Big Ten Skill Position Rankings and Key Matchups for Week 4
A look at the top performers in the Big Ten through three games.
The Big Ten looked exceptional last weekend as Ohio State, Michigan State and Nebraska all won their games against ranked opponents giving them momentum heading into conference play.
The lone dud of the week belongs to the Hawkeyes which laid a colossal egg at home against North Dakota State proving once again that trusting Kirk Ferentz is foolish. I wonder how many fans are happy with his contract extension and pay raise?
Each week, I’ll provide a ranking of the Big Ten’s quarterbacks and running backs and preview the best games featuring the conference’s top players.
Quarterbacks:
The top quarterbacks stepped up in week three. Here’s how they rank:
| QB | Team | Attempts | Completions | Yards | YPC | TDs | INTs |
| J.T. Barrett | Ohio State | 53 | 35 | 498 | 9.39 | 10 | 1 |
| Wilton Speight | Michigan | 80 | 51 | 686 | 8.57 | 8 | 1 |
| Tommy Armstrong Jr | Nebraska | 77 | 42 | 685 | 8.9 | 7 | 1 |
| Tyler O’Connor | Michigan State | 44 | 32 | 431 | 9.8 | 5 | 2 |
| CJ Beathard | Iowa | 70 | 43 | 579 | 8.27 | 7 | 1 |
| Trace McSorley | Penn State | 90 | 58 | 828 | 9.2 | 4 | 2 |
| Perry Hills | Maryland | 60 | 37 | 463 | 7.72 | 3 | 0 |
| Bart Houston | Wisconsin | 71 | 44 | 527 | 7.42 | 2 | 2 |
| Wes Lunt | Illinois | 56 | 32 | 353 | 6.3 | 6 | 1 |
| Mitch Leidner | Minnesota | 56 | 33 | 425 | 12.88 | 4 | 0 |
| Richard Lagow | Indiana | 54 | 35 | 506 | 14.46 | 4 | 0 |
| Chris Laviano | Rutgers | 89 | 46 | 457 | 5.13 | 4 | 2 |
| Clayton Thorson | Northwestern | 102 | 50 | 707 | 6.93 | 4 | 2 |
| David Blough | Purdue | 100 | 57 | 646 | 11.33 | 3 | 6 |