Big Ten Country

Basketball Opens; Road Teams Win

The Big Ten is renowned as a league where it's tough to go into a hostile arena and come out with a win. That wasn't the case when conference play kicked off, as road teams won the four games played this week.

Illinois & Michigan can each be thankful there's other sports dotting the front pages right now. The Wolverines were beaten at home by Wisconsin and scored only 18 points in the first half. The Badgers beat UM on the boards 32-24, and freshman forward Jon Leuer made his first splash of the season off the bench, with 25 points. At least the Michigan basketball team has the distraction created by the Capital One Bowl win and rumors of Ryan Mallett's impending transfer to give them some cover.

The Illini fell apart in the second half against Ohio State, with Buckeye guard Jamar Butler knocking down 32 points. OSU has struggled themselves, as Thad Matta gets a young team rolling, but it seems not to matter when anyone plays Illinois. It's a good thing Bruce Weber has the distraction created by the Rose Bowl post-mortems and the White Sox big trade for Nick Swisher yesterday because the cup looks half-empty in Champaign.

Penn State's basketball team always has a hard time breaking into the headlines, and normally that's nothing to complain about. But it was this week, as the Nittany Lions won at Northwestern. They have two potential All-Conference players in Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, both of whom registered double-doubles. Although over at the blog Black Shoes Diaries, a post on football concerns for 2008 drew more attention then the hoops victory.

One place the basketball team never gets pushed off the front page is Indiana. The Hoosiers won in Iowa City behind their dynamic duo of Eric Gordon in the backcourt and D.J. White up front. Gordon knocked down 25 points, while White had 16 points and 15 boards. IU had to survive a furious rally, as Hawkeye guard Justin Johnson scored an astonishing nineteen points in the last two minutes, and the Hoosiers just hung on to a 79-76 win. Jamarcus Ellis, the man guarding Johnson is relieved his team survived.

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The major bowls came to a conclusion with the Fiesta and Orange Bowls the last two nights. West Virginia delivered its second surprise BCS win in three years, while sending Okahoma to its second straight surprise Fiesta defeat. The 48-28 game continued the trend of BCS blowouts. Viewers got a good game last night in the Orange, as Kansas upset Virginia Tech 24-21.

The Jayhawk win shows the need for modest reform in the BCS selection process. It's time to drop the rule that a conference can get only one at-large bid. Kansas was chosen for the Orange over Missouri, a team they had lost to and finished behind in the Big 12 North. In the wake of last night, the airwaves are filled with the usual comments about Kansas "proving they belonged." Maybe so, but the time to prove they were better then Mizzou was when the teams actually played. A better solution would have been to drop the conference limit, and Missouri could have gone to either the Rose Bowl in place of Illinois, or to the Sugar Bowl in place of Hawaii. Either game would have been a good test for the 12-1 Tigers and produced a better game for the viewers.

BCS Blowouts: Rose & Sugar

A great season for Illinois came to the end most observers had been expecting. Facing a team who, when it wants to be and is healthy, is the best in the nation and was playing virtually at home, the Illini had no chance.  USC had too much defense and too much speed in a 49-17 rout.

Jay Mariotti of The Chicago Sun-Times penned a nasty, virtrolic piece about the game, further cementing him as the Windy City's spokesperson for ignorant couch-potatoes who make snide and ridiculing comments about sports as a way of compensating for a lack of something else. Mariotti taunted Ron Zook and his program, suggesting the next time they not try a big bowl before they were ready for it.

It's always better to play in the bigger bowl game regardless of the outcome, simply because it means one had the better season. It means one achieved more, and it means they came closer to fulfilling their potential to the maximum degree possible. I suppose Zook could have lost to Ohio State, Wisconsin or Penn State and that might have made Mariotti happy. Based on Mariotti's standard, maybe Illinois should just bring back Lou Tepper, who never suffered a blowout loss in a major bowl game. Based on Mariotti's standard, maybe Hawaii should let June Jones know to make sure he loses a game next year, rather then step onto the Sugar Bowl stage. Come to think of it, based on Mariotti's standard, maybe none of us should ever leave our houses, lest something bad happen.

Based on Mariotti's standard...well, based on Mariotti's article, maybe sports fans owe a debt of gratitude to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who called out the reporter in 2006 and got sanctioned for it by MLB's thought police.

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Speaking of June Jones and Hawaii, their magic run had a similar ending to Illinois'. The Rainbows were routed by Georgia 41-10 in a Sugar Bowl game that was never close. Given the success of Boise State & Utah in recent BCS games, it is not likely this result will water down the attractivness of unbeaten mid-majors. For the Bulldogs, it was a win that redeemed their upset loss to West Virginia in this same game back in 2005.

