Big Ten Roundup (Oct. 8): Saturday Game Results, Ohio State Survives Scare from Maryland
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There were only five Big Ten football games on the docket for the Week 6 Saturday slate. However, those five matchups provided ample entertainment.
Maryland led Ohio State 10-0 early in Columbus, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter when coach Ryan Day and his team pulled away from the Terrapins.
Additionally, Rutgers and Purdue did their best to scare Wisconsin and Iowa with potential upsets, while Northwestern nearly blew a 16-point lead to an FCS opponent at its homecoming game.
Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:
Saturday Game Results
Ohio State 37, Maryland 17
Maryland led 10-0 in the second quarter inside an anxious Horseshoe. The Terrapins even had the game tied 17-17 entering the fourth quarter. But that's when reality kicked in, and the Ohio State death machine finally got its gears churning. The Buckeyes lit up the scoreboard in the final period with 20 points to Maryland's zero to not only win, but even cover the 17-point spread.
It's just hard to beat a team that can press the button that reads, "Throw the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr. for eight catches, 163 yards and a touchdown."
Maryland proved that it's made up a lot of ground. The Terrapins will probably lose in similar fashion to Penn State and Michigan later this season, but 9-3 seems like the most likely final record for that team.
Still, from kicking a field goal while at the two-yard line early on, to the multiple backbreaking interceptions thrown by Taulia Tagovailoa, Saturday's game definitely feels like an outing where Maryland missed its chance to do something special.
Wisconsin 24, Rutgers 13
Moral victories are lame, but Rutgers not getting its doors blown off by Wisconsin sure does seem like a worthwhile moral victory.
Wisconsin led 17-0 at half and was never in danger from that point forward. It would have only been 10-0 or maybe even 10-7 entering the half, but right before the second quarter ended, Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt threw a costly interception. That pass was picked off by Wisconsin's Ricardo Hallman, who returned it 95 yards for a touchdown to get that 17-0 lead.
And trailing by that much, the 2023 Rutgers offense will never be able to come with how slow a pace it operates at. Still a valiant effort from the Scarlet Knights, particularly on defense, and at 4-2 it's still been a good season for Greg Schiano and Co.
Northwestern 23, Howard 20
Northwestern led their FCS opponents 16-0 at half and 23-7 in the fourth quarter, only for Howard to rally late and nearly come all the way back in Evanston.
Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan played in placed of Northwestern's usual starter — Ben Bryant — who was still out after an injury he suffered in Week 5 against Penn State. Sullivan threw for just 161 yards and 7.3 yards per attempt, while the Wildcats' rushing attack was held to 3.9 yards per carry. A pretty uninspiring win for Northwestern all-around, but given that no one predicted the Wildcats would be 3-3 at this point in the season, they're more than happy to take the victory.
Iowa 20, Purdue 14
By now, most every online college football has seen and/or heard the state, but here it is for those who haven't — Iowa won a game yesterday without completing a pass to a single wide receiver.
Tight end Erick All hauled in five catches for 97 yards, while running back Kaleb Johnson had one reception for 13 yards. All of quarterback Deacon Hill's remaining 15 passes either hit the turf or fell into the arms of a Purdue defender.
The Hawkeyes are well on their way to once again finishing around 10-2 despite having one of the worst offenses that the sport has ever seen.
Michigan 52, Minnesota 10
Michigan the best team in the conference right now, if not the country. Minnesota, meanwhile, it one of the five worst teams in the Big Ten. Everything went as expected here.
Related Stories on Big Ten:
- IOWA QB LIKELY OUT FOR SEASON: Coach Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes are likely to be without starting quarterback Cade McNamara for the remainder of the 2023 season following a non-contact injury that he suffered during the Hawkeyes' 26-16 win over Michigan State. CLICK HERE
- NEBRASKA 20, ILLINOIS 7: Coach Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers advanced to 3-0 on Friday night in a 20-7 win over coach Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini. CLICK HERE
- IU FOOTBALL OPPONENTS 2024-28: On Thursday, the Big Ten announced its new conference scheduling model for the 2024-28 football seasons, which has been adjusted off of previous plans with the addition of Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA to the conference. Here are the Indiana football conference opponents for the 2024 through 2028 seasons. CLICK HERE