ESPN College Football

Let's look back at Week 2 before looking ahead to Saturday's completely full slate (11 games) of Big Ten action.

Team of the week: Iowa. Ohio State and Michigan drew more national attention, as usual, but Iowa delivered the most impressive performance of the day. The Hawkeyes annihilated in-state rival Iowa State, storming out to a 35-0 lead behind Adam Robinson and Ricky Stanzi. Iowa State supposedly had improved since last year's meeting, but the Hawkeyes once again victimized quarterback Austen Arnaud for three interceptions. After walking the tightrope every week in 2009, Iowa isn't letting inferior teams hang around. It'll be interesting to see how the Hawkeyes perform Saturday at Arizona.

Best game: Michigan at Notre Dame. For the second consecutive season, the Wolverines and Irish provided plenty of drama. And once again, a young quarterback became the hero for the Maize and Blue. Denard Robinson's brilliance helped Michigan overcome a late defensive breakdown and rally for a 28-24 victory in South Bend. The game featured plenty of plot twists, as Notre Dame jumped ahead early, lost quarterback Dayne Crist to injury, got him back and took the lead before falling. Just great theater in one of college football's great cathedrals.

Biggest play: Going with three of them this week. Robinson set a Notre Dame Stadium record with his 87-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, a beautiful display of pure speed. And who doesn't like to see a defensive lineman rumble? That's exactly what Ohio State's Cameron Heyward did on an 80-yard interception return against Miami early in the third quarter with the game still very much in doubt. Purdue running back Al-Terek McBurse also deserves props for keeping his balance while rolling over a Western Illinois defender and then scooting into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown run.

Specialist spotlight: Michigan State entered the season with major questions at the kicker spot after losing standout Brett Swenson. Dan Conroy eased the concern Saturday against Florida Atlantic, converting field goal attempts of 50, 44 and 41 yards. Conroy is 4-for-4 on field goals for the season. Ohio State kicker Devin Barclay tied a team record with five field goals before missing his sixth attempt. "It was the first time I've ever been in a game where the kicker cramped up," Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said afterward.

Game balls (given to players from winning teams not selected for helmet stickers):

• Northwestern QB Dan Persa: Robinson and Terrelle Pryor get all the pub, but Persa is leading the nation in pass efficiency with an amazing rating of 212.06. He has completed 86.4 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and no picks. It's still early, but Persa is answering NU's biggest question mark entering the fall.
• Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan: Kerrigan is continuing his dominant play from 2009 and recorded four tackles for loss with a sack and a forced fumble against Western Illinois. He leads the league in both tackles for loss (6.5) and forced fumbles (2), and ranks fifth in tackles (19).
• Illinois RB Mikel Leshoure: Another player who has carried over his success from last fall, Leshoure racked up 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries against Southern Illinois. Imagine what he'll do if he ever gets a full carries load.
• Michigan State WR/KR/PR Keshawn Martin: Martin showed against Florida Atlantic why he can be so dangerous for the Spartans this year. He had a 42-yard reception, a 46-yard kickoff return and a 47-yard punt return. He finished with a game-high 204 all-purpose yards.
• Michigan WR Roy Roundtree: Labeled as doubtful last Monday after taking a huge shot against UConn, Roundtree not only played against Notre Dame but led Michigan with eight receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Plus, he took another big hit in the game. Gutsy performance.
• Wisconsin DE J.J. Watt: Watt is performing like an All-Big Ten player so far this season, and he came up big against San Jose State with 2.5 tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a blocked field goal attempt.
• Purdue RB Dan Dierking: Dierking eased some concerns about the Boilers' run game with 14 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns against Western Illinois. He broke career bests for rushes, rushing yardage and touchdowns for the second straight game.

How bizarre: The entire Miami-Ohio State game fits into this category. Ohio State allowed a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return touchdown in the same game for the first time in team history. Miami's Jacory Harris threw four interceptions and still had a chance in the second half. Pryor completed just 12 of 27 passes but still put up great yardage totals for both passing (233) and rushing (113). Just a very weird game at The Shoe, but the Buckeyes will take the W.

Now, let's take a quick look at the Week 2 slate ...

Massachusetts (2-0) at Michigan (2-0): What will Robinson do next? Tune in for the first half, as he might not be around for much of this one. The real subplot should be how Michigan uses backup quarterbacks Devin Gardner and Tate Forcier.

Ohio (1-1) at Ohio State (2-0): Frank Solich's Bobcats gave the Buckeyes a real scare two years ago, but Ohio is coming off of a home loss to Toledo. Can't see Ohio State letting Ohio hang around very long.

Kent State (1-1) at Penn State (1-1): The Lions should finally be able to get Evan Royster and the run game going, right? One problem: Kent State leads the nation in rush defense, allowing just 11 yards per game.

