Big Ten Power Rankings: Wisconsin Badgers are for real

Penn State has been inconsistent all year, but they looked completely flat against the Wolverines. Their offense was held to 191 total yards, while star running back Saquon Barkley only logged 59 yards on 15 carries.

While Michigan really is that good, Penn State wasn’t placed in a good position to succeed. They came into this game missing three starting linebackers, but in the second quarter, Brandon Smith got ejected in the second quarter on a targeting penalty that was questionable at best. James Franklin also had some terrible play-calling, when he opted to kick a field goal while his team down 35-0. It really speaks volumes that their best moment of the game was Joey Julius going viral again.

Penn State has only managed to beat low-quality opposition, while this loss gives James Franklin a really bad record against the Big Ten East giants:

While Minnesota shouldn’t be a team that poses problems, they’ve had an extra week to prepare and are undefeated. Suffice to say, an 0-2 start to Big Ten play would be disastrous for the Nittany Lions.

Sure, Nevada is hardly a quality opponent, but beating an FBS team isn’t exactly something that Purdue does often. That’s why it deserves attention when it happens. And while Purdue didn’t make it easy on themselves – they committed four turnovers, two of which came inside the Nevada five-yard line – this should give them something to build on before they go on the road for the first time.

Ultimately, Purdue won because they were able to overcome their adversity and win as a collective unit. That was clear when they pitched a shutout in the second half after trailing 14-3. And when they did score, it was on big plays like Brycen Hopkins’ 51-yard score off of a misdirection.

While the mistakes they made didn’t matter against Nevada, it won’t work against Big Ten opposition. But if they play like they did in the second half all game against Maryland, then they should be in a good position to win.

It was easy to think that Indiana came into their game against Wake Forest with plenty of distractions. They had to deal with wide receiver Kiante Enis getting charged with child molestation, and facing a possible 16-year sentence. The worst thing about that story is that he knew about the girl’s age yet still went ahead and did it twice.

Even though he had yet to play a game for the Hoosiers, that’s going to be on the back of your mind no matter what. So when it came time to take the field, they turned in a poor performance in front of their home fans.

There are times when Richard Lagow looks like a star, and others when he looks like he’s still in JUCO. Against Wake Forest, he looked like both of those things.He set a school record for single-game passing yards with 496, but he cost his team big by throwing five interceptions. Coming into this game, he hadn’t turned the ball over once.

While Wake Forest is better than expected, Indiana really beat themselves in this one. But that Kevin Wilson never pulled Lagow during the game speaks volumes towards Indiana’s quarterback depth moreso than Lagow’s talent. If this is what Indiana fans have to deal with for a whole season, it’s going to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride.