The Big Ten had a pretty great weekend.

Michigan State held off Notre Dame; the same offense that struggled with Furman put up 501 yards on the Irish defense. Sparty got off to a 36-7 lead, then the Irish fought back to end it at 36-28. If you’re a Notre Dame fan, you might find solace in a “spirited” comeback, but you’re still 1-2 and out of the playoff.

Michigan screwed around with Colorado, but then won 45-28 anyway. Jabrill Peppers, the second coming of Charles Woodson, was phenomenal, recording nine tackles, a sack, 3.5 tackles for loss, 24 yards rushing and 180 return yards. That’s the kind of performance that puts you into the Heisman conversation.

Wisconsin struggled with Georgia State, but they were without top running back Corey Clement and lost their second string running back Taiwan Deal on their first offensive series. They also lost starting tight end Troy Fumagalli on the first series. The key was the Badgers came back and won the game, staying undefeated.

Northwestern finally found an offense to beat Duke 24-13, putting up 320 yards in the air with a 17.8 yard per completion rate. The Wildcats look like somewhat of a lost team, but it would do well for Nebraska and fans alike to be wary.

You know that Iowa lost to FCS-level North Dakota State 23-21. I know that it’s a fun thing, but I’m not sure I’d read too much into it. The Bison seem like the perfect match up for Iowa’s old-school offense and defense. I’m sure that could explain why the Hawkeyes had 23 rushing attempts for 44 yards for a 1.9 yard average, or why Iowa’s defense gave up 255 yards on the ground on 48 attempts by the Bison.

The rest of the Big Ten... Penn State beat Temple 34-27, Rutgers beat New Mexico 37-18, and Illinois lost to Western Michigan 34-10. The Illini managed just 3 yards rushing on 15 attempts for a 0.2 yard per attempt average. Illinois threw for 312 yards, but could only score one measly touchdown. Meanwhile, their defense gave up 437 yards.

Maryland is 3-0 after winning in two overtimes against UCF, Scott Frost’s team.

There are eight undefeated B1G teams at this point in the season and with three teams in the top ten, the conference is sitting pretty well - at least at the top. At the bottom things are pretty horrid.

Oh, yeah. Nebraska beat Oregon. I’m guessing you heard about that already.

Elsewhere

Another undefeated Big 12 team went down as Texas lost to Cal 50-43 late Saturday night. Baylor (3-0) and West Virginia (2-0) remain the conference’s only undefeated teams.

In the ACC, Louisville smashed Florida State 63-20, and the Cardinals’ Lamar Jackson has to be the favorite to win the Heisman. Clemson ran over S.C. State 59-0 in a particularly sad way while Miami went to Appalachian State and slapped their mouths shut with a 45-10 win.

YOU CAN’T SPELL SUCK WITHOUT U-S-C. Still one of my favorite cheers and it fits. USC was destroyed by Alabama in their first game 52-6, beat Utah State 45-7, and then lost to Stanford 27-10 this weekend. Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey had 168 yards rushing, 73 yards receiving, and 22 yards on a kick return, adding up to 260 total all-purpose yards. Too bad he plays on the West Coast.

Washington doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of play nationally. Maybe that’s because their non-conference slate included Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State.

SEC - there’s Alabama and then who gives a shit. Ole Miss remains in the Top 25 despite being 1-2 (losses to Florida State and Alabama). I’ll admit I watched almost zero SEC this weekend. Ole Miss got an early lead, but despite that I found other football games were more interesting... like watching the body language of poor FSU players walk around the field after discovering that someone else is way better than they are.

Oh, wait!

There’s Arkansas. They’re 3-0, ranked, and dismantled Texas State 42-3 this weekend. They have #10 Texas A&M up next. BERT could move up! PIG SOOEY!

Oregon’s failed two-point conversions played a big role in Nebraska loss, but don’t expect Mark Helfrich to admit that - Addicted To Quack

During yesterday’s game against Nebraska, the Oregon Ducks scored five touchdowns, but only scored 32 points out of it. Meanwhile, Nebraska also scored five touchdowns, but never went for two and...

Big Ten

Northwestern uses explosive passing plays to secure first win of 2016 - Inside NU

Thorson could have been more efficient, but it was enough to win

Northwestern-Duke recap: Player grades from Northwestern’s 24-13 win - Inside NU

Far better grades than last week, that’s for sure.

A Message to Hawkeye Nation - Black Heart Gold Pants

Our pets’ heads aren’t falling off.

THAT JUST HAPPENED: BREAKING DOWN NDSU-IOWA - Black Heart Gold Pants

The wake up call this team shouldn’t have had to answer

Report: QB Alex Hornibrook "set to start" against Michigan State - Bucky's 5th Quarter

After coming back to win against Georgia State, it looks as if the Badgers are ready to roll with the redshirt freshman

Notebook: Wisconsin defense struggles, but survives; Kyle Penniston atones with TD - Bucky's 5th Quarter

Wrapping up some loose ends from after Wisconsin’s win vs. Georgia State

3 Things To Take Away From Notre Dame’s 36-28 Loss To Michigan State - One Foot Down

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish seem perpetually snake-bitten. Untimely penalties, untimely no calls, injuries, bad bounces- you name it and they have it. In fact, they probably deal with more of it than most schools in the country.

Notre Dame's Brian Kelly explains why his Twitter account 'liked' a call for assistant to be fired - SBNation.com

Coach needs to review his social media policy.

Position Grades: Temple - Black Shoe Diaries

In which we try to reconcile an overall good performance with a few bad mistakes sprinkled in.

Takeaways from Rutgers’ 37-28 victory over New Mexico - On the Banks

Yesterday, Rutgers scared the shit out of 39,680 people by going down 21-0 to an already bad New Mexico team without two of their best players. However, they went on to score 31 unanswered points...

Maryland football might not be that good, but the Terps are an improved product in 2016 - Testudo Times

Maryland might not be great, but at least Maryland’s watchable. That’s a big step forward.

Elsewhere

Clay Helton praises USC's resolve, defends decision to punt against Stanford - LA Times

During halftime of USC’s loss to Stanford on Saturday, Coach Clay Helton said, the coaching staff challenged the team. The staff offered its adjustments, a plan for how it would defeat Stanford. Then, Helton said, the team took the field and mounted an inspired touchdown drive to start the half. Helton’s account was at odds with two USC players, who said they believed some players had given up at halftime, when USC trailed by 14 points.

I don’t think Helton will be around much longer at USC. That is a program that should be winning on a regular basis, but they continue to make crap coaching hires.

Texas falls to Cal, 50-43, after controversial non-recovery - Burnt Orange Nation

Penalties and an inability to stop the Webb-to-Hansen connection doomed the ‘Horns before another absurd ending for a Big 12 program.

Oklahoma Sooners Football: Dissecting a Disaster - Crimson And Cream Machine

I didn’t say it after the Week One loss. Was it because I didn’t believe it? For all I knew, with no all-22 footage to work with, Baker Mayfield struggled because his receivers weren’t open.

Gus Malzahn soars to the top of the SEC West's hot seat rankings - SBNation.com

Could Auburn *again* fire a head coach who led them to a national title game?

Updated bowl projections: Hard not to have Louisville in the College Football Playoff! - SBNation.com

Hey, let's predict how all these dozens of bowls will look three months from now!