Week 8 Recap: Big 10's Three-Headed Monster Keeps Rolling

In week eight, three teams separated themselves in the Big Ten as Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State all stayed the same or moved up in the AP Poll. Illinois proved that anything can happen on any Sunday as they beat Penn State in one of the craziest games in college football history. The Big Ten West is shaping up to be a race of a couple of teams after Wisconsin now beat Purdue. Let’s dive into each game and get a good understanding of what occurred. Here we go. 

Illinois 20 at No. 7 Penn State 18

This game was one of the most interesting college football games of all time. The outcome wasn’t decided until the 9th overtime. Illinois went into Penn State’s house and upset the No. 7 Nittany Lions in a game that Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford played in. Penn State’s offense just didn’t show up on Saturday, they were flat all day. Illinois held Penn State to only 12 first downs all game and the Nittany Lions only had 227-total yards. Penn State couldn’t take advantage of the three turnovers they forced on defense but at the end of the day, the Fighting Illini played power football as they had 357 rushing yards. This is a huge program win for Illinois and maybe it will allow them to start playing better football going forward as the Illini take on Rutgers in week nine. Penn State has to go into Columbus and play maybe the hottest team in the country currently in Ohio State. 

Northwestern 7 at No. 6 Michigan 33

This game was a tale of two halves. The Wolverines found themselves in a slugfest early with Northwestern as Michigan only had a 10-7 lead at halftime. Later on in the second half, Michigan did what they do best: run the football. Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum combined for 229-yards rushing and 4 touchdowns as the Wolverines imposed their will on Northwestern. The Wildcats aren’t explosive enough to compete with Michigan, Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hilinski only had 114-yards passing and 1 interception. Michigan looks to keep rolling against a very good Michigan State team on Saturday. The Wildcats face a Minnesota team who is competing for a big ten West title. 

Wisconsin 30 at No. 25 Purdue 13

This game had some impact on the Big Ten West, Purdue was looking to run the table but with this loss, they hurt their chances of winning the West. The Badgers have realized their strengths, Graham Mertz only threw the ball eight times as the Badgers have turned him into a game manager. The running game of the Badgers had its way against Purdue, the Badgers ran for 297-rushing yards and three touchdowns, Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen led the charge. Wisconsin took the ball away from Purdue, they forced the Boilermakers into five turnovers and held them to only 13 rushing yards. Watch for the Badgers to keep rolling against Iowa next week while Purdue plays Nebraska in week nine.

Maryland 16 at Minnesota 34

Minnesota helped themselves with a victory against the Terrapins on Saturday as they set up for success in the Big Ten West. The difference in the football game was the outstanding play of Minnesota’s running game. The Golden Gophers rushed for 326-yards and three touchdowns as Ky Thomas was the featured back. Maryland’s offense wasn’t sharp and Minnesota was getting the Terrapins off the field holding them to only 14 first downs. Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was naturalized by the Golden Gophers as he had 189-yards and only one touchdown. Head coach P.J. Fleck has his team playing well headed into week nine versus Northwestern. Maryland will face a struggling Indiana team next week.

No. 5 Ohio State 54 at Indiana 7

Well, the Buckeyes are back and they look good heading into the last quarter of the season. Ohio State went into Bloomington, Indiana and they looked buttoned up. Ohio State has something to prove since the Oregon loss. The offense put up 539-total yards which included three rushing and four throwing touchdowns. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is working his way into the Heisman Trophy race, Stroud was 21-28 with four touchdowns. The Buckeyes defense was once their issue, but they held Indiana to 128-total yards of offense. Ohio State has Penn State on Saturday, they will try to prove that they can compete with top teams while Indiana faces a hungry Maryland team.

References: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/

Writer

-By: Justin Howard