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It wasn’t the most entertaining weekend of college football that we’ve had, but hey, sometimes you have some clunkers in life.
There were some interesting outcomes from B1G games over the weekend — Maryland defeated Minnesota on a late touchdown run by Ty Johnson; Northwestern had a chance to overcome a 21-point deficit against Wisconsin; and Iowa-Michigan State was the defensive bout everyone expected to see. So yeah, there was a little bit of entertainment value from the conference. Even if Penn State, Ohio State and Nebraska all cruised to easy wins.
What can we take away from Week 5? Here are some of the notes from the weekend:
- Nebraska may have found a remedy for Tanner Lee’s interception problem. The Huskers got the ball into the hands of playmakers Stanley Morgan and De’Mornay Pierson-El to create some big offensive plays. For the first time, Lee actually looked comfortable in the pocket and didn’t turn the ball over. That came against Illinois, though. It’ll be interesting how he handles pressure from Wisconsin and Ohio State the next two weeks.
- There wasn’t much to learn from Ohio State’s 56-0 win over Rutgers on Saturday night, but the Buckeyes may have found another legitimate receiving option in Johnnie Dixon. He caught three passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns and looked capable of being a big-play threat for Ohio State. As if the Buckeyes needed more ammunition.
- Penn State has been dominant so far this season, but if there’s been one hiccup, it’s been on third down conversions. The Nittany Lions are converting on just 35 percent of their attempts, ranking 12th in the B1G and 95th nationally. It hasn’t hurt Penn State yet, but when you’re a championship-caliber club, moving the chains on third down is really important.
- Maybe it’s not time to consider Michigan State “back” but the defense is definitely playing at a higher level than it was a season ago. Mark Dantonio’s group looked like Spartans of old in a 17-10 win over Iowa. There’s still plenty of work to do offensively, but this is a team capable of surprising a team or two this season.
- Though Iowa’s hopes of competing for a B1G West title might have been dashed last weekend, don’t count the Hawkeyes out just yet. They’ll have to play incredibly well for the remainder of the season, but with the amount of talent on that roster, you can’t write off Kirk Ferentz and Co.
- If Max Bortenschlager continues to play the way he did against Minnesota (18-of-28, 154 yards, two touchdowns), Maryland has the potential to win a lot of games. That type of mistake-free football is exactly what D.J. Durkin needs out of his signal-caller this fall. The Terrapins don’t have the talent to beat Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State, but they should be able to compete with just about everyone else on the schedule if Bortenschlager maintains that level of play.
Now that we’ve recapped Week 5, let’s take a look at the latest bowl projects as we inch closer to the midway point of the 2017 season.
- Heart of Dallas Bowl: Indiana vs. UTSA
- Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland vs. Virginia
- Foster Farms Bowl: Northwestern vs. Stanford
- Holiday Bowl: Iowa vs. Utah
- Music City Bowl: Purdue vs. Arkansas
- Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs. Auburn
- Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Michigan State vs. Texas A&M
- Cotton Bowl: Michigan vs. TCU
- Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. USC
- Orange Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Georgia
- College Football Playoff: (No. 3) Penn State vs. (No. 2) Clemson
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB