Big Ten Roundup: No. 3 Ohio State Upset at Home by No. 12 Oregon

Despite getting 484 passing yards from first-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, No. 3-ranked Ohio State lost at home to No. 12 Oregon, falling 35-28. It was the first time in 31 years that a Pac-12 team had beaten a top-five team on the road, losing 14 straight since 1990.
Big Ten Roundup: No. 3 Ohio State Upset at Home by No. 12 Oregon
Big Ten Roundup: No. 3 Ohio State Upset at Home by No. 12 Oregon /

No. 3 Ohio State got a great game from first-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, but it wasn't enough to avoid an upset at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes, despite getting 484 passing yards from Stroud, fell 35-28.

Stroud was great, but on the final drive he was intercepted by Oregon safety Verone McKinley III with 2:50 to play to close out a tough day. 

The Big Ten finished the day going 12-2, with only Ohio State and Illinois losing.

The Buckeyes had 636 yards of offense, but their defensive inefficiencies were too much to overcome. The win is Oregon's first over Ohio State in program history, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Buckeyes. The Ducks also snapped the Buckeyes' 23-game home winning streak, and a seven-game win streak against the Pac-12.

Oregon was the first Pac-12 team to beat a top-five opponent on the road since 1990 when Stanford beat No. 1 Notre Dame. They had lost 14 straight games in that situation.

“It was a game we were never really in control of,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "Oregon moved the ball well, but we didn’t move the ball well and couldn’t convert on fourth downs. We were always playing catchup. We have to learn from this and grow from this. There is still a lot of football to be played.''

Here is a roundup of the other Big Ten games on Saturday:

Virginia 42, Illinois 14

Virginia scored on its first two possessions and never looked back in an easy 42-14 win over Illinois on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

Brennan Armstrong Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for five touchdowns and became the third quarterback in program history to pass for over 400 yards. Virginia snapped a nine-game regular-season losing streak in non-conference games against Power Five opponents.

"Obviously to start the game the way we did defensively, giving up two big scores, we battled ourselves back into it," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. "Obviously we did not hold them defensively. We had a few things go against us but the reactions were good, so, we've got a lot of work to do."

Illinois (1-2) quarterback Artur Sitkowski was 24-for-45 passing for 221 yards and a touchdown. He also had an interception. 

Michigan State 42, Youngstown State 14

Payton Thorne passed for 282 yards and four touchdowns as Michigan State moved to 2-0 with an easy 42-14 win over Youngstown State.

The Spartans also rushed for 272 yards, led by Jordan Simmons, who had 121 yards on 16 carries. Michigan State’s offense produced 595 yards after getting 511 in the opening win at Northwestern.

For complete coverage of the game from Spartan Nation, our Sports Illustrated Michigan State site, CLICK HERE 

Minnesota 31, Miami of Ohio 26

It was next man up for Minnesota, and running back Treyons Potts was up for the challenge. Replacing star back Mohamed Ibrahim, who tore an ACL in the season-opening loss to Ohio State, Potts rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start to help the Gophers fend off Miami of Ohio, 31-26.

"That's my partner in crime. He was right there the whole game with me, helping me manage the game and just giving me pointers,'' Potts said of Ibrahim, who's out for the year. 

Minnesota ran the ball 46 times, and quarterback Tanner Morgan threw only 17 passes, completed eight for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

Minnesota never  trailed, but Miami wouldn't go away, either. Miami QB Brett Gabbert hit Jack Sorenson for a 23-yard score early in the fourth quarter to make it 21-20, but Potts scored on a 21-yard run and Matthew Potts made a 50-yard field goal to stretch the lead.

"Mo was a great teammate on the sideline. You've got to imagine how hard that is," Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. "He's the ultimate competitor. It was an emotional week."

Northwestern 24, Indiana State 6

Evan Hull rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns to help Northwestern get its first win of the year with a 24-6 rout of Indiana State.

The Sycamores had just 31 yards rushing on 22 carries and 169 total yards. Indiana State's only points came on a touchdown with 3:22 to go.  

For complete coverage from Wildcats Daily, our Sports Illustrated Northwestern site, CLICK HERE

Rutgers 17, Syracuse 7

Rutgers got off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2014 thanks to a great defensive effort in a 17-7 road win over Syracuse. 

Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral  was 22 of 28 passing for Rutgers for 145 yards and had a 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jovani Haskins. Rutgers won despite gaining only 198 yards.

Purdue 49, Connecticut 0

Purdue wide receiver David Bell was an unstoppable force for a Purdue offense that scored five touchdowns in the first half against Connecticut, rolling to an easy 49-0 victory in East Hartford, Connecticut.

