Around the Big Ten: Week 10

Story posted November 7, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Christopher Hess

Christopher Hess, Trent Fye, Andre Magaro, and Derek Heid preview the biggest matchups for the Big Ten's Week 11 slate:

At the conclusion of week 10, the road to Indianapolis is really
beginning to take shape and the leaders are Michigan from the East and
Northwestern from the West. The Wolverines currently sit at 8-1 overall
and 6-0 in conference play and the Wildcats are 5-4 overall and 5-1 in
conference play. The West is still up for grabs, as teams like Purdue,
Wisconsin and Iowa are still in the mix and the East will likely come
down to either Michigan or Ohio State.

The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated Minnesota 55-31 and improved to
4-5 overall, only needing two more wins to become bowl eligible. The
Illini rushed for 430 yards as a team and scored five touchdowns on the
ground. Reggie Corbin and AJ Bush Jr. rushed for totals of 213 yards and
127 yards, respectively, and combined for four scores. Bush also threw
for 216 yards and two touchdowns. Lovie Smith’s team will travel to
Lincoln for a West division battle with Nebraska at noon on Nov. 10.

Indiana was idle during week 10 and currently sits with an overall record of 4-5. The
Hoosiers will host Maryland on Nov. 10 in an East division bout with kickoff scheduled for noon.

Iowa’s three game winning streak seems like a distant memory at this
point, as the Hawkeyes dropped their second straight tightly contested
battle. This time, they fell victim to West foe Purdue 38-36 and slipped
to 6-3. Nate Stanley went 21 for 32 on 275 yards passing and threw for one
score. Mekhi Sargent racked up only 39 yards on the ground, but was
able to score twice. Kirk Ferentz’s squad will travel to Ryan Field for a
date with Northwestern on Nov. 10 for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

After putting up 712 yards of total offense in a win over Illinois,
Maryland could only amass 100 total yards in a 24-3 loss to Michigan
State, who dropped the Terps to 5-4 overall. Maryland was held to 26
yards on 29 carries and Kasim Hill threw for only 74 yards on 21
attempts, completing just eight of them. The Terrapins will be Indiana’s guest for an East division showdown on Nov. 10 with kickoff scheduled for noon.

The lone loss to Notre Dame is in the rearview mirror for Jim
Harbaugh’s team, as they won their eighth straight game this season and third
straight game over a ranked opponent in a 42-7 win over Penn State. The
Wolverine defense held Penn State to just 186 total yards and Shea
Patterson had three touchdowns. Michigan will look for its ninth
straight win in a visit to Piscataway to battle Rutgers at 3:30 on
Nov. 10.

Michigan State’s defensive dominance prevailed Mark Dantonio’s team
to a 24-3 win over Maryland. The Spartans moved to 6-3 overall and
held the Terps to 100 total yards on the afternoon. Connor Heyward
rushed for 157 yards and found pay dirt twice. Michigan State will host
Ohio State in a major East division battle on Nov. 10 with kickoff
set for noon.

In addition to giving up 55 points to Illinois in a 55-31 loss, Minnesota
fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith and defensive line coach Joe
Rossi will serve as the coordinator for the remainder of the 2018
campaign. The Golden Gopher defense surrendered 646 total yards to
Illinois, 430 of which were on the ground. PJ Fleck’s team
stumbled to 4-5 overall and will host Purdue at TCF Bank Stadium on
Nov. 10 at 3:30 p.m.

Leading 21-16 at the half against Ohio State, Nebraska could not hold
that lead as the second half progressed and the Cornhuskers ultimately
fell to the Buckeyes 36-31. Scott Frost’s team dropped to 2-7 overall,
but were able to put up 450 yards on the Ohio State defense. Adrian
Martinez went 22 for 33 for 266 yards and threw for one touchdown.
Stanley Morgan Jr. led the Huskers in receiving yards with 87 and
Devine Ozigbo led all rushers with 86 yards. Nebraska will welcome
Illinois to Memorial Stadium on Nov. 10 at noon in a West
division matchup.

In a late season non-conference battle, Northwestern fell 31-21 to Notre
Dame as the Wildcats totaled just 249 total yards. Northwestern cut a
24-7 Notre Dame lead to three, but Ian Book’s 23-yard run gave the
Fighting Irish the winning margin. Pat Fitzgerald’s team still holds the
top spot in the West sitting at 5-4 overall and will head to Kinnick
Stadium for a clash with Iowa on Nov. 10 at 3:30 p.m.

Ohio State’s chances of making the Big Ten Championship and College
Football Playoff are still alive as the Buckeyes were able to escape the
jaws of Nebraska with a 36-31 win. JK Dobbins rushed for 163 yards on
23 carries and found the end zone three times. Dwayne Haskins threw
for 252 yards and two scores as well. The Buckeyes moved to 8-1
overall and will travel to Spartan Stadium to square off against Michigan
State on Nov. 10 at noon.

Penn State was simply dominated in every aspect of its matchup
against Michigan and fell 42-7 after being down 42-0 late in the fourth
quarter. The Nittany Lions totaled just a mere 186 total yards and went 8
for 17 passing while totaling 118 passing yards and two interceptions between Trace McSorley
and Tommy Stevens. Penn State slipped to a record of 6-3 and will look
to rebound at home against Wisconsin in a divisional crossover game at
noon on Nov. 10.

Purdue’s Big Ten West championship hopes survived yet another week
as the Boilermakers downed Iowa 38-36 on a Spencer Evans 25-yard
field goal with eight seconds remaining. David Blough went 23 for 32
for 333 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Terry Wright led
all receivers with 146 yards on six receptions and found the end zone
three times. Jeff Brohm’s squad moved to 5-4 overall and will travel to
Minneapolis for a battle with Minnesota on Nov. 10 for a 3:30 p.m.
kickoff.

Rutgers dropped its eighth straight game in a 31-17 loss to Wisconsin.
The Scarlet Knights have not scored more than 17 points since its first game of the season where they defeated Texas State 35-7. Art Sitkowski went 20 for 39 for 261 yards in the air and threw for one score to Raheem Blackshear. Blackshear also totaled 162 receiving yards and 38 rushing yards in the loss. Chris Ash’s team fell to 1-8 overall and will welcome Michigan to HighPoint Solutions Stadium on Nov. 10 for a 3:30 start.

Jonathan Taylor rushed for over 200 yards for the third time in 2018,
totaling 208 yards on 27 carries in a 31-17 win over Rutgers. Taylor also
found pay dirt three times on runs of five, 38, and 18 yards respectively.

With quarterback Alex Hornibrook entering concussion protocol for the
second time in three weeks, Long Island native Jack Coan is projected to
be the starting quarterback against Penn State due to Hornibrook’s
uncertain status. The Badgers and Nittany Lions are slated for a noon
start at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 10.

 

 

Christopher Hess is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism and
minoring in history. To contact him, email
christopherhess22@gmail.com.