Big Ten Football power rankings remain steady after Week 1
By Shane Lunnen
Penn State got a big road conference win, taking down Purdue in West Lafayette. The Nittany Lions still need to work on things but a win is a win.
The offense was inconsistent just like last year. When Sean Clifford and the offense are on, as evidenced by their final game-winning drive, they can compete with anyone. However, they disappeared for long stretches against the Boilermakers.
Clifford accounted for all five Nittany Lion touchdowns, throwing for four and rushing for another. However, his worst throw of the night was returned for a 72-yard pick six and it looked to be a backbreaker. He made up for it on the Lions’ final drive, going 6 for 7 for 72 yards including a 10-yard touchdown toss to Keyvone Lee to win it with 52 seconds left in the game.
The Nittany Lions will look to clean up their deficiencies next week when they host the Ohio Bobcats.
Wisconsin got the second Big Ten football shutout of the weekend, taking down Illinois State 38-0. The Badgers looked vanilla for the most part but did not have to show a lot against an overmatched FCS foe.
The star of the night was sophomore running back Braelon Allen. He had 14 carries for 148 yards and two scores but his 96-yard sprint to the end zone was electric. Allen looks to continue the great tradition of all-star Badger running backs.
Graham Mertz was solid, only missing two of his 16 passes, but the jury is still out on how he will perform against tougher competition. The Badgers will host Washington State next Saturday.
The Spartans had a big 18-point lead at halftime but allowed Western Michigan to hang around until late in the 4th quarter when they put the game away for good. A win is always better than a loss to start the season no matter how it happens.
Payton Thorne did not have his best day accuracy-wise, only completing 50 percent of his passes. However, he did throw for four touchdowns. Three of those four scores were over 40 yards.
Sparty’s defense held the Broncos mostly in check and had to be on the field for close to 40 minutes. Michigan State hosts Akron next week.