Big Ten Week 4 Recap

Posted on September 27, 2015. Filed under: Football, NCAA Sports | Tags: Big Ten Football, Illinois wins, Indiana is undefeated, Michigan Wolverines defeat BYU, Northwestern knock off Ball State, purdue stuggles again |

Solid weekend for the BIG Ten

September 26, 2015

BIG TEN week four saw the last big non-conference slate of the season – clap clap clap… and the conference performed admirably. The conference’s ranked teams kept up their winning ways and a few others are making a case for the Top 25 but we’ll see….

Michigan 31, BYU 0

It took four weeks for Michigan Wolverines to look like a complete football team while facing a solid opponent. Senior quarterback Jake Rudock put up 14 of 25 for 194 yards and one touchdown; also adding 30 yards on the ground with a pair of scores. De’Veon Smith led the way for the Michigan ground game. The junior rushed for 125 yards including a nifty 60-yard touchdown.

The Wolverine defense continued its strong play on Saturday. The Cougars didn’t surpass the 100-yard mark until their final drive of the game as quarterback Tanner Mangum was held to just 55 yards passing.
Michigan State 30, Central Michigan 10

Central Michigan scored on their opening drive on a 42-yard pass and catch. The Chippewas’ drive ended with a blocked field goal – one of two blocks for the Michigan State special teams. Madre London put the Spartans on the board in the first quarter and Connor Cook later found Josiah Price to give Michigan State a 17-0 lead.

The Chippewas outgained the Spartans on the day as their pass defense continued to struggle. Junior quarterback Cooper Rush completed 26 of 39 passes for 285 yards and a score. CMU ended the day with 340 yards of total offense.

Connor Cook completed 11 of 19 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Madre London and L.J. Scott continue to lead the way on the ground. London ran for 73 yards and a score while Scott added 54 yards on eight carries. Sophomore running back Gerald Holmes scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help the Spartans pull away.

Northwestern 24, Ball State 19

The Wildcats got started Saturday night with a slow star and found themselves trailing Ball State at halftime, but they were able to shake if off and rallied with 17 third-quarter points to regain the lead and never gave it up again.

Clayton Thorson threw for 256 yards and three scores while adding another 45 yards on the ground. Running back Justin Jackson had a huge night rushing for 184 yards on 33 carries. “Superback” Dan Vitale led all Wildcat pass-catchers with five catches for 108 yards and two scores.

The bad news for Northwestern? They were hit with a rash of injuries. Tight end Garrett Dickerson, offensive tackle Geoff Mogus, and safety Godwin Igwebuike all left the game in the first half and would not return. Igwebuike was replaced by Kyle Queiro who would also leave the game, reportedly with a broken arm.

Indiana 31, Wake Forest 24

The Hoosiers are UNDEFEATED!!!!
Quarterback Nate Sudfeld threw for 205 yards and a couple scores. Junior tailback Jordan Howard led the way on the ground with 168 yards and a touchdown. Simmie Cobbs Jr. caught seven passes for 75 yards and a score.

The Deacons rallied after finding themselves down 31-10 with just ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Wake Forest quarterback Kendall Hinton ran for a touchdown and threw for another to trim the lead to just seven. After a late onside kick recovery, Wake had a chance to tie things up but failed to convert on a fourth-down pass to the endzone.

The Hoosiers are now on their longest winning streak of the last 28 years. They’ll host the Buckeyes next week as two of the conference’s unbeatens face off.

Illinois 27, Middle Tennessee 25

The Illini managed to pull out an ugly come-from-behind win at home against the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee. Trailing 25-24 with just over two minutes left to play, Taylor Zalewski nailed a 51-yard field goal to put the Illini back on top. The Blue Raiders then drove down the field and attempted a go-ahead field goal of their own, but kicker Cody Clark was unable to convert.

Quarterback Wes Lunt finished going 29 of 49 for 238 yards and a touchdown. Josh Ferguson and Ke’Shawn Vaughn led the ground game for the Illini. Ferguson rushed for 83 yards while Vaughn added 80 yards and a score. Geronimo Allison had another big day; the senior wideout hauled in ten passes for 128 yards.

Bowling Green 35, Purdue 28

The Boilermakers continued to struggle on Saturday, falling at home to Bowling Green. Purdue kicker Paul Griggs missed a 32-yarder with the game tied and just under three minutes remaining. The Falcons then drove 80 yards with running back Travis Greene scoring the game-winner with just nine seconds left on the clock.

Redshirt freshman David Blough made his first start for Purdue and completed 28 of 39 passes for 340 yards and a pair of scores. Gregory Phillips and DeAngelo Yancey each caught four passes and found the endzone.

Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson – the nation’s leading passer – threw for 402 yards and a touchdown. Gehrig Dieter hauled in ten passes for 96 yards. The Falcons outgained the Boilermakers 539 to 426 on the day.

The win gave Bowling Green their second victory of the season, both of which have come against Big Ten opponents.

West Virginia 45, Maryland 6

Wisconsin 28, Hawaii 0

Minnesota 27, Ohio 24

Penn State 37, San Diego State 21

Iowa 62, North Texas 16

Nebraska 36, Southern Miss 28

Rutgers 27, Kansas 14

In closing, Big Ten went 12-2, so I guess overall it was a solid weekend. Five teams still have yet to lose, but that number will go down next weekend as the Buckeyes will travel to Bloomington to kick off their conference schedule. Other games to watch for? Iowa will look to stay unbeaten as they go to to Camp Randall, Minnesota travels to Northwestern, and Michigan takes on the Terps.

But it was definitely good to see Michigan firing on all cylinders against a ranked BYU squad. Could the Wolverines find themselves in the Top 25 soon? They are getting our vote….