Week 11 B1G report card: A Saturday to remember

This wasn’t a weekend full of upsets but there were still plenty of interesting things that happened in the B1G in Week 11.

Minnesota dominated Purdue from start to finish. Northwestern clinched the West title for the first time in program history. Ohio State’s punter might be the player of the week in national categories. It was a pretty fun-filled Saturday, even if there weren’t a lot of marquee upsets.

Let’s take a look at the grades from the second Saturday in November.

B1G East

Ohio State: A

Sloppy, ugly and gritty. Ohio State’s win over Michigan State came in traditional B1G fashion. The Buckeyes relied on defense, a strong punting game and a field position battle to down the Spartans and stay alive in the B1G East race. Not the best performance offensively, but Ohio State got the job done.

Michigan: B+

We’ve gotten spoiled seeing how well Michigan has played over the last month. Saturday’s performance against Rutgers wasn’t the best of year, and it still translated to a 35-point victory in Piscataway. Shea Patterson was spectacular, throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns.

Indiana: B

The Hoosiers tried to give this one away late, but a 42-yard field goal from Logan Justus proved to be enough to post a victory over Maryland. Indiana is now just one win away from reaching bowl eligibility. While the Hoosiers played well Saturday, they’re going to have to play much better to post a win over Michigan or Purdue in the final two weeks.

Penn State: B-

A blustery day in Happy Valley meant we had a defensive battle between Wisconsin and Penn State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions defense made life miserable for backup quarterback Jack Coan and the Badgers couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively. Aside from a long touchdown run from Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin couldn’t get anything going. Jake Pinegar came up big for Penn State too, knocking down 3-of-5 field goal attempts.

Michigan State: C

The primary reason behind Michigan State’s grade is because of its defense. If not for such a strong outing, things could’ve gotten really ugly in East Lansing. Despite a poor day offensively, the Spartans somehow were within striking distance through most of the game. It’s really too bad the offense hasn’t played any better this year.

Maryland: C-

It’s going to be awfully hard for the Terrapins to get that sixth win now. Considering the holes in Indiana’s defense, Maryland should’ve been able to rip off a lot more big plays. Ty Johnson’s absence probably was a major factor. After the loss, the Terps now have to beat either Ohio State or Penn State in order to become bowl eligible.

Rutgers: D+

Rutgers was tied with Michigan at 7-7 after one quarter. For most programs, that means absolutely nothing. But considering how poorly the Scarlet Knights have played this season and the thumpings they’ve taken in the past, showing signs of competitiveness is a step in the right direction. Still a long, long way to go for the program, though.

B1G West

Northwestern: A+

On Saturday, it was pretty irrelevant how well Northwestern actually played. The Wildcats are being graded on their ability to lock up a division title with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Considering the injuries, the 1-3 start and Clayton Thorson’s slow start to the season, it’s pretty remarkable Northwestern clinched the West title, even if the division was a bit weaker this year.

Minnesota: A+

Where did that come from? Yeah, a lot of Minnesota’s surprisingly outstanding effort comes from the change at defensive coordinator. The weather probably also played into the Gophers’ hands. Competing with Purdue wasn’t a surprise, but blowing out the Boilers sure was. This was the most impressive win of P.J. Fleck’s run at Minnesota.

Nebraska: B+

Big offensive outings is becoming commonplace in Lincoln. That’s a good sign for the future of Scott Frost’s program. The Huskers had another huge day, posting over 600 yards in a 54-35 win over Illinois on Saturday. Now, if only Nebraska could figure out something on the defensive side of the ball.

Iowa: B-

Saturday was far from Iowa’s best performance, but it’s hard to knock the Hawkeyes too much. Why? Because the game went almost exactly how everyone expected. Low-scoring, defensive battle in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa’s offense just didn’t make enough big plays to take down Northwestern. Otherwise, this went precisely how we all expected.

Wisconsin: C-

The injury to Alex Hornibrook, the strong wind conditions and a tough road environment were all key factors in Wisconsin’s loss to Penn State on Saturday. What’s surprising is that the Badgers weren’t able to find the end zone on the ground with more frequency. Aside from Jonathan Taylor’s 71-yard run early in the game, Wisconsin failed to find the goal line.

Illinois: D

A.J. Bush had a really nice day in his return to Lincoln, rushing for 187 yards and three touchdowns for the Illini. It still wasn’t nearly enough to get a win over Nebraska. Illinois’ defense hasn’t played very well over the last few weeks and last weekend was no exception. The Illini are having a really hard time keeping teams out of the end zone.

Purdue: F

The Boilermakers have had some pretty ugly losses this season, but getting blown out by Minnesota was easily the worst of the Jeff Brohm era. Purdue failed to get anything going in the rushing attack, it couldn’t come up with stops defensively and wasn’t able to move the changes effectively. Another disappointing performance after a huge win a week ago.

Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Hall Passes

Minnesota defense: Talk about a response. Minnesota’s defense had its best outing of the year, holding Purdue to season lows in yards and points on Saturday.

Ohio State special teams: Pinning Michigan State inside its own 5-yard line that many times is a pretty spectacular feat. And, it was the difference in a game that boiled down to field position. Hats off to Drue Chrisman for a great day in East Lansing.

Nebraska offense: Another 600-yard day for the Huskers. Devine Ozigbo was the star, averaging over 14 yards per carry and reaching the end zone three times, a new career high.

Northwestern defense: The Wildcats were able to hold the Hawkeyes under 100 yards rushing on Saturday, which has become essential if you want to beat Iowa. Northwestern’s defense also did a great job getting off the field on third down.

Detention

Purdue offense: It really is stunning that Purdue’s offense had no answer for Minnesota’s defense. This was much worse than any other loss the Boilers have suffered this year.

Illinois defense: Surrendering more than 600 yards and over 50 points has become almost standard for the Illini. Nebraska has done that to a lot of teams this season, but Illinois had absolutely no answer defensively.

Wisconsin offense: Yes, weather and injuries were factors. But the Badgers had to come up with something more offensively to beat Penn State. This was another dud for Wisconsin.

Michigan State offense: The Spartans have essentially earned a permanent spot in the detention corner this season. Just another poor performance offensively on Saturday.