The junior caught six passes for 121 yards and a trio of touchdowns in just one half of play. Bell's three scoring grabs tied a career-high.

For compete coverage from Boilermakers Country, our Sports Illustrated Purdue site, CLICK HERE

Nebraska 28, Buffalo 3

Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns to Samori Toure in the Cornhuskers easy 28-3 victory over Buffalo. 

Martinez hooked up with Toure for a pair of 68-yard touchdowns, and he also ran nine times for 112 yards. The Bulls (1-1) of the Mid-American Conference dropped to 1-10 all-time against Big Ten opponents.

Penn State 44, Ball State 13

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards and was responsible for two touchdowns in the Nittany Lions' easy 44-13 win over Ball State on Saturday.

Penn State scored on four of five first-half possessions and led 24-6 at halftime.  The Nittany Lions rushed for 240 yards, with Noah Cain leading the way with 69 yards.

Iowa 27, Iowa State 17

Iowa continued its mastery over in-state rival Iowa State, going on the road to win 27-17 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools when they were both ranked. It was Iowa's sixth straight win in the series. 

No. 10 Iowa, who beat then No. 17-ranked Indiana a week ago, won the game despite gaining only 173 yards of total offense.  

Jack Campbell returned a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown and Iowa turned four takeaways into 20 points. The Hawkeyes have now won eight games in a row and are 5-0 in their last five meetings with ranked opponents.

"We talk about our lineup and we're kind of like mutts compared to the entire nation,'' Campbell  said. "It's just the way we practice, there's not a day we're going to skip blocks. It's just our mindset."

Wisconsin 34, Eastern Michigan 7

Chez Melluzi rushed for 144 yards on 20 carries and Wisconsin's defense was dominant, holding Eastern Michigan to just 92 yards of total offense in an easy 34-7 win, the Badgers' first of the season.

Eastern Michigan gained only 16 yards on the ground in 18 tries, and passed for just 76 yards. Wisconsin, meanwhile, rushed for 352 yards. Isaac Guerendo chipped in with 92 yards on just four carries, and Jalen Berger had 62 yards.

"It's good to get the first win of the season," Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said. "A lot of guys contributed to that and that's always good to see."

Mellusi finished with 144 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Guerendo finished with 92 yT set the tone," said Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson, who had three catches for 17 yards and blocked well all night.  "We wanted to get back to Wisconsin football where we (can) literally run the ball every play.

Maryland 62, Howard 0

Taulia Tagovailoa passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns, leading Maryland to a feel-good 62-0 victory over Howard. Maryland was never threatened and held a 574-146 edge in total yards.

Dontay Demus Jr. had a big night on the outside, grabbing six catches for 128 yards and a score.

“It was actually a lot of fun not just for the starting guys but also for the guys who don’t play much, to get in there and show they can do,” Maryland defensive back Tarheeb Still said. “It’s fun seeing those guys get a chance to make opportunities in the field.”

This was Maryland's first shutout since 2019, when they defeated Howard 79-0 in coach Mike Locksley's first game. It’s the second time Maryland has started 2-0 in three seasons under Locksley, who is 7-12 overall and 3-11 in the Big Ten in two-plus seasons.

Michigan 31, Washington 10

Michigan running backs Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins gashed the Washington defense all night long, rushing for 171 and 155 yards respectively in a surprising easy victory for the 2-0 Wolverines.

It was the second straight loss for Washington, which was ranked No. 20 in the preseason. It was clear that Michigan's game plan was to run the ball, and they did it effectively, rushing the ball 56 times while throwing only 15 passes. 

"The offensive line really did a great job. Obviously, when you rush for 345 yards, that’s going to be the case,'' Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. "It was even more than that, Washington kept changing their defenses, they were doing everything they could. They were just having a hard time tackling the backs.'' 

To read complete coverage of the game from Wolverine Digest, our Sports Illustrated Michigan site, CLICK HERE

Indiana 56, Idaho 14

Indiana got two special teams touchdowns in the same game since 1969 and ran the ball well against Idaho in a 56-14 rout in front of Hoosiers fans for the first time in 657 days. 

Stephen Carr rushed for 118 yards on 22 carries, his first 100-yard game at Indiana since transferring from USC. It was the second 100-yard game of his careeer, but the first since 2017 against Stanford.

Indiana blocked two punts, with Javon Swinton scoring on the first one. He also had a touchdown reception from Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. D.J. Matthews had Indiana's other special teams score, returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown. 

For complete coverage of the game, go to HoosiersNow.com. 


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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.