The division races in the Big Ten are still up for grabs as Week 11 arrives, but not in recent memory has the outcome of the conference championship chase been less meaningful in terms of the BCS bowl game system, let alone the national title picture. Ohio State is still on track in their quest for a perfect regular season, but...maybe you’ve heard...they are not going to Indianapolis or anywhere else after The Game on November 24.
Nebraska is the highest ranking BCS eligible team in the conference at #16, and the Huskers held onto the lead in the Legends with another stunning 4th quarter comeback, this time in East Lansing. The Cornhuskers and Michigan are both at 4-1 in Big Ten play, but Nebraska won the head-to-head matchup and thus holds the tiebreaker.
Wisconsin (3-2) is still the odds on favorite to represent the Leaders in Indy on Dec 1, and could pretty much seal it up with a win against resurgent Indiana (can’t believe I just typed that) this Saturday. The other two eligible Leaders teams, Illinois and Purdue, are a combined 0-10 in Big Ten action, and they meet in Week 12. The drama builds.
In a down year for the Big Ten, it’s worth noting the remarkable season of Ohio college football in 2012. At one point there were four Ohio teams ranked above Michigan in the polls, and at the moment, in addition to OSU, Toledo (8-1) and Kent State (8-1) have more votes in the AP poll than Michigan (just to pick a traditional Big Ten power at random). And Ohio University (8-1) also garners more pollster love than Penn State. Beware the MAC.
To the Week 10 recap....
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Michigan 35 - Minnesota 13
The Wolverines played this one without Denard Robinson, in Minneapolis, and still came away with a convincing win with Devin Gardner at quarterback. Coach Hoke chose to go with Gardner, who came to UM as a quarterback, but had been working at wide receiver, after the previous week’s disastrous experiment with Russell Bellomy. Gardner responded with 234 yards through the air, with two touchdown passes, and he ran for a third score as Michigan (6-3, 4-1) outscored the Gophers 28-3 after Minnesota (5-4, 1-4) had grabbed an early 7-0 lead. Wolverine running back Fitz Toussaint rushed for 70 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown run. The Gophers’ freshman quarterback Philip Nelson struggled, going 13 for 29 passing, averaging just 4.9 yards per attempt. It has been 35 years since Minnesota won a home game against Michigan.
Box Score and Stats
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Indiana 24 - Iowa 21
It took Hoosiers coach Kevin Wilson 12 tries over the better part of two seasons to win his first Big Ten game, but only one more week to win his second. Indiana (4-5, 2-3) came from behind in the 4th quarter with the third touchdown connection of the day between quarterback Cameron Coffman and receiver Cody Latimer to knock off Iowa (4-5, 2-3) in Bloomington. As a result, Indiana is set up for their most consequential football game in several years when they host Wisconsin Saturday. (In case you’re wondering, the Hoosiers finish with road games at Penn State and Purdue, so it may be a bit early to start talking about how they control their own destiny in the Leaders.) Latimer’s big day earned him the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award. Wilson turned to Coffman when freshman QB Nate Sudfeld struggled in the early going. The Hawkeyes’ forgettable 2012 campaign got a little more so with this deflating loss.
Box Score and Stats
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Nebraska 28 - Michigan State 24
Michigan State had a 10-point lead after three and a half quarters, but Taylor Martinez and the Cornhuskers staged their third late-game comeback win of the Big Ten season with two touchdowns in the last seven minutes to stun the host Spartans 28-24. The winning score, a 5-yard out to Jamal Turner, came with six seconds remaining, and marked the first Nebraska lead of the game. The Cornhuskers benefitted from a truly terrible pass interference call on the Spartans with just 17 seconds remaining, on a play that should have forced a game-tying field goal attempt. Martinez had a huge day, rushing for 205 yards (12.1 yd avg) and two touchdowns, one a 71-yarder, and threw for 166 more, with two TD passes. He did throw three interceptions, but he was the dominant offensive force in the game for NU. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 188 yards and two TD’s for Michigan State (5-5, 2-4).
