B1G Review, Week 6: Strength vs Strength

[Piercewise1]

In a full slate of conference matchups, great offenses battled great defenses and pass-first teams faced off against run-first teams. The result was a string of decisive victories and a single close finish from the last team you’d expect.

 

B1G Offensive Player of the Week:

QB Wayne Murray, Michigan State – 35 of 47, 355 yards, 4 TDs

 

B1G Defensive Players of the Week:

CB Elijah Guerrieri, Nebraska – 6 tackles, 3 INTs

 

Purdue 27, Minnesota 20 (OT)

With the exception of Logan Langley (32 carries for 161 yards, 2 TDs), neither offense took control of the game; the starting quarterbacks combined for 6 interceptions and sub-50% completion percentage, and both teams had the ball in opposing territory in the 4th but were unable to score the winning points. Mike Bates finally ended things with his 8-yard touchdown run in the first overtime after Minnesota missed a field goal on their possession.

 

Ohio State 34, Rutgers 20

Rutgers hung around for 3 quarters, but the Buckeyes wore them down and scored 20 4th quarter points to pull away late. Dylan Gomes finished the day with 4 touchdown passes, and Doug Brothers added 150 rushing yards. The Scarlet Knights still had a chance, down 7 with five minutes to go, but Devin Brebbia threw his only interception to kill any possibility of a game-tying drive.

 

Penn State 37, Northwestern 17

Looking sluggish after two consecutive weeks off, the Wildcats high-scoring offense finally came down to earth when faced with the Nittany Lions defense. Penn State sacked Randy Madson 6 times and forced two fumbles from Eliezer Brothers as their defense paced them to a 20-0 halftime lead. Chris Brooks took over from there, finishing with 147 yards and 2 TDs on 30 touches.

 

Michigan State 29, Maryland 9

Maryland’s running game dominated the time of possession, but their defense couldn’t contain Wayne Murray forever. He threw for 355 yards and 4 TD passes (three in the 2nd half) as Michigan State remained undefeated. Odd stat of the week: the game featured 5 fumbles but 0 turnovers.

 

Wisconsin 38, Illinois 10

Illinois’ two-headed rushing attack barely broke 100 combined yards, while the Badgers’ gained 210 and 3 TDs. Add to that a fine outing from Lance Enright and you’ve got an offense that few teams can handle. The Badgers led 14-0 before Illinois could gain a first down and they didn’t let up, to the point of piling on an additional touchdown even as the final seconds came off the clock.

 

Iowa 27, Michigan 7

One week after apparently finding his groove, Bobo Sims fell back off the wagon with a dreadful performance (6 of 26 for 70 yards, 1 INT, 4 sacks taken). Of his 17 passes to WRs, he completed 2 for 12 yards. Meanwhile Ben Rivera had another accurate, mistake-free game (24 for 33, 328 yards, 2 TDs) and the Hawkeyes cruised at home.

 

Nebraska 38, Indiana 24

The Cornhuskers outrushed the Hoosiers 316 to 16 and forced 5 turnovers (while committing none) to dominate a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score. Elijah Guerrieri lived in Aaron Gossett’s head rent-free, picking him off 3 times. Meanwhile QB Francis Guerrero (no relation) gained nearly 300 yards from scrimmage and 3 scores, using both his arm and legs to equally great effect.

 

Conference Standings

 

Western Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next Game
Nebraska	3-0	4-1	at Rutgers
Iowa	2-0	3-2	at Illinois
Purdue	2-0	2-3	at Maryland
Wisconsin	1-1	2-2	at Northwestern
Illinois	0-2	3-2	Iowa
Northwestern	0-2	2-2	Wisconsin
Minnesota	0-3	0-5	North Texas

 

Nebraska’s defense has them looking like the favorite at this point, but they’ll have to prove it on the field with games at Purdue (week 8) and at Iowa (week 14). All 3 squads should be favorites even on the road next week, facing teams that just suffered double-digit losses.

 

Eastern Division

Team	Conference	Overall	Next Game
Michigan State	2-0	4-0	Ohio State
Ohio State	2-0	3-2	at Michigan State
Penn State	1-1	3-2	BYE
Indiana	1-1	2-3	Michigan
Michigan	1-1	2-3	at Indiana
Maryland	0-2	2-3	Purdue
Rutgers	0-2	1-4	Nebraska

 

The Spartans will already be dreaming about the conference championship game if they defeat Ohio State in East Lansing this weekend, but don’t count Penn State out. They get Michigan State at home to end the regular season and could be close enough to steal the East with a victory. For now, they get a week to rest while the conference cannibalizes itself.

[subsequent]

Time to beat State!

[Kirby]

Awesome media! @Piercewise1

[alexfall862]

I'm starting to have hope for the Huskers, which means it's about to come crashing down.

[alexfall862]

Is Bobo Sims going to be the QB to do that?