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Every team besides Wisconsin and Purdue (COVID-19) were up and running this weekend in the third week of Big Ten football.
Maryland pulled off its second win of the 2020 season in dominant fashion over Penn State, coming out on top, 35-19, on Saturday afternoon in State College, Pennsylvania.
There weren’t as many upsets or surprises in this week’s conference play, but there are a few intriguing storylines to follow as another weekend of football came to a close. Here’s what stood out the most.
* Rankings are from the time that the games were played, not this week’s AP Top 25.
Big Ten East
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Weekend Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Weekend Outcome |
| Indiana | 3-0 | 3-0 | W, 38-21, Michigan |
| Ohio State | 3-0 | 3-0 | W, 49-27, Rutgers |
| Maryland | 2-1 | 2-1 | W, 35-19, Penn State |
| Rutgers | 1-2 | 1-2 | L, 49-27, Ohio State |
| Michigan State | 1-2 | 1-2 | L, 49-7, Iowa |
| Michigan | 1-2 | 1-2 | L, 38-21, Indiana |
| Penn State | 0-3 | 0-3 | L, 35-19, Maryland |
Big Ten West
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Weekend Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Weekend Outcome |
| Northwestern | 3-0 | 3-0 | W, 21-13, Nebraska |
| Purdue | 2-0 | 2-0 | N/A |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 | 1-0 | N/A |
| Iowa | 1-2 | 1-2 | W, 49-7, Michigan State |
| Minnesota | 1-2 | 1-2 | W, 41-14, Illinois |
| Nebraska | 0-2 | 0-2 | L, 21-13, Northwestern |
| Illinois | 0-3 | 0-3 | L, 41-14, Minnesota |
Biggest Surprise: Michigan State vs Iowa
Coming off of a 27-24 upset win against Michigan last week, many expected the Michigan State Spartans to put up a solid fight against a winless Iowa squad. Not only did the Hawkeyes capture their first win of the season, but they did so with a surprising degree of dominance.
Iowa controlled play right from the start, scoring the game’s first 35 points to take a commanding lead before halftime. The Spartans were never able to recover from the early deficit and only managed to score one touchdown all game. The Hawkeyes eventually came out clean with a blowout win, defeating the Spartans 49-7 at home.
Iowa bottled up Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi throughout the duration of the contest, forcing him to toss three interceptions. The Michigan State offense totaled just 286 yards from scrimmage en route to the team’s second loss of the season.
After losing to Purdue by four points and then Northwestern by one point, Iowa came out with vengeance this weekend. The Hawkeyes will look to carry the momentum from their first win into next week when they face Minnesota, a team that’s also coming off its first victory of the 2020 season.
Statement game: No. 23 Michigan vs No. 13 Indiana
The Ohio State Buckeyes may have a worthy challenger for the Big Ten crown in 2020.
With two impressive offensive performances dismantling both Penn State and Rutgers, the Indiana Hoosiers look primed to keep climbing the collegiate football national rankings with a head-turning win over Michigan this weekend.
The Hoosiers came out firing in the first half and had a commanding 24-7 lead by halftime. Michigan wasn’t able to form any kind of comeback attempt and managed just three scores on the day as Indiana came out on top with a 38-21 win.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was phenomenal again for the Indiana, finishing with 342 yards through the air and three passing touchdowns to go along with it. Stevie Scott proved his worth in the ground game, collecting two touchdowns, and is now three yards shy of the century mark.
However, Indiana may have made the difference in this game through its discipline. The Hoosiers didn’t have any turnovers, though they forced the Wolverines into two costly ones.
Indiana now sits at 3-0 following its first victory over the Wolverines in the last 33 years. The Hoosiers are seemingly going to become a mainstay near the top of the Big Ten rankings for the rest of the season due to their dominant start.
Upset game: Maryland vs Penn State
The Terps have come a long way from losing 43-3 against Northwestern just two weeks ago. They’ve quickly flipped the script on its season, now coming off two consecutive wins in which they scored 35 points or more.
Maryland collected one of the biggest upset victories in this weekend’s slate of college football games, taking down Penn State, 35-19, after entering the contest as 25-point underdogs.
After combining for just six points in the last three meetings against the Nittany Lions, Maryland exploded on offense early on. Two long first quarter Rakim Jarrett touchdowns set the tone for the Terps, who led 28-7 at halftime.
Maryland opened the third quarter with a fumble-recovery touchdown to push the lead to 28. It was all set and done after that defensive stand. The Terps cruised to their second victory of the season — Penn State scored its last touchdown with 11 seconds left — and now sit in third place in the Big Ten East standings.
Taulia Tagovailoa is growing into a stud quarterback for the Terps, as he threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns while completing 69 percent of his pass attempts. Jarrett had his first real breakout performance of the season, reeling in five catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
No one expected this game to be close, let alone a Maryland victory on the road. Now on a two-game winning streak, the Terps will go on to face No. 3 Ohio State next weekend. The winless Nittany Lions will have to look for answers as the team moves on to play Nebraska next Saturday.