Big Ten Country

October 18 Game Summaries

Penn State 46 Michigan 17
It took longer then Nittany Lions were comfortable with, but after digging themselves a 17-7 hole, Penn State got rid of the Michigan jinx in grand fashion. The Wolverine passing game remains utterly appalling. They netted only 89 passing yards and even a Big Ten traditionalist like me isn't ready to see the days of that kind of offense return. It served to negate a nice game by Brandon Minor. The Lions exhibited a balanced attack, led up by Evan Royster who had 174 rushing yards and Darryl Clark again ran the offense with cool efficiency. From a defensive standpoint, Jeff Rice of The Centre Daily Times says the Lions unleashed the linebackers. Penn State is now set to go to the Horseshoe next week for the Big Ten's game of the year.

Ohio State 45 Michigan State 7
The Buckeyes will arrive for the showdown in great shape themselves. Jim Tressel's team played its most complete game of the year in a complete thrashing of a good MSU team. While Chris Wells had a big game, the OSU defense was the star of the show. They shut down Javon Ringer, ended the Spartan back's hopes for the Heisman and altered the course of the race for conference MVP along with it. It was the kind of game everyone expected from the Bucks back in August. Bob Hunter of The Columbus Dispatch declares they've arrived just where you would have expected.

Iowa 38 Wisconsin 16
The one team expected to challenge the OSU-PSU duo for supremacy back in August and September continued its implosion. The University of Wisconsin football program is now in a mad race with Wall Street to see who can have the most brutal autumn. The Badgers lost the turnover battle 3-0, and Shon Greene continued to be the league's most pleasant surprise for the Hawkeyes. Greene rushed for 217 yards and again carried the Iowa offense. It was a win that Kirk Ferentz needed to keep his bowl hopes on track. And to everyone's amazement, missing a bowl entirely is not only possible for the 3-4 Badgers, but likely given how they have regressed each of the last four weeks.

Northwestern 48 Purdue 26
One of the teams looking to take UW's place in the hiearchy is Northwestern. The Wildcats may not have beaten anyone good yet, but they took a significant step on Saturday in showing they could decisively handle a mediocre squad. The Boilers turned it over five times, negating a 168-yard effort by Kory Sheets. NU is at 6-1. Who would have thought that in mid-October we'd be looking at the Northwestern-Minnesota game as one that might have a January bowl game hanging in the balance?

Illinois 55 Indiana 13
The Juice was on the loose again in Bloomington. Both he and Aurelious Benn had big games in routing the Hoosiers. But the surprise in the Illinois attack was freshman running back Jason Ford, who racked up 172 yards. IU proved to be the salve Illinois needed after letting one slip away last week against Minnesota. As for Indiana, after making a bowl game last year, they are back to their normal state of affairs of welcoming the opening of basketball practice. Hoops isn't likely to bring the usual solace to Hoosier Nation, but Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star opines that at least the hallowed program is clean again.

Illini & Bucks Push Forward

Illinois and Ohio State each have relatively easy home games ahead of them on Saturday and can continue to push forward off the big wins they got this past weekend. The Illini host Minnesota. Juice Williams is directing an offense that is pure dynamite and should be enough to win at home (Noon EST, ESPN). What will be interesting to watch is the play of Ron Zook's defense. As mentioned here yesterday, the Illini defense has not yet played at the level needed to let Juice & Co. carry them to a January 1 game. Minnesota has a nice pitch-and-catch tandem of Adam Weber & Eric Decker that will test this unit. Whether Illinois can keep them under wraps will give us a good progress report. Herb Gould of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Gophs remind him a lot of the 2007 Illini, both in terms of style and their hopes of a big turnaround.

Ohio State plays host to Purdue in a 3:30 EST kickoff on ABC, one of two conference games that will be on national televison in this time slot (Michigan State-Northwestern being the other). The Boilermakers haven't lived up to the expectations that some (such as myself) had for Joe Tiller's swan song. Right now, making any kind of bowl is looking like a tough fight and they won't make any progress towards that goal in Columbus. Ken Gordon of The Columbus Dispatch writes that a Boilermaker is just the cure for an OSU team that's beat up after the win in Wisconsin.

