Around the Big Ten (Football): Week 2
It was an eventful Week 2 for the Big Ten, as some teams improved their position, while others did not.
Eight teams remain undefeated (seven of them in the East), most teams scored a lot as they near the end of their non-conference schedules and Iowa, well, the offense scored a touchdown!
No. 3 Ohio State (2-0) 45, Arkansas State 12
Ohio State dealt with an inferior Arkansas State team handily, after struggling a bit with Notre Dame in Week 1.
Marvin Harrison Jr. reeled in a career-high seven passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, helping C.J. Stroud lead the passing attack and capitalizing on his playing time with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming both sidelined with injuries.
TreVeyon Henderson tallied another two scores on the ground, and the Buckeyes rolled to a commanding victory and remain ranked third in the country.
Week 3: Ohio State wraps up its non-conference schedule welcoming Toledo into The Horseshoe.
No. 4 Michigan (2-0) 56, Hawai’i 10
Michigan has won consecutive games by 40-points or more and the Wolverines remain undefeated in non-conference home games under head coach Jim Harbaugh (18-0).
J.J. McCarthy secured his first career start and didn’t disappoint, going an extremely efficient 11-for-12, for 229 yards and three touchdowns in only one half of football. The Wolverines complimented the air attack with five rushing touchdowns by five different players during a rout of the Rainbow Warriors.
Through two games, Michigan leads the nation in scoring offense, averaging 53.5 points per game. The Wolverines also boast the 11th-best defense allowing only 8.5 points per contest.
Week 3: Michigan remains at home for the third straight game to take on Connecticut.
No. 14 Michigan State (2-0) 52, Akron 0
The Spartans handled the Akron Zips with ease, elevating themselves three spots to in the AP Top 25 to No. 11.
Payton Thorne was intercepted twice, but that was overall the only negative in the Spartans’ convincing victory. Jalen Berger dashed for 107 yards and three touchdowns, and Jarek Broussard followed it up with 15 carries converted into 81 yards and two scores.
Week 3: Michigan State makes its way west to Washington to face the Huskies for the Spartans’ first road test of the campaign.
No. 19 Wisconsin (1-1) 14, Washington State 17
The first Big Ten team to plummet from the Top 25 this season is the Wisconsin Badgers, as they were narrowly upset by the Washington State Cougars.
In what was probably the biggest surprise in the Big Ten in Week 2, Wisconsin was sloppy to say the least. The Badgers turned over the ball three times and committed 11 penalties for 106 yards.
To add insult to injury for Wisconsin, Washington State’s Nakia Watson, a former-Badger running back, scored both of the Cougars’ touchdowns in the win.
Week 3: Wisconsin will aim to bounce back this week as it closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a date with New Mexico State.
Penn State (2-0) 46, Ohio 10
Penn State took care of business against Ohio and now finds itself ranked No. 22 in the nation.
The Nittany Lions’ true freshman running back Nick Singleton burst onto the scene and made the most of his 10 touches, turning them into 179 yards, two touchdowns and an average of just below 18 yards-per-carry. He now holds the school record for rushing yards in a Beaver Stadium debut.
Penn State flashed its depth as well, as 24 players recorded a tackle, 17 players caught a pass, eight attempted at least one rush and three quarterbacks stepped in under center, including freshman sensation Drew Allar who registered his first two collegiate touchdown passes.
Week 3: Penn State is presented with perhaps the season’s biggest test so far, as the Nittany Lions travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers.
Nebraska (1-2) 42, Georgia Southern 45
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Nebraska - it did. The Cornhuskers dropped their home opener to the Sun Belt’s Georgia Southern.
Or maybe it was for the better, as Scott Frost finally got canned as the Cornhuskers’ head coach after five seasons. It seemed like a long-time coming for Frost, as he hasn’t lived up to the hype since being hired in 2018 after leading UCF to a perfect 13-0.
Nebraska allowed 642 yards of total offense to the Eagles, with 409 coming through the air which ended up being the final straw for Frost and his sour stint with the Cornhuskers.