Alamo Bowl: Penn State Bounces Back

Penn State gained some consolation for what's been a rough ride in 2007 when they beat Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl. The Nittany Lions did it the old-fashioned way. In spite of falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, they won by pounding the Aggies on the ground. With a rushing advantage of 270-164, PSU had the lead by halftime and a tough defensive stand inside the ten-yard line preserved a 24-17 triumph.

Though '07 came up a little short of what Penn State was hoping for, the victory marked their third straight bowl game triumph. With wins over Florida State, Tennessee and Texas A&M the past three years, the Lions help dispel the myth the Big Ten can't compete against fast southern schools. Jeff Rice of Centre Daily writes that the win was a bounceback from a season of turbulence.

The Alamo Bowl win was just one part of what was a good Saturday for the Big Ten against the Big 12. Earlier in the day on the basketball court, Wisconsin stunned Texas on a three-pointer by Michael Flowers at the buzzer. The Badgers are looking like a team that will have to fight and scrap for every win this year, and this one will be a source of comfort when they enter the February push for an NCAA bid. As for Texas, they will surely be happy to see the Big Ten go away for a while, as this game is added to their loss to Michigan State last weekend.

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It isn't often that folks at Illinois give thanks for football to distract their attention from basketball. But that will be the case this week. A bad loss at home to Tennessee State led Bruce Weber to blast his team's immaturity. At least the changes he vows will take place under the radar, as everyone focuses in on tomorrow's Rose Bowl.

BCS Games: What's At Stake?

Concluding this week's series looking at what's on the line for each Big Ten bowl team, we'll take a look at the two big ones today. Illinois' trip to Pasadena to play Southern Cal, and Ohio State's national title bout with LSU.

There's more on the line for the conference then there is for Illinois in the Rose Bowl. In a year where the Illini just hoped to make it back to the bowl party, they won nine games, beat Penn State & Wisconsin and shocked the world by winning in Columbus. It got Ron Zook Big Ten coach of the year, and he finished fifth nationally. They can only enhance their historical standing in Pasadena.

The Big Ten overall can't be quite as cavalier. After a rough bowl season last year and a poor non-conference showing this year, conference teams need to be at least competitive in showcase games. Given the talent and reputation of Southern Cal, Illinois probably does not need to win the game to salvage conference pride, but they need to play the Trojans tough. Two straight blowout losses by the Big Ten runner-up in this game will get the league another PR beating.

By rights, Ohio State should be able to play pressure-free on January 7. They had to replace their key weapons on offense and had difficult road tests at State College and Ann Arbor to overcome. Yet they worked their way back into a chance at a national championship. But because of the sting from last year's title game and the general Big Ten problems discussed above, the Buckeyes have enormous pressure on them. It isn't right or fair, but if they lose, a shortsighted sports culture will just call them the team that went 0-2 in title games, rather then the team that went two straight years with replacing an entire side of the ball and still making it this far.

With LSU having homefield advantage in New Orleans, the deck is stacked against Jim Tressel. And it got a little worse today, when the school suspended starting cornerback Donald Washington.

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There's some good basketball on tap this weekend. The Ohio State-Florida rematch is the one with the marquee name and network coverage and will tip off at 4 EST on CBS. Immediately following that on ESPN2 is a doubleheader featuring the Big Ten and the Big 12. Michigan State takes on Texas in the best game of the week, a battle between Top 10 teams. And Illinois will get to see how far it has progressed since losing at Maryland, when they take on archrival Missouri.

Sit down in front of the TV at four o'clock, and you'll have no reason to get up until around 11 PM. We'll see if OSU can dispatch its nemesis, and if the conference can fare any better against the Big 12 then they have against the ACC.

Another Rough Weekend

With the Big Ten coming off its annual spanking by the ACC, Saturday was a good time for the conference to reassert itself. But with seven key games on the docket, only two wins were produced. It's true that college hoops is about what happens in March, not December, but we haven't seen a lot of evidence to suggest a strong top-to-bottom showing in the Big Dance.

One team that didn't have a lot to worry about was Indiana. In the weekend's headlining game, the Hoosiers blew out Kentucky. The 70-51 win came without Eric Gordon, who was scratched due to his lower back problem, and without Armon Bassett, suspended for disciplinary reasons. A nineteen-point win over the Wildcats without the starting backcourt certainly sends a message to the rest of the conference. It also sends a message to Minnesota and Tubby Smith, who can be forgiven if he's reveling in the struggles of the Big Blue. Terry Hutchens of The Indianapolis Star has postgame analysis.

