Big Ten: Five biggest takeaways from Week 5
Oct 3, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats linebacker Anthony Walker (18) returns a fumble for a touchdown during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Five things we learned about the Big Ten in Week 5.
College football saw some big upsets and crazy finishes across the country in Week 5. Four of the top 10 teams in the country lost, including very surprising defeats from No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 7 UCLA. It could’ve been five or six of the top 10 if No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan State were upset, but both survived against Indiana and Purdue.
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The Big Ten West standings were shaken up early with No. 19 Wisconsin being upset by Iowa and Illinois coming back to top Nebraska. The Iowa-Wisconsin game was your typical old-school Big Ten game where only one touchdown was required to win. Illinois made Nebraska pay for missed chances and won 14-13 on a touchdown with 10 seconds left. Now it looks like Iowa and Northwestern have the best chance to win the division.
Northwestern and Michigan both posted shutouts. The Wildcats beat Minnesota 27-0 and Michigan defeated Maryland 28-0 The two teams play each other in Week 6, which is the marquee game of the weekend in the Big Ten.
Penn State had trouble with Army as 25.5-point favorites. The Nittany Lions won 20-14 but they might have worst offense in the Big Ten behind Minnesota, Maryland and Rutgers.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Saturday, including the change in weather, struggles for the top teams and the very competitive Big Ten West.
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