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Around the Big Ten, Week 7: OSU, Nebraska survive

Lots of close games around the league made for an exciting week.

NCAA Football: Ohio State at Wisconsin Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Every week, after an entire Saturday’s worth of college football, we'll take a look around the Big Ten. As the conference as a whole fights as respectability in the non-conference, or as its power dynamics shift on a week-to-week basis in this fall, we'll follow every team and try to piece together the puzzle that is the 13-week-long season all the way up until Indianapolis.

Here are the top three storylines from Week 7:

Ohio State rallies in Madison, remains perfect.

College Gameday did not disappoint. Wisconsin (4-2, 1-2) jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led 16-13 going into the fourth, but couldn’t hold on, losing 30-23 overtime. Ohio State (6-0, 3-0) got three touchdowns from J.T. Barrett and a big stop in the extra period, stopping Wisconsin with a sack on fourth and goal. Wisconsin has gotten through the brunt of its ridiculously tough schedule and is still in a good position to challenge for the Big Ten West.

Nebraska holds on in Bloomington

In the first-ever Big Ten meeting between these two, the Cornhuskers (6-0, 3-0) went up 17-0 after one quarter but allowed the Hoosiers (3-3, 1-2) to hang around before eventually eking out a 27-22 win. It was an ugly day offensively for Tommy Armstrong Jr. (10 of 26, 1 TD, 2 INT), but a 33-yard pick six from Chris Jones and 102 yards from running back Terrell Newby helped keep the Cornhuskers afloat.

Iowa outguns Purdue

Iowa (5-2, 3-1) went out to a huge lead and pulled some of its defensive starters only to have to bring them back in before eventually closing out a wild 49-35 victory over Purdue (3-3, 1-2). Boilermaker quarterback David Blough threw for 458 yards and added five scores, but his exploits couldn’t quite match those of Akrum Wadley (14 carries, 170 yards, one score) and LeShun Daniels (24 carries, 156 yards, two scores) on the ground.

Other games

  • Illinois (2-4, 1-2) beat Rutgers (2-5, 0-4) 24-7. This must have been just a horrible game to watch.
  • Minnesota (4-2, 1-2) rolled over Maryland 31-10 (4-2, 1-2). The Terps, after starting 4-0, have lost back-to-back games. Rodney Smith ran for 144 yards and two scores for the Golden Gophers.

BYES: Michigan, Penn St.