Penn State soaring, Ohio State limping into big game: Who’s up, down across Big Ten
The three teams at the top of the Big Ten East flashed their respective muscles in lopsided victories by a combined total of 142 points, despite the fact that the levels of competition this week differed greatly.
Michigan triumphed by 45 points, Ohio State by 34 points, and Penn State by 63 points.
HOW TO WATCH THIS SATURDAY’S “BIG NOON KICKOFF”
“Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show on FOX from 10 a.m. to noon ET.
Penn State vs. Ohio State will be on FOX and the FOX Sports app at noon ET.
On the other side of the conference, Iowa kept defying expectations by winning its sixth game of the year despite quarterback Deacon Hill completing only six of his 37 passes. The Hawkeyes took over the Big Ten West by doing this.
Michigan’s offense: There isn’t much about the box score from Michigan’s 52-7 win over Indiana on Saturday that makes the Wolverines offense an obvious choice to lead the Stock Watch. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for just 222 yards, fumbled twice and absorbed four sacks. Tailback Blake Corum ran for a season-low 52 yards on 13 carries. The team’s leading wide receiver was a tight end.
But everything head coach Jim Harbaugh’s team did against the Hoosiers dripped with efficiency in a performance that reiterated why Michigan remains the team to beat in the Big Ten. Third-down conversions? The Wolverines went 6-for-11 to keep their season-long success rate at 55.4%, which ranks fourth nationally. Fourth-down conversions? Michigan moved the chains both times Harbaugh rolled the dice to keep his offense on the field, including a 2-yard touchdown pass from McCarthy to wide receiver Roman Wilson. Passing efficiency? McCarthy connected on 19 of 22 passes to finish with the same number of touchdowns (3) as incompletions (3). As a team, the Wolverines shook off consecutive three-and-outs to begin the game by reeling off eight consecutive scoring drives from the start of the second quarter through the midway point of the fourth. Seven of those possessions resulted in touchdowns, leaving the Hoosiers chasing ghosts after the visitors built an early 7-0 lead.