The biggest surprise from each B1G team as we near the halfway point of the season

We are almost halfway through the season, which is enough time to get an accurate picture of who these teams are.

And maybe you are much smarter than me (well, you probably are), but here is 1 thing from each team that I didn’t see coming that has surprised me:

East

Penn State — Sean Clifford has rebounded from his down season

You’ve got to hand it to Clifford, who is on his third offensive coordinator in 3 seasons. Last season, when he was benched, feels like a distant memory. Clifford had as much pressure on him as any QB in the conference due to Penn State’s lack of experience behind him, and he has rewarded that faith with a stellar season of nearly 270 passing yards per game, 11 TD passes and only 3 INTs. A lot of people wrote him (and Penn State) off because of his struggles last season, but he has been a steadying presence while the Nittany Lions figure out the run game.

Ohio State — The Buckeyes really can just snap their fingers and have the best offense in the country

Ohio State has seemed like a well-oiled machine the last 3 years with Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields at QB, so it was never a surprise to see the ridiculous numbers they put up. But coming into a season without a QB who had thrown a college pass, Ohio State still is an offensive juggernaut thanks to incredible talent at every position. TreVeyon Henderson has been huge already, and CJ Stroud is getting better. Just get the ball to Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, and watch what they do with it. Ohio State leads the country with 556 yards per game.

Michigan — The coaching turnover actually worked

I’ll admit, I thought Michigan was about to fall off a cliff after last season. The way that 2-4 season ended and the uncertainty surrounding Jim Harbaugh’s job status, you got the feeling that Michigan was prolonging the inevitable by keeping him around. But this feels like a new program with renewed optimism, as Harbaugh’s overhauled coaching staff seems to have sparked some life into this program.

Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s new defense isn’t giving up the big plays through the air that Don Brown’s defense did, and these running backs (Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins and Donovan Edwards) are thriving under new coach Mike Hart. I did not think Michigan would even be ranked at this point, much less be a top-10 team.

Michigan State — Payton Thorne is this good

Payton Thorne has been everything Michigan State could’ve hoped for. My guess in the preseason was that Temple transfer Anthony Russo would win the starting job, based off his starting experience and the fact that Thorne couldn’t beat out Rocky Lombardi until late in the season.

But Thorne has been terrific, as he is one reason Michigan State went from having the worst offense in the Big Ten to one of the best. He has 11 TD passes, 1 INT and is second in the B1G in QB rating.

Maryland — Still too many ups and downs for Taulia Tagovailoa

I really thought the Maryland QB would take the next step, and he has, for the most part. He is still the No. 3-graded QB in the country by PFF.

But he is capable of completely unraveling, and that’s been disappointing to see.

He is either terrific, or he is a turnover machine. He had 2 3-INT games last season against elite defenses in Northwestern and Indiana, and he had a 5-INT game against the only elite defense he has faced this season, Iowa. He has to manage a game better and give his team a chance to win on off days.

Rutgers — The Scarlet Knights are competitive again

Yeah, Rutgers ran into a buzz saw last week against Ohio State, but other than that, it’s good to see that this program has built on last year’s surprising season in Greg Schiano’s second year. To beat Syracuse and push Michigan to the brink in the Big House are positive steps.

Indiana — Michael Penix Jr. is borderline unplayable

The biggest problem the QB has had at Indiana is staying healthy. There’s never been an issue with quality of play — until this season.

The guy that PFF ranked 5th in the country in terms of QBs in the preseason has been one of the worst in the Big Ten. He has the lowest QB rating, second-lowest yards per attempt and second-lowest completion percentage. Less than a year ago, Penix threw for nearly 500 yards against the national runner-up. Now, it may be Jack Tuttle time.

West

Iowa — No West team is even close to the Hawkeyes

This division always feels so random. No offense to Northwestern, but when the Wildcats have won it 2 of the last 4 years (and also will probably be the worst B1G team in the 2 years they didn’t win), it’s a wide open division.

That’s an obvious contrast to the East, which has been won handily by Ohio State the last 4 years (and really could be for the foreseeable future). But there is just no team in the West that can hang with Iowa, which is not something I expected.

We’re at the point where Nebraska, which already lost to Illinois, is probably the second-best team in the West. Iowa can sleepwalk to the Big Ten Championship Game if it wants, though it surely has bigger goals than winning the West.

Nebraska — Adrian Martinez is playing at an all-conference level

Part of this is due to the fact that some of the QBs expected to be very good (Michael Penix, Graham Mertz and Tanner Morgan) have been awful. But most of the credit goes to Martinez, who is having a career season.

He is vastly improved as a passer (it helps that he has some bigger receivers to throw to), and he just has a knack for making something out of nothing.

Remember how terrible Nebraska’s passing attack was last season? It had 1 passing play of 40 yards or more and the 103rd-ranked passing attack, with 5 TD passes and 9 INTs between Martinez and Luke McCaffrey. Nebraska already has 6 passing plays of 40 yards or more, it is the No. 40 passing attack in the country, and it already has more TD passes (6) than all of last season, with only 2 INTs.

Minnesota — The strange peaks and valleys

I’ve always thought of Minnesota as a pretty steady, resilient program under PJ Fleck, but that has not been the case this season.

How can a team go on the road and beat Power 5 programs (Colorado and Purdue) and also lose at home to a MAC program (Bowling Green) and almost lose to another MAC program (Miami). Something is off there.

Tanner Morgan doesn’t have any chemistry with his receivers, and the play calling would suggest that the Golden Gophers don’t have much faith in Morgan’s arm.

Wisconsin — The offense would be this bad

Last season’s 4-3 record was supposed to be about injuries and COVID — a forgotten season that was a rare exception. But Wisconsin is even worse this year, somehow, and it’s entirely the fault of the offense.

Graham Mertz has regressed, the offensive line is not nearly as good as it usually is, and there aren’t a ton of weapons. Or maybe there isn’t a guy under center who can utilize those weapons. The Badgers are 113th in the country in yards per play and are wasting a very good defense.

Northwestern — Losing Mike Hankwitz would mean that much

I figured there would be a dropoff when the longtime defensive coordinator retired after last season, but these numbers have been staggering. Northwestern allowed 657 yards, including 427 on the ground, to Nebraska without forcing any turnovers or registering any sacks. The Wildcats went from No. 2 in yards per play in the Big Ten to dead last. And that’s with playing 2 Group of 5 teams and Duke.

Purdue — The offense isn’t taking off under Brohm

Isn’t Jeff Brohm an offensive-minded coach? Sometimes I have to be reminded of that.

It’s great that the Boilermakers are improved on defense, but as Nick Saban has said, defense doesn’t win championships anymore. Despite having an elite wideout in David Bell, Purdue ranks 11th in the B1G in scoring at 23.6 points per game. It has 13 points in 3 straight games. It’s tough to win in today’s game without breaking 20.

Illinois — Brandon Peters isn’t better

The QB has dealt with some injury issues the last couple seasons, but I guess I thought the 6th-year senior would be better. He is averaging a B1G-worst 5.3 yards per pass attempt, about half of what Ohio State QB CJ Stroud is averaging. He was solid in 2019 in leading the Illini to a bowl game berth, tossing 18 TDs with only 8 INTs. It isn’t the career he envisioned after starting out at Michigan.