Four weeks in, the landscape of the Big Ten is really starting to reveal itself. In the first week of Big Ten conference play, except for those teams who already jumped the gun in weeks prior and still faced a non-conference opponent this week, we have a good initial look at the Big Ten as a whole. The gap is already starting to form between the contender (yes, singular), the good teams, and the Big Ten bottom feeders.
Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State further proved why they deserve to be ranked in the top-25, while the rest of the East division is struggling to get its act together. Michigan State looked like a contender last year, now acting more like a pretender this year. Rutgers might’ve had some people fooled, but reverted back to old ways against Iowa, Northwestern doing the same. At least Illinois was kind enough to beat down on their FCS opponent.
Minnesota has a firm grasp on the West division after their smacking of Michigan State, while the rest of the division is a giant question mark. Iowa still makes no sense, unable to figure out if they are a good team or not. Purdue is also a curious case, as is Wisconsin. At least we all know Nebraska stinks.
There were no shortage of fantastic performances in the Big Ten in the (mostly) inaugural week of conference play, and here are the best from this weekend.
Blake Corum, Running Back Michigan
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan’s 34-27 defeat of the Maryland Terrapins was a lot closer of a scoreline than many were expecting heading into the contest. Sure, Maryland aren’t a slouch by any means, but the Wolverines struggled in this one. It took a herculean performance from back Blake Corum to will his team past the finish line. With 243 yards and two touchdowns in the win, Corum was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the week.
Tanner Morgan, Quarterback Minnesota
FILE – Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan (2)…
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