Iowa travels to Indiana (Noon EST, BTN). I've got the Hoosiers penciled in for last place this year, as do most observers after their loss to Minnesota. But we have to be honest--Iowa's done nothing on the field to make you think they are appreciably better then Indiana. Respect for Kirk Ferentz and his ability to get a team going, along with the fact that it was their own mistakes that did them in against Northwestern, preclude burying the Hawks too quickly. But if they are going to save their season it absolutely must start in Bloomington. Andy Hamilton of The Iowa Press-Citizen reports that while the vultures are circling the program, the head man is standing firm.

Michigan hosts Toledo in another noon game on the Network, and this should be a game that finally gives Rich Rodriguez a chance to breath easy. If it turns into a dogfight, the only question will be how loud the booing gets in Ann Arbor.

October 4 Game Summaries

Ohio State 20 Wisconsin 17
The prime-time battle in Camp Randall was everything it was supposed to be. This was a game as nearly even as you can get. Total yardage was a virtual dead heat, and neither team had an appreciable edge running or passing. Third down conversions were about 50 percent each way. And if Wisconsin would have had a few more seconds at the end of the first half to try another play or two after getting to the 3-yard line, they might have a touchdown instead of a field goal and had the margin of victory. The Badgers can also point to two OSU fumbles on the final game-winning drive that bounced safely back into Buckeye hands.

But it's Ohio State who got out of this one with a win because they had more playmakers. Terrell Pryor's final numbers aren't spectacular, but they don't reflect the way his speed changed the game, and the way he came through at every key point when the Bucks had to move the ball. A long touchdown drive just after UW had taken the lead with six minutes left answered any questions as to whether he was ready for high-pressure situations. And Chris Wells rushed for 168 yards on 22 carries and was another game-changing player that the tandem of P.J. Hill and John Clay wasn't for UW. Though the latter two played well, neither has Wells' explosiveness. Thus, Ohio State is on track in the Big Ten and hoping for a rejuvenation of national title hopes, while Wisconsin has to try and recover and see if they can play their way back into the New Year's Day bowl picture. Bob Hunter of The Columbus Dispatch writes about how OSU exorcised some demons in Madison with their winning drive.

Penn State 20 Purdue 6
It wasn't the kind of win that will reverberate through the college football establishment when they read through the scores. But it was exactly the kind of performance Penn State needed. They were efficient on offense, getting strong games from both Darryl Clark and Evan Royster. Most important, their defense stood up and shut down Purdue. The Lions' road tests get stricter the next two weeks in Madison and Columbus. But PSU fans can enter those games knowing they have a complete team. Jeff Rice of The Centre Daily Times says the D knows how to defend the Boilermaker spread.

Illinois 45 Michigan 20
Those of us who said Michigan's win over Wisconsin was no turning point, but the product of a Badger collapse were vindicated in the last three quarters on Saturday. The Illini spotted the Wolverines a 14-3 lead and then just exploded in UM's face. Juice Williams lit up the Michigan defense for 431 all-purpose yards. Even though Steven Threet had his most productive game at quarterback, he wasn't going to keep up with this onslaught.

Between this game and a near-miss at Penn State, Illinois has put itself back on the agenda as a player in the race for the January 1 bowl invites. As for Michigan, there is no excuse for the defensive performance. This is a veteran defense that is not learning a new system. This was the kind of game they were reasonably expected to carry the load in, and it's not happening. They've given up 60 points in two Big Ten games. Rich Rodriguez is right when he says that this is ridiculous.

Michigan State 16 Iowa 13
The Javon Ringer Express was slowed down in East Lansing. 91 yards on 25 carries isn't exactly shabby, but he was upstaged by Iowa's Shon Greene, who rushed for 157. MSU was still able to get out to a 16-3 lead and then hold on. It wasn't a statement win, but it kept the Spartans moving forward. It wasn't a bad loss, but it keeps the Hawkeyes struggling. Andy Hamilton of The Iowa Press-Citizen opines that the Hawks were their own worst enemy.

