in their most drammtic win since the Sandusky era you couldn't help but think Joe Paterno was somewhere smiling. But nobody's smile was bigger than O'Brien's on Saturday night. After everything he has had to overcome since taking over this team filled with cancer like problems no matter who you root for you have to appreciate the fact that after that game, he deserved it. Michigan coach Brady Hoke has done a phenomenal job recruiting players and will have a team vying for Big Ten stardom for years to come, but on Saturday night after four quarters and four overtimes it was O'Brien's team that played with more heart, an attribute that often gets over looked when analyzing the game.
Northwestern 6 Wisconsin 35
Think about this: last week the Wildcats were 4-0 riding high into their game against the Buckeyes. They fought hard, played tough, and kept up with the king of the conference for four quarters but fell short. A moral victory indeed, but instead of keeping their undefeated season intact and settling in as the new conference leader they go into Madison and play arguably the next best team in the Big Ten on the road. The Wildcats looked lethargic as their offense sputtered drive after drive. The Badgers defense swarmed the two quarterback system for seven sacks and didn't allow an offense that put up 30 points on Ohio State in the end zone one time. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns and Melvin Gordon continued his lights out season running 172 yards with a 71 yard scamper to the house.
The Badgers owned this game from start to finish and sent the Wildcats home with their heads hanging. Wisconsin moves to 4-2 and seems to be getting better with every game played. The Wildcats go from high hopes of a conference title before getting squeeked out by the Buckeyes to getting stomped by the Badgers. They get the struggling Gophers and Hawkeyes next but then have a three game stretch in which they play Nebraska Michigan and Michigan State. Ouch.
Indiana 28 Michigan State 42
I was highly intrigued going into this game as the Hoosiers had just beat Penn State 44-24 and had plenty of momentum against a Michigan State team that has been highly inconsistent all year. The biggest reason for the inconsistency has been their quarterback play as Connor Cook has played up and down but looked good enough in his last game. With a 21-14 lead going into half time though the Spartans decided to rely on their running game for a change.
Led by Jeremy Langford's four touchdowns Michigan State ran away with this one in the second half after piling up 238 yards on the ground to Indiana's 92. Cook was asked to manage the game from that point as limited his turnovers and converted his big third downs. The Spartans move to 5-1 and 2-0 in the Big Ten as they look forward to a scrimmage like game against the struggling Boilmakers next week. The Hoosiers fall to 3-3 and have to travel to Ann Arbor to play a disgruntled Wolverine team to say the least.
Nebraska 44 Purdue 7
Ameer Abdullah ran for 126 yards and a touchdown as they blew out a Purdue team thats looking to find any kind of identity as a team and program. For all intense purposes the Cornhuskers dominated this game, but they had struggles of their own which raised more questions than it answered. With starting senior quarterback Taylor Martinez still out with injury, Tommy Armstrong Jr. has played well in his place; that was until Saturday. Armstrong started out just 6 for 18 for 43 yards and three unexplainable interceptions. Bo Pellini had no choice but to go with third stringer Ron Kellogg who stepped in and went 10-13 for 141 yards and a touchdown. With Martinez hurt from a lingering turf toe injury the timetable on his return is up in the air. Now the quarterback controversy will heat up as Armstrong and Kellogg will battle for the back up spot.
Purdue continues to struggle under first year head coach Darrell Hazzel and is showing no signs of improving any time soon. As of now they are looking into the future by starting freshman quarterback Danny Etling to see if he can provide any type of spark for his team as they analyze his play to see if he has the potential tools to be their quarterback next season. The Cornhuskers get a week of rest and then travel to TCF stadium to take on the Gophers while Purdue travels to Spartan stadium to take on a Michigan State team that's heating up.