Boilermakers Country

Overreactions from Week 6 in the Big Ten

PJ Fleck's "wild" postgame interview, a 100-degree day in October, Lincoln Riley's "professional" comment and more in this week's Big Ten overreactions.

Dustin Schutte

Minnesota Golden Gophers punter Caleb McGrath (95) celebrates on the field
Minnesota Golden Gophers punter Caleb McGrath (95) celebrates on the field / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
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Chaos. That's why we love college football, right? And on Saturday, the gods that control the sport blessed us with so much madness we could barely handle it. The sights, sounds and smells (maybe not the smells) were glorious.

The Big Ten was not exempt from the disorder that overtook the college football world over the weekend. And it provided me with plenty of observations from Week 6.

PJ Fleck gone wild

Did anyone else get strong MTV Spring Break vibes when watching PJ Fleck's postgame interview after Minnesota's upset win over No. 11 USC? The only thing missing was the Minnesota coach taking his shirt off while yelling obscenities into a microphone held by Carson Daly.

Fleck was understandably excited after the Golden Gophers knocked off the Trojans on Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium. But the final 10 seconds of his postgame interview reminded me of a college frat bro enjoying the last years of carelessness on a Florida beach.

Napoleon Duck-amite

Is there anything the Oregon Duck can't do? After going on a nation-wide tour of the Big Ten, the beloved mascot has been up to his old tricks, entertaining fans in unique ways.

Friday night, he broke out the dance made famous by Napoleon Dynamite, complete with the wardrobe. What's even crazier? Oregon's defense actually made Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles play like Uncle Rico.

Hats off to the Ducks for really going all in on the bit.

Ioane You-CLA

If you ever see a guy wearing the No. 71 lined up in the slot, just know that something crazy is about to happen. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki decided to really catch UCLA off guard this week by sending Vega Ioane — A 6-FOOT-4, 348-POUND OFFENSIVE LINEMAN — into motion.

With a full head of steam, Ioane wiped out UCLA defensive lineman Luke Schuermann and helped Penn State pick up a sizable gain. While Schuermann did get up pretty quickly, we're unsure if he wants to continue playing football after that hit.

Hot-tober

Ah, the dog days of ... October? I don't know what Nebraska did to piss off Mother Nature, but she certainly went scorched earth (literally!) this weekend.

Turf temperatures exceeded 100 degrees on Saturday when the Huskers hosted Rutgers. Simply put, that is too damn hot. This is supposed to be pumpkin spice season, not popsicle season.

Take a study break, Northwestern

Why enjoy a pregame tailgate show on campus when the library is open?! Seriously, I need an explanation as to why nobody showed up to BTN Tailgate on Saturday in Evanston.

I understand that Northwestern is struggling this season, but the Wildcats were hosting a ranked Indiana team. Shouldn't there have been some level of interest?

My message to Northwestern students? The next time a pregame show is on campus, take a study break. Getting an A- in a class won't be the end of the world.

Lincoln Riley, the moderator

From now on, Lincoln Riley will be screening all questions directed at his USC players. This is not an official rule, but that's the conclusion I'm drawing after Saturday night.

Riley put the kibosh on a reporter asking defensive end Jamil Muhammad if he thought Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer reached the end zone on the game-winning touchdown.

Apparently, that's not a very professional question to ask. And we all know Riley is the poster child of professionalism — you know, with his honesty about not changing jobs in the middle of the night and whatnot.

Party on Broadway!

OK, so I'm stepping out of the Big Ten for this one, but it's a worthy cause. Vanderbilt students tore down the goalpost after the epic win over Alabama, marched them down the streets of Downtown Nashville and tossed them into the Cumberland River.

The utter bewilderment and confusion felt by the bachelorette parties had to be at an all-time high.

Stormy season

This is the best time of year in college football. It's the part of the season when we start seeing more upsets. Saturday was the start of it all, with seven teams ranked in the top-25 losing — six of which were to unranked opponents.

In the Big Ten, we had two major upsets, with Minnesota defeating No. 11 USC 24-17 and Washington taking down No. 10 Michigan. It resulted in a pair of Big Ten field stormings.

It was such a beautiful sight.

Related Big Ten stories

BIG TEN WEEK 7 POWER RANKINGS: Indiana is 6-0 and the first bowl eligible team in major college football. How high did the Hoosiers climb? Plus, how did upsets shake up the power rankings? CLICK HERE

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Dustin Schutte
DUSTIN SCHUTTE

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