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kEYS FOR BRIGHAM YOUNG. Discover some offense — any offense. Through three games, the Cougars have scored 33 points. T
THIS wEEk IN THE INSIDE ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S PREMIER CONFERENCES | COmPILED BY PaTRICk STEVENS, SPECIaL TO GaTEHOUSE mEDIa BY THE NUmBERS

GamE OF THE wEEk

POwER RaNkINGS

STANDINGS

NO. 10 WISCONSIN (2-0) AT BRIGHAM yOuNG (1-2)

Breaking down the Big Ten

When: 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, utah TV: ABC

1. Penn State (2-0): The Nittany Lions have handled their business in the first two weeks. (Last week: 2)

(Through Sept. 9) EAST Team Ohio State Maryland Michigan Michigan State Penn State Rutgers Indiana

Conf. 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

All 1-1 2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 0-2 1-1

T25 0-1 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1

WEST Team Illinois Iowa Wisconsin Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern Purdue

Conf. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

All 2-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-1

T25 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

2. Michigan (2-0): It wasn’t a perfect performance, but Michigan was never seriously threatened in the second week. (LW: 3)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Through Sept. 9) PASSING YARDS Player 1. Tanner Lee, Nebraska 2. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State 3. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern 4. Nate Stanley, Iowa 5. Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin

Yds. 490 487 472 458 445

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS Player 1. Nate Stanley, Iowa T2. Tanner Lee, Nebraska T2. Trace McSorley, Penn State T2. David Blough, Purdue T5. Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin T5. Brian Lewerke, Michigan State

No. 8 5 5 5 4 4

RUSHING YARDS Player 1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin 2. Tre Bryant, Nebraska 3. Saquon Barkley, Penn State 4. Ty Johnson, Maryland 5. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State

Yds. 310 299 260 256 254

RECEIVING YARDS Player 1. Tyler Johnson, Minnesota 2. D.J. Moore, Maryland 3. Simmie Cobbs Jr., Indiana 4. Stanley Morgan, Nebraska 5. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin

Yds. 268 230 211 205 197

SCORING Player T1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin T1. D.J. Moore, Maryland T1. Shannon Brooks, Minnesota T1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State T1. Mike Gesicki, Penn State

Pts. 24 24 24 24 24

TEAM STATISTICS (Through Sept. 9) TOTAL OFFENSE Team Maryland Wisconsin Penn State Nebraska Purdue Michigan Iowa Ohio State Minnesota Michigan State Indiana Northwestern Illinois Rutgers

Yds./G 508.0 521.0 440.5 412.0 451.0 423.5 380.0 473.0 409.5 461.0 372.5 349.5 258.0 317.5

Pts./G 57.0 45.0 42.5 39.0 36.0 34.5 34.0 32.5 32.5 31.5 27.5 24.0 22.0 13.5

PASSING OFFENSE Team Indiana Purdue Northwestern Nebraska Ohio State Penn State Iowa Wisconsin Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Maryland Rutgers Illinois

Yds. 617 588 521 490 487 486 458 451 439 411 397 386 376 252

Yds./G 308.5 294.0 260.5 245.0 243.5 243.0 229.0 225.5 219.5 205.5 198.5 193.0 188.0 126.0

RUSHING OFFENSE Team Maryland Wisconsin Michigan State Ohio State Minnesota Michigan Penn State Nebraska Purdue Iowa Illinois Rutgers Northwestern Indiana

Yds. 630 591 511 459 422 408 395 334 314 302 264 259 178 128

Yds./G 315.0 295.5 255.5 229.5 211.0 204.0 197.5 167.0 157.0 151.0 132.0 129.5 89.0 64.0

STaR OF THE wEEk • RB Tario Fuller, Purdue: Ran for 142 yards and a TD on 16 carries as the Boilermakers throttled Ohio 44-21

STaT OF THE wEEk

ROAD TESTED

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor. [AP

BADGERS FACE COUGARS IN FINAL NON-CONFERECE GAME

PHOTO]

kEYS FOR wISCONSIN

Taylor time. It feels like there is an assembly line of stellar backs in Madison; as soonasonegraduates,another takes his place in the Badgers’ power rushing attack. In the last 24 seasons, Wisconsin hashadatleastone1,000-yard rusherin21ofthem.Freshman Jonathan Taylor is well on his waytojoiningthatgroup,with 310 yards and four TDs in his first two games. He should encounter more resistance againstBYU,butanother100yard day is within reach. Dominate the clock. Wisconsin is averaging 35:56 in possession time, eighth in the country. Facing Utah State and Florida Atlantic has certainly helped the Badgers in this area, but they’re about to play a Brigham Young bunch that ran only 38 plays and had the ball for just 18:06 earlier this month against Louisiana

