
1 thing I learned about every Big Ten team in Week 7
The battle lines are drawn in the race to Indianapolis.
In the East, everything is playing out as expected. For the second straight year, it will boil down to Michigan and Ohio State for the division title. And by default, it seems, the College Football Playoff appearance that comes with that.
It’s also down to a two-horse race in the West — but these are horses we’ve never seen before.
Illinois and Purdue are tied for first, and simply look a step better than their competitors. The division title will almost surely be on the line when the Fighting Illini host the Boilermakers on Nov. 12 in a most unexpected game of the year candidate.
Of course, there’s a month to go before any of these matchups happen. All 4 favorites will need to be on the lookout for potential upsets before then, with the West favorites obviously being more vulnerable.
Here’s what I learned about every Big Ten team in Week 7 — with the exception of idle Ohio State, Iowa and Rutgers.
Illinois: The offense is fully balanced
Everyone knows that Chase Brown is a guaranteed 100-plus yards on the ground. And that Tommy DeVito can do just enough in the passing game to keep opposing defenses from selling out completely against the run.
But against Minnesota, the Illini found a full offensive balance that was not previously evident. On a day when Brown gained 180 yards on the ground, Illinois actually finished with more passing yards. DeVito, questionable all week with an ankle injury, was supremely efficient. He completed 25-of-32 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown.
The Illini also held the ball for 40 minutes against a Minnesota team that led the nation in time of possession.
Illinois has repeatedly proven to be the real deal on defense this season, but an offense averaging 5.5 yards per play against the nation’s top defense reveals a more dangerous beast than we realized.
Indiana: The B1G’s most self-destructive team
Why have an opponent beat you when you can just do it to yourself?
The Hoosiers committed 3 turnovers, which Maryland converted into 17 points in a 38-33 Terrapins win. Indiana now has a minus-3 turnover ratio this season.
And then there’s the offensive line, which remains a mess despite new position coach Rod Carey taking over the unit this week. Indiana allowed 8 TFL and averaged 2.1 yards per carry even with sacks removed.
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Maryland: A gutsy but painful way to win
The Terrapins looked like toast when quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was carted off with a knee injury a minute into the fourth quarter. And understandably so. He is the heart and soul of that team, and the hopes and dreams of Maryland’s first 9-win season since 2010 seemed to leave with him.
Backup Billy Edwards didn’t complete a pass, but did gain 53 yards on 5 carries while leading the Terps to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives.
Maryland proved it has a lot of heart. Now we’ll learn how much depth the Terps have behind center.
Michigan: The Wolverines are insanely focused
Most coaches give their team a 24-hour rule to celebrate big wins. With a bye week ahead, that might get extended to 48 hours.
And Jim Harbaugh gives his players that right. But apparently the Wolverines give themselves a 24-minute rule. If even that long.
Moments after humiliating No. 10 Penn State on national television, all anyone could talk about was the Michigan State game in 2 weeks.
Jim Harbaugh said when he congratulated Michigan’s offensive line on today’s performance, they responded “It’s on to State, coach.”
— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) October 15, 2022
When Corum was asked about Heisman talk, he said "Michigan State is on the clock now".
— MrDoolittle 〽️ (@wolverinebacker) October 15, 2022
Michigan State: The defense has a pulse
Funny thing happens to Michigan State when defensive tackle Jacob Slade and safety Xavier Henderson are healthy enough to play: the defense actually looks pretty good.
The Spartans were 2-0 the last time Slade and Henderson both played, and went 0-4 in their absence. With both on the field Saturday, Michigan State limited Wisconsin to 131 passing yards. Michigan State was giving up an average of 339 passing yards per game during its losing streak.
Jacoby Windmon was a whirlwind, finishing with 11 tackles, 2 TFL, an interception and a forced fumble. He is the top defensive player in the conference when Michigan State has a full complement of defenders.
Minnesota: The dream is dead
Minnesota’s dream of reaching its first Big Ten championship game and possibly winning its first Big Ten title since 1967 is dead. It expired when Tanner Morgan was carted to the locker room after taking an incidental punch to the head while attempting to dive for a first down in an ill-fated comeback drive.
If Morgan can come back from the injury in timely fashion, there’s no reason the Gophers can’t win out. But they’ve already lost tiebreakers to both teams ahead of them in the standings — Illinois and Purdue. Leapfrogging those teams will now require a LOT of help.
Nebraska: Trey Palmer rules
Trey Palmer touched the ball 8 times on Saturday night — 7 receptions and 1 carry.
He finished with 297 of Nebraska’s 476 total yards and 2 touchdowns in the most impressive single-game showing from a non-Ohio State wide receiver in this year’s Big Ten. Palmer’s 237 receiving yards were a Nebraska single-game record.
Unfortunately, Nebraska’s defense surrendered 608 yards and 43 points, so all of that was done in a losing cause. But, man. What a legendary performance.
Northwestern: The Wildcats super-stink
Northwestern didn’t even play this week, but I learned the Wildcats defense is even worse than previously realized after watching Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz struggle against Michigan State.
A week after Mertz fired 5 touchdown passes against the hapless Wildcats, he was 14-of-25 for 131 yards with an interception against Michigan State’s struggling secondary.
The 2022 Wildcats are the Big Ten’s worst team by a long shot.
Penn State: James Franklin exposed, again
James Franklin’s team had an extra week to prepare for Michigan. It needed a month.
Franklin’s career record against Top 10 opponents is now 2-14 to go along with an 11-18 record against Top 25 opponents. Being at Vanderbilt accounts for 4 of the Top 10 losses and 7 of the Top 25 defeats, but he has been anything but Big Game James at Penn State.
Most telling of all: The Nittany Lions are 3-7 coming off a bye week under Franklin.
Purdue: The Boilers might be able to run
Purdue was 11th in the Big Ten with 3.9 yards per carry entering Week 7. Against Nebraska, walk-on Devin Mockobee looked like the best thing since Mike Alstott.
Mockobee was a workhorse, gaining 178 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. The Cornhuskers have the Big Ten’s worst rushing defense, so this may be a freak occurrence. But Purdue closes the season with Northwestern and Indiana’s struggling run defenses, so this may not be Mockobee’s last big-time performance.
Wisconsin: Jim Leonhard has work to do
Jim Leonhard’s path to becoming Wisconsin’s full-time head coach looked like smooth sailing after a pitch-perfect debut against Northwestern. The Badgers clicked on both sides of the ball in that 42-7 win.
Saturday’s 34-28 double-overtime loss at Michigan State offered a reality check. Leonhard will have every opportunity to earn the position — it was a major factor in Paul Chryst’s firing — but the Badgers have to do better against teams that aren’t Northwestern.
The Badgers managed just 283 total yards against a struggling Michigan State defense. If Wisconsin couldn’t move the ball downfield against the Spartans, it may struggle to do so against anybody.