The Week One Opponent Recap

As is customary here at the Quarry, we like to look at how the other teams on the Hoosiers schedule are fairing when we aren't playing them, and now that football season is finally here, it's time to bring on the weekly recap. As always, we start with the non-con opponents.

Bowling Green, the team we face after this bye week, traveled to Western Kentucky this week, and got blown up by the Hilltoppers 59-31. WKU QB Brandon Doughty threw for 569 yards (a new WKU record) and 6 touchdowns on 46/56 passing, and the Hilltoppers had 40 first downs against the defending MAC champion Falcons. For Bowling Green, their 465 yards of offense weren't enough to keep the game close after Western Kentucky scored the first three touchdowns of the game. The Falcons fall to 0-1, and play host to the Virginia Military Institute Keydets (no, I'm not making that up) this Saturday.

#24 Missouri welcomed South Dakota State to Columbia, and sent them packing with a 38-18 victory. The Tigers never trailed, and were only tied for six minutes in the first quarter at 7-7. Mizzou QB Maty Mauk tossed three touchdowns on 13/21 passing, and Russell Hansbrough ran for 126 yards and a score. The Jackrabbits also committed 3 turnovers, and gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, putting the game out of reach early in the third quarter. The Tigers improve to 1-0, and travel to Toledo this week to face the Rockets.

North Texas traveled to in-state opponent Texas, and the Longhorns easily dispatched the Mean Green 38-7. The lone North Texas touchdown came on a fumble recovery in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, and their offense was held under 100 total yards by Texas. The 0-1 Mean Green play host to the SMU Mustangs this week.

And in the B1G:

In their conference debut, Maryland wrecked James Madison 52-7. CJ Brown provided 4 of Maryland's touchdowns, running for three and adding another through the air. His backup Caleb Rowe also threw a touchdown, but was intercepted once as well, leading to JMU's only score of the game. The 1-0 Terrapins head to South Florida this week to take on the Bulls.

Iowa let Northern Iowa stay in the game a long time, but was able to get past them 31-23. UNI did actually outgain the Hawkeyes 405-401, but the Hawkeyes put the game just out of reach with a late touchdown form Jake Rudock to Damond Powell. Until that point, the game was back and forth, with the Panthers even grabbing the lead early in the second quarter. Iowa stays at Kinnick this week to welcome in the Ball State Cardinals, also fresh off a win.

#8 Michigan State blew out Jacksonville State 45-7 Friday night. Connor Cook threw 3 touchdown passes in the first quarter, though did have a scary moment when a defender clipped his knee late on a play. Cook returned after the injury, though he did not play the second half. The Spartan defense held the Gamecocks to just 22 yards rushing, and 244 yards of total offense, while also forcing 3 turnovers. The Spartans travel to Oregon for one of the featured matchups of this week.

Michigan did not fall victim to Appalachian State in their second visit to the Big House, winning 52-14 and avenging their embarrassing 2007 upset by the same school. Both of Appalachian State's touchdowns came in the second half, long after the game had been decided. For Michigan, Devin Gardener threw three first half touchdowns, all of them to Devin Funchess, giving Michigan a lead they would never relinquish. The Wolverines head into Notre Dame Stadium for a game with the Fighting Irish under the lights this week.

Penn State had an early morning wake up call against UCF, and needed a last second field goal to knock off the Knights 26-24. Christian Hackenberg threw for 454 yards and a touchdown, but also tossed a pair of interceptions for the Nittany Lions. Neither team showed off much of a running game (the teams combined for 81 net rushing yards), but both drew more than their fair share of penalties (17 total for 137 yards). Penn State returns from Dublin to host the Akron Zips at noon on Saturday.

Our other new B1G member, Rutgers, won a thrilling game against Washington State Thursday night 41-38. In a game where over 1,000 total yards of offense were gained, it came down to Wazzu's D not being able to stop the Rutgers ground game, particularly Paul James. The Scarlet Knights' running back pounded into the end zone with 3:24 left for the winning touchdown, and Rutgers was able to force a stop when they needed one to seal the win. Rutgers returns home to host the Howard Bison, a team whose logo looks suspiciously like the one used by the Buffalo Bills.

#5 Ohio State tangled with the Naval Academy, and escaped Baltimore with a 34-17 win. As we unfortunately know very well, Navy is a dangerous team, and they actually led 7-6 heading into halftime. The Buckeyes, playing without Braxton Miller, did finally get things turned around in the third quarter, and pulled away at the end with a pair of touchdowns. Ohio State brings Virginia Tech into Ohio Stadium this Saturday night.

Finally, Purdue broke their 11 10 game losing streak by beating Western Michigan 43-34. The Broncos and Boilers traded the lead back and forth for much of the first half, before Purdue grabbed the lead and hung on the rest of the way. An amusing note: both teams botched PAT attempts late in the game. I don't really know the circumstances of either, but two cases of this in the same game is just funny to me. Purdue continues their tour of Directional Michigan schools by playing host to Central Michigan at noon this Saturday.