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Big Ten Skill Position Rankings and Key Matchups for Week 5
Sep 13, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Curtis Samuel (4) warms up before the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
There was movement in the rankings of skill position players in the Big Ten after the first week of conference play.
Week one in the Big Ten’s inaugural nine-game conference schedule is in the books. The only real surprises were Wisconsin dominating Michigan State and Rutgers keeping Iowa on the ropes continuing the skepticism about the strength of the Hawkeyes.
Each week, I’ll provide a ranking of the Big Ten’s quarterbacks and running backs and preview the best games featuring the conference’s top players.
Quarterbacks:
A couple of the top quarterbacks stepped up in week four. Others were dreadful. Here’s how they rank:
| QB | Team | Attempts | Completions | Yards | YPC | TDs | INTs |
| J.T. Barrett | Ohio State | 53 | 35 | 498 | 14.23 | 10 | 1 |
| Wilton Speight | Michigan | 114 | 72 | 875 | 12.15 | 9 | 1 |
| Tommy Armstrong Jr | Nebraska | 106 | 60 | 931 | 15.52 | 8 | 1 |
| Alex Hornibrook | Wisconsin | 43 | 29 | 378 | 13.03 | 3 | 2 |
| Perry Hills | Maryland | 60 | 37 | 463 | 7.72 | 3 | 0 |
| CJ Beathard | Iowa | 93 | 55 | 741 | 13.47 | 8 | 1 |
| Tyler O’Connor | Michigan State | 82 | 50 | 655 | 13.1 | 5 | 5 |
| Mitch Leidner | Minnesota | 76 | 49 | 599 | 12.22 | 4 | 1 |
| Trace McSorley | Penn State | 117 | 74 | 949 | 12.82 | 5 | 3 |
| Richard Lagow | Indiana | 101 | 63 | 1002 | 15.9 | 7 | 5 |
| Chris Laviano | Rutgers | 113 | 59 | 647 | 5.13 | 5 | 2 |
| Wes Lunt | Illinois | 56 | 32 | 353 | 6.3 | 6 | 1 |
| Clayton Thorson | Northwestern | 139 | 74 | 956 | 12.92 | 5 | 4 |
| David Blough | Purdue | 130 | 78 | 946 | 12.13 | 5 | 7 |
Big Ten Stud of the Week:
Second-straight week with a close battle for top quarterback. Alex Hornibrook, Tommy Armstrong, Jr. and Wilton Speight all played close to flawless games. Hornibrook gets the nod for tearing apart Michigan State’s defense finishing the game 16-for-26 with 195 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception.
Open the Competition Again:
Tough call between Tyler O’Connor and Richard Lagow who both played poorly losing at home, but I am going with O’Connor for his 18-for-38 with 224 yards, three interceptions and no touchdown performance against the Badgers. While he was not the only player to fall flat, he was just off the entire game.
Lagow threw five interceptions against Wake Forest. If he does not clean up the mistakes, Indiana will not make it to a second-straight bowl game.
Rodney Dangerfield Award:
Last week’s winner Trace McSorley was humbled by the stingy Michigan defense so he’s out of the mix for now.
No quarterback earned the distinction this week. I was tempted to pick C.J. Beathard because he’s not making any critical mistakes for a struggling team, but he is not elevating the Hawkeyes to a level of play expected from a senior quarterback.
Running Backs:
With Ohio State enjoying an early-season bye week, some of the Big Ten’s best running backs had a chance to catch up with Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel. They are still in the lead, but challengers are coming after them. Here’s how the running backs rank through week four:
| Running Backs | Team | Carries | Yards | YPC | TDs |
| Mike Weber/Curtis Samuel | Ohio State | 87 | 611 | 7.02 | 3 |
| Terrell Newby/Devine Ozigbo | Nebraska | 98 | 470 | 4.8 | 5 |
| De’Veon Smith/Chris Evans | Michigan | 68 | 472 | 6.94 | 5 |
| Corey Clement/Dare Ogunbowale | Wisconsin | 107 | 433 | 4.05 | 6 |
| Rodney Smith/Kobe McCrary | Minnesota | 82 | 491 | 5.99 | 7 |
| Saquon Barkley/Miles Sanders | Penn State | 71 | 358 | 5.04 | 6 |
| L.J. Scott/Gerald Holmes | Michigan State | 70 | 364 | 5.2 | 4 |
| LeShun Daniels/Akrum Wadley | Iowa | 89 | 575 | 6.47 | 7 |
| Lorenzo Harrison/Trey Edmunds | Maryland | 53 | 356 | 6.72 | 4 |
| Justin Jackson/John Moten IV | Northwestern | 86 | 355 | 4.13 | 3 |
| Markell Jones/Brian Lankford Johnson | Purdue | 70 | 379 | 5.41 | 3 |
| Robert Martin/Justin Goodwin | Rutgers | 87 | 494 | 5.68 | 1 |
| Devine Redding/Devonte Williams | Indiana | 83 | 430 | 5.18 | 0 |
| Ke’Shawn Vaughn/Kendrick Foster | Illinois | 68 | 362 | 5.41 | 4 |
Big Ten Stud of the Week:
De’Veon Smith wins the award this week with his 107 yards and one touchdown performance against Penn State.
