USC and Ohio State were on the right side of Big Ten rivalry weekend

It was a very entertaining week in Big Ten football, as many games featured snow. The USC Trojans escape a potential big upset from rival UCLA. Ohio State finally handled rival Michigan, which had gotten the best of the Buckeyes the last several years.

Here are the scores from this weekend in Big Ten football for Week 14, along with my analysis for each team:

Iowa 40-16 vs Nebraska

Nebraska continues its struggles in November with another blowout loss. Emmett Johnson had a special day on the ground with 217 rushing yards, but unfortunately for him, his team ran out of gas in the second half. Iowa buckled down in the second half after giving up big plays in the first, and Mark Gronowski led a surge offensively, as Iowa scored 23 unanswered points.

Indiana 56-3 vs Purdue

Indiana steamrolled the Boilermakers as many expected, and this is the type of performance this team needed to put up to prepare for the Big Ten championship match versus Ohio State. The run game looked great as Roman Hemby rushed for 152 yards, his best this season. This is the first 12-0 Hoosiers team in program history, and they have their sights set on much more.

Ohio State 27-9 vs Michigan

Almost 3,000 days later, Ohio State finally takes down its rival. Ohio State was the better team in this game, and Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith both stepped up, making game-winning plays. Ohio State's defense stopped Michigan's run game in the second half, with the help of Jordan Marshall going down with an injury. Michigan's passing offense did not have much success either, another bad performance by Bryce Underwood. Minus his interception, Julian Saying was lights out and the best quarterback on the field by a mile. Sayin will have to do it again versus Indiana. In Ohio State's toughest game of the year, they handled Michigan with ease, stealing this game in the second half.

Oregon 26-14 vs Washington

The Ducks' defense showed up big time in this matchup. Only giving up two drives of meaning to the Huskies. Offensively, still without a ton of playmakers, Dante Moore made great throws, and the playmakers that did play made plays all game long. Malik Benson had 102 yards leading the Ducks' receivers, and Jeremiah McClellan had an insane 1 handed catch and two other big plays. The Huskies had one goal in this game, and that was to stop the run, and they were successful within that, but it says something about Oregon that they can crunch out wins without success on the ground. The Ducks are now primed to be one of the best teams in the College Football Playoff.

Penn State 40-36 vs Rutgers

Both teams put up 500 total yards in this game, and this was the high-scoring game of the weekend in the Big Ten. Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton both ran wild in this one. Penn State has its identity. This is a team that will run it down your throat under Terry Smith, and that's exactly what they did verus Rutgers. 300 yards total on the ground, Allen had 226 yards and Singleton had 86, both found the endzone at least once. Not the defensive performance Terry Smith would hope for, but this team proved they can win a shootout against a good offense. Amare Campbell was fantastic in this game, totaling 14 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and the game-winning fumble recovery for a touchdown. What a job Terry Smith has done leading this team to a bowl game.

Minnesota 17-7 vs Wisconsin

P.J. Fleck and the Gophers come through winning their 4th Paul Bunyan Axe in the last 5 years. The season might have been disappointing, but the one game that is checkmarked on the schedule, the Gophers win. This time, they displayed that they were better built for a snow game. Darius Taylor was successful on the ground as he ran for 100 yards and a 49-yard touchdown, and Drake Lindsey chipped in a good performance given the weather. The Gophers got back to their identity, and the Badgers returned to their quarterback woes.

Michigan State 38-28 vs Maryland

Alessio Milivojevic was special in this game, and so were the special teams for the Spartans. Perfect game for the Spartans to end the season off on a high note. Milivojevic threw 4 passing touchdowns and 292 yards, with a 69.2% completion percentage. Milivojevic showed that if he is given time, he can do some great things in the pocket. Maryland's disappointing season ended on a very sour note as this team got walked down and showed less pride than the Spartans. Malik Washington showed exactly why he is an exciting player with his solid game. Unfortunately, it did not amount to much as the Spartans looked like the better team by a mile, with their backup quarterback and a poor offensive line. It is now time to focus on the basketball season for both teams.

USC 29-10 vs UCLA

USC was on the ropes in the first half against its rival, but as they have all season, the Trojans shut out their opponent in the second half. The Trojans are the king of second-half adjustments. USC missed their top playmakers in the first quarter due to team policy violations, but once they came back into the game, the offense came back alive. USC avoids a spoiling end to their season, while the Bruins enter next season with many questions that need to be answered.

Illinois 20-13 vs Northwestern

Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini secured a win in terrible conditions at home. Neither the snow nor the frisky Wildcats could stop this team from coming out victorious. Luke Altmyer was successful in the snow, taking care of the football and making throws when they needed to be made. The same cannot be said for Preston Stone, who threw 3 interceptions in this game, 2 of which came in the 4th quarter. That was the big deciding factor in this game. Illinois hangs on for another 8-win season under Bielema.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Biggest winners and losers from Week 14 in Big Ten football