Around the B1G: Week 3 Edition

Anger, sadness, frustration, confusion…those are all words that can be used to describe how Buckeye Nation felt on Saturday. Outside of punting and possibly the cheerleaders, there was not much celebrating going on during the game.

Within the Big Ten, things were a little different as the conference built on a very good week one performance with another pretty decent week two performance. With all of the teams facing out of conference opponents, the B1G had an impressive 10-4 record over the weekend.

While the record may look impressive; Ohio State, Nebraska, and Northwestern all lost to really the only legitimate competition the conference had on Saturday. Outside of Penn State beating Pittsburgh, there really were no quality wins among the bunch. So take that for what is worth, the B1G is beating teams they should, and that is more than we can say for the conference in some of the years past.

Illinois (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Western Kentucky, 20-7. Illinois Tressel’d their way to a victory behind a strong running game and field goals. As a team, the Fighting Illini had 193 yards rushing and were led by freshman Mike Epstein who had 112 yards. The Illinois defense held the Hilltoppers to 6 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

This Week: at South Florida

This Week in Recruiting:  Last week, the Illini received a commitment from 3-Star Dual-Threat QB MJ Rivers out of Texas. They sit at 15 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 83.37.

Indiana (1-1 overall, 0-1 conference)

Last Week: Win at Virginia, 34-17. After throwing for 400 plus yards against the “stout” Buckeye defense, senior Richard Lagow struggled to get anything going and was benched against the mighty Virginia Cavaliers defense. Lagow struggled, only completing 3 of his first 10 passes with an interception before being replaced by freshman Peyton Ramsey. The dual-threat QB stepped in and led the Hoosiers to their first victory of the season throwing for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding 42 yards and another touchdown on the ground.

This Week: vs Florida International

This Week in Recruiting: Indiana did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 15 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 84.25.

Iowa (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win at Iowa State, 44-41. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Stanley had a little bit of a coming out party in his second start as he threw for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns in leading the Hawkeyes to a huge rivalry win. Senior Akrum Wadley added 190 total yards and 2 touchdowns from the running back position. A week after shutting down the impressive Wyoming passing game, the Cyclones were able to throw for 347 yards and added 4 touchdowns through the air.

This Week: vs North Texas

This Week in Recruiting: Iowa did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 13 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 85.02.

Maryland (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Towson, 63-17. Everyone wondered how Maryland would adapt their offensive scheme to new quarterback freshman Kasim Hill and that question was answered with 367 rushing yards as a team. In his first start, Hill had 163 passing yards, 41 rushing yards, and 2 touchdowns. Junior running back Ty Johnson led the rushing attack for the Terrapins with 124 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

This Week: Bye Week

This Week in Recruiting: Maryland did not receive a commitment last week.  They sit at 20 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 86.56.

(7) Michigan (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Cincinnati, 36-14. The Michigan defense once again looked impressive as they held the Bearcats to 200 yards of total offense. Offensively, the Wolverines were paced by senior Ty Isaac who looks like he is finally comfortable in this offense after transferring from USC. Isaac had his second straight 100+ yard day on the ground with 133 yards.  Averaging almost 8 yards per carry, Isaac clearly looks like the number one back up north. After only giving up 79 yards rushing in the first two games combined, the Wolverine defense will have its hands full this Saturday with Air Force, who rushed for 473 yards and 7 touchdowns in their first game. Go Falcons!

This Week: vs Air Force

This Week in Recruiting: Michigan did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 13 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 90.04.

Michigan State (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Western Michigan, 28-14. This was a game to keep an eye on for two reasons. First, no one really knows what Michigan State is this year. They have so many new starters, the jury is still out. Secondly, Western Michigan was coming off a hard-fought game against USC where they played a Top-5 team incredibly close. Even with a batch of new players, the Spartans stuck to what they know and pounded the ball at Western Michigan for 296 rushing yards on their way to an easy victory. Sophomore QB Brian Lewerke had 161 passing yards, 81 rushing yards, and 3 touchdowns for the Spartans.

