Big Ten Football Power Rankings, Week 4: Michigan gaining steam
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights continued their downward spiral my dropping an embarrassment of a game to Buffalo. The Scarlet Knights mustered up 284 yards of total offense and converted on just two of their 18 attempts on third down in their loss on Saturday. Freshman quarterback, Artur Sitkowski could see the bench soon as he has thrown seven interceptions on the season compared to just one touchdown pass, all while averaging less than 100 yards a game.
Rutgers takes on Indiana this weekend and could see themselves as the losers in another blowout. The hope for this season was to build off last year and make a bowl game but now the concern and focus should be on if they’ll win another game for the rest of the season. But chances are low and odds are not in their favor. Better luck next season, Rutgers’ fans.
The Illinois Illini were in a dog fight Friday night against Penn State — for the first half. After taking a 24-21 lead early i the third quarter, the Illini’s upset special was put to rest as Penn State would go onto score 42 unanswered points to finish the game and Illinois. Although they couldn’t get much going through the air, the run game provided much support as the tallied up 245 yards on the ground.
Illinois has the week off this Saturday, but can get back to above. 500 in Week 6 as they take on Rutgers. And although it seemed like a stretch at the beginning of the season, the Illini are in good shape of making a bowl game this season. It will be tough but if they can play like they did in the first half, for a whole game, a six-win season is doable for Illinois.
One of the most surprising stories of the 2018 season is the Nebraska Cornhuskers starting off the year 0-3. And after their 46-point loss to Michigan on Saturday, it looks like the Cornhuskers are lost and trying to find their new identity. A Big Ten championship was not expected in their first year of the Scott Frost era, but a bowl game and winning record sure was, but now it looks like a four win season is the best outcome the Cornhuskers can hope for.
The Cornhuskers host Purdue this weekend in a game that means more than it should. A win, puts Nebraska in line to get their season back-on-track, but a loss can send Cornhuskers’ fans into a frenzy. Scott Frost will get another shot at it it next year, as this season is a goner, but expect a warming seat if Nebraska finishes at the bottom of the Big Ten.