Minnesota 16 Indiana 7
Neither team had any running game to speak of, and both quarterbacks played a good game. But Gopher QB Adam Weber had Eric Decker to throw to and that was the difference. The Minnesota wide reciever hauled in 13 catches for 190 yards, and his team was able to get three second-half field goals to break up a 7-7 tie at intermission. It's been a long time coming, but more then two years after Glen Mason's firing, Minnesota has again won a conference game. Rachel Blount of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune gives credit to Decker and his toughness.

Notre Dame 28 Stanford 21
After each of the last three Notre Dame wins, I've had the same reaction. Nice win, but nothing to get too excited about. And taken individually, that's true. Michigan, Purdue and Stanford are nothing to get worked up about, especially given they were all in South Bend. But taken collectively, it's a mark of how ND is progressing. No one more so then Jimmy Clausen, who threw for 347 yards in a career-best day. The Irish will have to improve their running game as the schedule gets tougher, but at 4-1, there's again reason for hope under the Dome.

Key Undercard Games

Three of Saturday's undercard games will have big implications for teams pushing to make a bowl game. For Michigan State & Notre Dame, these are part of a dwindling number of very winnable home games. For Minnesota, it's their best chance to get back on the Big Ten scoreboard with a win.

Iowa goes to Michigan State (Noon EST, BTN).The natives are getting restless  in Iowa, as Kirk Ferentz redirected criticism of his coordinators and took the blame himself. The Hawkeyes have their back to the wall after losing at home to Northwestern, right on the heels of a loss at Pitt. The Michigan State defense showed obvious vulnerablilty last week against Indiana, and the Hawks should be able to move the ball. But the question will be whether they can hold on to it. It was five turnovers that doomed them a week ago, and the Spartan offense is more able then Northwestern's when it comes to making them pay. Javon Ringer's profile is rising nationally and Brian Hoyer will look to build off a strong performance last week in Bloomington.

MSU also needs this game badly. At 4-1, their bowl hopes aren't in jeopardy, but after this game and a road trip to Northwestern next week, Mark Dantonio's squad begins a brutal closing stretch that starts with Ohio State on October 18. They play every contender in the conference, and as such, they need to be 6-1 when the process starts. After last year's overtime loss against Iowa, the Spartans feel as though they have unfinished business, per this report from Shannon Shelton of The Detroit Free Press.

Indiana goes to Minnesota(Noon EST, BTN). The Hoosiers haven't won since starting the season with victories over Western Kentucky and Murray State. Apparently, they plan to continue the quarterback alternation scheme of a week ago where Ben Chappell shared time with Kellen Lewis. I originally thought that was due to a Lewis injury, but apparently not. I think this is a mistake. Lewis is one of the league's most dynamic players and IU needs to put the ball in his hands. As for the Gophs, they badly need this win. If they want to get to a winning season, they must win at least two of three from home games with IU, Northwestern and Iowa and this will be the easiest one on the slate. Minnesota hasn't so much as won a single Big Ten game since showing Glen Mason the door. They should get this one. Rick Brewster tells The Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he wants to see more big plays from his team.

Notre Dame hosts Stanford (2:30 EST, NBC). The Irish have an opportunity to move to 4-1 and keep a positive feeling around the program. This game and a November matchup with Syracuse are the only home dates that ND can really circle and say they should roll to victory. There are winnable road games (notably Washington), but I don't think the Irish are strong enough yet that any road trip can be quickly counted in the win column. Stanford has beaten Oregon State, a win that looks very impressive in light of what happened last Thursday in Corvallis. Although I agree with the conventional wisdom that sees that as more an indictment of USC's weekly focus then anything about Oregon State. And if we can't read too much positive about the Beavers, we are limited in how much we can take positively from the Cardinals beating them. Bottom line: Charlie Weis must have this win.

Spartans Control Irish

Michigan State controlled the line of scrimmage in a methodical 23-7 win over Notre Dame in East Lansing. This was a game into the fourth quarter, as Notre Dame cut the lead to 13-7 and was again in position to cut it to six before a missed field goal with under six minutes left effectively ended their hopes. But in watching this game, there was never a point where a neutral viewer could really feel like the Irish were going to win the game. MSU did everything they had to do and Javon Ringer was dominant, rushing for 201 yards.

