A weekend mixing nonconference games, storied rivalries, and an important conference matchup wielded some interesting results.
Week 3 didn’t bring with it as many upsets and surprises as Week 2, but there was still a flurry of action across the conference. With 14 teams playing a mix of nonconference opponents, rivalry games, and even an early season conference showdown, there is plenty to take away from this week as conference play nears ever closer for many schools. Without further ado, let’s dive into how the Big Ten did in Week 3.
Bye Weeks: Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and USC
The nonconference slate
No. 4 Alabama: 42, Wisconsin: 10
The Badgers always knew that hosting the Crimson Tide would be a challenging game to win, but Luke Fickell’s team came into this one with confidence after notching two commanding victories to open the season. That fortune changed very quickly, however. On the first drive of the game, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s knee buckled as he was tackled out of bounds, forcing the Miami (FL) transfer to be carted off the field. Fickell has since said that the injury does not look good, making it very likely that the Van Dyke era in Madison is over after just three games.
With Van Dyke sidelined, Alabama took control of the game. Wisconsin kicker Nathaniel Vakos opened the scoring with a 51 yard field goal, but that was the only time the Badgers held the lead. Alabama answered a few drives later with a Jalen Milroe touchdown pass to 17 year old superstar wideout Ryan Williams, the first of five Milroe touchdowns on the day. The Crimson Side scored twice more in the half, with Milroe taking one himself into the end zone and throwing a 26 yard dart to Germie Bernard in the final seconds of the half. Alabama poured it on in the second half with three more scores, while the Badgers only responded with a Braedyn Locke touchdown pass to Will Pauling early in the half. While the loss was expected for Wisconsin against one of the nation’s best teams, the ramifications of the loss at quarterback are much greater and make this team’s path much more challenging in the weeks and months ahead.
No. 17 Michigan: 28, Arkansas State: 18
No. 23 Nebraska 34, Northern Iowa: 3
Illinois: 30, Central Michigan: 9
Michigan State: 40, Prairie View A&M: 0
Minnesota: 27, Nevada: 0
Iowa: 38, Troy: 21
Northwestern: 31, Eastern Illinois: 7
The Rivalries
Washington State: 24, Washington: 19
The first of two in-state former Pac-12 rivalries on this week’s schedule, Saturday’s Apple Cup was the first to be played as a nonconference game. This rivalry almost went extinct as a result of realignment, but through its continuity Washington State was eager to send a message to the team that abandoned their storied conference for greener pastures. The Cougars did just that. Washington State opened the scoring with a Dean Janikowski field goal, but the Huskies responded on the next drive with a Will Rogers touchdown pass to Giles Jackson, who finished the day with an impressive 162 receiving yards. John Mateer retook the lead for WSU with a 23 yard touchdown run of his own, the signal-caller’s first of two touchdowns on the day. The Huskies weren’t behind for long, however, hitting two field goals to take the lead before conceding the lead once again on Mateer’s second rushing touchdown to make it 17-13 Cougars at the break.
Washington State kicked a field goal to open the scoring in the second half, but the Cougars came back with a Josh Meredith touchdown to make it 24-16. The Huskies hit another field goal at the end of the third quarter to partially close the gap, but the Cougars still held the lead into into the final fifteen minutes. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Rogers hit Jackson on a massive throw down the field, putting the Huskies in position to score a game-winning touchdown. However, even with multiple throws into the end zone, Washington State’s defense stood tall and prevented a score, giving Jake Dickert’s team a statement victory and handing Washington its first regular season loss in almost two years.
No. 9 Oregon: 49, Oregon State: 14
The Ducks were on fraud watch after closer than expected results in their first two games against Idaho and Boise State. However, they changed the narrative against their in-state rivals, winning a commanding victory over the Beavers. Oregon started the scoring early with a Jordan James short touchdown run, but the Beavers quickly responded with a touchdown run of their own courtesy of Anthony Henderson to close out the first quarter with the game even at seven apiece. Moments later, Oregon star quarterback Dillon Gabriel took off for a 54 yard touchdown run, and followed that up with a touchdown pass to Traeshon Holden to put the Ducks up two scores. Henderson rushed for his second score of day to make it a one possession game at the half, with Oregon up 22-14 at the break.
On the other side of the break, the Ducks went into overdrive, scoring 27 unanswered points to achieve a blowout victory. It was a much-needed win for Oregon, a team with National Championship aspirations that hadn’t been as dominant as expected in its early season matchups. Now the Ducks will head into a bye week before heading down to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA in its first Big Ten matchup, a game that will feel quite familiar even in a new conference.
No. 18 Notre Dame: 66, Purdue: 7
Maryland: 27, Virginia: 13
The conference matchup
Indiana: 42, UCLA: 13
UCLA wasn’t all too impressive in its season opener against Hawaii two weeks ago, squeaking out a narrow three point victory. Many thought that DeShaun Foster’s squad would see improvement in its Big Ten coronation against Indiana, but that couldn’t have been further from the case. Indiana’s offense put up 77 points in last week’s game against Western Illinois, and that trend continued in this game. The Hoosiers started the game with a 12 play, 75 yard drive on offense, capped off by a Kurtis Rourke touchdown pass to Miles Cross. UCLA fumbled on its first offensive snap of the game, giving the Hoosiers excellent field position to score again. They capitalized, with Rourke hitting Ke’Shawn Williams for another touchdown. In the second quarter, a 90 yard drive was capped off by a Justice Ellison score on the ground, with UCLA responding with a T.J. Harden run to claw back seven points by the end of the half.
The Bruins opened the second half with a field goal to decrease the lead to 11, but Indiana answered with Ke’Shawn Williams’ second touchdown of the day to make it a 28-10 game. UCLA responded with another field goal, but Indiana scored two more touchdowns to put the game far out of reach, giving them a 28 point victory. This game exposed UCLA’s weakness on both sides of the ball, with the defense conceding 42 points and quarterback Ethan Garbers only managing to throw 137 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Head coach Curt Cignetti’s team was projected to finish near the bottom of the conference, but it seems that expectations have changed three games in. The schedule hasn’t been too demanding for the Hoosiers just yet, but there’s certainly an optimism with Cignetti, Rourke, and the team in general that should make Indiana fans extremely excited for the season to come.