There was a lot to soak in during Week 6 around the world of college football. No. 1 Texas was knocked off by rival Oklahoma on a last-second field goal. Georgia picked up a big road win at Alabama. LSU and Florida each took their second losses of the season, and Pitt made sure their stay in the top 25 lasted a week after losing at home to North Carolina. And the Big Ten brought some drama to the party as well.
Here is a look at everything that went down around the Big Ten in Week 6.
No. 5 Indiana 20, Nebraska 17
Nebraska had Indiana on the ropes but the Hoosiers came through with a fourth-quarter rally to escape Lincoln, Nebraska with a road win and avoid seeing its winning streak snapped. Josh Hoover found a wide-open Nick Marsh for a 44-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-1 with Nebraska expecting a run. That play gave Indiana its first lead of the game, but that’s all you need to win a game sometimes.
This was a terrific game for Nebraska, even in defeat. The Cornhuskers are improving and heading in a good direction, but you could see this is a program still working to flexing a little bit more muscle where needed. The Nebraska let Indiana hang around long enough for the Hoosiers to prevail. Indiana has now won an FBS-leading 22 straight games. Next up, the Buckeyes.
No. 6 Ohio State 45, Maryland 16
Even a relatively quiet performance from Jeremiah Smith ends up being something most receivers can only dream of. Smith caught four passes for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Ohio State Buckeyes cruised to a win over Maryland. Julian Sayin passed for 4 touchdowns and 242 yards in the win.
No. 22 UCLA 17, No. 13 Oregon 15
Don’t look now but the UCLA Bruins are making some noise in the Big Ten race. Bob Chesney’s Bruins scored a major victory for the program by knocking off Oregon on the road in a defensive battle that included a combined total of 10 turnovers. The Bruins lost quarterback Nico Iamaleava due to a lower leg injury.
The Ducks are still without Dante Moore due to his being in the concussion protocol, so Dylan Raiola got the start for Oregon. He had a rough game, completing just 6 of 18 passes for 43 yards with 2 interceptions before being replaced by Brock Thomas. UCLA running back Wayne Knight rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown in the Bruins win.
No. 17 USC 31, Penn State 23
Jayden Maiava had a big night to spoil a record-setting Beaver Stadium crowd’s evening in Not So Happy Valley. Maiava and the Trojans passing game overwhelmed the Penn State defense with big catches all night long. After being tied at halftime, USC tried to catch Penn State off guard with an onside kick to open the second half. Penn State recovered but ended up seeing their field goals in the second half answered with USC touchdowns. It’s a solid win for the Trojans, who forced and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter to help seal the road win, while Penn State falls to 0-3 in Big Ten play.
No. 18 Iowa 41, Washington 24
Iowa running back Kamari Moulton had a career day on the road as he powered the Hawkeyes to a big road win at Washington. Moulton rushed for 208 yards and a couple of touchdowns and the Iowa defense did its thing to shut down the Washington offense from the start. Iowa built a commanding 27-13 lead at halftime and added on with a couple of touchdowns to hold off the Huskies in the second half.
In scores of other games…
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Northwestern 45, Ball State 14 – Aidan Chiles passed for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Wildcats picked up a non-conference win in their second game in the new Ryan Field.
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Illinois 38, Michigan State 37 (OT) – Illinois head coach Bret Bielema made a coaching mistake by going for it on 4th down from the Illinois 33-yard line, but a defensive stop on Michigan State’s two-point conversion in overtime allowed him to escape without punishment in the win column.
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Purdue 41, Minnesota 13 – Stop the presses! The Boilermakers have a second Big Ten win! Purdue running back Fame Ijeboi carried the football 31 times for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns to help pave the way to a blowout win over the Gophers.
Updated Big Ten Football Standings
Following the results of Week 6.
|
TEAM |
B1G W |
B1G L |
W |
L |
|
Indiana |
3 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
|
UCLA |
3 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
|
Ohio State |
3 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Wisconsin |
2 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
|
USC |
3 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
|
Purdue |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
Iowa |
2 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
|
Nebraska |
2 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
|
Minnesota |
2 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
|
Northwestern |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Oregon |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
Illinois |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
Michigan |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
Rutgers |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
Penn State |
0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Washington |
0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Maryland |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
|
Michigan State |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
Looking ahead to next week
Here is a look at the Big Ten schedule in Week 7, featuring a heavyweight showdown between Indiana and Ohio State in a Big Ten championship game rematch. All times are Eastern, and home teams are listed first. Games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17 unless noted otherwise.
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Purdue vs. Washington – Friday, Oct. 16, 8:00 p.m., FOX
-
Indiana vs. Ohio State – 12:00 p.m., FOX
-
Michigan State vs. Northwestern – 12:00 p.m., Peacock
-
Maryland vs. Rutgers – 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
-
Michigan vs. Penn State – 3:30 p.m., TBA
-
Oregon vs. Nebraska – TBA, TBA
Kevin McGuire is the lead writer for Nittany Lions Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on BlueSky, Threads or any of these other platforms.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Big Ten Week 6 recap: Final scores, highlights, updated standings