Around the Big Ten: Week 4

Big Ten football is heating up with three teams undefeated in both conference play and overall play and ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll.

Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan hope to keep their high rankings as they look for a win in Week 5.

Let’s start by looking at the Nittany Lions this past weekend.

Penn State hosted the Iowa Hawkeyes for their annual whiteout game. Handing Iowa their first shutout loss since 2000, the Nittany Lions defense could not be stopped. They held Iowa to 76 total yards of offense and only four first downs.

It was not just the Penn State defense that was unstoppable; Drew Allar was 25-37 for 166 yards and four touchdowns.

The wet conditions lent itself to a rush-heavy game, and the Iowa defense could not stop the Penn State running backs.

In total, the Nittany Lions rushed for 215 yards on 57 attempts.

The shutout win against the Hawkeyes moved Penn State up one spot in the AP Poll to No. 6.

Penn State will take on Northwestern (2-2) for their second away game this Saturday as they look to continue their undefeated season to 5-0.

Moving on to the Buckeyes, No. 6 Ohio State faced its first top-ten-ranked opponent this weekend when playing No. 10 Notre Dame.

Quarterback Kyle McCord has spent three seasons waiting for his chance to get the starting job, and now he must prove that he deserves the spot.

He is leading the Buckeyes as fans wait to see if they are as strong as they were last season, and if they can make another run at the College Football Playoffs, or if they will fall just short.

With the Buckeyes’ last-second touchdown on a 1-yard rushing touchdown as time expired, McCord showed how potent the Ohio State offense is and how they are still contenders for this season.

With their win, Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 4 in the AP Poll.

Ohio State will have their second conference Big Ten game against Maryland (4-0) after their bye week this Saturday.

Looking at the highest-ranked Big Ten team right now, the University of Michigan sits at No. 2, where they have been all season.

With being in the top four all season, there has been lots of talk about the Wolverines being in the College Football Playoff. They have not faced any ranked opponents and have only played one Big Ten opponent, Rutgers.

Michigan has been playing a safe game; will Nebraska be the first time we see some aggressive plays from the Wolverines?

Michigan will need to test out some more aggressive plays before they face Penn State in November and then Ohio State a few weeks after.

With all three teams with an undefeated 4-0 record, fans can look forward to these three teams’ matchups in the coming month.

Lauren Harth is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email lah6271@psu.edu.