The Spartans did show some problems, particularly their inability to finish drives. Given that we know Ringer is an excellent back, this has to fall on the offensive line. Good defenses can focus on one great back in key situations and stop him if he doesn't have a powerful line ahead of him. We will have to see if this problem plagues Mark Dantonio's team as the caliber of its competiton increases. But for today, they are sitting on 3-1 and did what they do in the non-conference schedule. They won their two gimme games and got a split out of Cal & Notre Dame. A .500 conference record will put them back in a bowl, and whatever problems showed up yesterday, they certainly look good enough to do that.

I think Jimmy Clausen does show signs of progressing, albeit not quite as much as the ABC crew made it out to be. His numbers--24/41 for 242 yards are decent, and while the two key picks are a problem, that's typical for a sophomore. And if you place that in the context of him getting no support anywhere else on offense, it means he does deserve a little credit for giving his team the marginal amount of hope it had. Spartans Weblog provides a good breakdown of ND's efforts to throw the ball on Saturday, examining it from the opposing viewpoint.

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It wasn't pretty, but Northwestern got it done. They turned the ball over five times and got four turnovers of their own back. And here's words you don't hear said very often--they did it with defense. They held Ohio to four rushing yards and slugged out a 16-8 win. The Wildcats got to 4-0. Now it's a question of whether the two more wins they need to become bowl-eligible will actually translate into a bowl invitation (unlikely), or whether they are good enough to steal three Big Ten victories and eliminate any doubt (even money).

Iowa outgained Pitt, and they had an edge in turnovers. After rallying for 14-3 down to take a 17-14 lead, it looked like that might be enough. But the Panthers got a late touchdown and hit the Hawkeyes with a crucial loss. The Hawks must now go 4-4 in conference play to ensure a bowl invitation and that's no guarantee.

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Ohio State struggled again, needing two fourth quarter touchdowns to put away Troy. The problems with Ohio & Troy are really more alarming then the blowout at USC. But a new era began in Columbus. Terrelle Pryor got the start, and played well. He threw four touchdown passes and none of them were gimme 1 & 2 yard tosses. Two were from downtown, over 30 & 40 yards. But the Bucks were still outgained and had to win the turnover battle to get the edge.

Penn State completed its run through non-conference. The four wins might not be impressive but the style certainly is. The Nittany Lions again rolled up over 500 yards of offense and used a 31-point second quarter explosion to beat Temple.

Elsewhere, Minnesota went to 4-0, although Bowling Green was the only opponent even remotely worthy. Eric Decker caught seven passes for 123 yards in a rout of Florida Atlantic and Adam Weber continued to play well at quarterback. Indiana gets great quarterback play from Kellen Lewis, who went off for 307 all-purpose yards against Ball State. But IU didn't do much else and was beaten handily on their home field, 42-20. No second straight bowl trip out of Bloomington in 2008. And Purdue barely escaped Central Michigan 32-25, on a 46-yard touchdown run by Kory Sheets with a minute that turned a one-point deficit into the win. The Boilermakers were pounded on the ground, giving up 149 yards. The Boilers play the Irish next week in a must-win game for programs trying to find their footing. 

Must-Win Games: Iowa & NU

Of the games in the noon (EST) time slot on Saturday, the most compelling is going to be Iowa's visit to Pitt. With their strong defensive showing last week against Iowa State, the Hawkeyes have put themselves in position to sweep the non-conference schedule, something that would seemingly ensure they will get back into the bowl party after last year's miss. It will also provide an early look at how good the Hawks can be once Big Ten action starts.