State. The Badgers might not replicatethat,butit’stheblueprint for stifling the Cougars. kEYS FOR BRIGHAM YOUNG

Discover some offense — any offense. Through three games, the Cougars have scored 33 points. That was a good, solid half in BYU’s heyday in the old Western Athletic Conference. For now, the Cougars rank 107th nationally in passing offense, 118th in rushing offense and passing efficiency and 124th in scoring offense and total offense. Getting anybody on track would be welcome. It will also be difficult against Wisconsin. No wasted chances. Needless to say, facing a Badger offense that can cobble together long drives while dealing with its own erratic attack diminishes Brigham Young’s margin

for error. The Cougars rank 118th in red zone offense this season, scoring touchdowns on just 62.5 percent of their trips inside the 20. They might not get there often against Wisconsin — they didn’t even cross midfield against LSU — but they need to take advantage of every opportunity they earn. PREDICTION

Wisconsin 28-10. This might just be a rerun of the Cougars’ game against LSU in New Orleans two years ago. Like the Tigers, Wisconsin has a punishing defense and is often content to overwhelm opponents up front with a strong offensive line and rushing attack. BYU can withstand some of that, but it probably doesn’t have the offensive firepower to rally if the Badgers can build a lead of two touchdowns or more.

BEST OF THE REST THIS wEEk’S OTHER TOP GAMES

AIR FORCE (1-0) at No. 7 MICHIGAN (2-0)

PURDUE (1-1) at MISSOURI (1-1)

ARMY (2-0) at No. 8 OHIO STATE (1-1)

When: Noon EDT Saturday Where: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich. TV: BTN Notes: Two weeks into the season, the Wolverines’ personality is starting to Harbaugh become clear --and it’s not much different from the bunch that won 10 games last year. Michigan ranks ninth nationally in total defense and third against the run, though that latter number is likely to take a hit against the Falcons.

When: 4 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo. TV: SECN Notes: Purdue leads series 6-2, but this is the first meeting since the 1980 Liberty Bowl. It’s tough to tell Brohm whether the Boilermakers are credible postseason contenders after putting a scare into Louisville and then blasting MAC contender Ohio, but they are much more interesting overall and aggressive on offense this season.

When: 4:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio TV: Fox Notes: First meeting. The Buckeyes are coming off a surprisingly thorough loss to Meyer Oklahoma. QB J.T. Barrett was an unremarkable 19 of 35 for 183 yards and an interception, and Ohio State managed only one touchdown on the day. Now the headache of dealing with Army’s option offense with a week to get ready.

403

ROUNDING IT OUT THE REST OF THE MATCHUPS

Passing yards allowed per game by Ohio State, the worst figure among the 130 FBS programs.

Time (EDT) FRIday 7 p.m.

Matchup

TV

Illinois at No. 22 South Florida ESPN

SaTURday Noon 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Northern Illinois at Nebraska North Texas at Indiana Middle Tennessee at Minnesota Morgan State at Rutgers Bowling Green at Northwestern Georgia State at No. 5 Penn State

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FS1 BTN BTN BTN BTN BTN

3. Wisconsin (2-0): The Badgers rumbled right over Florida Atlantic in a workmanlike victory. (LW: 4) 4. Ohio State (1-1): There is obvious work to do on the back end of the defense. (LW: 1) 5. Maryland (2-0): A bye week comes at the wrong time for the sizzling Terrapins’ offense. (LW: 5) 6. Iowa (2-0): Needed overtime to knock off Iowa State, but still claimed the Cy-Hawk Trophy. (LW: 6) 7. Minnesota (2-0): The Golden Gophers smacked Oregon State in their first road game under P.J. Fleck. (LW: 10) 8. Michigan State (2-0): Doubled up Western Michigan and heads into bye without a blemish. (LW: 7) 9. Indiana (1-1): QB Richard Lagow struggled at Virginia, but it didn’t stop the Hoosiers from collecting a 34-17 victory. (LW: 11)

10. Nebraska (1-1): The Cornhuskers deserve credit for climbing almost the entire way out of a giant hole at Oregon. (LW: 9)

11. Northwestern (1-1): Completely flattened at Duke, the Wildcats will try to get back on track against Bowling Green. (LW: 8) 12. Purdue (1-1): David Blough was sharp against Ohio, completing 11 of 13 for 235 yards and three TDs. (LW: 12)

13. Illinois (2-0): Credit where it’s due --- the Illini beat a solid Western Kentucky bunch. (LW: 13)

14. Rutgers (0-2): Eastern Michigan was 0-58 against Power Five schools before it encountered Rutgers last week. (LW: 14)