There’s a month left in the Big Ten season and the championship is far from claimed.
Although Michigan State (3-2), Wisconsin (2-2), Northwestern (2-2) and Purdue (2-2) have not been eliminated, it appears that the crown will fit a team or teams with one or no losses. That leaves three candidates: Iowa (4-0) is up by a game in the loss column on Ohio State (4-1) and Penn State (3-1).
Here’s what the Big Three face coming down the stretch:
– The Hawkeyes host Indiana and Northwestern, play at Ohio State and then host Minnesota. Playing three of the last four at home is a huge advantage. Although none of the games at Kinnick Stadium are gimmes, Iowa’s first outright Big Ten title since 1985 could rest on the Nov. 14 encounter at Ohio Stadium.
– The Buckeyes go out of the league to host New Mexico State on Saturday, then are at Penn State, home with Iowa and at Michigan. Toughest row to hoe of any of the contenders, with three bullies – two on the road, in extremely hostile environments – waiting with a combined 8-4 conference mark.
ern and at Michigan State bookending home games with Ohio State and Indiana. Again, there’s not an easy win in the bunch, but Nov. 7 at home against the Buckeyes may decide if the Nittany Lions get at least a piece of their fourth Big Ten championship.
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LOVING PAT: Joe Paterno can’t stop saying good things about Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.
The Wildcats’ leader gave the Nittany Lions fits when he was a LB; now Fitzgerald is impressing JoePa with his coaching acumen.
Quite a compliment for Fitzgerald coming from a Hall of Famer who was already in his ninth season as Penn State’s head coach when Fitzgerald was born in 1974.
JoePa is especially impressed with the way Fitzgerald settled the Northwestern program following the death in the summer of 2006 of coach Randy Walker.
“He’s gone out and he’s got some kids that believe in what Northwestern’s all about,” Paterno said. “They’re playing awfully well.”
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DEFLATING? Indiana blew a 25-point lead at Northwestern on Saturday and the 29-28 loss could have lasting ramifications on the Hoosiers’ fading bowl hopes.
But was it the most deflating loss of the season for the Hoosiers?
Not at all.
played hard. Anyone that says we got soft or we got conservative, that’s not true at all.”
Indiana has now lost four of its last five since starting 3-0, including defeats at Michigan and Northwestern by a combined four points.
The Hoosiers (4-4) – with games remaining against Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue – need two wins to become bowl eligible. No wonder Lynch doesn’t want to discuss what’s ahead.
“When you start getting ahead of yourself, then you’re not taking care of the things you have to do,” Lynch said. “Or looking back, and saying if we would have done this or that, that’s energy wasted.”
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QUOTABLE: Eight-year NFL veteran Larry Foote of the Detroit Lions, a Michigan grad, on the NCAA investigation of his alma mater for players allegedly practicing too many hours: “The whole thing is ridiculous.”
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FAST CLIMBER: Scott Concannon made a quick jump up the Northwestern depth chart after his performance last week in a 29-28 win over Indiana.
Concannon, who gained 73 yards on 16 carries and had 32 yards in a drive that set up the winning field goal, is listed as the Wildcats’ starting TB for Saturday’s game against Penn State.
Not bad considering that Concannon was fourth string before last week’s win, the biggest comeback in school history in rallying from a 25-point deficit.
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rst month of the season.
The Wolverines have lost three straight Big Ten games after a perfect September to slump to a 5-3 overall record and 1-3 in the conference.
Michigan’s season will be a relative success, though, if it wins at Illinois to become bowl-eligible after losing a school record nine games last year and missing out on the postseason for the first time in more than three decades.
The Wolverines’ struggles last year were expected because Rich Rodriguez inherited an offense decimated by graduation, early departures for the NFL and transfers when he took over for Lloyd Carr after the 2008 season. The defense didn’t play up to its potential because it didn’t seem to buy into former coordinator Scott Shafer’s system.
“Some of the issues and problems we have didn’t occur overnight and they won’t be solved overnight,” said Rodriguez, who is pleased with Michigan’s recruiting. “But we’ve got to solve them, and as coaches we’ve got to do our job identifying them first and then solving them.”
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QUICK-HITTERS: Other games Saturday include Purdue at Wisconsin and Michigan State at Minnesota. … Players of the week: Penn State QB Daryll Clark, Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn, Ohio State DE Thaddeus Gibson and Northwestern PK/P Stefan Demos. … Gibson is the only Buckeyes player in a football coaching class taught by Jim Tressel. “We had a couple take it the first year or two and they got a couple C-minuses and B-minuses,” Tressel said. “The word got out that’s not the prof you want to take.” … Northwestern’s secondary is banged up with S Brendan Smith (thumb) and S Brad Phillips (shoulder) possibly out and CB Sherrick McManis nursing an injury. … Paterno is fifth in all-time Big Ten coaching wins in conference games. Imagine if Penn State wasn’t an independent his first 27 years as head coach.
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AP Sports Writers Rick Gano in Chicago; Mike Marot in Indianapolis; and Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Associated Press Writer Genaro Armas in State College, Pa.; contributed to this report.
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