Click
on each team for game recaps, thoughts,
schedules and more and scroll down for
the games, results, players of the week
and the conference roundup.
Illinois
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Indiana
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Iowa
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Michigan
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Michigan State
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Minnesota
Northwestern
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Ohio State
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Penn State
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Purdue
|
Wisconsin
Big Ten Game of
the Week
Northwestern 48 ... Michigan State 41 OT
Northwestern QB C.J. Bacher threw five
touchdown passes including a 12-yarder
to Omar Conteh in overtime. Michigan
State misfired on four passes, and the
Wildcats pulled off the big road win.
The two teams traded shots all game
long, with neither getting up by more
than a score in the see-saw battle.
Northwestern rolled up 611 yards, with
Conteh scoring three times, with
touchdown runs of 11 and nine yards in
the first quarter, and then it was all
Bacher, hitting five different receivers
for scores, including a 78-yarder to
Jeff Yarbrough and a 70-yarder to Eric
Peterman. Until overtime, MSU always had
an answer, with Javon Ringer ripped off
three touchdowns with dashes from four,
47 and 80 yards.
Big Ten
Player of
the Week
Northwestern QB C.J. Bacher completed
38-of-48 passes for 520 yards and five
touchdown passes, and rushed five times
for five yards in the overtime win over
Michigan State.
Conference Roundup
Illinois
…
Illinois almost pitched a perfect game against
Wisconsin, except for the inability to generate a
consistent pass rush or stop the midrange passes. The
lines were more physical, the running game worked to
perfection, and Juice Williams was shockingly accurate.
Most importantly in a game that was all about momentum,
Illinois didn't turn the ball over. Now the spotlight
will be on, and now the pressure will be there for the
Illini to produce like they have over the past few
weeks. If they play like they did this week, being
unbeaten until the late game at Ohio State is possible.
Indiana … It took a little while, but eventually,
the IU offense had few problems keeping the chains
moving against Minnesota, and then pulled away in the
second half. With near perfect balance, and only one
turnovers, IU controlled the game after the first
quarter. Now it's time to get greedy. A 20-point win was
nice, but it could've been a whole lot uglier if just a
few of the four field goal drives went for touchdowns.
Now the team is a win away from being bowl eligible, but
the goals now can afford to be a little bit bigger.
Iowa … As shown against Indiana last week, and
Penn State this week, Iowa doesn't have nearly enough
weapons. The offensive line isn't giving QB Jake
Christensen much help, and Albert Young isn't finding
much room. The defense got beaten on by the Penn State
offense, but the offense didn't provide any help. Now on
an ugly four-game losing streak with a hot Illinois
ahead. Moving the chains and getting a few positive
early drives is a must.
Michigan … It's time to worry again. Eastern
Michigan is one of the worst teams in America, with no
offense whatsoever, and it was able to get 304 yards
with a little bit of balance. Of course Michigan was
able to run the ball on the porous Eagle front seven,
and of course Mike Hart was Mike Hart, but this is a
team in desperate need of confidence boosts every game,
and it certainly didn't get one this week. This kind of
a performance won't work against Purdue or Illinois in
the next two weeks.
Michigan State … The MSU aggressive pass rush was
all but neutralized by the Northwestern spread offense
that got rid of the ball quickly enough to avoid taking
sacks. The Spartan offense did its job, for the most
part, always getting the big scores needed to keep pace,
but it didn't hold on to the ball long enough to give
the defense much of a rest. QB Brian Hoyer wasn't
effective enough on third downs, while the D did nothing
to get the Wildcats off the field until late in
regulation. Now a win over Indiana is a must to avoid
talk of yet another MSU meltdown.
Minnesota … The defense has to find one thing it
can do well. The secondary got picked apart by Kellen
Lewis and Indiana, the run defense got bowled over, and
it was another ugly loss in an ugly year. Worse yet, the
running game has started to falter, only gaining 143
yards. Simply put, the Gophers have no shot to pull off
a win in the near future unless it can work out yards on
the ground. It's all about improving each week now, and
Minnesota isn't doing that.
Northwestern … Now that's the way the offense is
supposed to work. Against Michigan State, Northwestern
cranked out 611 yards, held on to the ball for 35:46,
and converted 13 of 19 third down chances. With
Minnesota and Eastern Michigan ahead, the goal can be
nothing less than a 5-3 record going into the back
stretch, needing one more win for bowl eligibility. If
the line can play like it did this week, and C.J. Bacher
can stay hot, this will be a dangerous team.
Ohio State … Now there can't be any doubters
about the defense. To hold Purdue to 15 first downs, 272
yards, and off the board for 59:50 is amazing,
especially in front of a pumped up West Lafayette crowd.
