The opening week of college football is in the books…well, at least for Big Ten teams. Let’s look at some of the highlights from the first few days of football in America’s best college football conference (except for Northwestern and UCLA).
Best Win of the Week: Ohio State takes down #1
The most hyped non-conference game of the season wasn’t exactly ready for prime time, or even noon time. But, with most of the college world watching, Ohio State won a defensive struggle against Texas, much like they did back in January. The story will be Texas’s Arch Manning struggling against the Buckeye defense in a big spot. But, the bigger takeaway might be that Ohio State has reloaded on defense and will be a major factor in the conference and national picture this season.
Worst Loss of the Week: Northwestern with a bad, bad look
It’s one thing to go on the road, lay a complete egg, turn the ball over five times, and lose 23-3 to an American Athletic Conference team to open the season. But, the Wildcats made it that much worse by denying Tulane’s request to wear white uniforms, something that goes back to when they took the field for the first time after Hurricane Katrina.
Offensive Player of the Week: Justice Haynes, Michigan
The Alabama transfer found the end zone three times in his first game with the Wolverines, a 34-17 triumph over New Mexico. Haynes finished with 159 yards on 16 carries. Things figure to get more challenging this weekend when Michigan heads to Norman to face off against Oklahoma, who didn’t allow a touchdown in its season opener.
Defensive Player of the Week: Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State
You can read more about him as we has named this week’s BSD MVP. But, Dennis-Sutton set up two scores with forced fumbles and helped lead a first-team defense that allowed just three points in a 46-11 season-opening win against Nevada.
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Offensive Play of the Week: Arhmad Brance helps spark Purdue
The Boilermakers had just one win in 2024, which they got in their season opener against Indiana State. This year, against another Indiana school, Purdue scored less than a minute into the contest in its win against Ball State. In the first quarter Saturday, the Boilers scored 14 points. In 2024, they scored 13 points total in the first quarter of their 12 games.
Defensive Play of the Week: Malcolm Hartzog Jr. clinches Nebraska’s close win
Nebraska is looking for big things in Year Three under Matt Rhule. But, the Huskers were in danger late in their Thursday night game in Kansas City against Cincinnati. Clinging to a three-point lead, Hartzog – one of Nebraska’s key defensive returnees – came away with a clinching interception to help the Cornhuskers win 20-17.
Most Big Ten Moment of the Week: Indiana Debuts “Old” “New” Mascot
So, Indiana used to have a Bison mascot on the sidelines for football games. That went away. But, now that Indiana is a football school – listen to the locals bristle when you say that – the Hoosiers decided to bring that mascot back. He made his first appearance in quite the dramatic fashion.
Most Big Ten West Moment of the Week: USC Redefines the West and scoring
The Big Ten West that we know and loved is gone around these parts. But, one of the conference’s newest additions scored more points than Iowa or Northwestern might have in a month. In fact, USC’s 73 points on Saturday were the most they had scored in a game since 1930.
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Most Iowa Moment of the Week: Ferentz Ties Woody
Kirk Ferentz gets kicked around a lot – or, I guess, it’s really his offense that winds up doing a lot of kicking. But, the Hawkeye coach has figured out a winning formula in Iowa City and on Saturday, he tied Woody Hayes for the most wins (205) as a Big Ten coach. Fittingly, the Hawkeyes struggled to do much with the forward pass in the 20-point win against Albany.
What We Are Looking Forward to the Most: Working out the Kinks
I mean it. My sitting in front of the TV from noon to midnight Saturday left me a little sore. I need to get back into game-watching mode. This weekend provides the chance to get just one percent better. 1-0 mentality. LTFI.