Box Score and Stats
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Ohio State 52 - Illinois 22
Urban Meyer wanted to work on the OSU passing game last week, and the results of that effort were apparent in Braxton Miller’s throwing in the Buckeyes rout of Illinois. Miller threw for 226 yards, including touchdown passes of 51 yards to Rod Smith and 37 yards to Corey Brown, and Carlos Hyde rumbled his way to 137 yards and three rushing touchdowns, as OSU moved to 10-0 on the season. Ryan Shazier won his second consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award by virtue of his 14-tackle effort at linebacker for the Buckeyes. The defense held Illinois (2-7, 0-5) to 74 yards rushing and 170 total. OSU running back Bri’onte Dunn got his first significant playing time of the season, and his 13 carry, 73-yard showing earned him the conference Freshman of the Week award. Miller added 73 rushing yards and a rushing TD, as the Bucks rolled up 330 yards on the ground, and 567 total yards against the worst team in the Big Ten.
TCF game story - Box Score and Stats
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Penn State 34 - Purdue 9
Penn State gave up points in the first quarter for the first time all season, falling behind Purdue 3-0, but the Nittany Lions proceeded to methodically dismantle the Boilermakers from that point on, scoring 34 unanswered points to win in a rout. Matt McGloin continued his strong senior campaign with 321 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air, and Zach Zwinak rushed for 134 yards for the Lions. Brandon Moseby-Felder was the receiving star for Penn State with six receptions for 129 yards and a TD, and fullback Michael Zordich had TD runs of 6 and 5 yards. Penn State (6-3, 4-1) rolled up 506 yards of total offense, averaging 6.7 yards per play. Caleb TerBush passed for 155 yards and a touchdown, and receiver Antavian Edison had nine catches for Purdue (3-6, 0-5).
Box Score and Stats
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Wisconsin and Northwestern were idle.
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Big Ten Statistics
Big Ten Standings - Results
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This Week’s Games - (all Saturday 11/10)
Wisconsin (6-3, 3-2) at Indiana (4-5, 2-3) - 12:00 PM ET - TV: ESPN2
Northwestern (7-2, 3-2) at Michigan (6-3, 4-1) - 12:00 PM ET - TV: ESPN
Purdue (3-6, 0-5) at Iowa (4-5, 2-3) - 12:00 PM ET - TV: Big Ten Network
Penn State (6-3, 4-1) at Nebraska (7-2, 4-1) - 3:30 PM ET - TV: ABC / ESPN2
Minnesota (5-4, 1-4) at Illinois (2-7, 0-5) - 3:30 PM ET - TV: Big Ten Network
Ohio State and Michigan State are idle
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Big Ten Player of the Week
(my picks, not the official B1G selections, though we occasionally agree)
The conference honored Indiana receiver Cody Latimer for his three TD receptions, but I’ve got to go with the Nebraska quarterback, who engineered another remarkable comeback win for the Huskers.
Taylor Martinez - QB - Nebraska - 205 yards rushing, 2 TD; 166 yards passing, 2 TD
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Honorable Mention
Devin Gardner - QB - Michigan
Cameron Coffman - QB - Illinois
Carlos Hyde - RB - Ohio State
Matt McGloin - QB - Penn State
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Big Ten Play of the Week
It was not a great week for spectacular plays in Big Ten action, but there were a few candidates for the much-coveted Recap honor. Braxton Miller showed off his arm on a 51-yard TD strike to Rod Smith on a wheel route, and Taylor Martinez dashed 71 yards for a 4th quarter TD to put Nebraska in position to win at Michigan State, but I’m going to throw Michigan a bone this week.
Wolverine quarterback Devin Gardner had a nice overall game at Minnesota, and his touchdown pass on a fade route to Jeremy Gallon was as nice a play as I saw all weekend. Great throw, great catch...what more do you want? Watch it here (at approx. 30 second mark)
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