Creepin' the Big Ten: Week 13

(Photo: BigTenNetwork.com)

Is the regular season already over? Sure went fast. Here's the roundup of Big Ten football action from this weekend.

Three teams can now officially lay claim to the 2010 Big Ten football championship--Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. But we all know that only Michigan State is the rightful owner of the true title, as the Spartans were the only ones to go undefeated (1-0) against the other two co-champs--Ohio State lost to Wisconsin, and Wisconsin lost to Michigan State. Oh, and Buckeyes fans better not throw out the "MSU lost to Iowa, but we beat them!" Yeah, you know who else beat Iowa this year? Minnesota.


Point and Laugh
Ohio State 37, Michigan 7

No. 7 Ohio State brought the hammer down in the second quarter on Saturday at Ohio Stadium against Michigan, effecting a big 37-7 victory. In the quarter, the Buckeyes (11-1, 6-1) scored on a 34-yard field goal by Devin Barclay, a seven-yard touchdown pass on first-and-goal from Terrelle Pryor to Dane Sanzenbacher, an 85-yard kick return by Jordan Hall and a 33-yard touchdown pass on third-and-5 from Pryor to DeVier Posey.

The Buckeyes efficient offensive attack brought in 221 passing yards and 257 rushing yards.

Ohio State gave up 350 total yards to the Wolverines (7-5, 3-4), but its defense did enough to pull out the victory. The Wolverines struggled with turnovers in the game, as they gave the ball away three times with two fumbles and one interception.

As Expected
Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 23

Montee Ball ran for 178 yards with four touchdowns as the five-foot-11, 234-pound running back led No. 5 Wisconsin to a 70-23 victory over Northwestern (7-5, 3-4) on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Badgers (11-1, 6-1) efficient offensive attack brought in 230 passing yards and 328 rushing yards.

Venric Mark had a big game for the Wildcats in the loss, as the freshman from Tomball, Texas had 279 return yards with one return touchdown.

The Badgers were up 42-17 in the second before they went on a 21-point run to take a 46-point lead in the third.

Too Late, Bill
Indiana 34, Purdue 31 (OT)

Tandon Doss caught eight passes for 64 yards with three touchdowns, had 112 return yards and ran for 19 yards as the junior wide receiver led Indiana to a 34-31 victory over Purdue (4-8, 2-5) in overtime on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Hoosiers (5-7, 0-7) didn't take the lead for good until overtime, when Mitch Ewald kicked a 31-yard field goal.

The Hoosiers overcame a 14-point deficit to claim the victory.

Both teams put on displays of offensive firepower, combining for 65 points and 714 yards.

What the Hell Just Happened?
Minnesota 27, Iowa 24

Minnesota captured the lead for good in the fourth quarter on a six-yard Duane Bennett run as the Golden Gophers upset No. 24 Iowa 27-24 on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Golden Gophers (3-9, 1-6) played solid defense. They allowed 217 total yards, including 89 yards rushing and 128 yards passing for the Hawkeyes (7-5, 4-3).

DeLeon Eskridge ran for 95 yards with one touchdown for Minnesota.

So concludes the 2010 Big Ten football regular season. It's been... interesting, to say the least.

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