Ten takeaways from Week 4 of the Big Ten Football Season.
MICHIGAN STAYS ALIVE
The Wolverines kept their College Football Playoff hopes intact with an impressive win over USC in The Big House. Michigan’s 27-24 win welcomed the Trojans into the Big Ten in their first conference game and sent them back to Los Angeles with loss number one of the season. The ground game and defense won the game for Michigan with former linebacker Kalel Mullings rushing for 159 yards. It was the first regular season meeting between the teams since 1958.
SURGING ILLINI
Illinois is off to its first 4-0 start since 2011 after the Fighting Illini went on the road and beat Nebraska. Illinois scored in overtime to stun the Huskers 31-24. Luke Altmyer outdueled Dylan Raiola in a battle of high profile quarterbacks and Illinois moved into the Top 10 of the national rankings.
RED HOT HOOSIERS
Indiana is 4-0 after routing Charlotte 52-14 and Curt Cignetti is the first head coach in program history to start his tenure with that mark. IU has now won each of its games by at least 20 points for the first time since before 1990. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was the conference Offensive Player of the Week going into the game and delivered on 16-20 passing for 258 yards.
FLOYD OF ROSEDALE BACK TO IOWA CITY
The Iowa Hawkeyes reclaimed possession of the storied Floyd of Rosedale trophy going to Minnesota and beating the Golden Gophers 31-14. Kaleb Johnson rushed for a career-high 206 yards and he leads the NCAA in total yards on the ground with 685.
KNIGHTS TIME
Rutgers ran its record to 3-0 with a 26-23 victory over Virginia Tech. Scarlet Knights quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis finished 16-25 for 269 yards as the Minnesota transfer continues to thrive under offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s system. Rutgers easily won the ball control game (39:20) over the Hokies (20:40) to help seal the road win.
MUSH YOU HUSKIES
Washington had no problems with visiting Northwestern taking down the Wildcats 24-5. Quarterback Will Rogers went 20-28 for 223 yards to lead Washington to the easy win. Northwestern was without star running back Cam Porters because of a lower body injury. Northwestern generated only 112 offensive yards with quarterback Jack Lausch connecting on just eight of 27 passes.
OHIO STATE ROLLS
The Buckeyes as expected hit on all cylinders and rolled over Marshall 49-14. Quinshon Judkins rushed ror 173 yards and a couple of touchdowns as Ohio State tuned up for a conference matchup against Michigan State this weekend.
SPARTANS SPUTTER
Speaking of Michigan State, Boston College took cars of the Spartans 23-19 on Saturday. It was a back and forth game for most of the contest before Thomas Castellanos hit Lewis Bond for a 42-yard touchdown with a little over a minute remaining. Michigan State is now 3-1 on the season.
RECORD DAY FOR PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions shutout Kent State 56-0 on a day that saw Penn State set a program record with 718 total yards on offense. Next up is a prime time tilt with Illinois next Saturday night.
MARYLAND BACK ON TRACK
The Terps scored their second straight win beating overmatched Villanova 38-20. The combo of quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (28-32, 328 yards) and receiver Tai Felton (14 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD) was too much for the Wildcats to slow down.