Indiana had a case as one of the best teams in the Big Ten, and more from around the conference
The final weekend of September has wrapped up and the Big Ten football season is in full swing. Several teams stood out as they continued to establish themselves as legitimate contenders in the conference in Week 5.
Here's what stood out from the weekend.
Player of the week
Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter: There are a few good options for this week — including Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai, who carried the Rutgers offense in the team's win over Washington — but Carter stands out as the best. The Nittany Lion defender plays all over the team's front seven and on Saturday he was the dynamic player he was billed as heading into the season. The projected future first round pick racked up four tackles for loss and two sacks in Penn State's 21-7 win over Illinois . He's been active as a defender early in the season but this was easily his most productive week of the year. Beyond the box score, Carter is also drawing double teams and is attracting attention from opposing offensive coordinators. Of course, this week was all about the damage he did in the Illinois backfield to stand out among his peers.
Play of the week
Minnesota WR Daniel Jackson makes an unbelievable catch: Minnesota needed a touchdown to have a chance against Michigan with less than two minutes left, and Jackson gave it to them. He was getting turned around by a defensive back in the end zone, but managed to pull in the pass with his left hand while spinning and get his feet down. The Gophers ultimately fell short in the game, but this play will likely go down as one of the best catches of the season.
Top five
There's still an undisputed top team in the conference right now and it's the Buckeyes. They continue to put up points week in and week out but it's really the team's defense that is separating it right now. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has it operating as one of the best units in the country on that side of the ball and it was dominant again in the team's 38-7 win over Michigan State . The Spartans aren't exactly a top offense, but it's still a decent test ahead of the team's matchup with the high flying Oregon offense in two weeks.
There may not have been many Big Ten fans who watched the Ducks Saturday night because the game kicked off at 11 p.m. ET, but that doesn't change that they dominated UCLA from start to finish. They've been excellent on both sides of the ball in three of their four games this season and the only blip was a so-so defensive performance against the best running back in the country — Boise State's Ashton Jeanty. Like Ohio State, Oregon is in some ways just checking the boxes until Oct. 12 when the two teams will clash in Eugene in one of the biggest games of the season.
The top three remains the same after the Nittany Lions took care of business against a ranked Illinois team that has surpassed expectations through five games this season. Penn State's 21-7 win over the Illini was close in the first half before the PSU running game took over and allowed the team to bully its way to victory with physicality. The Nittany Lions are about to head into their toughest stretch of the year, with a home matchup against UCLA being the tune-up game before its next three games against USC, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
While the top three is unchanged, the gap between it and the fourth best team in the conference is shrinking. There has been no more impressive team relative to expectations than the Hoosiers. They're undefeated under new head coach Curt Cignetti and have given no reason to believe that won't continue to be the case. They have a chance to be undefeated when they host Michigan on Nov. 9, with the team's toughest test between now and then being a matchup with a good Nebraska team. If Indiana gets past that with a spotless record, then a 10-win season will be well within reach.
This spot will likely be a bit of a revolving door for the rest of the season. The Wolverines looked like they were going to blow out Minnesota but then gave up 21 points to a Golden Gopher offense that isn't built to come from behind. This Michigan team doesn't have a good offense but its defense remains elite. That's a recipe for games like this one that are much closer than you'd expect if the defense gets tired by the end of the 60 minutes on the field. For now, it's tough to put the Wolverines behind USC given that they just beat the Trojans last week.
