The Week Four Opponent Recap

As always, we begin with the non-con.

Indiana State had the week off. This Saturday, they take on Liberty.

Bowling Green played punching bag for Wisconsin, getting blown out 68-17 in Madison. The Badgers set a school and modern Big Ten record with 644 rushing yards against the Falcons, led by Melvin Gordon's 253 yards. Bowling Green was competitive early, tying the game at 7 and only trailing by 4 at the end of the first quarter, but didn't record another point until the game was well out of reach. The Falcons drop to 2-2, and head to UMass this Saturday.

Mizzou got REKT.

North Texas had a field day against Nicholls State, winning 77-3. Quarterback Dajon Williams was responsible for 5 of the Mean Green's touchdowns, tossing a trio of touchdowns and running for two more. North Texas also returned a punt and two interceptions for touchdowns in the rout. The 2-2 Mean Green have a bye this week before coming to Bloomington October 4th.

And in the B1G:

Maryland traveled to Syracuse, and handled the Orange relatively easily en route to a 34-20 win. CJ Brown put up 280 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Terrapins, and William Likely had an 88 yard interception return for a touchdown that put the game out of reach for Syracuse. The Orange did drop 589 yards of offense on Maryland, including 370 rushing yards. Maryland improves to 3-1 ahead of their meeting with IU this Saturday.

Iowa came from behind to hand Pitt their first loss on the season, winning 24-20. Mark Weisman ran for two Hawkeye touchdowns, including the game winner with 6:56 left in the game. Jake Rudock started for Iowa, and threw a touchdown and an interception, but was replaced during the third quarter by C.J. Beathard. Iowa moves to 3-1, and travels to Purdue to open up conference play.

#9 Michigan State thrashed Eastern Michigan 73-14. The Spartans led 56-0 before finally surrendering a touchdown to the Eagles. This was the third most points Michigan State has scored in their history, trailing only a 75-0 dismantling of Arizona in 1949 and a 76-14 beatdown of Northwestern in 1989. Eastern Michigan registered only a single positive yard in the first half, and finished with 135 total. The 2-1 Spartans welcome Wyoming into East Lansing this Saturday.

Michigan had a terrible outing against Utah, allowing the Utes to come into the Big House and leave with a win (after a fairly lengthy lightning delay). 4 Michigan turnovers doomed the Wolverines' chances, though they did outgain the Utes 308-286. Shane Morris came on at QB late for the Wolverines, but it was too late to make any difference. 2-2 Michigan plays Minnesota this Saturday to begin the conference season.

Penn State took down UMass 48-7. The Minutemen's lone score came early in the fourth quarter on a 77 yard touchdown pass. Other than that, the Nittany Lions dominated, with Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton both running for a pair of touchdowns, and Akeel Lynch tacking on another midway through the third quarter. Undefeated Penn State hosts Northwestern this Saturday.

Rutgers held off Navy 31-24 in a game where the Scarlet Knights lost potent running back Paul James for the season with a leg injury. Rutgers actually forced Navy to pass (231 yards) more than they ran (171 yards), and the defense held up when Navy threatened to tie the game late. The 3-1 Scarlet Knights host Tulane this Saturday.

#22 Ohio State was idle. This week, they host the Cincinnati Bearcats, quarterbacked by former IU recruit Gunner Kiel.

Purdue defeated Southern Illinois 35-13 in West Lafayette. A pair of early turnovers turned into two Boiler touchdowns, and the lead grew to 25-0 before the Salukis finally got on the board. There was never a serious threat of Purdue losing the rest of the way, and they improved to 2-2 on the season with the win. They welcome Iowa into Ross-Ade Stadium to open B1G play.