Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Big Ten Football: 20 burning questions from September 2019

By Ryan Kay

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 8
Next
AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end Chauncey Golston #57, left, and defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Trophy off the field after winning 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end Chauncey Golston #57, left, and defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Trophy off the field after winning 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

20. Who played the best in non-conference play?

The rankings are based on wins over quality opponents, scoring margin difference for wins and losses and overall performance.

Rankings can change with teams still having a non-conference game to play.

  1. Ohio State (beat Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati and Miami (OH))
  2. Iowa (beat Miami (OH), Iowa State and Middle Tennessee)
  3. Penn State (beat Idaho, Buffalo and Pittsburgh)
  4. Minnesota (beat South Dakota State, Fresno State and Georgia Southern)
  5. Wisconsin (beat USF, Central Michigan and plays Kent State on Oct. 5)
  6. Indiana (beat Ball State, Eastern Illinois and UConn)
  7. Michigan State (beat Tulsa, Western Michigan and lost to Arizona State)
  8. Maryland (beat Howard and Syracuse and lost to Temple)
  9. Michigan (beat Middle Tennessee and Army, plays Notre Dame on Oct. 26)
  10. Nebraska (beat South Alabama and Northern Illinois and lost at Colorado)
  11. Illinois (beat Akron and UConn and lost to Eastern Michigan)
  12. Purdue (beat Vanderbilt and lost to Nevada and TCU)
  13. Rutgers (beat UMass and lost to Boston College and plays Liberty on Oct. 26)
  14. Northwestern (lost to Stanford, beat UNLV, and plays UMass on Nov. 16)

19. What were the most impressive non-conference wins?

The rankings of the best quality wins for the month of September are based on wins over quality opponents, the margin of victory, and overall performance in the game.

Rankings can change with teams still having an opportunity to get quality wins in non-conference game play.

  1. Iowa 18, Iowa State 17
  2. Maryland 63, Syracuse 20
  3. Penn State 17, Pittsburgh 10
  4. Ohio State 42, Cincinnati 0
  5. Minnesota 38, Fresno State 35
  6. Purdue 42, Vanderbilt 24
  7. Michigan 24, Army 21
  8. Michigan State 51, Western Michigan 17
  9. Indiana 38, Connecticut 3
  10. Wisconsin 61, Central Michigan 0

18. What have been the worst non-conference losses?

During the month of September, the Big Ten only had six non-conference losses. Some were more surprising than others but overall not as bad of losses overall in compared to the two past seasons for Big Ten teams in non-conference play.

  1. Eastern Michigan 34, Illinois 31
  2. Boston College 30, Rutgers 16
  3. TCU 34, Purdue 13
  4. Temple 20, Maryland 17
  5. Arizona 10, Michigan State 7
  6. Colorado 34, Nebraska 31
Home/Big Ten