Big Ten Football Power Rankings Week 13: Michigan State reigns supreme
Nov 21, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Northwestern Wildcats running back Justin Jackson (21) dives for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
For the second time in Big Ten play, the Wisconsin Badgers fell at home to a team that seemed to be red-hot. It was the perfect opportunity for the Badgers to prove they were more than just a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten West team, but they squandered that and lost to No. 20 Northwester, 13-7, in a snoozer.
The usually-impressive run game was non-existent as Northwestern kept the Badgers to -26 total rushing yards thanks to a handful of sacks on Joel Stave who had -58 yards on his own. He had a tough day, passing for 229 yards and two picks while Corey Clement looked frustrated with his 2.4 yards per carry average.
As mentioned above, the Northwestern defense came to play at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, effectively ruining any shot Wisconsin had to share the Big Ten West title.
Clayton Thorson didn’t exactly have the most impressive day through the air, but he was bailed out by Justin Jackson who recorded the team’s only touchdown on an 8-yard run in the first quarter. He finished with 139 yards on five carries and the Wildcats now have a chance to record double-digit wins for the second time under Pat Fitzgerald with a win over Illinois this week.
Is anyone surprised that the Michigan Wolverines just keep on winning? At this point, probably not, but at the beginning of the season, if you told me the Wolverines would finish with at least nine regular season wins and a chance to win, or share, the Big Ten East crown, I would have called you crazy.
Add a solid road win over Penn State to Jim Harbaugh’s growingly impressive resume as the Wolverines are looking to share the division title, or even win it outright, with a victory over Ohio State in “The Game” this Saturday. The Buckeyes perfect season has been ruined so the Wolverines will have to settle for just kicking Ohio State while it’s down.
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