Week seven was quite an eventful one for the Big Ten with Rutgers topping Illinois 35-21, Northwestern topping Maryland 37-21, Michigan State slipping by Minnesota 30-27 and Ohio State dismantling Nebraska 56-14. However, these were far from the most exciting games in Big Ten play last week. Here’s an in-depth look at the most exciting games of week seven.
Wisconsin skates by Purdue, 17-9
Wisconsin opened with two touchdowns in its first two drives, highlighted by a 67-yard Jonathan Taylor touchdown scamper. Things would slow down quite a bit for the Badgers as the game wore on however. Scattered showers and a stingy Purdue defense made for some tough sledding for Wisconsin. UW also couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot, committing penalties left and right and playing carelessly with the football. A second-half Alex Hornibrook interception led to a field goal, cutting the score to 17-9. Wisconsin pushed down the field once more, but once again ceded the ball to Purdue after a Jonathan Taylor fumble. This led to an exciting drive by the Boilermakers that got all the way down to the Wisconsin 10-yard line. Its hopes of tying the game would be halted, however, by a Leon Jacobs interception on a second and goal pass attempt and the Badgers would go on to ice the final eight-plus minutes of the game.
Michigan holds on to knock off Indiana, 27-20.
Is it just me, or does Michigan really miss Wilton Speight? With yet another close victory, skeptics are being proven right as Michigan doesn’t seem to have the talent to stack up with college football’s big boys this year. After an up-and-down first half, Michigan led 13-3 at the break after solid defense and a 12-yard run by Karan Higdon gave the Wolverines a solid cushion. The third quarter would feature only one score — an eight-yard Morgan Ellison touchdown run for Indiana — making it 13-10 and setting up one of the more exciting endings in Big Ten play this year.
The fourth quarter scoring opened with a 59-yard Karan Higdon touchdown run that gave UM a 20-10 lead. But Indiana shortly after took advantage of a long punt return and capped off another drive with a touchdown. Indiana needed one more score to push the game to overtime, and with two seconds left, it got its miracle with a 46-yard Griffin Oakes field goal. Indiana’s hopes of an upset were quickly dashed, however, as Higdon took the first play of overtime in for a 25-yard touchdown run. Indiana was stopped on its following possession and would go home unhappy with a 27-20 defeat to the Wolverines.
