Big Ten Week Five Wrap-up

Did Penn State prove me and the rest of the doubters wrong Saturday night against Illinois? Yeah, mostly. Illinois did keep the game close, trailing 31-24 with about 13 minutes left in the game. Illinois lost their second game of the year, but both losses came to teams who now sit in the top six in the nation. And both losses were largely a result of one playmaker tearing them apart. First it was Maclin and this week it was PSU's Derrick Williams catching a touchdown, running another, and taking a kickoff 94 yards for a third score. Sound familiar? A reporter actually asked Juice after the game if it was time to start thinking about basketball season for the Illini fans. Ridiculous.

Michigan had two weeks to get ready for Wisconsin after the Wolverines fumbled the Notre Dame game away, but the offense didn't skip a beat in the first half, turning the ball over five times to the Badgers. Then something happened in the second half. UM didn't find the endzone until the 2:22 mark in the third, but didn't waste much time after that. Another TD drive in the fourth was followed with an interception return for a score as Michigan put up 13 points in three seconds to take a 20-19 lead. After another Michigan score and UW fumble in the red zone, the Badgers made a gutsy drive that would have tied the game had Travis Beckum not lined up wrong on a successful 2-point try, but after the penalty the do-over failed and Rich Rodriguez got his first big win in Ann Arbor.

Northwestern made a 14 point comeback in Iowa City to beat the Hawkeyes Saturday and improve to 5-0. Barring a Mets-like collapse, someone owes me an apology for making fun of my bowl prediction for the Wildcats. C.J. Bacher was great Saturday throwing for 284 yards and three touchdowns, while leading Northwestern to its best start since 1962.

Michigan State beat Indiana, Ohio State topped Minnesota, and Purdue lost at Notre Dame 38-21.