Michigan State was the other winner, beating BYU in Auburn Hills. The Spartans and Hoosiers were the preseason favorites in the conference race and there's nothing to suggest otherwise so far.

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There can't be anyone in the league more disappointed then Wisconsin. In their big rivalry game with Marquette, the Badgers were outrebounded 37-29 by a smaller team, and they were beaten consistently off the dribble by Dominic James. It didn't look like a typical Bo Ryan team and they got an atypical result--a loss at the Kohl Center, only the fifth in the last 102 home games. Michael Hunt of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel terms it a surprise party.

Illinois let a lead slip away against Arizona and lost in overtime. Shawn Pruitt gave the Illini 24 points and nine boards and showed why he's one of the top inside players in the Big Ten. But until Bruce Weber can get him some help in the backcourt, it's going to be a struggle. Herb Gould of The Chicago Sun-Times wonders if the second straight missed chance against a name opponent portends a troubling future for Illinois.

Rounding out the losses, Michigan was routed by Duke. Iowa fell to Iowa State, and Purdue lost to Missouri. Jeff Washburn of Boiler Station reports that fouls did the Boilermakers in. Matt Painter's team will represent the Big Ten's next shot at redemption this coming Saturday against Louisville.

BCS: The Big Ten's Big Weekend

It was a great weekend to be in the Big Ten. Ohio State got what it needed when both Missouri and West Virginia lost. The Bucks only needed one of them to lose and they got both. For the second straight year, and the third time in six seasons, Jim Tressel will take a team to play for the national championship. OSU will play LSU on January 7 in New Orleans for all the marbles.

And just as Ohio State gets a second chance at the top prize, the Big Ten's runner-up will get a crack at Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl for the second straight year. When the Buckeyes got into the national title game, the Rose had an open space to fill. And that was the break Illinois needed to get off the bubble and into the BCS. This is Illinois' first Rose Bowl trip since 1983, and their first major bowl apperance since 2001. To avoid being a wet blanket, Big Ten Country will refrain from discussing the results of those last two apperances for now.

In advance of the weekend, Ohio State fans were already launching their defenses of why Tressel's troops deserved the New Orleans trip. Around The Oval has one of them. And Herb Gould at The Chicago Sun-Times reflects on how the coming trip to Pasadena caps an incredible turnaround for Ron Zook.

Congrats to both the Buckeyes and Illini! Here's hoping their fans will fill the hotels of New Orleans and Pasadena and continue to solidify the Big Ten's reputation as a conference that travels well and is well worth the invite.

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The schedule of Big Ten bowl games and all BCS matchups is at the old bowl projections link. The blog will have comments on the bids onward down the conference ladder coming up this week. In the meantime, here's a few general thoughts I had as the major bowl matchups were announced:

1)Illinois' invite should eliminate any doubt that under the current format the Big Ten will almost always get an at-large bid to the dance. This was a year when everything that could have gone wrong for the league did. Michigan lost to Appalachian State, then to Oregon, but managed to rebound and finish second (tied for second, and they beat Illinois head-to-head). Notre Dame's horrible season took the luster off what would normally be nice wins for the Wolverines and Penn State. Essentially, the Big Ten did not have a single signature non-conference victory this year. Another mid-major team in Hawaii jumped out and took an at-large spot away from the power conferences. If there was ever a year the league would only get its champ to the BCS, this was it. But they still got two teams, and it's tough to imagine the cards ever being stacked that heavily against them again.

2)Can there be any more doubt that you can all but eliminate the losers of conference championship games from at-large consideration? Kansas gets in over Missouri. Georgia gets in over Tennessee. Both teams were the same division of their respective leagues. When a team is penalized for winning its division something has to change. To make matters worse, Georgia could have leapfrogged LSU to play for the national championship. There needs to be some type of rule prohibiting this sort of jumping, unless the divison winner had a horrid non-conference slate. And only conference champs should be eligible for the national title game.

3)I was absolutely stunned the Fiesta Bowl passed on Arizona State. At 10-2, the Sun Devils were BCS-worthy. They were right in the backyard of the Fiesta and would have made an excellent opponent for Oklahoma. Not that West Virginia won't, but I wonder if the Mountaineers will still travel as well as they usually do, given the absolutely devastating loss to Pitt that cost them a national title shot. I was expecting WVA to land in the Orange Bowl. Once the Fiesta passed on the Sun Devils, their appeal wasn't as strong to other games, and that opened the door for Kansas to be taken by the Orange.

