Week 4 in the Big Ten!
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on the field in the Big Ten in Week 4 and look ahead to Week 5!
Week 4 Results
Wisconsin 38 @ Purdue 17
Rutgers 7 @ Michigan 31
Ohio St. 17 @ Notre Dame 14
Iowa 0 @ Penn St. 31
Florida Atlantic 17 @ Illinois 23
Maryland 31 @ Michigan St. 9
Louisiana Tech 14 @ Nebraska 28
Akron 27 @ Indiana 29 (4OT)
Minnesota 34 @ Northwestern 37 (OT)
Top 3 Notable Games of Week 4
3) Akron 27 @ Indiana 29 (4OT)
Indiana coach Tom Allen admitted this one never should have gone into overtime, much less 4 of them. The Hoosiers came into this one favored by 16.5 points, but Akron gave them all that they could handle and missed a 32-yard FG at the end of regulation that would have given the underdog program a huge win. The two teams battled it out in the overtimes, and it took a trick play on a 2-point conversion attempt to win it for Indiana.
2) Minnesota 34 @ Northwestern 37 (OT)
Minnesota controlled this one from the opening kickoff and took a 21-point lead into the 4th quarter…then completely unraveled. Northwestern QB Ben Bryant had his best game as a Wildcat with 396 yards passing and 4 TDs, including the game-winner in OT. A huge comeback win against a conference opponent after a tumultuous offseason that saw their head coach fired.
1) Ohio St. 17 @ Notre Dame 14
THIS is what college football is all about. A top-10 match-up in a historic stadium that came down to the very end. QB Kyle McCord showed why there was so much hype around him heading into this season as he led the Buckeyes down the field in a 65-yard play drive that ended with Chip Trayanum’s 1-yard TD run to put the Buckeyes over the Fighting Irish with 1 second left.
Week 4 Summary
The conference picture gets that much clearer as the top of the conference picks up some huge wins. Overall, the strength of the conference is starting to show as well, with just 1 program under .500.
Top Individual Performances of Week 4
Passing:
Ben Bryant, Northwestern - 33/49 396 yards 4 TDs vs. Minnesota
Rushing:
Darius Taylor, Minnesota - 31 carries/198 yards/2 rushing TDs vs. Northwestern
Receiving:
Bryce Kirtz, Northwestern - 10 rec/215 yards/2 TDs vs. Minnesota
Defense:
Louis Moore, Indiana - 6 tackles/2 INTs/1 INT Ret. for a TD vs. Akron
Power Rankings After Week 4
Penn St.
Ohio St.
Michigan
Maryland
Wisconsin
Rutgers
Iowa
Northwestern
Minnesota
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan St.
Nebraska
Purdue
Penn St. has been the most consistently dominant team in the conference. QB Drew Allar threw for 4 TDs, they ran for 215 yards as a team, and allowed just 76 yards of total offense while forcing 4 turnovers. Ohio St.’s win against Notre Dame is a big one for their playoff hopes down the line. Michigan continues to churn out victories in methodical fashion, but need to look more dominant against their relatively weak schedule if they want to move up. The big question mark here is Maryland. Are they for real?
Week 5 Games To Watch
3) Michigan St. @ Iowa: I’ve already talked about the lack of Hawkeyes’ offense, but even I was shocked at how bad it looked last week. They need to have a solid bounce back performance against a reeling program in Michigan St. to get their conference record to 1-1 or this could be a long season in Iowa.
2) Illinois @ Purdue: Not exactly a matchup of conference powerhouses, but these are two evenly matched teams so it should be a close one. Both are looking for their first conference win. Illinois comes in off a close win against FAU and needs this one if they want a shot at a bowl game. Purdue is looking for some steps in the right direction under 1st year head coach Ryan Walters.
1) Indiana @ Maryland: I said it earlier, but it’s hard to gauge how good of a team Maryland really is. They’re undefeated, but haven’t played any tough opponents yet. While Indiana is a conference opponent, they aren’t particularly formidable themselves, but these are the types of games good teams dominate so we’ll see if QB Taulia Tagovailoa can do just that.