While Nebraska football had a weekend to rest and prepare, the other members of the Big Ten collided, fighting for improved position heading into the latter half of the season. The Huskers may have not played in any of these games, but the implications are massive.
Let’s take a look.
Oregon-Ohio State
The biggest game of the week came between #3 Oregon and #2 Ohio State, where the Ducks shut down the Buckeyes in the closing moments of the 4th. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard haphazardly slid to the ground a second too late as time expired and Oregon secured the win.
Ohio State now heads into a bye week with extra motivation before hosting the Huskers the following Saturday. If Nebraska fans felt skittish about that matchup beforehand, they oughta be shaking in their boots now.
Illinois-Purdue
Purdue, a team Nebraska dismantled just a few weeks back, nearly took down Illinois in overtime, the final score being 50-49, Illini. In comparison, Nebraska gave up only 10 points to the Boliermakers in Lincoln. Was this a showcase of an improved Purdue offense or an inferior Illinois defense? Whichever is the case, the game against Illinois will continue to be one Nebraska wants back.
Purdue has essentially played themselves out of conference relevancy, but Illinois is still very much in the mix. Next week, the Fighting Illini will host the Wolverines from Ann Arbor in what will be a ranked on ranked, season defining game for both programs.
Rutgers-Wisconsin
After Nebraska narrowly crept past Rutgers on a scorching hot, windy day in Lincoln a week ago, Wisconsin took the business to the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, winning 42-7. The Badgers did what Nebraska couldn’t on offense— running the ball at will. Things started slow, but as the game went on, and Rutgers lost their stamina, the lanes opened up for Wisconsin’s run game. They finished with 309 rushing yards and 549 in total. It’s hard not to wonder if Nebraska’s physicality the week prior didn’t have something to do with Rutgers lack of continuity.
Wisconsin is seeming to find their stride after consecutive blowout wins against Purdue and Rutgers, and they will head out to Northwestern in their next one to see if they can keep that momentum going.
USC-Penn State
In what looked like was going to be a tide changing victory for the Trojans quickly turned into a monumental comeback win for Penn State. Behind a dominant, one for the ages kind of performance by Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, the Nittany Lions just kept on clawing. Warren finished with 17 catches for 224 yards, including a highlight reel touchdown catch off a trick play that cut their deficit to 7.
After starting the season strong with a big win against LSU, USC falls to 3-3 in their first year with the new-look Big Ten. It will be interesting to see how the Trojans respond to adversity from here on out and what that will look like when the Huskers roll into Pasadena later this year.
For Nebraska, it’s on to Bloomington this Saturday where they will face off with the undefeated, 16th ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Both teams will be fresh coming off a bye with time to refresh and regroup, but Nebraska will have yet another shot to uproot a ranked team.
Go Big Red.