Big Ten-ACC Challenge: Night Two

Two weeks ago, Michigan State and Penn State hooked up on the gridiron to give the conference one of its better football games of the season. Last night, the same schools combined forces on the hardwood to salvage a smidgen of league pride in the event that needs to be re-named "The Annual Big Ten Beatdown."

The ACC won three of five games last night, to finish this year's event at 8-3 and win it for the ninth straight year of its existence. But in East Lansing and Happy Valley, there were plenty of reasons to smile.

Michigan State doesn't look like the team that lost an exhibition game to Grand Valley State. The Spartans took an N.C. State club that many expect to be in the top four of the ACC and whipped them from pillar to post. Goran Sutton had 16 points and 12 boards inside to key an attack that saw Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan also hit double digits.

MSU already has a tough win over Missouri and a competitive loss to top-ranked UCLA behind them. Destroying the Wolfpack like they did indicates they are quickly rounding into the club that Big Ten observers expected--one that would win the conference championship. Shannon Shelton at The Detroit Free Press declares that Tom Izzo found the chemistry he was looking for last night.

In the meantime, Penn State surprised Virginia Tech. Mike Walker came off the bench and knocked in 17 points. Tech contended for the ACC title to the last week of the regular season last year, although there's not a lot in the cupboard this time around. But the folks in central Pennsylvania aren't throwing anything back.

Elsewhere, Illinois fell to Maryland 69-61. It was a competitive, but sloppy game. Brian Randle and Shawn Pruitt are going to give Bruce Weber a solid inside presence all year long, but they are going to have find someone to hit shots consistently. The head coach candidly told Herb Gould of The Chicago Sun Times he was disappointed with what he got last night.

Ohio State gave North Carolina a run for its money in the first half, but a ice cold stretch after the break enabled the Tar Heels to pull away, 66-55. Thad Matta is rebuilding his team after the early departures of Greg Oden and Mike Conley. It's going to be tough for him to win a third straight conference title. Then again, that's what I thought about his football counterpart this fall. The replenishing process gets another tough test on Saturday at Butler. Bob Hunter of The Columbus Dispatch says last night's game isn't one that lends itself to any real conclusions.

Michigan fell at home to Boston College, rounding out the latest tough year for the Big Ten against its counterpart from the East.

Assessing Illinois

In the bowl projections and discussion leading up to this, I have mostly focused on Illinois' chances for landing in the Sugar Bowl, the bowl will make the last selection. But the prospect that Ohio State may end up in the national championship game, thus opening up a spot in the Rose Bowl is now very real, thanks to Arkansas' upset of LSU. All it takes is for a Missouri loss to Oklahoma--the Tigers have already been beaten once by the Sooners--and Jim Tressel is on his way to the ball, and the Pasadena selection committee is on its way to needing another dance partner.

Illinois would represent a very attractive choice for the Rose Bowl to pair up with USC. If you look at the available options, there's not a lot in terms of a natural fit for the Rose. Obviously another Pac-10 team is out, so there goes Arizona State. The other contenders for a bid would be Kansas/Missouri or Georgia. The Illini are almost certainly more attractive to the Rose then either Big 12 contender, each of whom would be on a downer after losing its last game. The Dawgs would be an interesting pick, given they will be third or fourth in the rankings when selection time comes on Sunday. But again, given the Rose Bowl's deference to tradition would they pass on a 9-3 Illinois team that closed the season strong?

That might be Illinois' best path for getting into one of the four featured games. Otherwise, they return to hoping for a Hawaii loss or to somehow get chosen ahead of the Pac-10 runner-up.

Illinois should also be angling with Hawaii in another area--that of an invitation to the Heisman ceremony on December 8. Traditionally, five players get invited (there have been instances where fewer came to New York, but they are rare). If you concede an invite to Tim Tebow, Darren McFadden, Chase Daniel and Pat White, who gets the fifth spot? Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan would appear to have the inside track.

But what about Rashard Mendenhall? The Illinois running back racked up over 1,500 yards on the ground, not far behind McFadden, who may well have won the award with his effort against LSU. Mendenhall carried the offense until Juice Williams found his rhythm late in the season. And he lifted his team to a level no one else thought they could achieve. And he did it against significantly tougher defenses then Brennan had to face. That should all add up to a seat at the Downtown Athletic Club for Mendenhall, though I see precious little evidence to suggest that will happen.

