How does the Big Ten stack up after Week 2 of the season?
Overall, Week 2 saw some massive upsets. The main one was Northern Illinois beating Notre Dame in South Bend. The Big Ten was on the winning and losing side of some upsets. There were blowouts, some closer games, the first conference matchup and some teams are now officially on fraud watch. Let’s dive into how the Big Ten did in Week 2.
Bye Weeks: UCLA and Purdue
The upsets
Iowa State: 20, No. 21 Iowa: 19
After a self-imposed one-game suspension in Week 1, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was back. With Kinnick Stadium ready, Ferentz walked out of the tunnel with 50 Cent’s “Many Men (Wish Death)” blasting throughout the stadium. Iowa was ready to go against its in-state rival. With a seemingly rejuvenated offense after a 34-point second half performance in Week 1, the Hawkeyes pitched a first half shutout and led Iowa State 13-0 at the half. The Hawkeyes defense came to play, forcing an interception and five punts in the first thirty minutes.
The second half started out similar, but the Cyclones did score a touchdown. On the next drive, the Hawkeyes scored a touchdown of their own as Kaleb Johnson got his second of the day. Iowa went for two but failed to convert, making the score 19-7 with 20 minutes remaining. After Iowa scored, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht completed a 75-yard pass to Jaylin Noel to get the Cyclones within a score. After a good dosage of some classic Iowa punting, Iowa State added three more to its total with a field goal. With just 33 seconds to go, Becht led his team down the field on a five play, 42-yard drive to set up a 54-yard field goal from Kyle Konrardy. The Cyclones then sealed the game when they intercepted Cade McNamara, bringing the in-state victory back to Ames.
Illinois: 23, No. 19 Kansas: 17
In a season with their most hype in years, the Kansas Jayhawks were favored to beat Illinois. The beginning of this matchup was sloppy, with Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels throwing an interception on the first drive and Illinois fumbling early in the second quarter. The game was tied 3-3 until late in the second quarter when Kansas scored a touchdown, followed by Illinois kicking a field goal. The Jayhawks had the ball with a minute left in the first half up 10-6. After a few plays, Kansas faced third-and-13 with 36 seconds in the first half. Instead of running the ball, they decided to pass. Daniels’ throw was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Xavier Scott. With a 13-10 advantage at the half, Illinois opened the third quarter with a three-and-out. The Jayhawks answered with a 14-play, 81-yard drive that took over eight minutes and ended with a touchdown.
With 13 minutes left in the game, Illinois executed an eight play, 80-yard touchdown drive, giving the Fighting Illini a three point lead. After a Kansas three-and-out, Illinois added a field goal on a 15-play, 42-yard drive that took almost seven minutes to give Illinois a six point lead. With a minute left and no timeouts to score a touchdown, Kansas got the ball to the Illini 46-yard line with just four seconds to go. On the last play of the game, Scott yet again made a play, this time sacking Daniels and forcing a game sealing fumble.
The blowouts
No. 3 Texas: 31, No. 10 Michigan: 12
Texas did it again. Last year the Longhorns went into Tuscaloosa in Week 2 to play the Crimson Tide and shocked everyone when they came out on top, helping them get into the College Football Playoff. This year, Texas scheduled the Michigan Wolverines on the same week they beat Alabama a year ago and it was definitely the right decision. Texas came into the Big House and dominated. The Longhorns offense and Quinn Ewers made the defending national champions and their highly ranked defense look bad. Plus, Texas’ offensive line was dominant against the highly touted Michigan defensive line. The Longhorns also showed just how good their offseason was with recruiting and the transfer portal.
Texas’ defense also shut down Michigan’s stumbling offense, intercepting Michigan quarterback Davis Warren twice and forcing a fumble on star tight end Colston Loveland. Michigan looked out of sorts in this game. So far this season, the Wolverines struggled against Fresno State and then were blown out by Texas, both of which happened at home. The Wolverines need to figure something out before things get ugly.
Other blowouts
Indiana: 77, Western Illinois: 3
Minnesota: 48, Rhode Island: 0
Rutgers: 49, Akron: 17
No. 2 Ohio State: 56, Western Michigan: 0
Washington: 30, Eastern Michigan: 9
No. 13 USC: 48, Utah State: 0
Nebraska: 28, Colorado: 10
Fraud watch
No. 8 Penn State: 34, Bowling Green 27
After a dominant victory over West Virginia in Week 1, Penn State started to silence some of the haters. There were doubts about them in that game, but Drew Allar came out and proved everyone wrong. This week was a different story. The Nittany Lions were 35.5-point favorites, but after the first half, Penn State trailed 24-20. This wasn’t completely the Penn State offense’s fault, as it had two touchdowns and two field goals on its five first half drives. It was their defense that couldn’t stop the Bowling Green offense.
In the third quarter, Penn State took a three-point lead and kept the lead to the final whistle. This didn’t come without scares though, including an interception by the Bowling Green defense to end the third quarter. The fourth quarter was where Penn State stepped up, intercepting Falcons quarterback Connor Bazelak twice. Despite the better showing in the second half, the Nittany Lions disappointed this week and their spot in the rankings could reflect that. That’s to be seen still as there were some other ranked teams that either struggled or lost.
No. 7 Oregon: 37, Boise State: 34
Oregon came into the season with arguably the most hype. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was a Heisman Trophy favorite when the season began, and many people had the Ducks as their pick for national champions. This doesn’t mean they still can’t win it all, but after falling from No. 3 to No. 7 in the rankings after only scoring 24 points against FCS Idaho, the Ducks were looking for a dominant showing in Week 2. Favored by 19.5 points, Oregon found itself trailing 20-14 at halftime. In the third quarter the Ducks were able to retake the lead thanks to Tez Johnson’s 85-yard punt return touchdown, but the Oregon offense was still not living up to the preseason hype.
After Johnson’s punt return, Boise State followed with a quick drive of its own that ended in a missed field goal. The Ducks then started driving, but Boise State had the ball again after a punch-out fumble on Patrick Herbert. The Broncos evened the score the next play when Ashton Jeanty, the best running back in the country, took one 70 yards to the house. On Oregon’s next drive, Gabriel fumbled and Boise State capitalized by scoring four plays later.
With the Broncos up by a touchdown, the Ducks special teams did it again. Noah Whittington returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but it almost didn’t count as he dropped the ball eerily close to the goal line. The Ducks stopped the Broncos offense on two separate drives, finishing with a drive of their own and the game winning field goal. Just like Penn State, Oregon could see a big change in its rankings. Boise State is a tough opponent, but Oregon has struggled two weeks in a row against an FCS and a Group of Five opponent.
The close games
Wisconsin: 27, South Dakota: 13
Duke: 26, Northwestern: 20 (2OT)
First conference matchup
Michigan State: 27, Maryland: 24
The first Big Ten conference matchup was down to the wire. This game was back and forth and saw many turnovers. Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles threw three interceptions, while Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. added to the chaos by throwing one of his own. Entering the fourth quarter tied 17-17, Maryland went up by a touchdown. This was followed by Chiles’ third interception and then Edwards’ sole pick immediately after. With a Michigan State punt, the Terrapins had the chance to put the game away. After draining four minutes of the clock, they sent out their field goal team for a 41-yard attempt but missed it. On the ensuing play, Chiles threw his third touchdown pass of the day on a 77-yard completion to Nick Marsh. Tied 24-24 with two minutes to go, Michigan State used a 13-play drive to set up a game-winning field goal, winning the first Big Ten conference matchup of the 2024 college football season.