A big Ohio State win over Notre Dame and a dominant Penn State victory punctuates this weekends performances. What players, position groups and teams stood out and impressed the most among them all, and who disappointed the most?
Let's take a look at week four, the first official week of nonconference action in the Big Ten as we break down the scores, stats and storylines we saw.
Those who impressed
QB Ben Bryant (Northwestern)
After four seasons with Cincinnati, sprinkled in with an Eastern Michigan appearance, Ben Bryant has found his home for his final college football season. After a somewhat rough start to the season he absolutely torched the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday. The Wildcats' QB went 33-for-49 passing for 396 yards and four touchdowns in a 21-point fourth quarter comeback victory, which included an 80-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Kirtz after going down 21 to nothing.
It can be hard to imagine a lethal Northwestern passing attack, but with Pat Fitzgerald gone and all caution thrown to the wind, Bryant and the Wildcats did just that against Minnesota.
RB Darius Taylor (Minnesota)
This is not Darius Taylor's first appearance on this list, and it should not be his last. Taylor ran the ball 31 times for 198 yards, falling just short of 200 yards yet again, in the Minnesota loss to Northwestern. The Golden Gophers' star freshman running back has put up games of 138 yards, 193 yards and 198 yards on a stellar 6.1 yards per carry.
Taylor could be positioned to break some freshman rushing records, so keep an eye on if his terrific play will continue the deeper we get into Big Ten play.
Penn State's Defense
Yes it is Iowa, yes they have Brian Ferentz, but Penn State showed up in an enormous way defensively in a huge, ranked, primetime matchup. The Nittany Lions defense forced four fumbles all while holding the Hawkeyes to just 76 total yards of offense. If you include the Hawkeyes' 15 return yards on the game, they still had less than 100 total yards (91).
Penn State is showing the world that they are a force to be reckoned with. The balance that they are displaying as a football team (on the back of their strong defense) should be frightening to the rest of the Big Ten.
Those who disappointed
Iowa's Offense (again)
The big question that remains: will Kirk Ferentz sink the ship with his son (the offensive coordinator), or will he bite the inevitable bullet and fire him midseason or at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign?
Something has to give with this Iowa offense. Unfortunately for Hawkeyes fans, nothing really has over the last handful of years since Brian Ferentz took over at OC. After a talent upgrade across the board, including at quarterback, the expectation was that some progress would be made. To no avail, Cade McNamara turned in another bad showing with a 5-for-14 performance, throwing for just 42 yards and losing a fumble. McNamara was not the only issue this weekend for the Hawkeyes, as the running game produced just 20 yards on 17 carries. To begin the season Iowa had a clear lane to the top of the Big Ten West. With how poorly their offense looks this season, the path is muddied and the climb is steep.
Minnesota's Defense
Someone had to do it. Someone had to embarass themselves against one of the worst teams in the conference. In a crazy 37-34 overtime game, Minnesota managed to blow a 21 point fourth quarter lead en route to a loss against Northwestern. The Golden Gophers had no answers for Wildcats' QB Ben Bryant and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz. Kirtz went for 200 yards including an 80-yard touchdown grab, while Bryant threw for nearly 400 yards in the comeback victory.
Minnesota was thought by some to contend near the top of the west division, but with bad quarterback play and a poor defensive performance, the Golden Gophers find themselves at 2-2. Losing close games in the fashion that they did to Nebraska and Northwestern is heartbreaking, things will have to turn around quickly for a team that faces Michigan and Ohio State this season.
Michigan State as a whole
Nathan Carter came out and played a good game, barring a fumble (perhaps an audition for other suitors), but the Spartans were abysmal and uninspiring in every other facet. QB Noah Kim returned after playing the worst game of his career against #8 Washington with... another one of the worst games of his career. Going 18-for-32 with 190 yards, 1 touchdown, and two interceptions. Kim was benched for backup Katin Houser, who Kim had beaten out in the offseason for the starting job.
The defensive performance looked mediocre, and things may only get worse. Keep an eye as Mel Tucker's firing get finalized soon, and the 30-day transfer window opens. A tsunami of players will exit the program, and the roster will more than likely be bare bones. The future of the 2023 season is grim for Michigan State.
Closing remarks
Things are finally beginning to sort themselves out across the board. Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State are quickly dropping closer to the bottom of the conference, while Penn State and Ohio State are surging teams. If your favorite team, player, or position group ended up on this list in the "those who disappointed" section, they have every chance to show up in the "those who impressed". The flipside also applies.
Keep an eye out for who that might be in next week's reiteration of this article.
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