This Week: Bye Week

This Week in Recruiting: The Spartans did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 15 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 85.66.

Minnesota (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win at Oregon State, 48-14. After a less than impressive opening against Buffalo, the Gophers were able to capitalize on the atrocious Beaver defense with 411 yards of total offense. Once again riding their talented duo of running backs (take note Urban), the Gophers were led by juniors Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks as they combined for 183 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns.

This Week: vs Middle Tennessee

This Week in Recruiting: The Golden Gophers did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 23 boat rowers in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 84.17.

Nebraska (1-1 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Loss at Oregon, 42-35. I was pretty worried about the Cornhusker defense holding back the seemingly resurgent Duck offense. I figured they would struggle mightily and they did…for one half. This was kind of a strange game for Nebraska as it really was a tale of two halves for the offense and defense. On defense in the first half, the Blackshirts gave up 42 points and 409 yards to the Duck offense. In the second half, they gave up no points and only 157 yards of offense. Offensively, the Cornhuskers limped their way to 14 first half points on 171 yards. In the second half, they scored 21 unanswered points to make it a close game. Nebraska offensive savior QB Tanner Lee threw four interceptions on the day.

This Week: vs Northern Illinois

This Week in Recruiting: The Cornhuskers did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 10 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 89.41.

Northwestern (1-1 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Loss vs Duke, 41-17. I knew Duke would be a tough game for the Wildcats, but I would not have guessed they would lose as badly as they did. The normally high-powered offense of the Wildcats struggled for the second straight week as they managed only 191 yards of total offense. Junior QB Clayton Thorson was held to 120 passing yards and 2 interceptions. Senior RB Justin Jackson was also completely shut down as he had only 18 rushing yards.

This Week: vs Bowling Green

This Week in Recruiting: The Wildcats did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 15 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 85.52.

(5) Penn State (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Pittsburgh, 33-14. The normally explosive offense of the Nittany Lions was actually out-gained by the Panthers as Penn State only had 312 yards, but all that really matters is the score. Junior and future Heisman-winning RB Saquon Barkley had 133 yards of total offense and 2 touchdowns. Senior TE Mike Gesicki continues to be a huge red zone threat hauling in two more touchdowns. He now has 4 touchdowns on 10 catches for the year.

This Week: vs Georgia State

This Week in Recruiting: The Nittany Lions did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 23 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 90.66.

Purdue (1-1 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Ohio, 44-21. Purdue had one of their best offensive days in recent memory scoring 44 points on 558 yards of total offense. Junior David Blough had a great bounce-back game throwing for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sophomore RB Tario Fuller had 142 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Boilermaker passing defense (294 yards a game) will be heavily tested on Saturday by a Missouri offense averaging 383 passing yards a game.

This Week: at Missouri

This Week in Recruiting: The Boilermakers received a commitment from 3-star OLB Evander Craft out of Illinois. They sit at 22 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 82.57.

Rutgers (0-2 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Loss to Eastern Michigan, 16-13. Rutgers came crashing back down to reality after looking a little competent against Washington a week prior. After taking an early lead, the Scarlet Knights were shut out over the final 21 minutes in the tough loss. The senior RB duo of Robert Martin and Gus Edwards combined for 124 rushing yards and 1 touchdown.            

This Week: vs Morgan State

This Week in Recruiting: Rutgers did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 20 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 83.28.

(10) Wisconsin (2-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last Week: Win vs Florida Atlantic, 31-14. The Badger rushing attack once again looked formidable against inferior talent as they racked up 357 rushing yards. Freshman Jonathan Taylor once again looked very impressive as he had 223 yards and 3 touchdowns while averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Things will get a little tougher this weekend as the Badgers face a tough BYU rushing defense who is only giving up 76 rushing yards a game on 3.14 yards per carry.

This Week: vs BYU

This Week in Recruiting: The Badgers did not receive a commitment last week. They sit at 18 members in the 2018 class with a 247Sports Composite average of 85.27.

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