Another week down as we are well over the halfway mark in the season thus far. Things are starting to shape up and take form as teams are taking hold of their own destiny while others are feeling their once tight grips on their preseason dreams start to loosen and slip away. Four games were played in the Big Ten conference on Saturday as we recap the good and bad in all of them in our weekly recap.
Michigan State at Illinois
The Good
After having the top spot in the rankings for best defense in the country, the Spartans somehow improved their status statistically even more after Saturday. Allowing a nations best 228 yards per game, Michigan State's defense allowed a mere 128 yards total against Illinois which included just 25 yards on the ground. Before you let your notion of the Fighting Illini being a sub-par team and there by assuming the Spartans just got an easy match up, it's worth noting the Illinois came into their homecoming game averaging 400.7 yards per game while putting an average of 35.7 points up per game. After the season started with some quarterback controversy, there is no doubt now that Connor Cook is the clear cut starter in this offense. A shaky first couple of games for the Spartans offense in general have been dissolved in fans minds now as Cook has thrown 12 touchdowns to his two interceptions.
Led by his stout defense, Cook's game plan going into every week is simple: give yourself a chance on third downs and don't turn the ball over. But, Cook has done much more than "manage" his games as his numbers show and is a main reason this team will be very tough to match up against come december when the games get cold. The combination of the number one defense in the league and a quarterback who doesn't turn the ball over is a difficult opponent no matter who they're playing. Michigan State moves on to 7-1 keeping their perfect record in the conference in tact (4-0).
The Bad
The Fighting Illini have been a nice little surprise this season already exceeding their win total (2) from all of last year under second year head coach Tim Beckman. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase has been a big reason why Illinois has found success so far this season throwing for over 1,600 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. However, after starting out the season 3-1 they have dropped their last three games in a row to fall to 3-4. The growing pains continued Saturday in front of a homecoming crowd as Illinois showed promise on their opening drive as Jon Davis scored what appeared to be a touchdown pass from Scheelhaase only to be called back on a holding penalty. They had to settle for a field goal and never got their momentum back the rest of the game. Another back breaker occurred in the second quarter when the Spartans stuffed Illinois at their one-yard line once on third down and again on fourth down earning them zero points while turning the ball over. Michigan State then snapped 15 plays off while driving 99 yards for the score. Two plays resulting ultimately in what could be looked at as a 17 point swing. It was the little things that killed them Saturday that Beckman will need to teach his team to build on and learn from knowing full well it's hard enough to win in the Big Ten, but when you don't execute when you have opportunities it makes it almost impossible to win.
Northwestern at Iowa
The Good
The Hawkeye's three losses this year have all came after they were ahead at half-time. After leading Northwestern going into the locker room Saturday the crowd watch the Wildcats put up ten unanswered points to tie the game up as it looked if history was ready to repeat itself. After a roller coaster of turnovers and missed field goals in the last five minutes of regulation, Iowa started overtime off with Jake Ruddock finding tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz in the corner of the end zone for the score. Iowa then went on to sack dual threat quarterback Kain Colter on fourth down in their next possession. Iowa recovered two fumbles on the day along with setting a season best record with six sacks in the game. The Hawkeyes snapped their two game losing streak and move to 5-3 on the year with a 2-2 record in the Big Ten.
The Bad
Things couldn't have gone any worse for Northwestern after starting out 4-0 earlier in the season. An emotional loss to the Buckeyes in week five started a trickle effect of injuries, unlucky bounces, and a drop off in play in their last four games. Now 4-4 with a winless streak in the conference, head coach Pat Fitzgerald has his work cut out for him while conjuring up his next pre game motivational speech. Arguably their best player in quarterback Kain Colter returned Saturday after missing last week with an ankle injury. Iowa's stingy front seven made for an uncomfortable return as he was sacked six times. The Wildcats also allowed 12 tackles for a loss on the day, something that was unheard of during their four game win streak. The loss was a complete team effort as Colter did look sharp with all things considering going 11-14 passing and adding 60 yards with his feet.
