Big Ten Daily (Nov. 11): Different Prize at Stake for Peyton Ramsey This Week Vs. Purdue

Last November, Peyton Ramsey hoisted the Old Oaken Bucket after quarterbacking Indiana to an overtime victory over Purdue. This Saturday, he returns to West Lafayette chasing another prize — a Big Ten West title.

The highlight of Peyton's Ramsey's mostly impressive career as a quarterback at Indiana came last November when he snuck in for a touchdown to give the Hoosiers a 44-41 overtime win against Purdue, allowing the Hoosiers the opportunity to reclaim the Old Oaken Purdue.

That's the biggest prize in Indiana football most years, but with Michael Penix Jr., coming back and Ramsey set to graduate, he decided to use his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

The Cincinnati and son of a football coach landed at Northwestern, and the rest is history, The Wildcats are 3-0 and leading the Big Ten. They travel to West Lafayette this week for a Saturday night showdown that might go a long way in determining the Big Ten West race.

Purdue is 2-0, with wins over Iowa and Illinois. The Boilermakers' game with Wisconsin was canceled last week because of high COVID-19 test numbers inside the Badgers' football program.

Purdue coach Jeff Brohm knows what to expect from Ramsey and the Wildcats.

"He gives them a lot of experience at that position, and that quarterback position's very important,'' Brohm said. "You need a guy that can not only manage the game, but make plays, can make good decisions, that can extend the play with his feet. 

"He's played a lot of football. He's a coach's son. And he's definitely really helped that offense function at a higher level and he's really done a good job of executing and doing the small things that even when they're not scoring, I know they have had a turnover here and there, but try to and take care of the ball, make sure that they allow their defense to go out and play.''

Northwestern's offense is different from Indiana's, but Ramsey has picked everything up in a hurry. The Wildcats have beaten Maryland, Iowa and Nebraska.

"We have seen him a lot and he's one of those guys that has a lot of savvy, and that's because of his background,'' Brohm said. "You've got to find ways to cover receivers. You got to find ways to get a pass rush. You got to find ways to able to hit the quarterback and get in his vision. You got find ways to make him throw in third-and-long situations instead of third medium and short. 

"There's a lot of things that we have to do execution-wise, but, yes, we have got to account for him. He can make plays with his feet. He can run to get yards. He can run the zone read and pull it and get around the edge, and he can also scramble and make plays. So he's got a good, very good mix of ability to throw the football, but yet athleticism to make plays with his feet and those are hard to defend.''

Northwestern coach is thrilled to have the fifth-year senior at the helm. Nothing seems to phase Ramsey.

“He looks really calm,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a coach’s son. He’s played a ton of football. You say, ‘OK, let’s see how he responds.’ He responds consistently with the same mind set each time: ‘I’m fine. Let’s go.’ ”

Ramsey threw two early interceptions against Nebraska, but came back to lead them to victory. His steady play, along with Northwestern's stout defense, has them at 3-0 after going 3-9 a year ago, including a Ramsey-led loss to Indiana.

“We have to be 1-0 versus COVID with our social choices,” he said.

The transfer portal is where many QBs turn after not winning the job.

Not Peyton Ramsey.

The starter-turned-backup-turned-starter couldn't walk out on his teammates.@P_Rams12 | @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/XwRSUW6Yqn

— Indiana On BTN (@IndianaOnBTN) November 11, 2019

Tough times for Penn State's Franklin

So far, 2020 has been pretty awful for a lot of people. It's been tough on James Franklin, too. The Penn State coach is 0-3, which just doesn't happen in Happy Valley, and then he goes home to an empty house.

Because his daughter has sickle cell, his family is staying in their Florida home to keep her away from COVID-19 exposure. It's all adding up for Franklin.

"One of the things I have not done a great job of handling personally, that I have to be honest with myself and honest with the team about, is I have not done a great job of managing my family being gone. I have not," Franklin said. "They're my fuel. I go home, they're able to pour into me, and I've not done a great job of that. At the end of the day, I have to. I have to manage those things."

Harbaugh deflecting heat at Michigan

Back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Indians have Michigan fans in an uproar, with their anger targeted at coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff. But Harbaugh isn't hearing any of it. He's standing behind his staff 100 percent.

"Yeah, I do [have confidence in Don Brown]. Very much so,'' Harbaugh said. 'I love all of our coaches, every coach and the staff. They work extremely hard, their schemes are really good and they coach them good."

Best passing attack? No question it's Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes are approaching the half-way point of their regular season and are off to a 3-0 start this fall. While there have been a few instances in which the defense has allowed more points than fans were used to in years past, nobody has been able to slow down this high-octane offense - especially through the air.

Consider what Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has accomplished through three games: coupled with his two rushing TDs, Fields has accounted for more touchdowns (13) than he has incompletions (11). He’s 72-of-83 on the year with 908 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.