10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to in the Big Ten after Week 13

Right up to the very end, Big Ten football had us shaking our collective heads all day long on a Saturday. What a wild finish to the regular season, with some shocking results and head-scratching decisions.

Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes, your Big Ten East champions once again. I thought there run was over, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong. That’s the price I pay for trusting the Michigan Wolverines since August. I should have known better.

Anyway, on to the business at hand. Here are 10 things in the Big Ten that I am absolutely overreacting to in Week 13:

1. Ohio State does have a defense after all

No one group has received more criticism all year than the Ohio State defense, and for good reason. For a group loaded with 4-star and 5-star recruits, they had been an utter disappointment all season. They were gashed in the air during a 29-point loss to Purdue and they were gashed on the ground in what should have been an overtime loss to Maryland, and those two schools have combined to lose 13 games this season. So what happens Saturday? They show up — and show out — and completely disrupt Michigan’s intentions on offense in the huge upset win. Major props to linebacker Malik Harrison, who played with his hair on fire all day and had the game of his life. Props to the OSU defense. Finally, that was an awesome performance.

2. Michigan’s stubbornness on first down cost them again

When Michigan coaches watched film of Maryland running for 339 yards last week against Ohio State they were sure they could have the same success. So they ran the ball on first down … over and over. But with the Buckeyes selling out against the run, they had very little success. And the worst part? They never changed. They never made adjustments. The game plan had to change, and they didn’t do it. This loss is on the coaches as much as it is on the players.  “It didn’t go good, didn’t end up good,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And we take responsibility for it.” Again.

3. Once again, Michigan’s offensive line didn’t hold up

Michigan’s offensive line improved so much in 2018, showing the way for a solid running game all year after a couple years of being completely outmanned. But Saturday was a disaster. They couldn’t open up any running lanes, and Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson was on the run practically every time he dropped back to pass. If we’re handing out grades, this group gets an F. They never figured it out on Saturday, even for a little while.

4. And the Michigan defense, what a disappointment

Michigan’s No. 1-ranked defense was completely picked apart by Ohio State in all phases. Michigan gave up 249 yards rushing and another 318 in the air. The 567 yards were by far a season high, more than double what they had been giving up. Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins said it was easy. How embarrassing is that? “I was licking my chops,” said Haskins, who threw five touchdown passes and broke a bunch of Big Ten records in the process. “I see the one-high covers and that’s a quarterback’s dream. The biggest responsibility for me all week was to be able to pick up blitzes and protection, because we saw a lot of different fronts and exotic looks. I spent hours in the film room just trying to figure out how we can pick the blitzes up. And once we picked it up, receivers make plays, and I’m going to put it there.” Yep, it was just that simple.

5. Purdue gets a bowl bid, but now what?

Purdue has been an up-and-down team all year, but the Boilermakers went into Bloomington on Saturday and played well in a 28-21 win, keeping the Old Oaken Bucket for another year. It was their sixth win, which gets them bowl eligible, but there’s a lot of drama that’s about to be played out there. Coach Jeff Brohm said all the right things after the game, but Louisville, his alma mater, is going to come after him hard. Does he stay at Purdue? He said Saturday that he wants to, but that might just be a smoke screen. The Brohm era could be over at Purdue before it really ever got started.

6. Indiana never won a meaningful game all year

With the loss to Purdue, Indiana finished the season 5-7 and will look at the 2018 season as one where they missed out on a lot of golden opportunities. They played a lot of people tough, including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and even Purdue for long stretches of Saturday’s game, but they never pulled out any wins that mattered. They won their three nonconference games and beat Rutgers and Maryland — and that was it. There wasn’t a single signature win all year, which is disappointing for a team that was supposed to be on the rise.

7. Penn State says goodbye to Trace McSorley

Trace McSorley played his final  game in Happy Valley Saturday, and it was a good one, an impressive 38-3 win over Maryland. The winningest quarterback in program history, McSorley is also the program leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns. It was a touching farewell.  “I’m 100 percent appreciative of everything, and will probably never really be able to express how appreciative I am,” McSorley said about his time at Penn State. He took a long, slow lap around Beaver Stadium with his fellow seniors when it was over. “It was, for us, just to reminisce about everything that we’ve been through. We fought hard every single day, worked our butts off to bring this program back and bring it to a spot where it can be competing for championships.” Well done, Trace.

8. Michigan State wins, but it sure wasn’t pretty

Rutgers football has been a complete dumpster fire all season. The Scarlet Knights had lost 10 games in a row coming into East Lansing Saturday, but there they were, leading with four minutes remaining. Michigan State avoided complete disaster when Cody White scored on a 22-yard run with 3:53 to go to give the Spartans a 14-10 win. Can wins be embarrassing? Of course they can. It’s shocking just how terrible Michigan State’s offense is. There’s a lot to work on before 2019 rolls around. Those extra bowl practices are going to help.

9. Nebraska is the best 4-8 team in the country

Nebraska finished its season on Friday with a tough 31-28 loss to Iowa, but the Cornhuskers deserve an enormous amount of credit for turning this season around under first-year coach Scott Frost. After that ugly record-setting 0-6 start, the Huskers won four of their final six, and their two losses — to Ohio State and Iowa — were both there for the taking. They’re the best 4-8 team in the country in my book, and I stand by my comment that drew Twitter hate a few weeks back. Put Nebraska on a neutral field right now with undefeated UCF, Frost’s old team, and the Cornhuskers win.

10. Wisconsin gets my award for most disappointing team

Lee Corso reminded everyone that he picked Wisconsin to win the national championship this year. He wasn’t alone. I had them going 12-0 in the regular season myself. So for the Badgers to get ripped 37-15 by Minnesota — at home, no less — well, it just sums up this season perfectly. Wisconsin finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and beat only one team (Iowa) with a winning record all year. That’s pathetic. Is this a trend, or a one-year outlier? It’s going to be interesting to see.

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.