Big Ten at Ten 9.3.12: A B1G Day Off and Recaps

Happy Labor Day B1G fans. Hopefully you're enjoying your day off BBQing, boozing or taking a nice little trip to the Home Depot. There are no days off here at OTE so here's a recap of what happened over the weekend:

• Michigan State defeated Boise State 17-13 at Spartan Stadium. The game was comically sloppy as Andrew Maxwell threw three interceptions (zero TDs) and the teams combined for 6 total turnovers. MSU running back Le'Veon Bell was the true star of the show, running for 210 yards on 44 carries (yes, 44 caries) and two TDs.
• Iowa defeated Northern Illinois 18-17 at Soldier Field in Chicago. I had the misfortune of personally witnessing this "defensive showing" and am thankful the Hawks were just able to escape with a W. The best news of the day was that Iowa running back Damon Bullock rushed for 150 yards on 30 carries along with a touchdown and managed to do all of this without blowing out both knees.
• Northwestern defeated Syracuse 42-41 at the Carrier Dome. The Wildcats were actually up 35-13 in the third quarter before giving up four straight touchdowns and going down 41-35 with only 2:40 left on the clock. This was obviously a plot by the Wizgerald, who pulled another plug and play quarterback off his bench (this guy's name was Trevor Siemian) and promptly marched down the field and scored with 44 seconds remaining. Kain Colter injured his non-throwing shoulder but shouldn't miss any time.
• Ohio State defeated Miami (OH) 56-10 at the Horseshoe. It was nothing short of a beating, as Braxon Miller went HAM and rushed for 161 yards, one touchdown and thew for another two. This also happened:

• Penn State fell to Ohio 24-14 at Beaver Stadium. End of transmission.
• Illinois defeated Western Michigan 24-7 at Memorial Stadium. Nathan Scheelhaase sprained his ankle early in the game but it doesn't sound serious.
• Nebraska defeated Southern Miss 49-20 in Lincoln. The biggest news was the loss of Rex Burkhead, who suffered a sprained MCL and will be out for at least a couple weeks. Taylor Martinez threw for five touchdowns and 354 yards. That was not a typo.
• Wisconsin defeated Northern Iowa 26-21 at Camp Randall. UNI scored two straight touchdowns and was driving into Wisconsin territory late in the 4th quarter when they needed to compete a crucial 4th and 1. Sawyer Kollmorgen's (that's really his name) pass was batted down and Wisconsin ran out the clock.
• Purdue defeated Eastern Kentucky 48-6 at Ross-Ade. Robert Marve threw for three touchdowns and 295 yards.
• Indiana defeated Indiana State 24-17 in Bloomington. Hooray.
• Michigan fell to Alabama 41-14 at JerryWorld. Denard Robinson threw two interceptions. I would talk more about this game but it only makes me sad to think about it.

Links and odds after the jump.

The Odds:

Team Links:

• The Illini defense rules the day.
• The Crimson Quarry's take on Indiana's defeat of Indiana State.
• The first word with Coach Tim Beckman.
• Hawkeye Report's Hawkeye report card.
• Quick stats from the Iowa game.
• Video interviews with Hawkeye players following the game.
• The blueprint for stopping Denard Robinson is clear.
• Michigan's Jordan Kovacs says Alabama "kicked our butts."
• Starting Wolverine cornerback Blake Countess is out for the season with a torn ACL. Michigan fans, isn't this like the third straight year you've lost a starting defensive back?
• Denard Robinson gets made fun of by Michigan State players. Apparently, this is news.
• Le'Veon Bell has the look of a Heisman candidate following him PWNING a Boise State player.
• Johnny Adams wasn't tested much and Jarius Jones looked solid for the Spartans.
• FBT makes fun of Tim Brewster. It never gets old.
• The Gophers lose true freshman wide receiver Jamel Harbison to a torn ACL.
• Film review on the Gophers win over UNLV.
• Notes from Nebraska's victory over Southern Miss.
• Huskers' receiving corps showed they've made strides.
• UCLA's talented offense should be a truer test for the Cornhuskers.
• SoP does something really interesting where they power rank not only football players, but all players active in fall sports. Naturally, Venric Mark comes in first.
• Quick thoughts from SoP on Northwestern-Syracuse.
• Nathan Williams returned to the field on Saturday for the Buckeyes.
• Buckeye Empire hands out some Buckeye helmet stickers.
• LGHL looks at how the Buckeyes' opponents fared in week 1.
• Post game notebook on Penn State's loss to Ohio.
• BSD's thoughts on the loss to Ohio.
• Hammer and Rails post-game recap on Purdue's victory.
• Hammer and Rails also has an INSIDER recap on Purdue's victory.
• Notes from Wisconsin's victory over UNI.
• Danny O'Brien sees room for improvement in the Badgers offense.
• A Badgers roundtable following the UNI win.

Conference Links:

• The BTN's latest B1G player rankings.
• ESPN's B1G weekend rewind.
• Marc Morehouse's Big Ten Power Poll.
• Tom Dienhart's top 10 observations.
• Hammer and Rails recaps the first week in the Big Ten.
• The BTN's latest B1G team power rankings.
• The BTN's top 10 plays for week 1.
• Gerry DiNardo's week 1 ruminations.
• The U.S. Marines Corps: Leaders of the Week (aka the Big Ten Game Balls via BTN).
• 5 things Tom Dienhart learned in week 1.

I'm still recovering from the Chicago trip. Bowl projections will be up later today.