Big Ten Roundup - Week Four Standings & More

Big Ten conference roundup, standings, player and game of the week

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 | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota
Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Wisconsin
- Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3

Big Ten Game of the Week

Purdue 32 … Central Michigan 25
Purdue RB Kory Sheets ran for a 46-yard touchdown, helped by a tremendous open field move, with one minute to play to save the Boilermakers from the upset. CMU got a six-yard Ontario Sneed touchdown catch with 1:18 to play, but it took just one play, after a big Desmond Tardy kickoff return and a facemask penalty, to get the win. Sheets also ran for a one-yard score in the second quarter, Desmond Tardy caught a two-yard touchdown pass, and Frank Duong picked off a pass for a touchdown as Purdue kept pace with a CMU attack that got a Sneed touchdown catch in the first quarter and a Dan LeFevour 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

Big Ten Player of the Week
Michigan State RB Javon Ringer ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries in the win over Notre Dame

	Overall
	W-L	PF	PA	STK
Northwestern	4-0	103	45	W4
Minnesota	4-0	145	70	W4
Penn State	4-0	211	40	W4
Wisconsin	3-0	102	41	W3
Ohio State	3-1	100	59	W1
Michigan St	3-1	113	55	W3
Iowa	3-1	125	29	L1
Purdue	2-1	100	67	W1
Indiana	2-1	96	58	L1
Illinois	2-1	109	90	W2
Michigan	1-2	56	66	L1

Saturday, September 20
12:00	at Ohio State 28 ... Troy 10 CFN Prediction: OSU 31-13   OSU -21
12:00	at Penn State 45 ... Temple 3 CFN Prediction: PSU 41-10 PSU -28
12:00	at Pittsburgh 21 ... Iowa 20 CFN Prediction: Iowa 27-23  PICK
12:00	at Northwestern 16 ... Ohio 8 CFN Prediction: NU 24-17  NU -10.5
12:00	at Minnesota 37 ... Florida Atlantic 3 CFN Prediction: Minn. 34-31  Minn. -7
12:00	at Purdue 32 ... Central Michigan 25 CFN Prediction: Pur 45-27  PU -10.5
3:30	at Michigan State 23 ... Notre Dame 7 CFN Prediction: MSU 27-17  MSU -8.5
7:00	Ball State 42 ... at Indiana 20 CFN Prediction: IU 38-31  IU -3.5

Games of the Week
Aug. 30 - Cal 38 - MSU 31
Sep. 6 - NW 24 ... Duke 20
Sep 13 - Oregon 32 - Purdue 26 2OT
Sep 20 - Pur 32 - CMU 25

Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - PJ Hill, Wisconsin
Sep. 6 - Javon Ringer, MSU
Sep 13 - Javon Ringer, MSU
Sep 20 - Javon Ringer, MSU

Conference
Roundup

Illinois … Didn’t Play This Week
Indiana … Kellen Lewis was great running the ball against Ball State, but for the first time this year, the offense looked like it missed James Hardy, or a top shelf receiver who could get the passing game going. The ground game was all Lewis as the running backs were all but ignored for long stretches. This was a bad loss. Seven penalties, two turnovers, no points in the second half, and a double-digit home loss to a MAC team. This was a disaster going into the Big Ten opener against Michigan State.
Iowa … Iowa had its chances against Pitt, but couldn't take advantage. The running game was solid, Shonn Greene had a great game, and Jake Christensen was fine, but there weren't enough big plays and the offense stalled in the fourth quarter. Christensen has to start providing more of a spark. He failed to connect on enough third down chances and the O line struggled against the Pitt pass rush. The formula is simple at the moment for the Hawkeyes: win the turnover battle, keep the chains moving, and get one big play from the defense or special teams. If those three things aren't happening, Iowa will be in trouble against Northwestern and Michigan State over the next two weeks.
Michigan … Didn’t Play This Week
Michigan State … Javon Ringer needs a break. He’s getting way too much work considering the Big Ten season hasn’t started yet, and while he appears to be holding up fine, that he was needed 39 times against Notre Dame shows just how much the passing game isn’t clicking. Brian Hoyer now has to start making more plays. He only completed 12-of-26 passes this week and he was the only one to run the ball other than Ringer. With a road trip against Indiana and its mediocre pass defense up next, Hoyer has to become more involved
Minnesota … Minnesota might not be that great, but it's 4-0 and is getting better and better. It helps that it's winning the turnover battle, forcing four Florida Atlantic interceptions, while stuffing any semblance of an Owl running game. Adam Weber was terrific completing 19-of-24 passes, and while he threw an interception, he didn't make any horrible plays to get allow FAU to get back into the game. Now comes the trip to Ohio State which looks a whole bunch more interesting than it did a few weeks ago. If Minnesota doesn't make any mistakes, the chance might be there to pull off the shocker.
Northwestern … The defense has played better than it has in years. The test will come against Iowa next week, but the Wildcats stuffed the Ohio running game with a tremendous game from the defensive line. Ohio had to worry about Corey Wootton, and Vince Brown came up big making big play after big play, while Malcolm Arrington was all over the place. However, the offense struggled as C.J. Bacher still has yet to find his groove this year. Four interceptions and only 133 yards on 18-of-35 passes aren’t going to get it done in the Big Ten.
Ohio State … Talk about a downer, Ohio State played in front of a less-than-capacity crowd against Troy, and the team played a bit sluggish even with Terrelle Pryor running the offense. Pryor wasn't asked to do anything tough, but he was effective with his arm and his legs, rushing for 66 yards. Todd Boeckman never got a chance to get into a groove, throwing only one pass and missing. Basically, the program has to wake up. The Big Ten season starts next week against Minnesota, with a date at Wisconsin to follow. The Rose Bowl is hardly a bad second prize now that the national title dream is gone.
Penn State … Temple isn't that bad. It's not LSU, but it's not as bad as it has been in past years, but it didn't have an answer for anything the Nittany Lions wanted to do. So far, Penn State has been able to use its great offensive line to pound away with the running game, getting 303 yards on the ground, but eventually, the passing game will have to start doing a bit more. Darryl Clark has been fantastic, and completed 13-of-20 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, but he hasn't had to make a meaningful throw yet.
Purdue … Purdue had several chances to take a big lead and put Central Michigan away, but couldn’t do it. Curtis Painter kept the chains moving, but he didn’t make many plays deep, while the defense had a nightmare of a time against the run, even if the CMU ground game was only Dan LeFevour, a week after getting ripped up by Oregon. Fortunately, Notre Dame is up next, so there’s no worrying about a ground game, but Purdue has to play a clean game. It should win if there aren’t any mistakes.
Wisconsin … Didn’t Play This Week