The Wolverine recaps Big Ten action from the eighth week of the college football season.
Illinois (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten)
Illinois' disastrous season continued on Saturday, when it lost at Minnesota, 24-17 ... The Illini knotted the score at 7-7 in the first quarter and 10-10 in the fourth, but were never able to grab a lead ... Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jeff George had an outstanding day, completing 18 of 23 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown ... The defeat extends Illinois' losing streak to five games.
Indiana (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten)
Indiana lost a tight one at No. 18 Michigan State, 17-9 ... The Hoosiers led 9-3 with just 5:58 left in the game, but then surrendered a touchdown to go down 10-9 ... Indiana has now lost its last eight games to ranked opponents ... After defeating Michigan State last season, the Hoosiers were hoping to land consecutive victories over the Spartans for the first time since 1993-94.
Iowa (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten)
Iowa dropped an overtime thriller at Northwestern, 17-10 ... With the Hawkeyes trailing 10-7, redshirt junior kicker Miguel Recinos nailed a 48-yard field goal with just 1:30 left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime ... Trailing by seven in the extra session, sophomore quarterback Nathan Stanley's fourth-down pass to sophomore tight end Noah Fant from the 18-yard line fell incomplete, ending the game ... Fifth-year senior linebacker Josey Jewell and redshirt junior safety Brandon Snyder both missed the game with injury.
Maryland (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten)
Maryland was blown out at No. 5 Wisconsin, 38-13 ... The Terrapins trailed 21-3 at halftime and were never able to get any closer than 15 points after that ... Sophomore quarterback Max Bortenschlager entered the game with a streak of 83 consecutive passes without an interception, but that came to an end with 12:18 left in the first quarter when Wisconsin redshirt junior linebacker T.J. Edwards picked him off ... Junior running back Ty Johnson rushed for 83 yards, while sophomore running back Lorenzo Harrison added 64.
No. 18 Michigan State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten)
No. 18 Michigan State escaped against Indiana on Saturday, 17-9 ... The Spartans didn't grab their first lead until there was just 5:59 left in the fourth quarter, when junior receiver Felton Davis hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass ... Despite being arrested during the week for driving with an invalid license, junior running back LJ Scott played and rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown ... Fifth-year senior running back Gerald Holmes missed his second straight game with an injury.
Minnesota (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten)
Minnesota grabbed its first conference win on Saturday when it defeated Illinois, 24-17 ... Although the Illini scored with just 23 seconds remaining in the game, senior linebacker Jonathan Celestin's 31-yard interception return for a touchdown with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter pushed the Gopher lead to 24-10, and all but sealed the victory ... Redshirt sophomore quarterback Demry Croft started the first game of his career, but only completed 5 of his 15 passes with two picks ... Junior running back Shannon Brooks missed the game with injury ... Senior running back Kobe McCrary rushed for 153 yards, while redshirt junior Rodney Smith added 103.
Northwestern (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
Northwestern defeated Iowa in overtime, 17-10 ... The Wildcats didn't grab their first lead of the game until there was just 8:07 left in the fourth quarter, when freshman kicker Charlie Kuhbander nailed a 30-yard field goal to give them a 10-7 advantage ... Redshirt junior quarterback Clayton Thorson's one-yard score in overtime wound up being the game-winning play, because the Wildcat defense then stopped Iowa on downs.
No. 2 Penn State (7-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
No. 2 Penn State handled No. 19 Michigan, 42-13 ... The Nittany Lions held just a 21-13 lead at half, but went ahead 35-13 just three minutes into the fourth quarter ... Penn State outgained the Wolverines, 506-269 ... Junior running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, and he also hauled in 53 receiving yards and a score ... Beaver Stadium's attendance of 110,823 set a new stadium record, surpassing the previous record of 110,753 set in 2002 against Nebraska.
Purdue (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten)
Purdue fell in thrilling fashion at Rutgers, 14-12 ... Trailing 14-6 with just 25 seconds left in the game, senior receiver Anthony Mahoungou hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass to cut the Scarlet Knights' lead to two, but the ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed ... Purdue outplayed Rutgers, outgaining it 474-217 in yards and 25-8 in first downs, but were doomed by two picks from redshirt sophomore quarterback Elijah Sindelar and eight penalties ... The Boilermakers never led in the contest.
Rutgers (3-4, 2-2 Big Ten)
After its win at Illinois last week, Rutgers came home and defeated Purdue, 14-12 ... The victory gave the Scarlet Knights consecutive Big Ten wins for the first time ever ... Redshirt junior Giovanni Rescigno made his second consecutive start at quarterback, but only completed 9 of 18 passes for 87 yards ... Fifth-year senior running back Gus Edwards ran for 94 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries.
No. 5 Wisconsin (7-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
No. 5 Wisconsin rolled through Maryland, 38-13 ... An 18-yard touchdown catch by sophomore receiver A.J. Taylor just under four minutes into the third quarter gave the Badgers a 28-3 lead and all but ended the game ... After rushing for 126 yards to give him over 1,112 on the year, Jonathan Taylor became just the sixth freshman running back in college football history to rush for 1,000 yards in his first seven games ... The Badgers featured a very balanced offensive attack, rushing for 215 yards and passing for 225.
Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 21
— No. 5 Wisconsin 38, Maryland 13
— Northwestern 17, Iowa 10
— Rutgers 14, Purdue 12
— No. 18 Michigan State 17, Indiana 9
— Minnesota 24, Illinois 17
— No. 2 Penn State 42, No. 19 Michigan 13
Bye: Nebraska, No. 6 Ohio State
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