And now for the problems. Todd Boeckman might have moved
the ball, but he also showed he was human with three
interceptions. The running game, while fine, only
averaged four yards per carry, and Chris Wells still
doesn't seem to be quite right, trying to play through a
bum ankle. With USC's loss, OSU is now in the spotlight
for the national title again. It'll have to keep on
dominating to hold off a slew of challengers.
Penn State … The win over Iowa might not have been
pretty, but the defense and running game were more than
enough to get by. The Hawkeyes simply don't have enough
playmakers right now, and didn't have nearly enough
punch to be effective. As easy as the win turned out to
be, thanks to the defense, the three turnovers, and the
two Anthony Morelli interceptions has to be a concern
This was a game that needed to get some confidence
resorted in the passing game, and it didn't happen.
Against Wisconsin next week, Morelli can't give the ball
away.
Purdue … It's not time to start panicking that
the first five games might have been a mirage. Ohio
State's defense is playing as well as any in America
right now, but to only generate a garbage time
touchdown, and to get absolutely nothing from the ground
game at home, simply isn't what the team was hoping for
in a nationally televised statement game. Michigan is
very, very beatable right now, so if the Boilermakers
can quickly regroup, they should be able to go on a nice
run. Second in the Big Ten is still very possible, and
the Rose Bowl isn't out of the question by winning out.
Wisconsin … The stunning aspect of the loss to
Illinois was how the lines got bullied. The Badger
offensive front five was great in pass protection, but
didn't get any consistent push for the running game. On
the other side, when Illinois wanted to get a few
rushing, it got them. The defense spends far too much
time tackling the ball without results, failing to force
any turnovers. UW will be kicking itself for losing this
game, but it also showed just how far the defense has to
go before it reaches last year's level.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
Home |
Away |
| |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
W |
L |
PF |
PA |
STR |
W |
L |
W |
L |
|
Ohio State |
3 |
0 |
111 |
21 |
6 |
0 |
202 |
43 |
W6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Illinois |
3 |
0 |
85 |
60 |
5 |
1 |
181 |
120 |
W5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Indiana |
2 |
1 |
92 |
67 |
5 |
1 |
225 |
125 |
W2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Wisconsin |
2 |
1 |
80 |
78 |
5 |
1 |
187 |
143 |
L1 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Michigan |
2 |
0 |
42 |
25 |
4 |
2 |
152 |
120 |
W4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Purdue |
1 |
1 |
52 |
54 |
5 |
1 |
234 |
125 |
L1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Penn State |
1 |
2 |
56 |
48 |
4 |
2 |
191 |
82 |
W1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Northwestern |
1 |
2 |
71 |
127 |
3 |
3 |
148 |
178 |
W1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Michigan State |
0 |
2 |
75 |
85 |
4 |
2 |
206 |
147 |
L2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Iowa |
0 |
3 |
40 |
82 |
2 |
4 |
104 |
100 |
L4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Minnesota |
0 |
3 |
58 |
115 |
1 |
5 |
169 |
224 |
L4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
|
Saturday, October 6 |
| 12:00 PM |
at Indiana
40 ... Minnesota 20
CFN Prediction:
Indiana 34-23
IU -13 |
| 12:00 PM |
Northwestern
48 ... at Michigan State 41 OT
CFN Prediction:
MSU 38-17
MSU -14.5 |
| 12:00 PM |
at Michigan
33 ... Eastern Michigan 22
CFN Prediction: Michigan 45-10 UM
-31.5 |
| 12:00 PM |
at Illinois
31 ... Wisconsin 26
CFN Prediction: UW 34-31 Illinois
-2.5 |
| 3:30 PM |
at Penn State
27 ... Iowa 7
CFN Prediction:
Penn State 24-13
PSU -8 |
| 8:00 PM |
Ohio State
23 ... at Purdue 7
CFN Prediction:
OSU 30-17
OSU -7 |
Past
Big Ten
Games of the
Week
Sept. 1 - Appalachian State 34 ... Michigan 32
Sept. 8 -
Minnesota 41 ... Miami Univ.
35 3OT
Sept. 15 - Duke 20 ... at
Northwestern 14
Sept. 22 -
Michigan
14 ... Penn State 9
Sept. 29 - Wisconsin 37 ...
Michigan State 34
Oct. 6 -
Northwestern
48 ... at Michigan State 41 OT
Past Big Ten Players of the Week
Sept. 1 - Wisconsin WR Luke Swan
Sept. 8 - Penn State LB Dan Connor
Sept. 15 - Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill
Sept. 22 - Michigan RB Mike Hart
Sept. 29 - Indiana QB Kellen Lewis
Oct. 6 - Northwestern QB C.J. Bacher