Big Ten Week 3 roundup: A tough week vs. ACC
Big Ten teams went 7-5 overall in non-conference matchups in Week 3 but just 2-5 against power conference competition. The Big Ten does not have an ACC-Big Ten football challenge the way it once did in basketball, but the Big Ten saw its share of ACC opponents this weekend. Maryland and Rutgers each won their matchups convincingly, but the rest of the results were not kind to the Big Ten teams.
Here is the full rundown of all of the Week 3 college football action around the Big Ten.
Maryland 42, Virginia 14
Maryland got the weekend started with a win on Friday night at home against former ACC foe Virginia. The Terrapins were down 14-0 in the first quarter before rattling off 42 unanswered points. Taulia Tagovailoa passed for 342 yards and a touchdown and Roman Hemby scored twice on the ground. The defense also forced four turnovers by the Cavaliers, who fell to 0-3 to start their season.
Next up for Maryland: at Michigan State
Penn State 30, Illinois 13
Penn State played its first road game of the season and it was anything but pretty on offense. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, the defense forced five turnovers to help give the offense time to pile on the points needed for a double-digit victory. Drew Allar had a rough outing with his pass completion percentage, but he still managed to pass for over 200 yards and did not make any costly mistakes in his first road start for Penn State.
Next up for Penn State: vs. Iowa
Next up for Illinois: vs. Florida Atlantic
Louisville 21, Indiana 14
Indiana dug a 21-0 hole in the first half but came back to make a game of it in the second half. Indiana scored two touchdowns in the third quarter but was stopped by Louisville in a goal-line stand late in the game. Tayven Jackson was one yard shy of a 300-yard passing game for the Hoosiers, and Jaylin Lucas had 98 receiving yards on 10 receptions with a score. Louisville racked up 184 rushing yards to Indiana’s 58 as the Cardinals jumped to a 3-0 start under new head coach, and former Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm.
Next up for Indiana: at Akron
Wisconsin 35, Georgia Southern 14
Braelon Allen and Tanner Mordecai took some time to really get things under control for Wisconsin but they did just that after halftime. Wisconsin turned a 7-7 tie at the half and a 14-7 deficit early in the third quarter into a 35-14 victory. Allen and Mordecai rushed for three touchdowns in the third quarter.
Wisconsin’s defense gave up 455 yards of total offense to Georgia Southern and the Badgers offense was just 3-of-11 on third down conversion attempts. Wisconsin also gave up 383 passing yards in the game.
Next up for Wisconsin: at Purdue
North Carolina 31, Minnesota 13
Minnesota was able to force North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye to make a few mistakes leading to a pair of interceptions, but the Gophers could not find enough ways to stop one of the top NFL draft prospects. Maye passed for 414 yards against the Minnesota defense as Minnesota was out-gained 519-303 in Chapel Hill. Minnesota could not get off the field on defense after giving up 12 third-down conversions out of 17.
Next up for Minnesota: at Northwestern
Duke 38, Northwestern 14
Northwestern fell behind on the road at Duke by 17 points before getting a touchdown late in the first half. But the Wildcats gave up a pair of touchdown runs in the third quarter as Duke had little problem taking care of Northwestern in Durham. Bryce Gallagher led the Wildcats with 13 tackles, with 2 solo tackles and 1.5 TFL.
Next up for Northwestern: vs. Minnesota
Iowa 41, Western Michigan 10
Yes, you are seeing that final score correctly. Iowa actually scored 41 points in a single football game! We tend to joke about Iowa’s offense a bunch, but credit is given where credit is due as well. Leshon Williams rushed for 145 yards to help power the Hawkeyes to a win, along with the typical solid outing by the Iowa defense. But Cade McNamara was not the most efficient player with just 103 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions thrown.
We’ll see if Iowa’s offense can be any threat to Penn State’s defense next week.
Next up for Iowa: at Penn State
Rutgers 35, Virginia Tech 16
Don’t look now, but Rutgers is already halfway to bowl eligibility with a 3-0 start to the season! Rutgers took care of Virginia Tech, coached by former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry, at home with just 46 passing yards from quarterback Gavin Wimsatt. Kyle Monangai was the key for the Scarlet Knights with 3 rushing touchdowns and 143 yards. Rutgers rushed for 256 yards as a team against the Hokies, who have now gone 0-2 against Big Ten teams in the past two weeks.
Next up for Rutgers: at Michigan
Ohio State 63, Western Kentucky 10
Ohio State exploded for 42 point sin the first half, with 35 coming in the second quarter with big numbers from all of the stars. Marvin Harrison Jr. had 126 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes. Kyle McCord ended his day with 318 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka had 2 touchdown catches and TreVeyon Henderson scored twice. Ohio State faces a massive test next week in South Bend, Indiana.
Next up for Ohio State: at Notre Dame
Washington 41, Michigan State 7
A truly tumultuous week for the Michigan State started with its head coach being put on administrative leave and ended with a 41-7 drubbing at home by Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies. At least this one wasn’t available on traditional TV and was limited to a streaming-only audience. This was incredibly ugly.
Michigan State gave up 713 yards of total offense to the Huskies with Penix throwing for 473 yards and four touchdowns in the process. The Spartans managed just 53 yards of rushing offense and trailed 41-0 before a fourth-quarter touchdown was put on the board.
If this was a sign of what is to come moving forward, Michigan State’s promising start is about to transition to much more pain than was originally anticipated in East Lansing.
Next up for Michigan State: vs. Maryland
Nebraska 35, Northern Illinois 11
Nebraska picked up its first win of the year with a home win over Northern Illinois. Heinrich Haarberg got his first start for the Cornhuskers and he tossed two touchdowns and ran for another while racking up a team-high 98 rushing yards in the winning effort. The defense also took control and held the Huskies to just 149 yards of total offense. Nebraska can draw even with its record next week with another home game in non-conference play.
Next up for Nebraska: vs. Louisiana Tech
Michigan 31, Bowling Green 6
In its final game without head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines, Michigan put together another win. This one was not particularly pretty for the offense with four turnovers, including three interceptions thrown by J.J. McCarthy. But Blake Corum rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers and kept Bowling Green out of the end zone for the win.
Jim Harbaugh returns next week for a home game against Rutgers in a battle of unbeatens.
Next up for Michigan: vs. Rutgers
Syracuse 35, Purdue 20
Purdue fell behinds Syracuse in the first half on their home field a week after outlasting a lengthy weather delay to top another ACC opponent. But a second half rally was not in the cards as Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader helped the Orange pull away on the strength of 195 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go with his 184 passing yards. Purdue also turned the football over four times in the game
Next up for Purdue: vs. Wisconsin (Friday)