For the first time this season, Jim Harbaugh tipped his hand on Michigan’s ground game. We all know the Wolverines can throw the ball well. Most were waiting to see if they could balance it out with a punishing rushing attack.
Penn State’s defense is certainly decimated, especially at linebacker, so it is fair to wonder if the 326 yards on the ground reflects progress or just taking advantage of an opponent’s obvious weakness. Regardless, the Wolverines showed that they are ready for the upcoming battles in Big Ten play.
Open the Competition Again:
Nothing like kicking a team while it is down, but L.J Scott’s 61 yards and no touchdowns in a 30-6 loss to Wisconsin earns him the dud of the week.
The Spartans had one opportunity to get back into the game against the Badgers. Score on its first drive of the second half.
Scott’s costly fumble resulting in a 66-yard return for a touchdown by Leo Musso deflated any comeback hopes the Spartans’ had coming out of locker room at halftime. The team never recovered and the rout was on after that play.
Rodney Dangerfield Award:
No one is going to describe Minnesota as a quality team, but without Rodney Smith, the Golden Gophers are 1-2 instead of 3-0.
Against Colorado State, Smith finished with 99-yards and two touchdowns. The second was a two-yard run putting his team up 14 with 10 minutes to play.
Minnesota has a stable of running backs to lean on throughout the grind of conference play, but Smith will carry the load and keep the Gophers in every game.
Big Ten Team of the Week:
Wisconsin. The Badgers started a freshman quarterback on the road against the defending Big Ten champions. That typically spells disaster. Not so fast.
Hornibrook’s steady play combined with a stout defense earned the Badgers its second win over a Top 10 team this season.
Most, including me, expected Wisconsin to be 2-2 at this point. Instead, they are riding their standard blue-collar fundamentally sound style of play to early season wins and looking pretty good for a special season.
Look Ahead at Big Ten Match-ups:
Barring any major upsets, the slate of games for week two in Big Ten play is unexciting except the clash between No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 4 Michigan in the Big House.
For the second-straight week, Wisconsin hits the road for a major test. The scheduling gods may have it in for the Badgers, but they may get the last laugh if they pull off the upset in Ann Arbor.
Wisconsin has momentum and is playing with the confidence needed to strike a blow to Michigan’s plans to make it the college football playoff this year.
Some may dismiss their wins over LSU and Michigan State saying both opponents were not that tough anyway. The Badgers had a hand in delivering those blows so it reasonable to say they are worthy of their ranking.
On the other side, outside of one bad quarter against Colorado, Michigan has had little trouble in its first four games. Is that more a reflection of the Wolverines strength or having the good fortune of playing mediocre opponents at home?
I would say it is closer to the schedule being soft. The game against Colorado was a little telling. The Buffaloes had the winning formula, they just lacked the weapons to complete the upset.
This is not to say the Wolverines are not as good as advertised. They probably are a great team. It just means they need to beat a ranked opponent before we can truly assess where they are in year two of Harbaugh’s tenure.
On paper, this game looks like a defensive battle as both team are leaders in the FBS in most defensive categories. The outcome will be determined in the trenches and limiting big plays on special teams.
Wisconsin’s offensive line did a great job last week against Michigan State in opening up lanes for Corey Clement to run and giving Hornibrook time to find his receivers. They did enough to keep the Spartans’ off-balance all afternoon.
A similar effort is needed this Saturday as defensive coordinator Don Brown will throw numerous looks to confuse the young quarterback.
Michigan’s offensive line has been much improved over last year, but Wisconsin’s hybrid 3-4 defense is by far the best Michigan has faced. Expect the Badgers to lock down the middle of the field. To counter, the Wolverines will attack the edges with screens and quick passes to use their speed advantage to keep the chains moving.
The X factor is Jabrill Peppers. If scoring is low as expected and the punt game is of great importance, Peppers will have numerous opportunities to showcase his return capabilities.
He’s averaging 22.7 yards-per-return giving Michigan’s offense a considerable advantage in terms of field position.
If the Wolverines win this game, they will cruise to 11-0 entering the Game on November 26 as Iowa and Michigan State don’t appear to be legitimate threats.
If the Badgers win, they’ll head into a bye week with tremendous momentum before facing Ohio State at home on October 15.
More pressure is on Michigan to rise up in its first physical test of the season. Wisconsin has already proved its capable of winning slugfests.
In the end, the Wolverines’ ability to throw down the field and pressure Hornibrook into some mistakes will carry them to victory. Michigan wins 31-17.
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