Northern Illinois (1-1) at Illinois (1-1): The Illini looked great against Southern Illinois and try to continue maintain their unbeaten record (12-0) against public schools from the state. NIU coach Jerry Kill could miss the game after being hospitalized Sunday.

Ball State (1-1) at Purdue (1-1): Life without star wide receiver Keith Smith begins for the Boilers, who still are looking for more consistency on both sides of the ball. Can Dierking nail down Purdue's top running back spot?

USC (2-0) at Minnesota (1-1): These are the big-ticket games Tim Brewster wants to play at Minnesota, but the heat is rising on the fourth-year coach after an embarrassing loss to South Dakota. USC's Matt Barkley takes aim at a Gophers' secondary that made South Dakota's Dante Warren look like superman.

Arizona State (2-0) at Wisconsin (2-0): Steven Threet sparked Wisconsin's downward spiral in 2008 after leading Michigan to a historic come-from-behind win at the Big House. Now Threet leads the Sun Devils into Madison looking for an upset.

Indiana (1-0) at Western Kentucky (0-2): Remember the Hoosiers? It feels like months since they last played. All-Big Ten wideout Tandon Doss is expected to make his season debut as Indiana hits the road for the first time.

Northwestern (2-0) at Rice (1-1): The Michigan-Big Ten reunion continues as former Wolverines running back Sam McGuffie faces Northwestern. This could be a tricky game for the Wildcats, but if Persa continues to perform like he has, they should be fine.

Notre Dame (1-1) at Michigan State (2-0): We should learn a lot more about the Spartans in this prime-time affair, as Notre Dame should test a secondary that struggled mightily in 2009. Linebacker Greg Jones and the Michigan State seniors try to go 3-1 against the Irish.

Iowa (2-0) at Arizona (2-0): Stay up late for this one, people. Both teams have looked dominant so far, and Iowa will have to adjust to the elements in the desert. Nick Foles and the Arizona offense will test Adrian Clayborn & Co., but Arizona also must contend with an Iowa offense that looks very strong so far.

Forget the roller-coaster ride. Iowa is just coastin' right now.

After a series of scares in 2009, the Hawkeyes have opened the 2010 season with two impressive victories, the latest a 35-7 beat down of Iowa State. Iowa completely outclassed a supposedly improved Iowa State team today, dominating the Cyclones on both sides of the ball.

Whether or not Iowa star defensive end Adrian Clayborn meant to dis Iowa State with his "only team in the state" comment this summer, he and his fellow defenders went out there and backed it up. At least Iowa State finally ended its streak of no touchdowns against Iowa, reaching the end zone in garbage time.

Iowa will be sorry to see Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud graduate. Arnaud has thrown seven interceptions against Iowa in the past two years. Two of his picks today came deep inside Iowa territory.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi had another impressive performance (11-for-18 passing, 204 yards, 2 TDs) and tight end Allen Reisner continues to be a factor in the passing game. But the real story is Adam Robinson, who refuses to relinquish the starting running back job.

Robinson piled up 156 rush yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. Jewel Hampton also did some good things in his first game since 2008, but right now, Robinson is the man to beat.

Iowa heads into a very tough game at Arizona with a ton of confidence.

Minnesota (6-6) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
Dec. 31, 6 p.m. (NFL Network)

The Insight Bowl might not attract much national attention, but you can bet it'll mean a lot in the upper Midwest.

Minnesota and Iowa State haven't played since 1997, but the two schools are separated by only 215 miles and share a hated rival in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa State makes its first bowl appearance since 2005, while Minnesota returns to the Insight Bowl for the second straight year and for the third time in the past four seasons.

This is a very critical game for Gophers fourth-year coach Tim Brewster and a team that broke even despite boasting the Big Ten's most experienced roster. A victory would secure consecutive winning seasons and build momentum for 2010, when Brewster's recruits will occupy most of the key roles. A loss would increase doubts about the program's direction and put Brewster squarely on the hot seat.

The Insight Bowl typically is high scoring, but don't expect too many points on Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz. Minnesota has been shut out twice this season and ranks 98th nationally in scoring (21.6 ppg), while Iowa State is even worse, coming in 102nd in scoring (21.1 ppg). Both teams have quarterbacks (Minnesota's Adam Weber, Iowa State's Austen Arnaud) who can do big things, but also hurt their teams with turnovers.

Defense is certainly Iowa State's calling card, as the Cyclones have held opponents to 17 points or fewer in each of their six wins. Minnesota also relies heavily on its defense, particularly linebackers Lee Campbell, Nate Triplett and Simoni Lawrence, but needs some offensive playmakers to emerge at Sun Devil Stadium.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

A secondary knows it has things rolling when two of its members have a conversation like the one Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood had on the Iowa bench last Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

Iowa led 28-3 over Iowa State, and both Sash and Greenwood had recorded two interceptions against Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud. As the two safeties took a few moments to relax and celebrate a big day, Sash turned to Greenwood.