The Panthers were expected to be a contender in the Big East this year. Dave Wannstedt is in his fourth season on the Allegheny and after their huge upset of West Virginia to end last season, it looked like Wanny had finally turned the corner. But those hopes were quickly dashed when they lost to Bowling Green in the season opener on their home field. The same Bowling Green team that was beaten decisively in Minnesota one week later. If Iowa is ready to be a true contender for an upper-crust bowl game, they win this with ease. If they struggle to a win, we don't know what to think. And if they lose...could be another long fall in Iowa City. Right now, the big question mark is at quarterback. Jake Christiansen has been given another chance to win or lose the job on his own according to Pat Harty at The Iowa Press-Citizen.

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Another team looking to complete a 4-0 sweep of non-conference action that they badly need for bowl hopes is Northwestern. The Wildcasts host Ohio at noon (Big Ten Network). These are the same Bobcats who led at Columbus into the fourth quarter, and this is the same Northwestern that nearly lost at Duke, so there's no reason to think this one will be easy.

Northwestern, to put it mildly, is going to have an issue getting any mention in the Chicago press. They never have it easy, but now they're going up against the Cubs & White Sox possibly heading toward a Windy City Series, the Bears potential resurgence and Notre Dame coming off a badly needed win. And in the battle to crack that first string of storylines, they still have to deal with Illinois football. But this is a program at a significant point in its history and that of coach Pat Fitzgerald. A bowl game would be a big deal for them this year, and they probably need to beat the Bobcats to do it. Might be worth tuning in. Jim O'Donnell of The Chicago Sun-Times has a look at the contrasting styles that will take the field in Evanston.

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Elsewhere in th early time slot, Ohio State begins the recovery process against Troy, while Penn State completes its romp through non-league play against Temple. Minnesota will host Florida Atlantic and Purdue has a home date with Central Michigan.

Football Preview: Iowa

Kirk Ferentz is in the midst of a midseason slump. A few years ago, he was one of the hottest names in the country. Iowa split the 2002 Big Ten title with eventual national champion Ohio State. The Hawkeyes won the Capital One Bowl the following year, and grabbed a piece of another league title in '04. But the last couple years have been tough and a galling season-ending loss to Western Michigan left Ferentz home for Christmas last season.

The Iowa coach made his reputation as a builder of offensive lines, and it is that unit that will have to keynote any potential revival. The line struggled last year, but it was very young. To illustrated just how young, not only are all five starters back, but four of those same starters will be back next year.

Similar youth was behind center, where Jake Christiansen struggled as a sophomore starter. The quarterback returns for more, and Andy Hamilton of The Iowa Press-Citizen reports that he's tweaking his techniques. Christiansen will look to tight end Tony Mooeaki and senior receiver Andy Brodell as his prime targets. The backfield must replace Albert Young and Damian Sims, but if the offensive line comes together the running back position will take care of itself.

There's quite a few positions to fill on defense. Any success on this side of the ball will have to start up the middle. Mitch King  may be the most dominant defensive lineman in the conference, and he is joined at tackle by Matt Kroul. But all three linebackers are new starters and all are sophomores. Two more sophs are projected to take up starting jobs in the secondary, although one of them is incumbent free safety Brent Greenwood.

Iowa opens the season with a couple gimme non-conference wins. After that comes a huge home test against Iowa State and a big road trip to Pittsburgh. Once Big Ten play starts, the four key games are home dates with Northwestern and Purdue, and road games with Indiana and Minnesota. If you take these eight games as a composite, the Hawks need to find six wins to become at least eligible for a bowl. Then if they can either sneak in an upset somewhere (home games with Penn State & Wisconsin) or win seven of the winnable eight, they can assure themselves of a postseason trip.

It's very doable, and their head coach more then capable, but to me the defensive inexperience suggests Iowa will not break the .500 barrier this year.

Season Recaps: Penn State & Iowa

The postseason wraps on both football & men's basketball continue today with looks at the seasons of Penn State & Iowa.

Penn State
The Nittany Lion football program is in a major state of flux right now, as the ever-present question of when Joe Paterno will hang it up becomes more immediate. On the field, while PSU didn't have a bad year, 2007 was also not one to remember. The Lions continued their losing streak to Michigan and were outplayed badly at home by Ohio State. The defense, the pride of the program, was taken apart at Illinois and collapsed in a season-ending loss at Michigan State that may have cost the team a New Year's Day bid. The highlight of the year was a 38-7 thrashing of Wisconsin in October, and an Alamo Bowl victory that marked the third postseason triumph over a southern school in as many years.

