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The tenth week of the college football season was interesting, particularly in the B1G. There were some things that nobody saw coming.
Penn State’s offense fell flat against Michigan. Iowa’s defense struggled mightily against Purdue. Nebraska was in the game with Ohio State until the end. Illinois eviscerated Minnesota’s run defense.
Crazy enough for you?
There were some sensational performance in Week 10, and there were some really poor outings. The final results may not have been stunning, but the way we got to the end of the day certainly was surprising.
Here are the Week 10 grades in the B1G, with the first week of November officially behind us.
East
Michigan: A+
Statement made. Michigan drilled Penn State in a 42-7 win. There’s simply no team in the B1G playing better football than the Wolverines right now. This is a group that’s balanced offensively and dominant on the defensive side of the ball. With only Rutgers and Indiana before a season-ending showdown with Ohio State, it appears Michigan will enter the final week of the regular season at 10-1 and 8-0 in the B1G.
Michigan State: B+
The defense was fantastic, holding Maryland’s explosive offense to just 100 total yards and three points. Michigan State’s offense wasn’t overly impressive, though running back Connor Heyward had a strong performance, rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Another solid win for the Spartans and now they’ve got momentum headed into a game with Ohio State.
Ohio State: C+
There’s a little relief knowing Ohio State was finally able to run the football, gaining 229 yards against the Nebraska defense. But on the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes still struggled. This team still has plenty of room for improvement, especially with games against Michigan State and Michigan on the horizon. Yes, the Buckeyes got the win, but it wasn’t in impressive fashion.
Rutgers: C
No answer for Jonathan Taylor and Wisconsin’s strong rushing attack, but this certainly wasn’t the worst performance out of Chris Ash’s bunch. Rutgers forced two turnovers and things didn’t get out of hand at any point in the game. Baby steps.
Maryland: D+
Once again, Maryland’s offense had absolutely no answer for a strong defense. The Terps accounted for just 100 yards of total offense and failed to find the end zone against Michigan State. Credit the defense, which actually played pretty well and kept the Terrapins in the game. But that group gave up one too many big plays. Maryland’s offense has a great opportunity to bounce back next week against Indiana.
Penn State: F
For the second time in three seasons, Penn State was blown out by Michigan. This was easily the ugliest game the Nittany Lions have played since their last visit to Ann Arbor in 2016. Trace McSorley was a non-factor, as was everything Penn State tried to do offensively. This game just needs to be erased from the memory, and quickly.
Indiana: Incomplete
The Hoosiers were on a bye week.
West
Illinois: A
Illinois put together its most explosive offensive performance of the season against Minnesota, rushing for 430 yards in a blowout victory. And that was with three turnovers. The defense wasn’t great, surrendering over 400 yards to the Gophers, but a 24-point win for the Illini is deserving of an “A.”
Purdue: A-
Things got a little scary late in the game for the Boilermakers, but Spencer Evans was able to knock home a game-winning field goal to seal a win to keep Purdue in the B1G West race. This was a great bounce-back performance for Jeff Brohm’s crew after a disappointing outing against Michigan State last Saturday.
Nebraska: B-
Progress is being made in Lincoln. Scott Frost has said there are no moral victories, but playing No. 10 Ohio State to the wire in Columbus is no small feat, especially for a team with a 2-7 record. Adrian Martinez had another big day, but there were too many mental lapses and not enough big plays to push the Huskers past the Buckeyes on Saturday. This is a team that continues to get better each week, though.
Northwestern: B-
Too little too late. Northwestern made a late push against Notre Dame, but digging itself a 24-7 hole was too deep to overcome. The Wildcats showed some resiliency but weren’t able to make enough big plays late in the game to register a win. Northwestern ends the season with an 0-3 record in non-conference play but still leads the B1G West. That’s the good news after a tough loss.
Iowa: C+
Defense has been Iowa’s strong point for most of the season, but it struggled to keep Purdue in check on Saturday. The Hawkeyes did make some plays late in the game, but committing penalties and giving up some big plays on the Boilermakers’ final offensive possession proved costly. After back-to-back losses, Iowa has played its way out of the hunt in the B1G West.
Wisconsin: C
Jonathan Taylor was the bright spot once again, registering over 200 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Overall, though, not the best performance from Wisconsin. Although, the Badgers haven’t really played up to their standard much this season. Beating a really bad Rutgers team by just two touchdowns is uncharacteristic. Wisconsin got the win, but this wasn’t a great showing.
Minnesota: F
So much more was expected out of the Gophers after a nice win over Indiana last weekend. Instead, Minnesota surrendered over 600 yards of offense and was plowed over by Illinois’ rushing attack. This was another lousy performance for P.J. Fleck and Co.
Hall Passes
Michigan defense: It held one of the best offenses in the B1G to just seven points, and that touchdown game in garbage time. No need to say much more.
Michigan State defense: The Spartans held Maryland to 100 total yards and three points just one week after the Terps put up record-setting numbers. Another tremendous outing from the MSU defense.
Illinois offense: 430 rushing yards, over 600 yards of total offense and 55 points will get you a hall pass every time.
Ohio State offense: The Buckeyes figured something out in the run game. They had 229 yards on the ground, albeit against a struggling Nebraska defense. Will it carry over against Michigan State?
Detention
Penn State offense: Even against one of the best defenses in the country, Penn State should’ve figured out a way to at least reach the goal line a few times.
Maryland offense: Still an up-and-down year from the Terrapins offense. They needed to be much better to pull off a win over Michigan State.
Minnesota defense: What was that? Seriously?
Iowa defense: The Hawkeyes’ secondary got picked apart by David Blough for most of the game. This was arguably the most disappointing defensive effort from Iowa this season.
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