The pairings for all 34 bowl games are finally official, and seven of them include Big Ten teams. That means we can finally quit talking about last bowl season's horrible performance by conference teams and start trying to figure out if Big Ten teams will win more than one bowl this winter.
We begin with the matchup everyone already knew about:
ROSE BOWL: OHIO STATE vs. OREGON, January 1
What it means: The Buckeyes will play in their fifth straight Bowl Championship Series game (but their first Rose Bowl since 1996), and will look to snap a three-game BCS losing streak. The good news for Big Ten fans...at least the opponent isn't USC.
Oregon has proven their mettle the last two games, outlasting Arizona in the desert and coming back to win the Civil War game against in-state rival Oregon State. Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, and LeGarrette Blount should provide a formidable test for an Ohio State defense that comes in allowing just over 12 points per game.
ORANGE BOWL: IOWA vs. GEORGIA TECH, January 5
What it means: The conference gets a second BCS team yet again, which is both good news and bad news for Big Ten fans. The good news is a big-time payout to be divided among the league's 11 schools, while the bad news means tougher postseason matchups for Big Ten teams, since they all "play up" one game.
(The third Big Ten team, not the second, goes to the Capital One Bowl, etc.) Iowa will hope to reclaim its early-season magic, perhaps with injured quarterback Ricky Stanzi back under center. On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes will try to slow down the always-difficult triple option that the Yellow Jackets (the 2009 ACC champions) run to perfection.
The Big Ten season has concluded, and Ohio State's on top of the standings.
Again.
While Illinois and Wisconsin still have some non-conference action to attend to, this past weekend's games marked the end of the regular season for most of the teams in the league, and (sadly) marks the end of another season of "Carrying On".
If you need to step away from your computer to shed a tear or five, now's the time.
Ahem...moving right along...
As always, we start with the spotlight game.
As Ten by Ten winds down, we reach a big rivalry weekend with Ohio State-Michigan and Purdue-Indiana among Saturday's matchups. Week 11 winner Mike Greenspire adds his picks, along with Tim, Kristofer, and Kevin...
1. Predict the winner: Ohio State at Michigan
TC: Ohio State
KG: Ohio State
KP: Ohio State
Mike: Ohio State
2. Predict the winner: Minnesota at Iowa
TC: Iowa
KG: Iowa
KP: Iowa
Mike: Iowa
CHAMPAIGN--Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald was three years old when
Illinois coach Ron Zook began his coaching career at Murray State, five
years old when Zook left Murray State for Cincinnati, and 8 years old
when Zook took over as defensive coordinator at Kansas.
Before
Fitzgerald went on to be a two-time All-American linebacker for the
Wildcats, Zook had also worked for Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Ohio
State, and Florida.
In 1997, when Fitzgerald was a rookie with
the Dallas Cowboys and Zook was the special teams coach for the
Pittsburgh Steelers, the two teams met at Three Rivers Stadium for the
season opener.
Fitzgerald's team won that day too.
It was another busy weekend in Big Ten country, and in honor of "Cup-Half-Empty Day" (a holiday I just invented), here are five disappointments that jumped out at me from Saturday's action.
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: FIVE THINGS I LEARNED
1. Michigan is in utter-collapse mode. The Wolverines dropped their sixth straight conference game, losing by three touchdowns at Wisconsin Saturday. After opening the season 4-0, Rich Rodriguez's 5-6 ballclub will have to upset Ohio State in the teams' annual rivalry game to have any hope of going bowling.
The Badgers embarrassed the porous Michigan defense, courtesy of four Scott Tolzien passing touchdowns and 151 rushing yards from John Clay. If there's anything I've learned from my many years of watching football, it's this: teams that treat defense as an optional endeavor will always struggle...and with the Wolverines allowing 39 points per game in their last four losses, things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Maize and Blue.
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - "Misadventures in Happy Valley" - that would be a catchy and fitting title to a new movie starring the Penn State special teams unit.
Well, that and the fact that "Waiting to Exhale" was already taken.
During a season where Penn State football began with many question marks, from offensive line, to wide receivers, to a young and inexperienced secondary, the biggest issue in the end has been special teams.
CHAMPAIGN, Il--On a bright, sunshine filled day in Champaign, the annual battle for bragging rights in the state of Illinois is underway.
Both the Illini and Northwestern are riding high. The Wildcats are coming off an upset victory over Iowa and the streaking Illini have seemingly turned their season around after a horrendous start.
For Illinois, the game is critical to the uphill battle they face in becoming bowl eligible. A loss would mean the Illini are home for the holidys for the second consecutive year.
Northwestern is already bowl eligible, but are fighting for position in a league where every team in still in contention for the postseason.
Yet, at the outset of a game with such importance both teams have sputtered to a very sloppy opening.
Illinois' Arrelious Benn was one stumble away from returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. But even with the good field position, the Illini were unable to move the ball any further and had to punt.
Northwestern was held to a three and out on their first drive after Illinois defensive end Clay Nurse forced a intentional grounding call on Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka.
Illinois, after Stefan Demos shanked a Northwestern punt, was set up around the Wildcats 30 yard line. The Illini drove the ball all the way to the Northwestern three yard line before having to settle for the field goal attempt.
Matt Eller missed.
It could be a long day in Champaign if these teams don't get it together.
The Big Ten Conference Champion will likely be decided on Saturday, but
the Ten by Ten Champion won't be decided for a couple more weeks.
Here is a look at how Tim, Kristofer, and Kevin see the weekend unfolding in the Big Ten.
Our Ten by Ten answers...
With the Big Ten game of the year right around the corner, two die hard fans got together to debate the merits of their two teams.
Bret Feddern, a self-admitted Hawkeye Nerd on IowaHawkeyes.net and Bleacher Report Iowa Featured Columnist, will argue for the Hawkeyes. Following Bret's tweets during an Iowa game is fun... give it a shot.
I will be arguing for the Buckeyes (as if they need the help.)
The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes take the field on Saturday and the winner will be off to the Rose Bowl.
We can't match that drama here, but we'll give it a shot.
As the Big Ten football season winds down, all eleven teams in the conference still have hopes of finishing their schedules with the six wins necessary to become bowl-eligible.
(And I thought parity only happened in the NFL.)
While simply having enough victories to qualify for the postseason doesn't automatically ensure a bowl berth, five teams have already hit the magic number and are looking forward to a likely postseason trip: Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Northwestern.
After that quintet, things get much murkier. Both Indiana and Purdue need wins in their final two games to finish at 6-6, so at least one of the in-state rivals will be staying home for the holidays (the two schools meet in the regular-season finale on November 21).
From there, it's anybody's guess how many six-win squads the Big Ten produces. Depending on the results of the remaining games, the conference could have as many as ten bowl-eligible programs...or as few as the five listed above. Most likely, the total number will be somewhere between those extremes.
But that raises an interesting question: is it better for the league to produce more bowl-eligible teams or less? While I want my favorite school to qualify for the postseason, I have to admit ten bowl-eligible teams could be the worst thing to ever happen to the Big Ten--and here's why...