PSU basketball has reason to ask what might have been. They pulled upsets of Michigan State & Indiana, and just missed an NIT bid with a heartbreaking loss to Illinois in the conference tournament. And they did all this in spite of losing MVP-caliber forward Geary Claxton to a knee injury early in the league schedule. They achieved more then anyone had a right to expect under such circumstances, although the injury leaves you wondering if this program can ever catch the break it needs to win consistently.

Iowa
This is another proud football program facing a difficult time, although in this case there's no issues over succession at the head coaching position. Kirk Ferentz is just going through a rough spell right now, as his team struggled in at 6-6, the second consecutive year the Hawks have been a disappointment. A win over Rose Bowl-bound Illinois and a three-game winning streak in November gave fans reason for hope, but a devastating loss to Western Michigan in the finale kept them home for bowl season.

In basketball, Iowa had a tough year, though it was expected as first-year coach Todd Lickliter began a rebuilding project. They struggled to a 13-19 finish, with the key highlight being a defensive masterpiece in holding Michigan State to 36 points in a home win. Guards Tony Freeman and Justin Johnson were the top performers, averaging in double-digits.

Motor City Bowl: Painter's Night

Wednesday night was an extraordinary evening for Curtis Painter. The Purdue quarterback put his team on his back, throwing for 546 yards and singlehandledly sparing his program the monumental embarrassment of losing the Motor City Bowl. Despite blowing leads of 27-6, 34-13 and 41-20, the Boilermakers held off Central Michigan on a last-play field goal and won 51-48.

This was a no-win situation for Purdue from the outset, and it was surely not as great a night for the program overall as it was for Painter. Though a loss would have been far worse and far more embarrassing, this sort of victory isn't far from it. The Boilermakers had no running game to speak of, and the final score and blown leads bear eloquent witness to the problems defensively. This isn't going to cut it in the Big Ten and shows the work Joe Tiller and his staff have ahead of them to get things headed back in the right direction.

Tiller has come under increasing pressure in West Lafayette and this game isn't going to ease any of that. But for reasonable fans, there should be no doubt that the current head coach is the man to get the program headed back upward. He's been to nine bowl games in ten years. He's never had a season that could be truly classified as awful. He's shown the ability to get the Big Ten's showcase games--not just the Rose Bowl, but the New Year's Day games in Florida as well. If you look at any successful head coach in this league that works outside of Ann Arbor or Columbus, they all go through their peaks and valleys. It happened to Barry Alvarez. It's happening right now to Kirk Ferentz. Purdue and Tiller are just going through a stretch where things aren't clicking like they did in the early part of the decade. Here's hoping the athletic department in West Lafayette took good notes on the disaster up in Minnesota after Glen Mason (a coach with far less success then Tiller) was canned, and the long drought Indiana went through after Bill Mallory was fired. If Purdue stays the course, Tiller will soon have them back in better bowl games.

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Iowa and Minnesota have gotten used to getting ready for football games around now, but this is a year where both schools turned their attention to the hardwood a little earlier, as new coaches break in. Or maybe they're not paying attention, at least in the case of Iowa. Pat Harty at Hawk Central is observing the empty seats at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and imploring the marketing department to realize men's hoops can no longer sell itself. The team is 6-6 under Todd Lickliter and has not beaten anyone of note. The winter is shaping up to be even colder then normal in Iowa City.

Minnesota cashed in on Kentucky's insane decision to push Tubby Smith out. The national-championship winning head coach is getting the job done up in Minneapolis. The Gophers are 8-1. While the schedule isn't real tough, it does include a win at Iowa State, a team that has beaten both Purdue & Iowa. This coming Sunday, Smith takes his team on the road for another test at UNLV. With the conference looking soft below its top two teams, the door is open for a well-coached team to make a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament. Myron Medcalf of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune remarks that Smith's frequent substitutions help keep opponents off balance.

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.