Frost concludes his time with Nebraska with an overall record of 16-31.
Week 3: Things don’t get any easier for Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers face off against Oklahoma in Lincoln.
Iowa (1-1) 7, Iowa State 10
Iowa scored an offensive touchdown – Hawkeyes fans, rejoice! But they still lost, as the Cy-Hawk trophy makes its way to back to Ames for the first time since 2014.
Spencer Petras had only 92 passing yards and the Hawkeyes offense could only muster up 150 yards in total.
In his last eight games, Petras has one touchdown to nine interceptions. It might be time for Kirk Ferentz to evaluate his options at quarterback.
Week 3: Iowa plays its third straight home game and closes out its non-conference schedule against Nevada.
Minnesota (2-0) 62, Western Illinois 10
Minnesota received 37 votes for the AP Top 25 this week, and the score of this game is a good indicator of why. But when you dive a little deeper, it really seems like this team should be receiving some more recognition.
This week, P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers recorded seven rushing touchdowns and 679 total yards, outgaining Western Illinois by a total of 485.
After outscoring its first two opponents 100-10, Minnesota ranks second nationally in scoring defense (5.0 points per game) and seventh in scoring offense.
Week 3: Minnesota has another favorable matchup at home versus Colorado.
Purdue (1-1) 56, Indiana State 0
Purdue rebounded from a heartbreaking loss to Penn State in Week 1 with a complete shellacking of Indiana State.
Aidan O’Connell was on point once again after a big opening week, this time going an exceptionally efficient 17-for-19 for 211 yards and four touchdowns. Charlie Jones, who also had a big Week 1 replicated his success this week catching nine balls for 133 yards and one touchdown.
The Boilermakers remain unranked with one loss already, but did receive a vote for the Top 25.
Week 3: Purdue travels to New York to take on Syracuse at noon.
Maryland (2-0) 56, Charlotte 21
Taulia Tagovailoa passed for 391 yards and four touchdowns and completed 27-of-31 attempts against the 49ers in another enormously efficient outing for a Big Ten quarterback this week. Tagovailoa also tacked on a rushing score for good measure.
The Terps posted a total of 617 yards of offense and have displayed a strong balanced attack so far this season.
Week 3: Maryland welcomes SMU into The Shell to conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule.
Rutgers (2-0) 66, Wagner 7
In another dominant Big Ten victory, Rutgers continues its strong start to the season.
The Scarlett Knights had 313 rushing yards as a team and outgained Wagner 575-145 in total offense.
Week 3: Rutgers travels about an hour east to Philadelphia to take on Temple.
Indiana (2-0) 35, Idaho 22
The Hoosiers got off to a slow start and trailed Idaho 10-0 at halftime, but had a huge 23-point third quarter and took control of the game.
Connor Bazelak passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Week 3: Indiana is back in Bloomington for the third straight game to start the season squaring off against Western Kentucky.
Illinois (2-1) 24, Virginia 3
Illinois bounced back in Week 2 after dropping last week’s game to Indiana by nearly shutting out Virginia.
The Fighting Illini’s defense was fierce, holding the Cavaliers to one-for-16 on third down and one-for-four on fourth. On offense, Chase Brown went for 146 rushing yards to continue his excellent start to the season. Brown is currently ranked first in the nation in rushing yards per game (165.3).
Week 3: Illinois closes out its non-conference schedule in a contest with Chattanooga.
Northwestern (1-1) 23, Duke 31
Northwestern suffered the worst loss in the Big Ten in Week 2, at least on the scoreboard, falling to the Duke Blue Devils by eight points.
Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hillinski attempted 60 passes and completed 36 of them for 435 yards, while Evan Hull was on the receiving end of 14 of those turning it into a career-best 213 yards. The defense remained shaky, however, allowing Duke’s ground attack to produce 221 yards and three touchdowns which was ultimately the difference.
Week 3: Northwestern plays its third straight home matchup to open up the season against the Missouri Valley conference’s Southern Illinois.
Zach Donaldson is a fifth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email zach.donaldson1@gmail.com.