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Twelve years after firing Bill Mallory to reach "the next level" Indiana has finally crawled its way back to the status Mallory had achieved to begin with. This time around the Hoosiers seem more appreciative. Bill Lynch was rewarded with a four-year contract.

Bob Kravitz at The Indianapolis Star praised IU for the decision. As does Big Ten Country. Lynch worked under both Mallory and Terry Hoeppner, the only two coaches to have had success in Bloomington. He's got the right pedigree and he succeeded this year in very trying circumstances.

Bowl Picture At The Top

The Big Ten is going to settle into an interesting two weeks, as not much can be considered settled in the bowl picture right now, not until the BCS lineup is in place. We'll see if conference schools are helped by the inaction, as they can watch other teams knock themselves out. Or if they'll be hurt by not getting a chance for that impressive win that keeps them in the consciousness of the voters.

The remainder of this week, we'll break down the bowl picture in three parts--life at the top, as Ohio State hopes for another national title shot, while Illinois is angling for a BCS bid. Then we'll look at the middle class--the intriguing scenarios that can play out for the Capital One and Outback bids on New Year's Day. And finally we'll look at the second-tier bowl matchups leading up to January 1 and try and guess which Big Ten teams will go where and who their opponent might be.

We'll start at the top, because this is pretty cut-and-dried.  For Ohio State to get to the national title game, they must hurdle two of the following three--LSU, the Kansas/Missouri winner and West Virginia. In the case of the first two, it will have to be done directly. LSU will have to lose to either Arkansas at home or in the SEC Championship Game (vs. Tennessee or Georgia) to fall behind the Bucks. And the Kansas/Mizzou survivor would have to stumble in the Big 12 title game (vs. Oklahoma or Texas). OSU will not pass either one because of a change of heart by the voters. Both conference championship games take place the first Saturday of December and are on neutral sites.

West Virginia's a little more interesting. I find it hard to believe that a one-loss team from the Big Ten could be beaten in the polls by a one-loss team from the Big East. And the Mountaineers didn't do anything noteworthy out of the conference. But if the Buckeyes aren't ahead of WVA now, it's hard to see how that's going to change. West Virginia has a high profile game with UConn this Saturday for the Big East title and follows it up with a game against Pitt. This is an area where Ohio State is surely being hurt by not being in action while other teams have a chance to impress the voters.

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Illinois has a better chance for getting in the BCS then they are being given credit for. Right now, they are at #17 in the BCS. They need to move up three spots to become eligible, but this is a case of a Big Ten team being helped by the early finish to the conference schedule. Looking at the teams ahead of them, the Illini will almost certainly pick up three spots by attrition. Then it comes down to a race for one of the four at-large bids.

You can concede the Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC one bid apiece. No conference can have more then two teams in the BCS (including the champ), so Illinois is then in a race with the ACC, Big East and Hawaii.

The Rainbows are at #16 right now and still have to play Boise State and Washington. A loss knocks them out. If they can rise to #12, they are guaranteed the final berth by the rules of the BCS. But even if they win out, rising those four spots is no sure thing, given their strength of schedule.

In the ACC right now, Virginia, Virginia Tech and BC all have just two losses. But Tech and Virginia play each other this weekend for the division title. The winner plays Boston College in the conference championship game. So no matter what, any at-large contender is certain to lose a game. The Hokies are the only one ranked high enough to have hopes for holding on to eligibility with a loss. Even if they do, Illinois would still be a more attractive pick. The ACC title game loser will have lost momentum, and their fans will have already made one postseason trip. Whereas the Illini are hot and the fans are hungry to travel.

In the Big East, West Virginia can beat UConn and ensure no at-large team will be eligible. If the Mountaineers are upset, it creates big problems for Illinois. WVA would still be 10-2 and travels well. Illinois would still have a chance, but West Virginia would be an attractive contender for a BCS game.

Thus, Illinois' BCS chances essentially boil down to rooting for West Virginia and hoping for the best in the Hawaii situation. That it's this basic is being overlooked in the media because of the #17 ranking for Ron Zook's team. But the top 13 are all either in the Big 12, SEC or Pac-10 (which have all been conceded bids) or teams leading their conferences (West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Ohio State) and thus not a threat for an at-large spot, at least right now.

Whatever happens, Illinois has reason to celebrate. Ron Zook was named Coach of the Year and Rashard Mendenhall was Offensive Player of the Year, as reported by Herb Gould of The Chicago Sun-Times today.

