10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to in the Big Ten after Week 10

Week 10 was referred to by many as “Statement Week,” and there was certainly plenty of statements made Saturday, most notably by Michigan, who totally destroyed Penn State as their revenge tour continued. There were other magical moments and wild endings as well.

Here’s what I am absolutely overreacting to after Week 10:

1. With absolute certainty, Michigan is best team in Big Ten

Michigan is taking this whole “Revenge Tour” thing seriously. They aren’t just beating people, they are destroying them, sending them home with heads bowed … and penniless. “We wanted our lunch money back,” Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich said after the Wolverines crushed Penn State 42-7. “We wanted them to pay interest. The bank is closed on Sundays, but we’ve got some deposits to make.” They sure do.

2. Embarrassing star quarterbacks is Michigan’s thing

The Wolverines have now won eight games in a row, and they’ve avenged losses to Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State by a combined score of 101-27 in their past three games. Michigan’s No. 1 defense embarrassed three veteran quarterbacks — Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook, Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke and Penn State’s Trace McSorley — into ridiculously terrible 17-for-58 combined passing numbers. That’s an amazingly low 29 percent completion percentage — and less than SIX completions a game. Michigan, so solid at every level, is just nasty on defense. Defensive coordinator Don Brown said he had nightmares over last year’s nauseating 42-13 loss to Penn State, when he crew gave up 519 yards and six touchdown. Paybacks are hell.

3. Shockingly, Ohio State is still a mess

When we last saw Ohio State before their bye week, they were getting trounced by 29 points by unranked Purdue. Two weeks later, the only thing better was that they hung on to beat Nebraska. The Buckeyes struggled all day and barely won 36-31 to a team that started the season 0-6 and still has just one FBS victory all year. Sure, the Buckeyes still have just the one loss, but they have no business being in the top-10, in my opinion. They haven’t played a good game in more than a month.

4. Penn State gets swept by Big 3 in B1G East

Saturday was pure misery for Penn State. It was painful just trying to watch Trace McSorley play on that bad knee, and his offensive linemen didn’t help him one bit. They had no chance against Michigan’s defensive front. The 42-7 loss means that the Nittany Lions have finished the season 0-3 against their fellow big boys — Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan — in the Big Ten East. With three losses in five weeks, Penn State is sure to tumble far from its No. 14 ranking this week. This has been, without question, a very disappointing season for Penn State.

5. Purdue keeps finding a way to win

The most exciting game of the day had to be Purdue-Iowa. The Boilers won it on a last-second field goal by Spencer Evans, capping a thrilling 38-36 victory. Iowa had erased an 11-point second-half deficit to take the lead, and it looked like they were going to pull off a mild upset on the road. But Purdue’s David Blough led an 11-play, 43-yard drive that not only put them in position to kick the game-winning field goal, but it also sucked the game clock dry so Iowa couldn’t respond. The Boilers are still holding out hopes to win the Big Ten West, but they need three wins against Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana. It’s definitely been one heck of a fun season for the Boilers.

6. Consecutive hard losses for Iowa

Two weeks in a row, Iowa lost a game it could have — and should have — won in the final seconds. The Hawkeyes blew a golden opportunity last week against Penn State with a turnover in the end zone, and then they couldn’t make a stop on Purdue’s final drive on Saturday. Just two weeks ago, the Hawks had aspirations of winning the Big Ten West. That’s clearly not going to happen now.

7. Northwestern loses, but bigger games lie ahead

Northwestern stepped out of conference to play No. 4 and undefeated Notre Dame at home Saturday night. The Wildcats played well, but just didn’t have enough in the 31-21 loss. The Wildcats just couldn’t get enough done on offense, averaging only 2.7 yards per carry, to lose all three of their nonconference games. They do have bigger fish to fry, though, as leaders in the Big Ten West with its 5-1 conference record. With a game in hand and Iowa’s loss to Purdue on Saturday, it’s very likely the Wildcats are going to win the division. They have Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois left, and can probably still win the league even with a loss to Iowa this weekend.

8. Michigan State gets bowl eligible with dominant performance

Once again, I’ve got to give credit to Michigan State for its resiliency. Fighting through injuries all year, they welcomed a few guys back for Saturday’s game at Maryland, and they looked good in an easy 24-3 win that got them bowl eligible. Quarterback Brian Lewerke returned after missing a game with a throwing shoulder injury. He didn’t do a lot, throwing for just 87 yards on 11 of 20 passing, but he did hand off well to Connor Hayward, who rushed for 157 yards. Cornerback Josiah Scott and wide receiver Cody White returned, so maybe they’ll be closer to full strength for the big game next week against Ohio State.

9. Badgers win, but there are still lots of issues

Wisconsin beat Rutgers 31-17 on Saturday, but it wasn’t the least bit impressive. Rutgers, frankly, is horrible this season but the Badgers didn’t blow them out. Alex Hornibrook, back after missing a game with a concussion, completed just 7 passes for 92 yards all day. It’s a good thing Jonathan Taylor is awesome. He had 207 yards on 27 carries. It’s going to be interesting to see how the 6-3 Badgers finish the season against Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota. There could be some losses there.

10. Congrats, finally, to Lovie Smith and Illinois

Illinois finally got a Big Ten win on Saturday, and they did it in an impressive manner, crushing Minnesota 55-31. The Illini rushed for a whopping 430 yards, averaging an amazing 12.3 yards per carry. It was nice to see them finally get a Big Ten win, and get to 4-5 overall. Can they find two more wins to get bowl eligible? They’ve got Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern left.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.