Around the Big Ten: Week 7

Story posted October 16, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Matthew White

At the conclusion of week seven, the Big 10 continues to be competitive featuring six members ranked in the AP Top 25.  The conference also contains two teams ranked in the top 10 with Michigan at No. 6 and Ohio State at number No. 2. The division title races are also looking competitive as Ohio State maintains its lead in the East while Northwestern takes advantage of Wisconsin’s loss to put themselves in first in the West. 

Ohio State continued its undefeated season last week by defeating Minnesota 30-14.  Minnesota had a strong start and only trailed the Buckeyes by three at halftime.  However, sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins eventually carried Ohio State to an easy victory by completing 75 percent of his passes and throwing for over 400 yards.  Buckeye receiver K.J. Hill had nine receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns.  The Golden Gophers’ offense struggled to pass the ball against the Ohio State secondary as Zack Annexstad only completed 56 percent of his passes. Mohamed Ibrahim carried the Minnesota offense by rushing for over 150 yards with two touchdowns.  Ohio State will continue Big 10 play as they travel to Purdue next week while Minnesota will look for its first conference win at Nebraska. 

Nebraska nearly had its first conference win as they lost to Northwestern in overtime.  Adrian Martinez went 25 for 35 with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Devine Ozigbo continued to carry the Cornhuskers offense by rushing for 159 yards with two touchdowns.  However, the Wildcats’ passing attack was too strong to overcome as Clayton Thorson went 41 for 64 with 455 yards and three touchdowns.  Northwestern moved to 3-3 overall and now sits in first place in the West and will play Rutgers on Saturday.  Nebraska will host Minnesota as they still look for their first win this season. 

The Michigan Wolverines had the biggest win this week beating Wisconsin 38-13, which helped them jump from No. 12 to number No. 6 in the AP Poll.  Senior Karan Higdon was fantastic for the Wolverines as he ran for over 100 yards with one touchdown.  The biggest difference for the Wolverines was the defense forcing two turnovers and holding the Badgers to only 100 yards passing. Running Back Jonathan Taylor was the only visible offense for Wisconsin as he rushed for over 100 yards.  The Badgers will look to bounce back against Illinois while Michigan takes on Michigan State in East Lansing. 

The Michigan State Spartans had the biggest weekend by upsetting Penn State’s homecoming weekend.  Senior receiver Felton Davis III scored a game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds left.  The Spartans defense helped propel the team to a crucial win by limiting the Nittany Lions to 192 passing yards.  Miles Sanders did his best for the Nittany Lions by rushing for 162 yards with one touchdown.  Penn State will look to begin a new winning streak as they travel to Bloomington while the Spartans host their rival in Michigan. 

Iowa destroyed Indiana on the road last week 42-16.  Nate Stanley threw for 320 yards and six touchdowns.  Stanley completed six of his touchdowns to five different receivers. The Indiana offense was very lackluster as they only rushed for 67 yards.  Quarterback Peyton Ramsey threw 263 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Indiana will host Penn State this week while Iowa host Maryland. 

Maryland has another successful week by beating Rutgers 34-7.  Ty Johnson led the rushing attack for the Terps with 132 yards.  Freshman quarterback Kasim Hill went 8 for 17 with 76 passing yards, but threw for three touchdowns.  Rutgers only had eight passing yards the entire game, but rushed for 171 yards. The Scarlet Knights will face Northwestern on Saturday while Maryland travels to Iowa. 

Illinois stumbled against Purdue losing 46-7. The rushing game continued to struggle for Illinois as they only managed 69 yards compared to Purdue’s 227.  Boilermaker quarterback David Blough threw for 377 yards with three touchdowns.  Purdue will challenge Ohio State next week while Illinois travels to Madison. 

 

 

Matthew White is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism with a double minor in Spanish and business.  To contact him, email mmw42@psu.edu.