In another week that was chock-full of upsets, the Big Ten fell victim to them yet again.
Week 8 saw a lot of upsets in the Big Ten, not to mention a new number one team in the country in this very conference. Here’s how the Big Ten did in Week 8:
Bye Weeks: No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State, Minnesota and Washington
The Upsets
UCLA 35 @ Rutgers 32
With UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers coming into this game with four touchdowns to nine interceptions, the Bruins were big underdogs in this contest. This game, Garbers put on a show. After an even first quarter that was tied at seven, UCLA started to pull away thanks to Garbers, including an electric 49-yard touchdown run from their signal-caller. Trailing 21-10 at halftime, Rutgers was sitting in a bad spot for the second week in a row after getting destroyed by Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights started to fight back in the third quarter, cutting the Bruins’ lead to two. Garbers then answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Jones, giving the Bruins a nine-point lead headed into the fourth. Garbers then threw another touchdown early in the fourth quarter, pushing the UCLA lead to 35-19. Rutgers, though, just wouldn’t go away. Star running back Kyle Monangai answered with his second touchdown of the day, but the Scarlet Knights failed on a two-point attempt. The Bruins proceeded to miss a field goal, but intercepted quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Garbers would later fumble on their next drive that resulted in Monangai scoring his third touchdown. Clinging to a 35-32 advantage with under two minutes, a failed onside kick attempt gave the Bruins the upset victory, their first win against a Big Ten team this season.
USC 28 @ Maryland 29
After being upset in a blowout loss to Northwestern, Maryland was still seeking its first conference victory of the season. USC was looking to end its losing streak, and were favored to do so. In the first half, the game seemed to be going the way it was expected to as the Trojans led 21-7. The Terrapins answered early in the third quarter, cutting the Trojan lead to seven. USC then scored early in the fourth quarter and seemed to be in control. That was until Roman Hemby got into the end zone and the Terps converted a two-point conversion, now only being down by six. USC then punted followed by Maryland turning the ball over on downs, giving USC the ball in field goal range with the opportunity to put the game out of reach. Right after the two-minute timeout, Trojans kicker Michael Lantz attempted a 41-yard field goal but missed it. The Terps then drove down the field with the help of a defensive pass interference call. Billy Edwards Jr. capped the drive by running the ball in for a touchdown, which gave Maryland a one-point lead after the conversion of the extra point. USC had one last chance and only needed a field goal, but Miller Moss and company couldn’t convert on a fourth down, giving Maryland the upset victory. USC, in its first year as a part of the Big Ten, now sits at 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the conference. The Trojans are also riding a three-game losing streak.
Iowa 20 @ Michigan State 32
A week after scoring 40 points against Washington, Iowa scored half that and was upset by Michigan State. Coming off three straight losses, the Spartans were 6.5 point underdogs as they hosted the Hawkeyes. In the first half, the Hawkeyes punted four times and missed a field goal on their other possession. For the Spartans, kicker Jonathan Kim had himself a day. In the first half alone, Kim had all of the Spartans 12 points going four-of-five from field goal range. The second half started with offensive fireworks. The first three drives were all touchdowns, but Michigan State still held the lead at 19-14. They extended that lead to eight on Kim’s fifth made field goal of the day. Iowa QB Cade McNamara threw an interception on his team’s next drive that resulted in Kim breaking Michigan State’s school record with his sixth made field goal of the day. Kaleb Johnson would quickly answer with a 75-yard rushing touchdown, but the Hawkeyes failed their two-point try. The Spartans answered with a long drive that lasted a bit over five minutes and resulted in a touchdown, giving them a 32-20 lead. Iowa couldn’t respond on its next drive, giving Michigan State the upset victory.
The Blowouts
No. 2 Oregon 35 @ Purdue 0
Nebraska 7 @ No. 16 Indiana 56
Wisconsin 23 @ Northwestern 3
The Close Games
No. 24 Michigan 7 @ No. 22 Illinois 21