Big Ten Roundup - Week Six Standings & More

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 6, 2008


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.

Conference Roundups
- ACC | Big East | Big 12 | Big Ten | C-USA | Ind.
- MAC | M-West | Pac 10 | SEC | Sun Belt | WAC


Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota
Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Wisconsin
- Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5


Big Ten Game of the Week

Ohio State 20 … Wisconsin 17
Terrelle Pryor ran the option for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:08 to play, and Malcolm Jenkins picked off a pass to snuff out the final Badger drive, as Ohio State came up with a tough, hard-fought win. The Buckeyes got off to a hot start as Beanie Wells blew through the Badger D for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but Wisconsin rebounded with a nine-yard Mickey Turner touchdown catch and a 20-yard Philip Welch field goal as time expired in the first half. A two-yard P.J. Hill touchdown blast with 6:31 to play gave UW the late lead, but Pryor was nearly perfect on a 12-play, 80-yard drive to pull off the win. In the nearly dead-even game, OSU outgained the Badgers 327 yards to 326.

Big Ten Player of the Week
Illinois QB Juice Williams completed 13-of 26 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 19 times for 121 yards and two scores in the win over Michigan. In all, Williams accounted for 431 yards of total offense, the most by any player ever at Michigan Stadium. Illinois outgained Michigan 501 yards to 319.

  Conference Overall
  W-L PF PA W-L PF PA STK
Penn State 2-0 58 30 6-0 269 70 W6
Michigan St 2-0 58 42 5-1 171 97 W5
Ohio State 2-0 54 38 5-1 154 97 W3
Nwestern 1-0 22 17 5-0 125 62 W5
Minnesota 1-1 37 41 5-1 182 111 W1
Illinois 1-1 69 58 3-2 178 148 W1
Michigan 1-1 47 70 2-3 103 136 L1
Purdue 0-1 6 20 2-3 127 125 L2
Wisconsin 0-2 42 47 3-2 144 88 L2
Iowa 0-2 30 38 3-3 155 67 L3
Indiana 0-2 36 58 2-3 132 116 L3
Saturday, October 4
12:00  Penn State 20 ... at Purdue 6
CFN Prediction: PSU 34-20 PS -12.5
12:00  at Michigan State 16 ... Iowa 13
CFN Prediction: MSU 24-20  MSU -9.5
12:00  at Minnesota 16 ... Indiana 7
CFN Prediction: Min 34-30  Min. -7.5
3:30  Illinois 45 ... at Michigan 20
CFN Prediction: Illi 23-17  Mich. -2.5
8:00  Ohio State 20 ... at Wisconsin 17
CFN Prediction: UW 23-20  OSU -2.5
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
sep 27 - Mich 27 - UW 25
Oct 4 - OSU 20 - UW 17
Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - PJ Hill, Wisconsin
Sep. 6 - Javon Ringer, MSU
Sep 13 - Javon Ringer, MSU
Sep 20 - Javon Ringer, MSU
Sep 27 - Michigan D line & Derrick Williams, PSU
Oct 4 - Juice Williams, Ill

