Around The Big Ten Recap: Week 5
Saturday was the first day of conference play for many teams around the Big Ten. If you didn’t watch some Big Ten games on Saturday, you missed some intense and nail biting ones. There were a total of six games where Big Ten teams matched up against one another and four of those six were decided by seven points or less.
Ohio State at Indiana: OSU 34-27
This was the game that every Big Ten fan was waiting for. #1 Ohio State against undefeated, but a heavy underdog, Indiana. Indiana’s first four wins were against mediocre teams and nobody gave them a real shot at contending with the Buckeyes. They proved some people wrong, but in the end we all knew Ohio State was going to come out on top. Ezekiel Elliott was the hero for Ohio State having a breakout game. Elliott rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns, averaging almost 12 yards per carry. Cardale Jones played an average game and did what he had to do to get the Buckeyes a win. Zander Diamont of Indiana came in for injured starting quarterback, Nate Sudfeld. Diamont did all he could to keep the Hoosiers in the game, and you have to give him credit for coming in and doing what he did. Indiana was less than 10 yards away from tying Ohio State on the final play of the game. Ohio State will happily return home next Saturday to play Maryland at Noon.
Purdue at Michigan State: MSU 24-21
Everybody thought that this was another easy game for the Spartans and that they would blow out Purdue. The Boilermakers had other plans, though, and gave Michigan State all they could handle. The Spartans were a heavily favored team coming into the game but found a way to come out on top, 24-21. The Purdue defense only allowed Connor Cook to throw for 139 yards, however they also gave up over 260 yards rushing which was the story of Michigan State’s offense. Freshman Markell Jones had a solid day as the running back for Purdue rushed for two touchdowns and over 150 yards. At halftime, everybody thought that Michigan State had the game locked up at 21-0. Credit to Purdue for storming back, and just like Indiana, they were a few plays from shocking the nation and taking down the #2 team in the country. But, Michigan State found a way to win. The Spartans will have a road test next weekend when they travel to Piscataway to take on Rutgers.
Iowa at Wisconsin: Iowa 10-6
Another close game in the Big Ten came in Madison, WI this past Saturday. Undefeated Iowa was looking to stay undefeated when they took on #19 Wisconsin. The Badgers were coming off of a four-touchdown win against Hawaii, while the Hawkeyes had clobbered North Texas last Saturday. Iowa stayed undefeated and deserve to be in the Top 25 after taking down a team in the Top 20 on the road. Shout out to the Hawkeye defense for only giving up two field goals on the road. It is hard to win at Camp Randall Stadium, but Iowa showed toughness and grit and found a way to come out on top. At 5-0, Iowa is sitting pretty with a game against Illinois next Saturday. Wisconsin will look to rebound against Nebraska on the road.
Also around the Big Ten, Northwestern shutout Minnesota, Illinois squeaked by Nebraska, and Michigan posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2000 with a win at Maryland. All seven Big Ten games next Saturday will be within the conference when the first true week of Big Ten play kicks off.
Mike Wszolek is a freshman majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email mewszolek@gmail.com.
