Around the Big Ten: Week 6

Week 6 of the Big Ten college football season did not provide any drama, as the top teams took care of business against teams with a talent disadvantage.

Iowa’s matchup against visiting Purdue was the only Big match that came down to one score. The Hawkeyes took down the Boilermakers 20-14 thanks to their as-per-usual elite defense, and running back Kaleb Johnson contributing 134 yards on 17 touches, including a 67-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Iowa’s stingy defense compensated for an atrocious performance from quarterback Deacon Hill, who completed only six out of 21 passes with an interception. Despite being outgained yardage-wise by Purdue, the Hawkeyes defense forced Purdue quarterback Hudson Card into two interceptions and stopped them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter.

Brian Ferentz’s highly publicized quest to 325 points also took a hit. The estranged offensive coordinator for the Hawkeyes signed a new contract in the offseason with an incentive essentially stating he would lose his job if the team did not score 325 points (25 points per game) this season.

The team fell off-pace from that goal after not managing to score a single point against Penn State. After only mustering 20 points against a subpar Purdue defense, a trip to Madison to face Wisconsin on Saturday does not bode well for Ferentz’s offense.

Michigan easily took care of business against Minnesota by a final of 52-10. The Wolverines’ defense outscored Minnesota after returning two interceptions for touchdowns.

Quarterback JJ McCarthy completed 70% of his passes and continued his tradition of not playing in the fourth quarter.

The schedule for the No. 2 team in the nation does not get any more difficult. The next three games for the Wolverines are against Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue before traveling to State College in Week 11 to take on Penn State.

The No. 3 team, Ohio State, had a little more difficulty putting away a pesky Maryland team before pulling away comfortably in the fourth quarter.

Star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. pulled in eight catches for 163 yards and a touchdown as the Buckeyes scored 24 unanswered points after being down 17-10 to win 37-17.

After a trip to Purdue next week, the Buckeyes will welcome potentially undefeated Penn State to Columbus in what will be the biggest Big Ten matchup of the year thus far.

The only other ranked Big Ten team, No. 6 Penn State, was off this week. The Nittany Lions will host UMass this Saturday in what should be a tune-up game before the aforementioned battle against Ohio State.

For everything Northwestern went through in the offseason, the Wildcats sitting at 3-3 is a huge success story.

After firing their Head Coach of 17 years in Pat Fitzgerald amid serious hazing and abuse allegations, the Northwestern football program looked to be in jeopardy.

On Saturday, Northwestern beat Howard 23-20 despite their starting quarterback Ben Bryant not playing after he was injured in their loss against Penn State.

While not against the most talented competition, the Wildcats rallying around backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan to secure a win on homecoming after all the off-the-field issues they had this offseason is one of the better feel-good stories of the season.

Northwestern is off next week before facing Nebraska as they try to work towards a bowl game berth that would be nothing short of miraculous.

Alex Perez is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.