B1G Numbers: Michigan’s Pass Rush is NASTY

Well team, we’re about 25 percent of the way through the 2017 college football season. We’ve seen some surprises so far, especially with how wide open the Big Ten West appears to be. We’ve also seen some numbers put up that make us do a double take.

Let’s check out some of those numbers after the first quarter of the season.

Seven

That’s the number of interceptions thrown so far this season by Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee. He leads the nation in that category. Indiana’s Richard Lagow and Illinois’ Chayce Crouch are the next closest passers to Lee in the Big Ten in terms of interceptions thrown...with three.

Ten

This is the number of touchdowns thrown by Iowa’s Nathan Stanley so far this season. That number is good enough for 5th nationally, and he leads the Big Ten in that category. Penn State’s Trace McSorely is second in the Big Ten with nine.

443

This is how many yards Wisconsin freshman Jonathan Taylor has rushed for in 2017. That makes him the Big Ten leader and 6th nationally for yardage. He’s averaging 8.3 yards per carry and has scored five times on the ground.

299

This is how many receiving yards Nebraska’s Stanley Morgan Jr. has this season. That number is the best so far in the Big Ten and good enough for 19th nationally.

Zero

This is the total number of votes Purdue received in the most recent AP Poll. The Boilermakers are 2-1 and have outscored their opponents 107-59 on the year. Iowa received 2 votes.

76.1

This is Purdue quarterback David Blough’s completion percentage. He leads the Big Ten and is seventh nationally.

13

This is how many sacks the Michigan defense has logged so far in 2017. They lead the Big Ten and are tied for fourth nationally. Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers, Nebraska and Northwestern have 13 sacks combined. Penn State is second in the Big Ten with 11.

Six

This is how many interceptions the Penn State defense has so far this season. They lead the Big Ten and are tied for fifth nationally. Wisconsin is second in the Big Ten with five, followed by Iowa who has four. Indiana has no interceptions, while Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio state have combined for six total.

Two

This is the number of Big Ten teams that enter the fourth week of the season with losing records. Those teams are Rutgers and Nebraska. They meet in Lincoln during week four. Unless Indiana loses to Georgia Southern, the loser of the Rutgers-Nebraska game will be the lone team in the Big Ten with a losing record.

6-2

This is the combined record of the three new Big Ten coaches in 2017. P.J. Fleck is 3-0 at Minnesota, Jeff Brohm is 2-1 at Purdue and Tom Allen is 1-1 at Indiana.

Zero

This is the total number of games played by Iowa and Penn State outside of their respective states. They are a combined 6-0.