Four weeks in and we have reached the halfway point of the Big Ten season.
What have we learned, and who are the contenders and what has happened to Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota?
We take a look at some of the action around the conference.
1. Northwestern and Wisconsin wins set up collision course
Outside of Indiana and its rise in the Big Ten East, there has not been a better story to see in the Big Ten this season than that of Northwestern.
It has been 25 years since the Wildcats had a season worthy of the Rose Bowl and they now stand at 4-0 after turning back Purdue Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. For the first time since 1996, Northwestern is 4-0 in the Big Ten, and a huge reason for that is the play of Peyton Ramsey.
The grad transfer threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 23rd ranked Wildcats. It was reminiscent of what he did a season ago while quarterbacking Indiana, as he threw three touchdowns and ran for two others to lift the Hoosiers to a win over the Boilermakers.
Ramsey has been strong all season, as has been wide receiver Ramaud Chiaokhia-Bowman, who had all three touchdown receptions Saturday.
And the defense has been getting it done for Northwestern, as well. On Saturday, they held Purdue to only two yards rushing and had several late stops to secure the win.
As for Wisconsin, they showed no signs of rust after taking several weeks off due to Covid-19 related issues.
The Badgers actually looked very strong, hammering Michigan 49-11 and wracking up 468 yards of offense, while the defense held the Wolverines to just 219.
Wisconsin’s defense started the game with a turnover and never looked back, as the offense took only four plays for Nakia Watson to find the end zone.
Graham Mertz, who looked remarkable in his first start of the season, was 12-of-22 for 127 yards and two touchdowns against Michigan.
Wisconsin did it with a balanced offense against the Wolverines, as five different players rushed for at least 30 yards and four different receivers combined for 10 carries in the game as the Badgers utilized an offense that featured plenty of jet sweeps and reverses.
The two teams meet this Saturday at Northwestern.
2. Purdue suffers first loss of the season
The Purdue Boilermakers suffered its first loss of the season to the aforementioned Northwestern Wildcats.
The loss dropped Purdue to 2-1, but, more importantly, it comes with several questions, most notably where is Rondale Moore.
The Purdue wide receiver declared he was coming back to show the nation he was the premier receiver in the Big Ten, but the All-American missed his fourth consecutive game.
Perhaps more puzzling is the fact that Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm has not given any reason why Moore, who has not played in about 14 months, is not suiting up. According to an ESPN report, sources told the network Moore has been dealing with a lower-body injury.
Aidan O’Connell was 28-of-51 for 263 yards and two scores through the air for Purdue, while Zander Horvath had nine catches for 100, both of which were career highs.
Former Warren Central High School standout David Bell had another strong outing, reeling in nine catches for 78 yards. Northwestern was able to stop his school record streak of consecutive 100-yard games at five.
Purdue’s defense did a stout job on Northwestern, holding the Wildcats to 292 yards, including 80 on the ground as Lorenzo Neal, Derrick Barnes and DaMarcus Mitchell combined for 26 total tackles, a forced fumble and two pass deflections.
The Boilermakers will look to rebound Friday night against Minnesota.
3. Losing ways continue for Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota
Did anyone really expect Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota to struggle the way they have this season?
Sure, this is a bizarre season with Covid-19 playing havoc, but the way these three programs have struggled this year truly defies logic.
Michigan looked downright horrid for the second week in a row, struggling to get any sort of an offense going again.
Against Wisconsin Saturday, Michigan picked up 47 yards on the ground and had just 172 through the air for a total of 219 yards. To make matters worse, the Wolverines were just 3-of-11 on third down and had five drives that ended with three-and-outs. Michigan did not pick up a first down until the closing moments of the second quarter.
And, if it couldn’t get any worse, quarterback Joe Milton, who finished 9-of-19 for 98 yards, was benched after throwing two interceptions. Cade McNamara came in late in the third quarter and provided a bit of a spark to a lifeless offense, going 3-of-3 for 74 yards and a touchdown on his opening drive. For the game, he was 4-of-7 for 74 yards.
Michigan is off to its worst start since 1967 and the seat Jim Harbaugh sits on is as hot as it has ever been, regardless of any stop he’s been at.
The Wolverines are a team in complete disarray and something needs to change quickly for the Wolverines.
Don’t think for a moment that Jim Harbaugh woke up one morning and forgot how to coach, this team is a complete reflection of its coach and leadership.
Along that line, Penn State is also a program in complete tatters.
Perhaps, the Nittany Lions deserve a sort of a pass as they are down two very talented running backs, and head coach James Franklin let everyone in this week on how tough the Covid-19 pandemic has been on his family and personal life, but there is absolutely no reason why this program should be on the bottom looking up in the Big Ten.
Sean Clifford is a shell of himself and is creating more issues than ever by forcing the issue and feeling like he needs to make the home run play every time to keep Penn State in the game.
It is safe to say that the new offensive coordinator and other changes Franklin made in the offseason have not been working, at least not yet.
And while the offense has been bad at times, it is the defense that has been the issue. The Nittany Lions have allowed 30-plus points in every game this season and cannot stop anyone.
Consider this, in its loss to Nebraska, Penn State had 501 yards of total offense and 30 first downs and still lost.
Penn State has chances to get wins down the stretch, as they take on Michigan, Iowa, Rutgers and Michigan State. If they don’t win at least three of those, there will be serious questions in the offseason that will need addressed.
However, fans demanding the moves of Harbaugh and Franklin ought to be careful what they ask for.
As for Minnesota, there is far too much talent for the Golden Gophers, especially on the offensive side of the football, for them to be as bad as they have been this season.
P.J. Fleck’s boat is now taking on water this season as Minnesota fell to 1-3 after a loss to Iowa.
There have been injuries for Minnesota, especially on the offensive line, but Tanner Morgan looks nothing like the Morgan who earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors a season ago at quarterback.
All three should find their winning ways before the season concludes.
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