Northwestern missed a 42 yard field goal with five minutes to play that could have won them the game along with stupid penalties through out the day. That was the bad news, now onto the down right ugly. They get no breaks in their schedule as they travel to Nebraska next week followed by Michigan and Michigan State after that. Starting out 4-0 was great while it lasted, now the Wildcats will try to salvage their season and become bowl eligible by winning two of their last four games.
Penn State at Ohio State
The Good
Tip your hat to the Buckeye's offense. They put up 63 points, almost 700 yards, and had their third stringers in by the fourth quarter. But, ask after challenging them all week in practice ask Urban Meyer what he's most pleased about after Saturday's game and he will say with confidence his defense. After being exposed and pushed around early in the Northwestern game and the Iowa game last week Meyer put the pressure squarely on the defense and ask them to stand up to the challenge and they did. Playing a hot handed Christian Hackenberg and a team oozing with confidence after a four overtime victory against 18th ranked Michigan the Ohio State defense had their work cut out for them.
They got to him early and often however, forcing him to bobble the second snap of the night and set the tone fro there. The Buckeyes ended up causing three turnovers and allowed only seven points until Penn State scored a garbage touchdown late in the game. A huge moral victory for the defense as they seem to have their swagger back which isn't good news for the rest of the country. A perfect 8-0 on the season while owning the nations best 20 game win streak Ohio State was stuck at the four spot in the poll standings. A major reason why is because although undefeated, they lacked the blowout games the top three teams have against lesser opponents. Thanks to a total team effort they were able to achieve that blowout win they needed and hope that it can convince the voters they belong as the nation's best.
The Bad
After soaking up an upset win against 18th ranked Michigan followed by a week of rest, the Nittnay Lions got jolted back to reality Saturday and realize although a young team that possesses many talents they do not belong with the Big Ten quite yet. Freshman stud Christian Hackenberg had his worst game of his young career as the Buckeyes and a crowd of 115 thousand plus got him rattled by bobbling the second snap of the game. With his team down and in an early hole, Hackenberg appeared to be trying to do to much and forced a lot of aggressive passes in tight windows. Mistakes you can't make against a defense as talented as Ohio State's. They made him pay forcing two interceptions and turning them later into touchdowns. Within a blink of an eye Penn State was down 35-7 after the Buckeyes scored on six of their first seven possessions and forced them to abandon their running game and make plays threw the air. Losing to Ohio State is bad, but allowing the most points (63) in school history since 1899 was down right ugly.
Nebraska at Minnesota
The Good
Minnesota quarterback Phillip Nelson had arguably his best game of his career Saturday as coincidentally the Gophers had their best team victory of the program since they beat Michigan in 2005. Nelson started the game rotating in-and-out in the two quarterback system but ended up playing the majority of snaps as he rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another helping the Gophers to an upset victory of the 24th ranked Cornhuskers 34-23. Minnesota had another emotional win with head coach Jerry Kill missing from the sidelines for the second week in a row as he recovers from his illness while snapping some lingering streaks the the Cornhuskers had owned.
A perfectly executed game with zero turnovers, the Gophers got their first win against Nebraska in their last 17 games breaking a 16 game losing streak beating them for the first time since 1960. When the Nelson threw a 33 yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-one in the second quarter in marked the first time the first time the Gophers had owned the lead against the Cornhuskers since 1969. Think about that for a second. The Gophers now move to 6-2 and 2-2 in the Big Ten after a gritty win against the Wildcats last week. With the win Minnesota is also bowl eligible as they travel to Indiana next week.
The Bad
The Huskers were in high spirits when they found out they would have starting quarterback Taylor Martinez back after missing the last three games, but even his return wasn't enough Saturday to beat the Gophers. The dual-threat quarterback was only able to rush for 16 yards on his eight attempts and threw for just 139 yards with a touchdown and interception. Not exactly the spark they were expecting in his first game back.
The offensive line didn't help him much as the loss of guard Spencer Long was very obvious. Nebraska looked like an unprepared team playing on the road as they struggled both on the offense and defensive sides of the ball. The lone bright spot for the Huskers was Ameer Abdullah's 165 yards on the ground in just 19 attempts. At 5-2, Nebraska still has a shot at the Big Ten title game but essentially would have to run the table. With Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State looming on the schedule things could stay bad before they get better.