Biggest takeaways from every Big Ten game in Week 2

Looking into the box scores of every Big Ten game from Week 2 and what it means now and what it means for the teams in the coming weeks.

Week 2 of the college football season was a nightmare of a day for the Big Ten conference in 2014. Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State all lost primetime games and the mainstream media bashed the league.

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However, Week 2 this year was a lot more successful after Michigan State beat Oregon in a national spotlight and Michigan won Jim Harbaugh’s home debut. Iowa and Minnesota survived tricky road tests and Rutgers and Maryland were the only two teams to suffer a defeat.

Let’s look inside the box score for each Big Ten game and find out what it means for the team heading into Week 3 and what it means for the rest of the year.

Hawaii at Ohio State

The score indicates a blowout but Ohio State failed to cover the spread in their 38-0 win over Hawaii. The box score was ugly as Ohio State only had 4.4 yards per play and Hawaii turned the ball over four times.

Oregon at Michigan State

Michigan State picked up a program-defining win as they got revenge over Oregon. The Spartans didn’t cover the 3.5-point spread in their 31-28 victory but a win is all that matters for Mark Dantonio’s team. Michigan State was outgained 432-389 and the Ducks ran 13 more offensive plays than the Spartans. The game could’ve gone either way but now we know Michigan State is a playoff contender.

Miami (Ohio) at Wisconsin

Wisconsin won 58-0 and outgained Miami (Ohio) 451-157. A nice bounce back for the Badgers but can’t take too much out of the win against a below average MAC school.

Buffalo at Penn State

Penn State picked up their first victory of the season by beating Buffalo 27-14 and outgained the Bulls 328-274. The offense averaged 5.0 yards per play so some progress after a nightmare start of the season for the Nittany Lions.

Indiana State at Purdue

Purdue beat Indiana State 38-14 and the offense had another impressive showing. They had 540 yards of total offense and 6.7 yards per play.

Western Illinois at Illinois

The post Tim Beckman era has been great for the Illini. They shut out Western Illinois 44-0 in Week 2 and the numbers in the box score told the whole story. Illinois ran 94 offensive plays and gained 500 yards. We will get a better idea about the Illini when they travel to North Carolina on Saturday.

Oregon State at Michigan

Oregon State scored in the first two minutes against Michigan but the next 58 minutes were domination by the home team. Michigan outgained Oregon State 405-138 and they ran 21 more plays. It’s obvious that Jim Harbaugh has made a difference early on.

Bowling Green at Maryland

If you thought Maryland’s 48-27 loss to Bowling Green was ugly, wait until you see a box score. Bowling Green ran 105 plays and Maryland ran 59. The Terrapins were outgained 692-341. So the yards per play were close but Bowling Green dominated possession. Maryland also had the punt return for a touchdown, which prevented them from having an offensive possession.

Washington State at Rutgers

Washington State beat Rutgers 37-34 and the teams combined for 39 points in the fourth quarter. The Cougars outgained the Scarlett Knights 559-402 and ran 16 more plays. Those numbers are a little misleading because Rutgers had two special teams touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota at Colorado State

Minnesota survived against Colorado State and won 23-20 in overtime. Minnesota outgained Colorado State 413-314. This could be a fluky win because Colorado State turned the ball over four times. I would be concerned about the Golden Gophers going forward.

Eastern Illinois at Northwestern

Northwestern won 41-0 and outgained Eastern Illinois 496-138. Another dominating defensive performance from Northwestern especially after such a physical game with Stanford a week before.

Iowa at Iowa State

Iowa scored two late touchdowns to beat Iowa State 31-17. The ending was close but the Hawkeyes had a significant advantage in the box score. They outgained Iowa State 475-310 and averaged 6.8 yards per play. Iowa State only averaged 5.0 yards per play.

FIU at Indiana

Indiana defeated FIU 36-22 in a very close game based on the statistics. Indiana outgained FIU 439-406. Indiana was aided by three FIU turnovers so there’s still a lot to learn about the Hoosiers.

South Alabama at Nebraska

Nice bounce back for the Cornhuskers who won 48-9 on Saturday. They outgained South Alabama 561-332 and averaged 7.5 yards per play. Total domination by Nebraska in the score line and box score.

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