Illinois 45, Illinois State 17: Juice Williams was injured in the first quarter, but experienced backup Eddie McGee stepped in, and thanks to 384 yards on the ground, the Illini handled an in-state I-AA team with ease. Hail to the Orange is a bit concerned by the Redbirds' 354 yards passing.
Iowa 35, Iowa State 3: Not much to say about this one. The Hawkeyes whipped up on their overmatched rival.
Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34: Remember a couple of weeks ago when Michigan was expected to be a middle-of-the-pack team that IU might kinda sorta be able to play with if we were, say, on par with the 2007 team? That's not likely. I have said before that I thought the Rodriguez critics were going to be disappointed, but I didn't expect them to be disappointed so soon.
Central Michigan 29, Michigan State 27: One of the MAC teams that beat IU in 2008 tripped up an in-state opponent. The Chippewas recovered an onside kick and kicked the game-winning field goal after a Spartan penalty on a missed field goal gave CMU a second chance.
Minnesota 20, Air Force 13: The Gophers opened TCF Bank Stadium with a comeback win over Air Force.
Northwestern 27, Eastern Michigan 24: Northwestern kicked a late field goal to avoid overtime with one of the dregs of the Big Ten. It will be interesting to see how Northwestern will respond to the loss of CJ Bacher and Tyrell Sutton.
USC 18, Ohio State 15: This week's game of the year ended with yet another USC win over a Big Ten school and yet another OSU loss to an elite team. Great game, though.
Penn State 28, Syracuse 7: While not against the strongest competition, Penn State has been the steadiest of all Big Ten teams so far. They are the only conference team that hasn't so much as flirted with defeat.
Oregon 38, Purdue 36: Purdue played well in one of the country's most hostile environments, but a missed extra point and subsequent missed two point conversion prevented the Boilers from forcing overtime with the Ducks, who bounced back after losing at Boise and losing their best running back, LaGarrette Blount, to a suspension. Boise and IU remain the only non-conference teams that have won at Autzen Stadium in the last 15 years.
Wisconsin 34, Fresno State 31: The Badgers struggled with illness all week, but the Badgers held on and defeated Fresno in double overtime.
Akron 41, Morgan State 0: I'll have much more on this one as the week transpires, but Akron opened its new stadium with a 41-0 win over I-AA Morgan State.
TCU 30, Virginia 14: TCU is better than any team IU has played, but Virginia is really struggling. A week after losing to I-AA William & Mary, the Cavaliers were dominated at home by the Horned Frogs. I have no idea how many games IU will win from this point forward, but the UVa game is shaping up as one of the most winnable.