The Minnesota Gophers got off to a dominant start on Thursday night but they had a good chance to scout the rest of the Big Ten over the weekend.
Quarterback battles, big plays and a top-five matchup stole the headlines in Week 1, giving Minnesota some critical data points as they look to compete in the Big Ten this season.
Ohio State winning ugly over Notre Dame
The Buckeyes are a heavy favorite to win the Big Ten but they looked like a team looking to iron out some kinks in a 21-10 victory over Notre Dame.
The Irish used a strong defensive effort and an Audric Estime touchdown to take a 10-7 lead into halftime but Ohio State responded with 17 seconds left in the third quarter when C.J. Stroud threw a 24-yard touchdown to Xavier Johnson.
What a throw here by CJ Stroud!! Ohio State takes the 14-10 lead https://t.co/8gTtQxcPtE
— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) September 4, 2022
Stroud threw two touchdowns on the night and Ohio State’s defense shut out the Irish for the final 42 minutes to come away with the high-profile victory.
J.J. McCarthy pulling ahead in Michigan’s QB battle
The Wolverines came into the season with McCarthy and Cade McNamara competing for the starting quarterback job. Although McNamara got the start in Michigan’s 51-7 win over Colorado State, it was the five-star freshman that stood out.
After McNamara went 9-for-18 with 136 yards and a touchdown, McCarthy came off the bench and showed his dual-threat ability. McCarthy completed all four pass attempts for 30 yards and racked up 50 yards on the ground including a 20-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
https://twitter.com/DP_NFL/status/1566131411911942145
McCarthy will get the start next week against Hawaii before Jim Harbaugh names an official starter ahead of their Sept. 17 matchup with Connecticut.
Iowa’s offense needing to catch up with its defense
The Hawkeyes’ defense ranked ninth in the nation in yards allowed last season and they picked up where they left off in a 7-3 win over South Dakota State.
Iowa limited the Jackrabbits to just 120 total yards on the afternoon and collected a pair of safeties including one from safety Jack Campbell to take a 5-3 lead in the third quarter.
.@torytaylor09 + defense = 2️⃣#Hawkeyes https://t.co/eDy8qTtedW
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) September 3, 2022
Unfortunately, Iowa’s offense is light years behind its defense. The Hawkeyes managed 166 total yards on offense and Spencer Petras completed just 11-of-25 passes for 109 yards and an interception on the afternoon. If Iowa wants to compete in the Big Ten, they’ll need to figure out how to improve an offense that ranked 10th in the conference with 23.4 points per game last season.
Braelon Allen’s 96-yard touchdown run
If there’s one name that threatens the Gophers’ chances to win a division title, it’s Braelon Allen. The 18-year-old sophomore tore through the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday night, ripping off a 96-yard touchdown run that put Wisconsin up 14-0 in the second quarter.
BRAELON ALLEN IS HIM https://t.co/ay4ql4IHww
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 4, 2022
Allen finished with 148 yards and two touchdowns on the night and John Torchio took a Zach Annexstad interception 100 yards to the house to lead the Badgers to a 38-0 victory.
Jalen Berger’s fresh start at Michigan State
While Allen was toting the rock in Madison, another former Badger running back was dominating in East Lansing.
Jalen Berger was dismissed from Wisconsin in the middle of last season, but has appeared to find a home with the Michigan State Spartans. The junior had a monster debut on Friday night, running for 120 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan.
https://twitter.com/StroudHEISMAN/status/1566091083720925184
The Spartans have experience with transfer running backs after Kenneth Walker III made a Heisman run after coming over from Wake Forest last season. With Payton Thorne’s four passing touchdowns leading the way, Berger could be a missing piece to Mel Tucker’s offense.
Chris Jefferson’s ‘Puke Six’
Purdue’s game with Penn State was a back-and-forth affair but an interception return by Chris Jefferson may have provided one of the biggest highlights of the season.
With the Nittany Lions up 31-28 in the fourth quarter, Sean Clifford overthrew a receiver as the pass landed into the arms of Jefferson. The fifth-year safety took the pass to the house, running 72 yards to the end zone before vomiting on the sideline.
PICK SIX PURDUE 🚂🚂🚂🚂
Chris Jefferson runs it back 72 yards for the @BoilerFootball touchdown pic.twitter.com/ggNXfijweM
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 2, 2022
“You can tell he ran hard!”
–– Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) after Chris Jefferson's 72-yard pick-six 😆 #BoilerUp
(🎥: @CFBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/5GJhyabBg3
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 2, 2022
It was an effort Scott Frost would have been proud of but Clifford got the last laugh, throwing a touchdown to Keyvone Lee with 57 seconds to go to lead Penn State to a 35-31 victory.
Scott Frost’s hot seat getting hotter
Speaking of Frost, he was looking to rebound after his onside kick allowed the idle Northwestern Wildcats to steal a victory in Dublin last week. Hosting North Dakota, the temperature on his hot seat was turned up to “hibachi” as the Fighting Hawks held the ball for over 20 minutes and went into halftime tied 7-7.
Nebraska tried to create some distance by building a 17-7 lead but after a field goal, a Casey Thompson interception set up a Tyler Hoosman touchdown to tie it at 17.
TO THE HOUSE. 🏃🏃@grant4anthony x @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/3nQZ57PSkA
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 3, 2022
The Cornhuskers found a hero in Anthony Grant, who scored his second touchdown of the day and finished with 189 yards rushing to pull away for a 38-17 victory. The heat remains on Frost’s tenure in Lincoln, however, and that will be a main storyline throughout this season.
Connor Bazelak leading a Hoosier comeback
Much like Berger at Michigan State, Bazelak might have found a home with the Indiana Hoosiers. The Missouri transfer starred on Friday night, delivering a beautiful 52-yard touchdown pass to DJ Matthews in the second quarter.
https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1565869373931171841
The Missouri transfer delivered another highlight in the fourth quarter, leading a 75-yard drive to set up a Shaun Shivers touchdown run with 23 seconds to go. With 330 yards and a pair of scores on the night, Bazelak led the Hoosiers to a 23-20 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Scarlet Knights mounting a comeback on the road
Rutgers used their defense put together an impressive 22-21 comeback victory over Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
The Scarlet Knights couldn’t get out of their own way with 10 penalties on the afternoon but their defense forced two interceptions from Phil Jurkovec and recovered a fumble to come back from a 21-12 deficit.
Al-Shadee Salaam capped off a 12-play, 96-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give Rutgers the victory.
Rutgers is leaving Boston College with a W❗️ pic.twitter.com/2b0R36Yne7
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 3, 2022
Roman Hemby making an immediate impact for Maryland
The Terrapins went into the locker room up 17-7 against Buffalo but their offense didn’t get going until Roman Hemby took the game into his hands.
Representing Edgewood, Md@r_h3mby went off
7 for 114 and 2 TDs pic.twitter.com/WKTXpHVcDh
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 3, 2022
The redshirt freshman running back ripped off a 70-yard touchdown on the second play of the third quarter and finished with 114 yards and two touchdowns to help Maryland earn a 31-10 victory over Buffalo.
