Around The Big Ten Recap: Week 6

Story posted October 12, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Mike Wszolek

It was finally time. Saturday was the first day where all 14 teams in the Big Ten would be playing each other. Surprisingly, out of the seven conference games on Saturday, only one finished as a one-possession game. A few teams looked for the unthinkable upset, but those highly ranked found a way to pull out a victory.

 No. 13 Northwestern at No. 18 Michigan: Michigan 38-0

Yes, you read that right. No. 18 Michigan defeated No. 13 Northwestern by 38 points in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon. It was supposed to be a battle of the defenses, but only one defense seemed to show up. This was the Wolverines, who posted their third straight shutout with the other two coming against BYU and Maryland.

 The defense really stepped up along with special teams as well. Of those 38 points allowed included an interception for a touchdown and a kickoff return to open the game. The defense played one of their best games of the season, but so did the offense. The most points the Wildcats had given up in a game this season was 19 to Ball State. This was a complete shock to Northwestern.

 Quarterback Jake Rudock had another solid game for Michigan, only recording six incompletions on the day. Michigan will have a huge showdown with Michigan State on Saturday while Northwestern will try to rebound at home against an undefeated Iowa team.

 Maryland at No. 1 Ohio State: OSU 49-21

Two big questions were circling in the minds of many before the start of this game. Is Ohio State still the No. 1 team in the country and would this be Randy Edsall’s final game as the head coach of Maryland? One of those questions would be answered. Ohio State didn’t look like the best team in the nation, as they were tied with a struggling offensive Maryland team midway through the third quarter.

 The Buckeyes finally broke away and showed their explosive offensive power, but for two and a half quarters, they looked like they were playing down to Maryland’s level. Quarterback Cardale Jones carried the load once again for Ohio State in addition to Ezekiel Elliott, who rushed for over 100 yards in the victory.

On Sunday, Maryland announced that they have fired Edsall, who had gone 22-34 as the Terrapins head coach. The Terps get a much needed bye week next weekend while Ohio State will get a tough test from Penn State next Saturday night.

 Wisconsin at Nebraska: Wisconsin 23-21

Oh Nebraska, will you ever catch a break? The game between the Badgers and Cornhuskers was supposed to be close, and that it was. Let’s get right to the action from Lincoln late in the fourth quarter. Nebraska is up by one with about 1:30 to play in the fourth. Wisconsin’s kicker, Rafael Gaglianone, had the chance to give the Badgers the lead. However, he missed the 38-yard field goal giving Nebraska the win, right? Wisconsin had three timeouts left, though, and Nebraska had to punt back to the Badgers. Gaglianone got a second chance and hit the winning field goal. Wisconsin survived the crazy game and came out of Nebraska with a win.

 Each week, the season for Nebraska continues to get tougher. The Huskers have lost all four of their games when the opposing team has had the ball on their final possession. The team just hasn’t been able to close out games and it doesn’t get any easier next week when they have to play at Minnesota.

 Also around the Big Ten, No. 4 Michigan State came away with a seven-point victory over Rutgers, Iowa defeated Illinois by nine, and Minnesota blew out Purdue. Maryland and Illinois will have off next week, but all of the other Big Ten teams will be in conference play.

 Mike Wszolek is a freshman majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email mewszolek@gmail.com