Rivalry Week Recap: Can Anyone Stop Ohio State?

Ohio State 14 Michigan 3
Can anyone beat Ohio State? It's not just a problem that bedeviled the now-retired Lloyd Carr. The Buckeyes have completely assumed command of this conference. In 2006, Jim Tressel had to replace most of his defense. In 2007, he had to replace most of his offense. He still won the Big Ten outright both years, going a combined 15-1 in the process. Saturday's 14-3 win over Michigan marked his third straight title. With the basketball program in Columbus also sitting on back-to-back outright titles, you wonder if Jim Delaney doesn't want to just ship the trophies out there when school convenes in August and just save the trouble.

Ohio State did it the old-fashioned way on Saturday. Unlike last year's win over Michigan, this one was grind-it-out and surely had Woody smiling in the great press box in the sky. Todd Boeckman's final numbers were 7/13 for 50 yards. And his team won without really sweating after halftime. Winning that way might have even gotten Bo to crack a little smile as he watched the game from Woody's vantage point.

The Buckeyes still have reasonable, albeit outside hopes of getting back into the national title picture. We'll look at that more later this week. For now, they're the Big Ten champs. Again. And they deserve congratulations from around the conference community for the machine-like efficiency that Tressel uses to keep reloading and winning.

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Lloyd Carr stepped down today. A nice article by Mitch Albom of The Detroit Free Press reminding everyone what Carr achieved and how he did it. We'll have to see if the Wolverines are really hell-bent on purusing Les Miles at LSU, and if they are willing to wait until potentially January 7 and the national title game to be able to talk to him.

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Michigan State 38 Penn State 35
Penn State's defensive collapse was completed in East Lansing, as Michigan State rallied from 24-7 down to take out the Nittany Lions. MSU's offense, led by Brian Hoyer lighting it up to Devin Thomas, was so efficient that it overcome a 3-0 deficit in turnovers. Think back to August--if someone would have told you that PSU would get a 125-yard game from Rodney Kinlaw and win the turnover battle three-zip, would you have guessed that they would still lose a New Year's Day bid in spite of it? That's what happened. The Spartans are bowl-bound, and Drew Sharp at The Detroit Free Press declares that they're no longer hopeless anymore.

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Illinois 41 Northwestern 22
Juice Williams continued his late-season surge in Illinois' home finale against Northwestern. Williams put up 356 all-purpose yards. He put his team into a New Year's Day game and kept alive outside hopes for a BCS bid, a longshot horse that some of us think will come through. Rashard Mendenhall broke 100 yards again, solidifying his own case for conference MVP and an invitation to New York City for the Heisman ceremony. Whether he gets either is one thing--but there can be little doubt he's worthy of both.

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Indiana 27 Purdue 24
In spite of the presence of Curtis Painter and Kellen Lewis, the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket was settled on the ground. It was Marcus Thigpen stepping forward to be the unlikely hero for the Hoosiers, as they put the finishing touches on what will surely be a bowl season in Bloomington.

The finish won't be as happy at Purdue. As the Boilermakers look for answers, one thing they may not find is a bowl invitation. The ultimate pecking order remains to be seen, but Purdue looks like the #8 team from here and there's only seven committments. They need to hope for either Illinois to get picked for the BCS, pulling everyone else up a notch or for a bid to open up if another conference can't fulfill its committments. However, even if the latter happens, the SEC also has surplus teams available that will probably be more attractive then Purdue. Basketball season might start sooner then anyone thought in West Lafayette.

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Wisconsin 41 Minnesota 34
The freshman put on a show in the Metrodome. Minnesota came out looking to make their season with an upset of Wisconsin, and Adam Weber nearly helped them pull it off, throwing for 352 yards. But Zack Thomas was more then up to the challenge for the Badgers, rushing for 250. UW now has a good shot at an Outback invitation.

At Minnesota, they are excited about their potential after the 1-11 season. Perhaps these Gophers will materialize into something much better and Tim Brewster deserves three to four years to develop his recruits. But I can remember a time--like last year for instance, when Minnesota was talking about which bowl they would be invited to. Those years under Glen Mason were hell, weren't they Gopher fans?

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Western Michigan 28 Iowa 19
With a bowl bid in their grasp, Iowa let it slip away. The pass defense was non-existent and they lost the turnover battle to Western Michigan. The Broncos 28-19 win, the Hawks finished 6-6 for the second straight year and will be home for the holidays. Pat Hart at Hawk Central says there's no denying Kirk Ferentz has another rebuilding job on his hands.