Written by Dan Wismar

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And then there was one.

Ohio State moved to 6-0 on Saturday night, surviving the regular season’s first half as the Big Ten’s only unbeaten team. It was a good weekend for the conference’s traditional powers and a setback for some wannabes. Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State posted impressive wins, while Northwestern and Purdue looked like also-rans. Everything old is new again.

The Buckeyes jumped up to No. 8 in the new AP ranking, but the only other Big Ten representation is Michigan, sneaking into the poll at No. 25.  To the games...

 

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Penn State 39 - Northwestern 28
The Nittany Lions trailed by two scores going into the 4th quarter, but outscored Northwestern 22-0 in the final period to win their fourth straight game and stay unbeaten in conference play. The Wildcats came in at 5-0 and had slipped into the AP poll at No. 24, but lost for the sixth straight time when playing as a ranked team. Quarterback Matt McGloin continued to deliver in the clutch for the Lions, rushing for the go-ahead touchdown in the 4th quarter, and throwing for two more TD’s on 35 of 51 passing for 282 yards. Penn State (4-2, 2-0) kept the Wildcat offense off the field, nearly doubling Northwestern’s time of possession. The Wildcats (5-1, 1-1) had been strong finishers to this point in the 2012 season, but couldn’t pull off a repeat performance this time out. Box Score and Stats


Michigan State 31 - Indiana 27
Indiana threw a real scare into the Spartans by racing out to an early 17-0 lead, but Michigan State rose to the challenge, erasing a 10-point deficit entering the final quarter with two late touchdowns to overcome the upset-minded Hoosiers in Bloomington. Cam Coffman threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns for Indiana, and freshman Shane Wynn broke out with 12 receptions, but the Spartans completely shut down the Hoosier offense in the second half, allowing just 37 yards and two first downs. Meanwhile, Michigan State (4-2, 1-1) was cranking up their own offense with Le’Veon Bell (121 yds, 2 TD) and quarterback Andrew Maxwell (24 of 40, 240 yds, 2 TD) carrying the load. Spartan receiver Aaron Burbridge also had a big day with 8 receptions for 134 yards.  Box Score and Stats


Wisconsin 31 - Illinois 14
The final score looks like it might have been a dominating win for the Badgers, but this one was just 10-7 Wisconsin at the beginning of the 4th quarter in Madison. Joel Stave was Bret Bielema’s quarterback du jour, and Stave stepped up in the final period with a 59-yard TD pass to Jared Abrederis. Montee Ball added two rushing TD’s late in the game to wrap up a much-needed home win for the Badgers (4-2, 1-1). Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase piled up 287 yards of offense, including 84 on the ground, but the lack of offensive weapons for the Illini continues to dog them. The rebuilding job Tim Beckman faces at Illinois (2-4, 0-2) may be tougher than he anticipated. Box Score and Stats


Michigan 44 - Purdue 13
Denard Robinson bounced back from his forgettable performance against Notre Dame with 235 yards rushing on 24 carries (9.8 yd avg), and Michigan (3-2, 1-0) squashed any hope of an upset by the Boilermakers by scoring early and often in their Big Ten opener in West Lafayette. This was to be Purdue’s chance to assert themselves as contenders and a program on the rise, but by any measure they fell flat. It was 28-3 until the Boilers scored seconds before the half, as the Wolves dominated the game on the ground, with Robinson doing most of the damage. The Michigan defense is building on last year’s turnaround, and is starting to look like UM defenses of old. Raymon Taylor returned a Caleb TerBush interception 63 yards for a touchdown, and the Wolverines held Purdue (3-2, 0-1) to 56 yards rushing for the game. Box Score and Stats


Ohio State 63 - Nebraska 38
OSU followed the 2012 script with a slow start, a second quarter spurt, and a win after four quarters were in the books. Carlos Hyde (140 yds, 4 TD’s) and Braxton Miller (186 yds, TD) led the Buckeyes ground attack, and OSU got touchdowns from their defense and their special teams on the way to a blowout of Nebraska Saturday night. They did it in front of a record crowd, a national TV audience, and a slew of key recruiting prospects, and in the process cracked the AP Top 10 at No. 8. Cornhusker quarterback Taylor Martinez turned the ball over four times, including Bradley Roby’s 41-yard TD on an interception return, and Corey Brown returned a punt 76 yards for another Buckeye TD. Ohio State (6-0, 2-0) turns to Leaders Division play for the next five weeks,while Nebraska (4-2, 1-1) returns to Lincoln with a week off to try figuring out why they always fold in key road games at large venues.  Box Score and Stats


Iowa and Minnesota were idle.

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Big Ten Statistics

Big Ten Standings - Results

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This Week’s Games - (all Saturday, 10/13)

Iowa (3-2, 1-0) at Michigan State (4-2, 1-1) - Noon ET - TV: ESPN

Northwestern (5-1, 1-1)  at Minnesota (4-1, 0-1) - Noon ET - TV: ESPN2

Wisconsin (4-2, 1-1)  at Purdue (3-2, 0-1) - Noon ET  - TV: Big Ten Network

Illinois (2-4, 0-2)  at Michigan (3-2, 1-0) - 3:30 p.m. ET - TV: ABC/ESPN

Ohio State (6-0, 2-0)  at Indiana (2-3, 0-2) - 8:00 p.m. ET  - TV: Big Ten Network

Nebraska and Penn State are idle

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Big Ten Player of the Week

The B1G officially split the Offensive POW between OSU’s Carlos Hyde (140 yds, 4 TD) and Michigan’s Denard Robinson, but for my money, Robinson gets the nod this week.

Denard Robinson - QB - Michigan - 24 att., 235 yds rushing (9.8 avg), 8/16 passing, 105 yds, 1 TD

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Honorable Mention

Carlos Hyde - RB - Ohio State (140 yds, 4 TD)
Matt McGloin - QB - Penn State  (35/51 passing, 282 yds, 2 TD, 1 TD rushing)
John Simon - DT - Ohio State  (5 TFL, 2 sacks, Forced Fumble)
Aaron Burbridge - WR - Michigan State  (8 receptions, 134 yds)

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Play of the Week

I’m sure Denard had some noteworthy runs while averaging ten yards a carry, but I’ve watched the rest of the Big Ten highlights and my take is that there were more big plays in the OSU-Nebraska game on Saturday night than there were in the other four games combined.

Of those, Rex Burkhead’s two long runs and a couple of nice grabs by Husker WR Kenny Bell come in fourth through seventh. (No bias here). Three huge plays sparked the Buckeyes’ win - Bradley Roby’s 41-yard pick six to open the scoring...Corey Brown’s 76-yard punt return TD that made it an 18-point OSU lead and deflated the Huskers hopes...and then there was Braxton Miller.

No, not his 31-yard untouched 4th-and-1 dash for a touchdown right before halftime....instead our POW is Miller’s 72-yard run on the first play after OSU fell behind 17-7. It registered the first Ohio State first down of the game...in the 2nd quarter...and featured the now familiar ankle-breaking cutting and crazy acceleration we have come to expect every Saturday. It’s Braxton’s 3rd POW in six weeks. What can I say? The guy is a walking highlight reel.

For the moment at least, you can watch it here.

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Quotable

Urban Meyer - “We have a quarterback, obviously, that’s kind of ridiculous running the ball...”

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on Twitter at @dwismar

Dan’s OSU Links and Resources

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