6A — Thursday, September 28, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

MICHIGAN STATE

REMAINING BIG TEN SCHEDULE

MARYLAND

WISCONSIN

OHIO STATE

MINNESOTA

INDIANA

PENN STATE

RUTGERS - HOMECOMING

7:30 P.M. EST

TBA

TBA

12 P.M. EST

TBA

12 P.M. EST

TBA

12 P.M. EST

October 7 / Michigan Stadium

November 11 / College Park, MD

November 18 / Madison, WI

Nov 25 / Michigan Stadium

November 4 / Michigan Stadium

October 14 / Bloomington, IND 

October 21 / State College, PA

October 28 / Michigan Stadium

A look around the Big Ten without Michigan

It seems like it’s been a year 

since redshirt freshman kicker 
Quinn Nordin hit those two 
50-yard field goals in Dallas. 

Yet it’s been just four weeks, 

and somehow — through a 
blur of scary moments and 
unsettling 
games 
— 
the 

Michigan football team (4-0) is 
still undefeated.

Now, 
the 
eighth-ranked 

Wolverines head into their bye 
week. Without a game until 
Oct. 7, the Daily looks outside 
Ann Arbor at the rest of the Big 
Ten.

Here’s a breakdown of what 

Michigan’s future opponents 
are up to this weekend:

Michigan State (2-1)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Oct. 7

Next Opponent: Iowa (3-1)
Despite moving the ball for 

nearly 500 yards of offense, 
the Spartans were handed their 
first loss last weekend against 
Notre 
Dame. 
The 
Fighting 

Irish scored 21 points off three 
Michigan State turnovers (one 
pick-six 
and 
two 
fumbles), 

and in addition to giving up 97 
yards in penalties, the Spartans 
did little to help themselves. 

Michigan State quarterback 

Brian 
Lewerke, 
now 
a 

true 
sophomore, 
has 
four 

touchdowns 
and 
two 

interceptions 
this 
season. 

His next opponent, Iowa, has 
allowed nearly 250 passing 
yards every game, which is 
exactly what Lewerke averages 
so far. If the young Spartan 
quarterback 
cleans 
up 
the 

mistakes, 
Michigan 
State 

should be able to ride out a win 
at home before they come play 
at the Big House.

Indiana (2-1)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Oct. 14

Next Opponent: No. 4 Penn 

State (4-0)

The Hoosiers inevitably got 

thrown to the bottom of the 
dog pile when they opened 
their 
season 
against 
Ohio 

State. Indiana has had two 
comfortable wins since playing 
the Buckeyes, but they’ve also 
become riddled with injuries.

Against a top-five team like 

Penn State, that will be an 
issue.

Quarterback Richard Lagow 

left last weekend’s game early 

with a leg injury, but the 
main cause for concern is on 
defense. 
The 
Hoosiers 
lost 

three starters in their win over 
Georgia Southern: cornerback 
A’Shon Riggins, defensive back 
Marcelino Ball and defensive 
tackle Nate Hoff.

All three are questionable 

for 
this 
weekend, 
which 

significantly 
reduces 
their 

chances against the Nittany 
Lions, who average 496 yards 
per game.

No. 4 Penn State (4-0)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Oct. 21

Next Opponent: Indiana 

(3-1)

The 
Nittany 
Lions 
are 

living up to all the offseason 
hype since last year’s Rose 
Bowl, and the credit is due to 
running back Saquon Barkley. 
Though it’s still early in the 
season, Barkley is the Heisman 
frontrunner and a potential No. 
1 draft pick.

He 
leads 
his 
team 
in 

both rushing and receiving 
yards 
with 
518 
and 
335, 

respectively. Barkley has six 
total touchdowns — four on the 
ground and two in the passing 
game. Few teams, certainly not 
Indiana, will be able to stop 
him.

And even if a team can find 

a way to halt the running back, 
it would still have to deal 
with Penn State quarterback 
Trace McSorley. McSorley has 
thrown for over 1,000 yards 
and 10 touchdowns, completing 
66 percent of his passes.

It would take a miracle for 

a handful of Indiana second-
string 
defensive 
players 
to 

stop the runaway train that is 
Barkley, McSorley and Penn 
State.

