Bret Bielema will be just 36 years old when he assumes head coaching duties for the Badger football team next season. But another Big Ten coach is taking the helm at a young age - Purdue's Matt Painter, who succeeds Gene Keady as the men's basketball coach this season. Painter, 35, will try to improve on a Boilermaker team that went 7-21 last season and failed to win a single road game.
During the 2004-05 season, Painter served as associate head coach under Keady - the former "Dean" of Big Ten coaches who retired after leading Purdue for 25 seasons. Painter spent the 2003-04 season as the head coach of Southern Illinois, where he led the Salukis to a 25-5 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan's defense rose to the occassion Saturday night in Evanston. The Wolverine D had been maligned since falling apart at the end of 2004, and then turning in subpar performances in early losses to Notre Dame and Wisconsin. Their hopes for a share of the conference title this year were clinging to a thread in the face of the explosive Northwestern offense and quarterback Bret Banasez. 
It was supposed to a breakout year for Minnesota (granted, Big Ten observers seem to be saying that every year). This was the year Glen Mason would silence his critics--the ones who said he couldn't take the team to the next level. After this afternoon, it appears Mason's critics have more fuel for their fire, as a once-promising Gopher season is in danger of slipping away. 
Charlie Weis had long wanted to be an NFL head coach, but was mysteriously passed over in spite of the Patriot's success. With a successful first seven games as the Notre Dame head master under his belt, it was only natural to speculate that there might now be takers for his services in the pro game. 
Partisans of Michigan State, disheartened by their team's performance last week against Northwestern, found reason to cheer with news from the hardwood. In the 
It isn't often one thinks of Ohio State as a sleeper. But this year's Buckeye team seems to have a little bit of that sleeper quality to them. Jim Tressel's team is enjoying a nice season at 5-2, and if they can survive a challenging road test at Minnesota this week, they are poised to arrive in Ann Arbor at 8-2. Their losses just came at inopportune times, in terms of garnering media attention. 
There's no disputing how the Northwestern Wildcats have turned their season around. During non-conference play, Randy Walker's team looked headed for disaster. A narrow escape against Northern Illinois was followed by a humiliating rout at Arizona State. Blowing a 16-point lead in the conference opener against Penn State didn't exactly raise anyone's spirits in Evanston. 
Michigan's Michael Hart had the preseason publicity going for him, and he has proven himself worthy of the ink...when he's on the field. Hart rushed for over 200 yards in his team's enormous win over Michigan State, and went over the century mark in another season-saver against Penn State. But he was out in a loss at Wisconsin, and a non-factor at Iowa last week. 
The shifty little Brian Calhoun from Wisconsin is getting national attention. He cleared the 100-yard mark the first four conference games, before Purdue broke the string on Saturday. He is also a major threat out of the backfield, averaging over six catches a game out of the backfield in conference games. He is the player best positioned to win league MVP honors if he plays well at Penn State come November 5, and the player most responsible for making Barry Alvarez's last year a happy one. 
As my colleague Steve Rhoads points out below, Penn State is the only conference team that controls their own destiny to get to the BCS. Their position is further strengthened by the fact the Lions' tiebreaker position, while not airtight, is pretty good, and they are likely to win most scenarios of a 3-4 team tie. 