Pickin' on the Big Ten, Week 10

Every Thursday, Pickin' On the Big Ten breaks down action across the conference.

RIGHT: A typical offensive gameplan dreamed up by Woody Hayes.

So now there's one. One team all alone in first place, controlling its destiny. But hey, they have the week off.

The question is, "Has anything really changed in the Big Ten?" and the answer is a qualified "Maybe." The road to the Big Ten championship has run from Ann Arbor to Columbus ever since Murray Warmath hung up his whistle in Minnesota. In eight of the last ten seasons, either Michigan or Ohio State has won at least a share of the conference title; the last time anybody else won an outright title was 2001.

A shakeup in the conference might lead to a change in philosophy. If you can't win the Big Ten without a vertical passing game and the ability to defend same, we've seen the last of "three yards and a cloud of dust." Good riddance. The old-school power running game is ill-suited for the kind of football played in the other BCS conferences. Ball control works great in a game where neither team scores 30 points, but if you're down by ten with five minutes to play, you don't want to (and probably can't) start throwing the ball.

So, while I know Buckeye fans are in pain right now, it's a necessary pain. College football has reinvented itself in the past decade and, as usual, the Big Ten was the last to get the memo.

Sigh. Onward.

IOWA @ ILLINOIS

Iowa wants to get back to a bowl. Kirk Ferentz knows that anything better than the Motor City Bowl will probably cool down the rage in the Hawkeye Nation, buying him and his staff more time to rebuild and giving them a fighting shot at convincing Shonn Greene to come back for his senior year.

Illinois wants to keep the momentum flowing. Last year's Rose Bowl was a disaster for them. If they go from the Rose Bowl to sitting at home watching "It's A Wonderful Life" over the holidays, well, that's beyond unfortunate. The Illini haven't gone to back-to-back bowls since 1992. Juice Williams is the best player they've had in Champaign since Simeon Rice. It would be a shame if they couldn't do more with him while he's around ... and will he be around next year?

Iowa has had a week to heal up and prepare for this game, while the Illini are coming off an extreme disappointment against WIsconsin. Speaking of the Badgers, the Hawkeyes are basically the same team, only with a better defense and a more confident quarterback. Illinois would love to get revenge for last year's 10-6 loss in Iowa City, but they just don't have enough left in the tank to get it done.

HOW GREENE WAS MY VALLEY	27
FINDING ISIAH	24

CENTRAL MICHIGAN @ INDIANA

Was it addition by subtraction? With Kellen Lewis on the sideline, IU managed to win a game last week, and for a change, it wasn't against a 1-AA team. Now comes Central Michigan, hardly the MACrifice IU needs at this point. The Chippewas can move the ball well, but they only put up a token defense. Since it's likely that Lewis will return for the Hoosiers, that might bode well for their chances, but Lewis has missed two games, and his backup Ben Chappell was hurt in the Northwestern game.

Both these teams had to hold on for dear life last week, but only IU had to hold on against a good team. CMU barely beat Toledo, not considered a good team anywhere outside Ann Arbor. The Chippewas will keep this close, but look out Bloomington, here comes a win streak. Enjoy it while it lasts.

MOUNT PLEASANT	33
UNPLEASANT MOUNT	37

Know Your Non-Conference Tomato Can: Central Michigan University

You can say this for Michigan: All their directional schools are exactly where they're supposed to be. Located right in the middle of the glove, CMU is the fourth-largest university in the state, with over 26,000 students.

CMU began as a teachers' college but has been a full-fledged university for almost 50 years now. In addition to the usual majors you'll find at almost any university, Central offers everything from a certificate in data mining to a PhD in Materials Science.

CMU's teams are known as the Chippewas, one of the few remaining Native American nicknames in college athletics. The local tribe of Chippewas support the use of the nickname.

CMU's best known alumnus is the sportscaster Dick Enberg, who also earned a master's and a doctorate in health sciences from Indiana University. This makes it all the more amazing that he hasn't publicly weighed in on what's going with the Cleveland Browns.

WISCONSIN @ MICHIGAN STATE

Both these teams worked out some frustrations last week. Wisconsin saved its season from circling the drain, while Sparty found a game in the Big House just what they needed to forget what Ohio State had done to them just the week before.

Dustin Sherer wasn't great at quarterback last week for the Badgers, but he was good enough to give their offense a spark and a second dimension. John Clay has asserted himself in the backfield as well. If Wisconsin can establish some sort of passing attack, they have an excellent shot in this game. Of course, if Wisconsin does establish a passing attack, it'll be the first time this season. You can throw on Sparty, but the Badgers aren't skilled enough to match a Spartan team that will score more than 21 points.

CHEESE AND WHINE	16
IS THAT GIOBERTI WINE?	28

NORTHWESTERN @ MINNESOTA

This game meant a little bit more before Northwestern soiled the bed last week. The Gophers are now the sole one-loss (overall) team in the Big Ten, and if they can win out, they stand an excellent chance of being passed over by the Rose Bowl in favor of the Buckeyes. But hey, the Capital One Bowl pays pretty well, too.

Northwestern is likely bowl-bound as well, but their hopes of moving up the food chain were ripped up last week when Tyrell Sutton and C.J. Bacher were both hurt. Bacher might play in this game, but Sutton is gone for the year. Thus, two of their three best weapons are (probably) gone, and Goldy plays defense now. Hence, the Gophers are going to win.

GOING TO THE WRONG ORLANDO BOWL	20
GOING TO THE RIGHT ONE	34

MICHIGAN @ PURDUE

Here it is, Disappointment Bowl 2008. The Joe Tiller era is ending in much the same fashion as the Rich Rodriguez era is beginning, with fear, panic, and confusion. Technically, however, neither team has been eliminated from bowl consideration. I'll stop here while you laugh.

The loser of this game is eliminated, however, and battles like these usually go to the team that can move the ball best. That would be Purdue, but don't book your Detroit hotel rooms just yet.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?	13
SAME THING YOU ARE	20

Next week's games!

• Wisconsin @ Indiana: Only $14.95 on pay-per-view
• Penn State @ Iowa: Suddenly, there are a lot of Hawkeye fans in the South
• Purdue @ Michigan State: So long, Joe, and thanks for the parting gift
• Michigan @ Minnesota: If Michigan even remembers where they put the Little Brown Jug, Minnesota will be glad to take it back
• Ohio State @ Northwestern: This might have been a trap game but, well, you know
• Illinois @ Western Michigan: Zook lost his last job because of a game like this