Rutgers (1-3)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Oct. 28

Next Opponent: No. 11 Ohio 

State (3-1)

It was actually a decent 

weekend by Rutgers’ standards 
during a 27-17 road loss to 
Nebraska. For starters, the 
Scarlet 
Knights 
didn’t 
get 

blown out. A pick-six from 
Rutgers defensive back Kiy 
Hester gave Rutgers a lead in 
the third quarter, but Nebraska 
rallied to come back for the 
win.

It was the Scarlet Knights’ 

15th consecutive Big Ten loss. 
No. 16 will likely come this 
Saturday against Ohio State.

Rutgers 
quarterback 

Kyle Bolin has thrown six 
interceptions and just three 

touchdowns 
so 
far. 
His 

performance 
might 
give 

true 
freshman 
quarterback 

Johnathan Lewis a fair amount 
of playing time against the 
Buckeyes.

Lewis, 
a 
dual-threat 

quarterback, 
handled 
the 

majority of the workload in 
Rutgers’ sole win over Morgan 
State, but besides that, he 
hasn’t taken many snaps.

Ohio States’ defense would be 

Lewis’ biggest test yet. But why 
not play him? There’s nowhere 
to go but up for Rutgers. 

Minnesota (3-0)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? November 4

Next Opponent: Maryland 

(2-1)

New coach P.J. Fleck has the 

boat rowing in Minneapolis. 
The Golden Gophers have won 
three straight games, including 
a dominant win over Pac-12 
opponent Oregon State.

The Golden Gophers’ best 

offensive threat is their depth 
in the run game. Running back 
Shannon Brooks leads the team 
with four rushing touchdowns, 
but Minnesota has done well 
in rotating the tailbacks. Its 
other running backs, Kobe 
McCrary and Rodney Smith, 
have over 100 yards on the 

season and have combined for 
four touchdowns between the 
two of them. 

Michigan’s former defensive 

coordinator 
D.J. 
Durkin 

coaches 
Minnesota’s 
next 

opponent, 
Maryland. 
The 

Gophers’ rush offense against 
the Terrapins’ rush defense 
should make for a decisive 
battle on Saturday.

Maryland (2-1)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Nov. 11

Next Opponent: Minnesota 

(3-0)

It’s a bad year to be a 

quarterback at Maryland.

Just 
three 
weeks 
after 

starting quarterback Tyrrell 
Pigrome tore his ACL against 
Texas, the Terrapins’ backup, 
freshman Kasim Hill, suffered 
the same injury. Neither will 
return this season.

The injuries dampened what 

was once a great start to the 
2017 campaign, which included 
a big win on the road at then-
No. 23 Texas.

Now, the Terrapins will turn 

the reigns over to sophomore 
Max 
Bortenschlager, 
the 

only 
healthy 
scholarship 

quarterback left on the roster.

No. 10 Wisconsin (3-0)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Nov. 18

Next 
Opponent: 

Northwestern (2-1)

True 
freshman 
running 

back Jonathan Taylor leads 
the Big Ten with five rushing 
touchdowns. 
He 
broke 
out 

against Florida Atlantic for 223 
rushing yards and three scores 
and followed that up with 
another 100-yard outing on the 
road against Brigham Young.

At quarterback, Wisconsin’s 

Alex Hornibrook has shown 
major improvements from last 
season.

Last 
year, 
Hornibrook 

threw nine touchdowns and 
seven interceptions with just 
a 58-percent completion rate. 
Through three games this year, 
he has eight touchdowns and 
only one interception and has 
completed 70 percent of his 
passes.

The Badgers are a 15.5-point 

favorite 
over 
Northwestern, 

and should come away with 
another big win if all goes 
according to plan. For a second 
straight year, the Big Ten West 
really is Wisconsin’s to lose.

No. 11 Ohio State (3-1)
When 
do 
they 
play 

Michigan? Nov. 25

Next Opponent: Rutgers 

(1-3)

Yes, the Buckeyes are going 

to beat Rutgers. See you next 
week.

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s team will have a bye week, which he has dubbed an “improvement week,” after winning the first four games of their season.

With the Wolverines sitting out this weekend, the Daily examines the rest of the conference

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

BY THE NUMBERS

Notable Big Ten Stats

1

Number of teams besides Michigan 

with a 4-0 record

10

Touchdowns scored by Penn State 
quarterback Trace McSorley alone

15.5 

Point favorites the Badgers are over 

Northwestern this weekend

496

Yards gained by Michigan State in 

20-point loss to Notre Dame

