Big Ten Recap: Michigan Escapes Rutgers in Triple Overtime

The Big Ten had several tight games as teams try to make a push for a conference championship game bid.

Ohio State survived a late scare from the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, but it wasn't the most heart-stopping game of the day. Here's a quick recap of the rest of the Big Ten games this weekend.

Michigan 48, Rutgers 42 (3OT): In a sick and twisted way, Michigan and Rutgers triple overtime affair was one of the most exciting games of the season. After one quarter, it looked like Jim Harbaugh could be fired on the tarmac in New Jersey. But a quarterback change and 48 points later, Harbaugh will most likely not have to visit monster.com for at least another week. The Wolverines biggest scare came after missing a field goal in the first overtime period, but Rutgers also misfired on a game-winning field goal try.

Cade McNamara finished with 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions as he took over for struggling starter Joe Milton. Michigan snapped a 3-game losing streak and narrowly escaped an unmitigated disaster in Piscataway.

Illinois 41, Nebraska 23: Propelled by five Husker turnovers and a 100+ yard performance from running back Mike Epstein, the underdog Illini dominated on the field and put away Nebraska. They were especially impressive in the troll department as they thanked Nebraska for bringing back Big Ten football later in the afternoon.

Ohio State has three games remaining in the regular season and Illinois might be the best team left on the schedule.

Iowa 41, Penn State 21: Penn State not living up to their top 10 preseason ranking is one thing. Losing their first five games of the season takes it to a whole different level.

The Nittany Lions are 0-5 and couldn't have been more flat defensively on Saturday, missing tackles left and right against Iowa. Sean Clifford threw a pick-6 ... to a defensive lineman.

Northwestern 17, Wisconsin 7: Just a week removed from their offensive clinic in Ann Arbor, the Badgers couldn’t get anything going in Evanston. Behind a solid 203-yard performance from quarterback Patrick Ramsey, the Wildcats are now the front-runners in the Big Ten West division. Northwestern is 5-0 on the season after pitching a second-half shutout for the fourth time this year. They have Michigan State, Minnesota and Illinois remaining on the schedule.

Minnesota 34, Purdue 31: Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer threw a go-ahead touchdown late in the game that was taken off the board by a phantom offensive pass interference call. On the very next play, Plummer was picked off and Minnesota narrowly beat the Boilermakers in Rondale Moore's 2020 debut.

Michigan State and Maryland couldn't play this week as the Terps are still dealing with a CoVID outbreak in the locker room.

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