Conference
Roundup

Illinois … Juice Williams carried the team on his back and made everyone around him better in the win over Michigan. The team didn’t panic after the Wolverines got off to a hot start and calmly and coolly made the big plays needed to not only get back in the game, but to also blow the doors off. Williams averaged a whopping 23.8 yards per completion, and the defense came through with stop after stop to allow the scoring run to continue. The defensive front came up with four sacks, while the O line held the great Wolverine D line out of the backfield.  
Indiana … Where's the running game? Minnesota?! If IU can't get the offense moving against the Gophers, then it's time to really worry. IU only gained 49 yards, held on to the ball for just 22:19, and didn't do enough to keep the chains moving. Kellen Lewis didn't have a big game, so IU didn't have a big game; it's that simple. After losing three straight, and without a win over a FBS team, the team needs a spark in a real hurry. There were four sacks against the Gophers, but the D line has still been a disappointment. Marcus Thigpen got a big touchdown catch, but he wasn't used enough for the ground game. IU had better beat Iowa next week or all bowl hopes are gone.
Iowa Iowa had all the momentum, the defense was playing extremely well, and Michigan State couldn't stop Shonn Greene. So why go for it on fourth down rather than kick the field goal and go to overtime? Greene was stuffed on 4th-and-1 on the MSU 21 with just over two minutes to play in a moment that could define the season. It's not like Tony Mossbrucker was off; he hit field goals from 25 and 33 yards out. Now it's on to a road date at Indiana with Wisconsin and at Illinois to follow. Things could get far worse before they get better.
Michigan … Michigan’s offense continues to be inconsistent. The win over Wisconsin appeared to carry over into a nice start, but there was no running game, again, and the passing attack couldn’t pick up the slack. The defensive line was as lousy in the second half as it was good in the second half against the Badgers, but LB Obi Ezeh had a nice game with 15 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Eventually, the offensive line has to come around and start producing on a regular basis.
Michigan State  Iowa ganged up to stop Javon Ringer, and while Brian Hoyer had a nice day overall, he struggled in the second half to keep things moving. The defense came up with a clutch stop in the end, and overall it did a nice job of getting into the backfield. Trevor Anderson finally came up with his breakout day, cranking out 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. If he can be the steady pass rusher he appeared to be this off-season, the defense will go to another level.
Minnesota … Minnesota isn't going to the BCS, but it's beating the teams it's supposed to beat and it's doing a great job of coming through with the big plays when needed. The defense did a phenomenal job of keeping the Indiana running game in check, it stuffed Kellen Lewis, and it was fantastic on third downs to get the Hoosiers off the field. Adam Weber appeared to be dinged up in the first half, but he managed to get through the game and turned out to be solid. There's still plenty of work to be done on both sides of the ball, and coming up with a big game against Illinois next week or Purdue the game after is key to get to that six-win bowl eligibility hump to take the pressure off.
Northwestern … Didn’t Play This Week
Ohio State … Welcome to the Terrelle Pryor era. He was calm, cool and confident in a nasty environment to beat a great Wisconsin team. Just as impressive was Beanie Wells, who showed the combination of speed, power, and skill that everyone’s been waiting for. Beating Minnesota was nice, but this was the game that should put Ohio State’s season back on the map. However, the defensive tackles have to be far better. When push came to shove, literally, the Badgers shoved around the Buckeyes late.
Penn State
… Another game, another dominant performance by the Penn State lines. Purdue couldn't get its running game going and QB Curtis Painter was under pressure all game long. The Boilermakers weren't able to get anything going deep thanks to the Penn State pass rush. The running game was terrific. Evan Royster continues to shine, while Darryl Clark remains flawless, but not flashy, throwing the ball. Again, it's all about the lines, and they'll need to be even better next week at Wisconsin.
Purdue … Purdue couldn't get the offense going against the tough Penn State defensive front. Curtis Painter did a fantastic job of spreading the ball around to several different receivers, but there weren't any yards after the catch and there was absolutely nothing deep. Kory Sheets tied Mike Alstott for the most touchdowns all-time at the school with 40, but he couldn't get any room to move. Penn State is playing as well as anyone in America, but that's little solace for a Purdue team that has to go to Ohio State. At least the team isn't making mistakes. There was only one turnover and no penalties against the Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin … Where does Wisconsin go from here? After choking away a sure win to a mediocre Michigan team, the defense couldn’t come up with a stop when it had to have one on Ohio State’s great 12-play final touchdown drive. There’s no one to blame (except for maybe the several dropped passes), it was a tight loss against a strong team, but now the Badgers have to host a red-hot Penn State in a do-or-die game for the season. Considering UW has the veteran talent to be in the hunt for the BCS title, and not just the Big Ten championship, the last two games are spectacular disappointments.

  

 



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