BIG TEN. BIG NEWS.
• Week 4 of the 2022 Big Ten season features nine games, highlighted by four conference matchups on Saturday. Michigan will host divisional foe Maryland, while Michigan State, Ohio State and Rutgers welcome Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, respectively. The complete schedule appears to the right.
• Seven Big Ten teams remain undefeated on the season, as Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers are all 3-0.
• Three Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Ohio State leads the conference at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Michigan and No. 14 Penn State. Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin are all receiving votes.
• Michigan and Minnesota currently rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring offense, averaging 55.3 points per contest, while ranking No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (5.7 points per game). The Gophers rank No. 4 nationally in scoring defense (5.7 points per game), while ranking seventh in scoring offense (49.7 points per game).
• Five additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 20 in terms of scoring defense: Iowa (2nd, 4.3 points per game), Wisconsin (8th, 8.0 points per game), Illinois (15th, 10.7 points per game), Rutgers (21st, 14.0 points per game) and Ohio State (24th, 14.3 points per game).
• The Big Ten boasts six top 20 FBS running backs in rushing yards per game: Illinois’ Chase Brown (1st, 165.3), Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim (2nd, 154.7), Nebraska’s Anthony Grant (9th, 116.0), Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton (12th, 111.3), Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen (13th, 110.7) and Northwestern’s Evan Hull (19th, 102.7).
• Ohio State scored touchdowns on each of its first seven drives with only one taking longer than four minutes in Saturday’s 77-21 victory against Toledo. The Buckeyes had 763 total yards, which was the second-most in a game in school history. Since Ryan Day’s full-time arrival as head coach in 2019, Ohio State has three wins against FBS teams by 55 or more points, while the rest of the Big Ten has four such wins combined.
• Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 22 of 27 passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns against Toledo. It was the fourth time in 15 career starts that Stroud completed 80 percent or better of his passes and was the 11th 300-yard game in his career. Nationally, Stroud’s 11 touchdown passes are tied for first and his 72.9 completion percentage ranks eighth. He is also ninth in yards per game (313.7) and fourth in yards per attempt (11.1).
• Penn State recorded its 15th straight regular season non-conference win with a 41-12 win at Auburn on Saturday. The Nittany Lions ran for 245 yards and five touchdowns, with the true freshmen running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combining for four of them, to deliver Auburn’s worst non-conference home loss since 1982.
• Nittany Lion true freshman Nicholas Singleton finished Saturday’s game with 10 rushes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first PSU true freshman running back with back-to-back 100-yard games since Noah Cain in 2019. With runs of 54 and 53 yards, Singleton now has five runs of 40 or more yards this season and three over 50 yards to lead the country. His 334 yards are the most rushing yards by a Penn State freshman through the first three games of a season, passing Saquon Barkley’s mark of 311 in 2015.
• Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim ran for three touchdowns in the Gophers’ 49-7 victory against Colorado, bumping his career total to 40 and tying Darrell Thompson for the most by a Minnesota running back all-time. The running back went over 100 yards for the 12th straight time, the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player this century, while also setting a school record with his fourth 200-yard rushing game. Overall, the Gophers had 500 yards, averaged 6.9 yards per play and scored touchdowns on seven of their first nine drives. It is the first time Minnesota had 500 yards in consecutive games since 2005, while the team’s 149 points scored so far mark the most to start the season since 1916.
• Michigan recorded its largest home shutout since 1975 and has won 19 straight non-conference home games under Jim Harbaugh. Saturday’s 59-0 victory over UConn marked the Wolverines’ 10th consecutive home victory, their longest such streak since 2018-19 (13), their greatest margin of victory since 2016 and their first shutout since 2019. Running back Blake Corum matched the modern-era Michigan record with five rushing touchdowns (four in the first half), giving him a team-high seven total for the season and a new career high.
• Maryland defeated SMU 34-27 on Saturday to start 3-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1979-80. The Terrapins had an interception and forced two turnovers on downs in the final frame to hold the Mustangs scoreless on their final four drives. The Terps are 9-1 in non-conference games under Michael Locksley and are averaging 46.3 points per game in those contests, the second-most of any team nationally since 2019. Maryland is also outscoring opponents by 31.5 points per game, which is second only to Alabama.
• The 2022 campaign features 94 All-Big Ten honorees (first-, second-, third-team or honorable mention) selected by either the coaches or the media last season. Ohio State leads the way, welcoming back 17 All-Big Ten honorees this season. Each team has at least one All-Big Ten performer returning this season, with 56 of the 94 returning All-Big Ten players coming from the East Division.