	Stephen Mally/Icon SMI
	Tyler Sash had three interceptions in the Hawkeyes' win over Iowa State.

"On the bench, I said, ‘If I get another one, you owe me dinner. If you get one, I owe you dinner,’" Sash recalled. "A couple plays later, I got my third one."

Sash admits one of his picks should have gone to Greenwood, but he's not about to give it back. The two players tentatively scheduled a dinner date for Monday night.

“He told me he was going to buy me a quarter-pounder or something, but I don’t think coach [Chris] Doyle, our strength coach, would like that," Sash said. "So it’ll probably be something a little healthier."

Opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers are always on the menu for Iowa, which led the Big Ten in takeaways last fall (32) and already has a league-high seven in the first two games. Sash and teammate Pat Angerer shared the league lead in interceptions with three in 2008, and Sash's three picks against Iowa State tied a single-game team record.

He's tied for second nationally in interceptions and needs just 10 picks to tie the team career record of 18 shared by Nile Kinnick and Devon Mitchell.

Defensive coordinator Norm Parker can't explain the spike in takeaways, and neither can head coach Kirk Ferentz. Angerer admits he didn't play much pass coverage in high school but was always around the ball last season.

"We just practice hard, play hard and things happen," Sash said. "We, as a team, try to be around the ball, if it’s fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions, whatever it is. There’s really no answer to that."

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Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

This is exactly what Iowa needed after a rough few weeks.

Despite a few early speed bumps, the Hawkeyes are in control at Iowa State, a place where they have struggled in recent years. Ricky Stanzi has rebounded from two interceptions to throw three touchdowns, and the running game is showing some life with several backs, including true freshman Brandon Wegher. The Iowa defense has kept Iowa State out of the end zone and picked off Austen Arnaud four times.

Clearly, the Big Ten's top playmaking secondary is back in good form.

A very complete performance by the Hawkeyes after surviving against Northern Iowa last week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium is dwarfed by Big Ten monoliths in Ann Arbor, State College and Columbus.

But when the Iowa Hawkeyes come calling, it becomes just as raucous, if not more.

A.J. Edds has been to Ames only once, in 2007, when Iowa fell 15-13 to an Iowa State team that won only three games that fall. Though Iowa is the state's flagship football program and Iowa State barely registers on the Big 12's radar, the Hawkeyes have dropped four of their last five games in Ames.

The Cy-Hawk rivalry resumes Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium, and Edds knows what will be waiting for him and his Iowa teammates.

"The Iowa State fans show up in force, without a doubt, for this game," the senior linebacker said. "It’s the one game that whenever we’re playing in Ames, the Iowa State fans always seem to take an extra interest in, fighting for the state bragging rights and all of that.

"Ames turns into a very, very hostile atmosphere when we go over there. And we know that."

Surely it couldn't be more inhospitable than Ohio State, Penn State or Wisconsin?

"It’s as rowdy, if not more, as anywhere else that we play," Edds said. "It gets loud, it gets intense. It definitely compares with some of the most hostile Big Ten stadiums."

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Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The Big Ten went 10-1 in Week 1, though several teams looked unimpressive in victory and Illinois looked like a mess in defeat. The level of competition jumps up in Week 2, as the league has several chances to distinguish itself on the national stage.

Here's a quick look at what's on tap:

Syracuse (0-1) at Penn State (1-0), Big Ten Network, noon ET

Orange quarterback Greg Paulus exceeded expectations in the season opener, making several big plays against Minnesota before tossing a costly interception in overtime. He could be in for a rude awakening against Penn State, which recorded 13 tackles for loss and four sacks Saturday against Akron. The Lions' defensive front hasn't missed a beat, but Joe Paterno wants to see better play from his offensive line against Syracuse.

Eastern Michigan (0-1) at Northwestern (1-0), Big Ten Network, noon ET

Barely tested in Week 1, Northwestern should once again have little trouble this week against Eastern Michigan, which comes off a 27-14 home loss to Army. Ron English's team really struggled to defend the run, and Northwestern will try to spark its ground game with multiple backs. The competition will get much tougher for Northwestern in the coming weeks, but these games are important to build confidence and continuity on offense. Pat Fitzgerald also wants a more dominant performance from his defense, which didn't generate much of a pass rush against Towson.

Western Michigan (0-1) at Indiana (1-0), Big Ten Network, noon ET

Both teams struggled in their openers, though Indiana made enough plays on defense to escape with a win. The Hoosiers will need an even better performance from their defenders as they face veteran Broncos quarterback Tim Hiller. Hiller couldn't possibly play much worse than he did against Michigan, and it will be important for Indiana defensive ends Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton to provide a heavy dose of pressure, much like the Wolverines did on Saturday.

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