Big 10 Wrapup: Buckeyes, Badgers, and More
Big 10 Wrapup: Buckeyes, Badgers, and More
The Big 10 did actually get to start its season in its expected form last week and this week we have four games on the slate.
A week after beating Illinois, Ohio State put in a very good result over Michigan State.
The Buckeyes were led by wing Jayden Garnes, who scored two tries and set up another in a nice example of OSU playing some open-field rugby.
Maximus Clark scored two by being the main man on mauls, while No. 8 Dan Carool was very good around the field, getting the job done in several aspects of play.
Ohio State came into the game without flyhalf Aiden Pickston, who was held out on concussion protocol, and as a result Seamus Kennedy was moved from center to flyhalf for this game. He stepped in nicely.
It was a tough start for Michigan State (although they did receive praise for their post-match food and we at GRR heartily congratulate them for that).
Notre Dame won their first conference game with a 31-19 defeat of Michigan, in what was a matchup of two teams thought to be relatively even.
Indiana defeated Illinois 56-17. Head Coach Luke Gross was relatively happy with it all but, as he has been saying for a while, it's about an objective standard, not the score.
"We had our moments," he said.
And finally Wisconsin continued its offensive run with a 57-0 shutout of Purdue.
Wisconsin did well to bottle up the Boilermakers and even though the Badgers' scoring didn't get going until well into the first half, they controlled field position fairly well.
A line break, penalty, lineout, and maul produced what appeared to be Wisconsin's opening try right around 20 minutes. But Purdue smartly didn't contend the maul so instead it was an obstruction call against the Badgers. Center Joe Venner finally did get over as Wisconsin kept up the pressure. Callum Jones and Joseph Koch also added tries—all three being backs, but all three would certainly credit the hard work of the Wisconsin forwards. And the forwards got the fourth try of the half with No. 8 Emilio de Palm going over after a massive run from prop Owen Klovas.
Wisconsin wasn't perfect and they made a few boneheaded mistakes, but finally prop Bryce Quinton snagged a turnover ball and powered over. to start the second-half score.
Purdue hit hard and were aggressive in the breakdown, but all that work eventually sapped some energy and Wisconsin was able to pull away.
Next week Michigan State is at Notre Dame, Purdue is at Indiana, while Michigan hosts Wisconsin.
That Badgers-at-Wolverines matchup should tell us a lot.
Ohio State has a non-conference game against longtime rivals Tennessee. Illinois is at McKendree in another non-conference game.
