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Maryland at Ohio State
Game Recap: Ohio State struggled to stop the quarterback run game of Perry Hills early, but settled down and pulled away late for an easy 49-28 victory. The game was the last for Maryland coach Randy Edsall who was fired on Sunday.
Key Players: The Buckeyes have become a full-fledged QBBC team with Cardale Jones the starter and J.T. Barrett the red zone quarterback. Jones still passed for a career-high 291 yards and had a pair of touchdown passes. Barrett only threw the ball twice (for 26 yards), but rushed for 62 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Buckeyes were a perfect 6-for-6 from the red zone. Ezekiel Elliott kept his long streak of 100-yard rushing games alive with 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 6 passes for 47 yards. Top wide receiver Mike Thomas had 7 catches for 107 yards and Braxton Miller had 5 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. For Maryland, the big story was the success Perry Hills found as a runner. He carried 25 times for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also threw for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Injuries: Ohio State RB/WR Curtis Samuel is playing through injury and only touched the ball once.
Players to Watch: Ezekiel Elliott faces a tough matchup against Penn State but should keep his 100-yard rushing streak alive and find the end zone at least once. His increased usage in the passing game makes him an even more attractive option. Maryland has a bye before facing the same stingy Nittany Lions defense on 10/24 that the Buckeyes face this week.
MICHIGAN STATE at Rutgers
Game Recap: The Spartans scored a touchdown with 43 seconds left and withstood a late Rutgers rally to escape with a narrow 31-24 road win.
Key Players: Michigan State's Aaron Burbridge had 9 catches for 146 yards to again lead the Spartans. After missing the first half due to disciplinary reasons, LJ Scott had a big second half with a pair of rushing touchdowns and 42 yards on nine carries. Connor Cook passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns. For Rutgers, star recevier Leonte Carroo made a statement upon his return from suspension. He was the offense for the Scarlet Knights; he hauled in 7 catches for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Injuries: MSU remains incredibly beat up along the offensive line with their top three offensive tackles all out.
Players to Watch: Michigan State faces a tough road test at Michigan and the beat up offensive line makes it tough to play any Spartans, though LJ Scott is still a decent bet to find the end zone. Rutgers has a favorable passing matchup against Indiana. Leonte Carroo should once again be one of the top WR options on the slate.
Northwestern at Michigan
Game Recap: The Wolverines Jehu Chesson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and Michigan never looked back. The defense dominated Northwestern and put up a third straight shutout with a final score of 38-0.
Key Players: There was very little offense in this game. De'Veon Smith led the Michigan running backs with 8 carries for 59 yards. Jake Butt added 3 catches for 40 yards. Northwestern's star running back Justin Jackson never got anything going and was held to 25 yards on 12 carries.
Injuries: De'Veon Smith is still less than 100% but should continue to progress from his ankle injury this week.
Players to Watch: Michigan faces a tough matchup against Michigan State. They may lean on their top talents like De'Veon Smith and Jake Butt more heavily than in recent weeks in an incrediby important matchup that should be pretty close throughout. Northwestern faces a tough home test against Iowa. Justin Jackson should bounce back somewhat, but it's hard to put up big rushing numbers against the Hawkeyes.
Illinois at Iowa
Game Recap: A record-setting day for Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri led to a key 29-20 home victory for the Hawkeyes.
Key Players: Canzeri rushed a ridiculous 43 times for 256 yards and a touchdown. He also had a receiving touchdown and two catches. True freshman Jerminic Smith stepped in for injured starter Tevaun Smith and posted 118 yards in his first start. CJ Beathard passed for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added 29 yards on the ground as well. Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt had a nice day with 317 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target, Geronimo Allison, had another big game with 8 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Ke'Shawn Vaughn had 19 rushes for 67 yards and a touchdown, but also lost a fumble late that extinguished any hopes of an Illini rally.
Injuries: The Hawkeyes are incredibly banged up right now. They lost their star DE Drew Ott to an ACL tear against Illinois. Starting WR Tevaun Smith will be out against Northwestern. So will backup tailback LeShun Daniels. The Hawkeyes are also going to be playing without at least two starting offensive linemen.
Players to Watch: Jordan Canzeri faces a tough matchup against Northwestern, but is absolutely on fire right now and with Daniels out will again see a bunch of touches. He should be a solid option despite the tough Wildcats run defense despite Iowa being without two or three staring linemen. Jerminic Smith is a big-play threat and a decent GPP option if he's again near minimum-priced. Illinois is on bye this week and then hosts Wisconsin.
Indiana at Penn State
Game Recap: Indiana's offense couldn't get anything going playing without star quarterback Nate Sudfeld and star running back Jordan Howard. The Hoosiers were held to just 7 points and Christian Hackenberg had his best performance of the season to lead the Nittany Lions to a dominating 29-7 victory.
Key Players: Christian Hackenberg threw for 262 yards and two scores. He also uncharacteristically rushed for two touchdowns and 21 yards. Third-string back Nick Scott got the start and rushed for 57 yards on eight carries. Daesean Hamilton led Penn State with 49 yards and a touchdown on 2 catches. Hackenberg spread his 21 completions around to 9 different receivers though, so none of the receivers put up decent fantasy numbers. Dual-threat backup quarterback Zander Diamont struggled with only 90 yards passing and 38 yards rushing (and a touchdown). Backup running back Devine Redding got the start and had only 32 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Injuries: Running back Saquon Barkley is questionable heading into a key matchup with Ohio State. Indiana's top two offensive players (Sudfeld and Howard) are both questionable as well against Rutgers this week.
Players to Watch: The three players who are questionable with injuries are the three key guys to watch this week. Howard is always a strong option when healthy and could have a big day if he is near 100% against Rutgers. Barkley would face a tough matchup against Ohio State, but is still a decent option.
Wisconsin at Nebraska
Game Recap: Nebraska suffered yet another soul-crushing last minute defeat as a last second field goal lifted Wisconsin to a 23-21 road victory.
Key Players: Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong is in a major slump and threw for only 129 yards and a touchdown on 28 attempts. Terrell Newby rushed 15 times for only 59 yards against Wisconsin's stout defense. For Wisconsin, running back Dare Ogunbowale had a big day with 18 rushes for 117 yards. Top receiver Alex Erickson returned after missing time with a concussion to put up 113 yards on seven catches. Robert Wheelwright (5-81-0) and tight end Tony Fumagalli (6-60-1) both had solid days.
Injuries: Taiwan Deal left the game with a left ankle sprain and will likely miss some time.
Players to Watch: Dare Ogunbowale should be one of the top options for the price this weekend if Deal is out. He has a great matchup on paper against Purdue. Wisconsin tight end Tony Fumagalli should again have a solid day and makes for a nice low-cost option. Nebraksa faces a tough road matchup against Minnesota and it's hard to trust any piece of this offense right now.
Minnesota at Purdue
Game Recap: Minnesota ran all over the Boilermakers (326 rushing yards) and broke the game open with a 28-point 3rd quarter en route to a 41-13 blowout.
Key Players: True freshman running back Shannon Brooks continued his emergence as a potential star for the Gophers. He rushed 17 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. He has likely passed Rodney Smith on the depth chart at this point. Smith ran 13 times for 52 yards. Running back D.J. Knox returned from injury for Purdue and rushed 13 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. He also added three catches for 10 yards.
Injuries: None.
Players to Watch: Shannon Brooks is a decent option against a Nebraska defense that has been vulnerable against the run. Purdue is projected to score only 12 points at Wisconsin and it is very tough to play anybody from the Boilermakers with such a low team total.