As conference play gets into high gear, a lot of teams are asserting themselves early.
Week 5 saw eight conference matchups in the Big Ten. With some blowouts, some classic Big Ten West football games and nail biters, here’s how the Big Ten shook up this week:
Bye Weeks: Northwestern and Iowa
The Blowouts
Maryland 28 @ Indiana 42
The last time Indiana started a season 5-0 was back in 1967. The Hoosiers’ offense has carried them this season, averaging 50.5 points per game. This game was a back and forth affair, with Indiana holding onto a slim 28-21 lead through three quarters. But when the fourth quarter started, Indiana took over. Even with two interceptions, Kurtis Rourke led this Hoosiers team with aplomb, throwing for 359 yards and three touchdowns. The running back duo of Ty Son Lawton and Justice Ellison tallied 144 yards and two touchdowns combined. Despite losing, Maryland wasn’t awful in this game: Billy Edwards Jr. had 289 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Roman Hemby ran for 117 yards and a touchdown, including a big 75-yard touchdown run.
First-year coach Curt Cignetti has backed up his word. After saying “I win. Google me,” the Hoosiers have done just that under their new coach. The most shocking stat from this game is that Indiana still won by two scores despite being a minus four in the turnover battle. The Hoosiers fumbled the ball twice to go along with Rourke’s two interceptions, yet they still found a way to win. Now, they’re ranked 23rd in the country.
No. 3 Ohio State 38 @ Michigan State 7
No. 8 Oregon 34 @ UCLA 13
Nebraska 28 @ Purdue 10
Wisconsin 21 @ No. 13 USC 38
The Close Games
Washington 18 @ Rutgers 21
This Friday night matchup between Washington and Rutgers was an interesting one. After going down early in the first quarter, the Scarlet Knights went into the halftime break up 14-3. In the third quarter, Washington got back on the board with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Will Rogers to Denzel Boston. After two back-to-back punts, Rutgers then scored again, going up 21-10. Later in the fourth quarter, Will Rogers found Denzel Boston for their second touchdown connection of the day. The Huskies then got the two-point conversion, making it a field goal game. With a quick three-and-out, Washington had the ball back with 30 seconds to go. Will Rogers did his job, getting his team into field goal range. On the last play of the game kicker Grady Gross missed the game-tying 55-yard field goal, giving Rutgers the win and continuing their undefeated season.
At 4-0, the Scarlet Knights have been a big story this season. Led by running back Kyle Monangai, Rutgers has shown they can compete. With good but anxiety-inducing wins over both Virginia Tech and Washington, the Scarlet Knights don’t have a crazy tough remaining schedule. If they can beat Nebraska in Week 6, they can take that momentum with them and turn it into a magical season. For Washington, the story of this game was the kicking. The Huskies left nine points out on the field. Kicker Grady Gross didn’t just miss the game-tying kick at the end, but also two others earlier in the game. Washington losing this game was its own fault.
No. 19 Illinois 7 @ No. 9 Penn State 21
Penn State may be the second best team in the Big Ten. With head coach James Franklin calling for “whiteout energy,” this game had an all-time environment. The first half was fairly stale with the score being tied at seven at half. After halftime, Penn State continued their 2024 season trend of being lockdown in the second half. After a long drive to start off the second half that ended with a Nicholas Singleton touchdown, the Nittany Lions proceeded to force two punts and then two turnovers (one interception and one fumble), including the game sealing fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Kaytron Allen added another score to give Penn State a 14 point buffer. Illinois finally met their match after starting off the season red hot. Even after this loss, they’re still ranked, albeit five spots lower at No. 24. The Illini have some staunch tests coming up, including Michigan and Oregon.
Penn State dominated the line of scrimmage in this game on both sides of the ball. Including sack yardage, Penn State held Illinois to 34 rushing yards and added seven sacks on top of that. Abdul Carter yet again showed in this game why he’s one of the best edge rushers in the country, slapping up two sacks and four TFLs. On the offensive side, the Nittany Lions offensive line only gave up two sacks and paved the way for 241 rushing yards, with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen leading the way. Penn State has its next big test in two weeks when the Nittany Lions travel to Los Angeles to play the USC Trojans.
Minnesota 24 @ No. 12 Michigan 27