Around the Big Ten (Football): Week 12

Story posted November 19, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

This week may be the biggest one yet when looking at the landscape of the Big Ten conference.

When looking at matchups for this week there is one clear game that stands out and it will take place in Columbus.

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes will welcome in the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans to the Shoe as both teams enter the matchup with a 9-1 record and a chance to take control of the Big Ten East.

Both teams enter the matchup coming off big wins with the Buckeyes picking up a 59-31 victory against No. 19 Purdue in an offensive showdown.

In the quarterback duel, it was C.J Stroud who won the day for the Buckeyes, throwing for 361 yards and five touchdowns as he was able to win against Boilermakers quarterback Aidan O’Connell who threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns of his own.

On the Spartans side, they were also able to flex their muscles in a 40-21 win over Maryland as Heisman contender Kenneth Walker III had another strong game on the ground.

Walker ran for 143 yards and picked up two touchdowns as he was able to outrun the entire Maryland offense and help the Spartans rebound following their loss to Purdue a week earlier.

Looking elsewhere around the conference, the No. 6 ranked Michigan Wolverines were able to extend their winning streak to two games following a tight road win against Penn State and will look to keep things going against Maryland this weekend.

In that win over the Nittany Lions, the Wolverines took a 21-17 lead late in the game on a 47-yard Cade McNamara completion to Erick All with just over three minutes left, which Penn State couldn't recover from.

Talking about another ranked team from the Big Ten, the No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers have won six straight games and will look to continue that streak against a stingy Nebraska Cornhuskers team.

Wisconsin picked up its latest win in a 35-7 blowout over Northwestern where the Badgers defense picked off the Wildcats quarterbacks four times during the win, while running back Braelon Allen was able to go off for 173 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Looking at the final ranked team in the Big Ten, the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes will welcome in the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The Hawkeyes have edged out two close wins the past couple of weeks with the most recent one being a 27-22 win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Sophomore Alex Padilla was recently named the Hawkeyes starting quarterback and threw his first touchdown of the season during the game as he found the endzone twice.

 

Logan Bourandas is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.