Big Ten Roundup (Sept. 17): Saturday Game Results, Penix Jr. Destroys Michigan State

Five different Big Ten football teams lost on Saturday in non-conference play, with several defeats coming against ACC opponents. The one defeat that did not come at the hands of ACC opponent was largely thanks to former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who now plays at Washington.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Week 3 of the 2023 college football season was not a pleasant one for several Big Ten teams.

Six different teams in the conference lost on Saturday, with five of the defeats coming against non-conference foes and four being defeats to ACC opponents. 

A few matches stuck out, such as Rutgers rolling Virginia Tech by three scores, and former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. playing one of the greatest first halves ever in Washington's rout of Michigan State. 

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Saturday Game Results

• Louisville 21, Indiana 14 — For coverage of what happened in this game, check out my game story HERE. Or, check out Jack's post-game column HERE. 
• Penn State 30, Illinois 13 — The rare game where both teams feel awful afterward. Both Luke Altmyer and Drew Allar had their worst games as starting quarterbacks to date. Altmyer threw four interceptions and was later benched by coach Bret Bielema for John Paddock, while Allar only completed 16-of-33 passes for 208 yards. 
• Washington 41, Michigan State 7 — The former Indiana quarterback's stat line at halftime of this game tells you pretty much everything you need to know. 

Michael Penix Jr in the first half vs Michigan State:

🟣 19/24
🟣 375 Yards
🟣 4 TDs
🟣 0 INTs pic.twitter.com/vMkuh6UgQ7

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 16, 2023

• Ohio State 63, Western Kentucky 10 — It was 14-10 early in another classic slow start for Ryan Day's Ohio State squad. The Buckeyes then kicked it into fifth gear for the first time all season, rattling off 49 straight points in two-and-a-half quarters. They finally looked like the contender they're used to being. 
• North Carolina 31, Minnesota 13 — All I'll say is that I, personally, have a great feel for predicting the scores of Big Ten non-conference games. I had 31-16 Tar Heels, and we were just a Minnesota field goal away from that being reality.  
• Michigan 31, Bowling Green 6 — Michigan only led 7-6 very late into the second quarter before pulling away. Somewhat concerning thing to do against a team projected to finish in the bottom half of the MAC. 
• Duke 38, Northwestern 14 — Duke had eight drives in this game, excluding the two at the end of the halves where they purposefully ran out the clock. Those eight drives produced five touchdowns, one field goal, one punt and a turnover on downs. All this to say — Northwestern's defense is very bad.
• Iowa 41, Western Michigan 10 — Western Michigan led 10-7 late in the first half, but it was all Hawkeyes from there. The main takeaway from this game is that Iowa finally finished with more than 25 points, the scoring average the team has to reach in order to save the job of offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. 
• Syracuse 35, Purdue 20 — For the second home game in a row, Purdue fans were chanting "IU sucks," in the stands while losing to a team they really should not have been losing too. The Boilermakers might be very bad. 
• Rutgers 35, Virginia Tech 16 — Rutgers is 3-0 and just beat a power conference opponent by three scores. The fact that the Scarlet Knights did this by throwing for 46 total yards and only 2.9 yards per pass is truly astonishing. 
• Nebraska 35, Northern Illinois 11 — Thank goodness Matt Rhule won this game. The prospect of 0-3 Nebraska was very frightening. 
• Wisconsin 35, Georgia Southern 14 — Similar to Michigan, Luke Fickell's Badgers were tied 7-7 with Georgia Southern at halftime. Braelon Allen still did not run for 100 yards, and Tanner Mordecai did not throw a touchdown. Wisconsin might have big problems. 

Related Stories on Big Ten Football:

• MARYLAND 42, VIRGINIA 14: Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and the Maryland Terrapins overcame another slow start to eventually blowout their ACC visitors en route to a 3-0 start to the 2023 season. CLICK HERE
• WOULD B1G EVER KICK A TEAM OUT OF CONFERENCE: With Stanford, Cal and SMU joining the ACC in 2024, conference realignment has truly gotten out of hand. With all the movement up into new conferences coming, we ask the question — would the Big Ten ever forcibly remove a team from its own conference? CLICK HERE
• MEL TUCKER UNDER INVESTIGATION: News broke on Sunday morning that the football coach of the Michigan State Spartans is under investigation for sexual harassment. CLICK HERE