Big Ten Weekend Recap: Shutouts, Shootouts and Statement Wins

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Week 2 of the Big Ten season delivered everything from double-overtime drama to record-setting shutouts. Here’s how each team fared.

Ohio State 70, Grambling State 0

Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin completed his first 18 passes, falling just short of the school record, and threw four touchdowns as top-ranked Ohio State rolled. Receiver Jeremiah Smith added 119 yards and a score.

“Sayin fell one short of the school record for consecutive completions,” the Associated Press reported .

Penn State 34, FIU 0

No. 2 Penn State led just 10-0 at halftime before pulling away. Running back Kaytron Allen broke the game open with a 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Quarterback Drew Allar told reporters:

“For me, it’s never going to be good enough unless we score on every single drive” .

Head coach James Franklin said afterward:

“We made it harder than we needed…playing a lot of young guys” .

Michigan State 42, Boston College 40 (2OT)

Quarterback Aidan Chiles threw four touchdown passes, ran for another and delivered the winning two-point conversion to Omari Kelly in double overtime.

“Chiles…threw the winning two-point conversion…in double overtime,” the Associated Press recap noted .

Oregon, Washington and USC Dominate

Oregon 69, Oklahoma State 3 — Nine different Ducks scored touchdowns, including back-to-back pick-sixes. Coach Dan Lanning said, “It’s fun to win… but there’s still some moments that I certainly want back” (AP) .
Washington 70, UC Davis 10 — Running back Jonah Coleman tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns. After the game Coleman said, “I just want to shout out my o-line…they make me look good” (Seattle Times). Coach Jedd Fisch added, “He had 15 carries and five of them were touchdowns” (Seattle Times) .
USC 59, Georgia Southern 20 — Quarterback Jayden Maiava passed for 412 yards and four TDs. Receiver Makai Lemon scored from 62 and 74 yards. Coach Lincoln Riley told reporters, “Teams that win the explosive play battles typically win games” (AP) .

Rivalry and Road Tests

Iowa State 16, Iowa 13 — A 54-yard field goal from Kyle Konrardy with under two minutes left sealed the CyHawk rivalry. Coach Matt Campbell said, “You win football games when your best players make the best plays in key moments” (AP) .
Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13 — The Wolverines’ highlight was a 75-yard touchdown run by Justice Haynes. Sooners quarterback John Mateer accounted for three TDs. Coach Brent Venables said, “Didn’t play our best game and still won by a couple scores” (AP) .

Around the League

Illinois 45, Duke 19 — QB Luke Altmyer threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns. He said, “If we do the right things, we’re a really good team” (AP) .
Wisconsin 42, Middle Tennessee 10 — Freshman QB Danny O’Neil went 23 of 27 for 283 yards and three TDs. “We had some tough conversations at halftime…we weren’t playing to our standard,” O’Neil told reporters (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) .
Nebraska 68, Akron 0 — QB Dylan Raiola threw for 364 yards and four TDs; RB Emmett Johnson ran for 140 yards and three scores (AP) .
Minnesota 66, Northwestern State 0 — Nine different Gophers scored in a weather-shortened blowout (Star Tribune) .
Rutgers 45, Miami (OH) 17 — QB Athan Kaliakmanis passed for a career-high four TDs (AP) .
Purdue 34, Southern Illinois 17 — RB Devin Mockobee ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns (AP/Hammer & Rails) .
Maryland 20, Northern Illinois 9 — Freshman QB Malik Washington hit Shaleak Knotts on a fourth-down strike to clinch it (AP) .
Northwestern 42, Western Illinois 7 (Fri.) — QB Preston Stone threw three TDs in his debut (AP) .
UNLV 30, UCLA 23 — The Rebels beat a Big Ten foe for the first time in 22 years. QB Anthony Colandrea threw three touchdowns (AP) .

Takeaways

Ohio State, Penn State and Washington showed their dominance with emphatic wins, while Michigan State survived double-overtime heroics. Michigan and Iowa stumbled on the road, and USC and Oregon flexed their firepower. Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota each posted lopsided victories, reinforcing the Big Ten’s strength on both sides of the ball.