The Standings
LEADERS DIVISION
TEAM    LEAGUE    PF    PA    ALL    PF    PA
Ohio State    7    0    269    184    11    0    420    253
Penn State    5    2    237    147    7    4    325    208
Wisconsin    4    3    223    122    7    4    309    193
Purdue    2    5    133    230    5    6    303    313
Indiana    2    5    196    272    4    7    334    367
Illinois    0    7    80    231    2    9    186    335
LEGENDS DIVISION
Nebraska    6    1    218    188    9    2    412    264
Michigan    6    1    225    107    8    3    339    199
Northwestern    4    3    203    185    8    3    328    259
Minnesota    2    5    127    194    6    5    246    261
Michigan State    2    5    133    139    5    6    217    186
Iowa    2    5    143    188    4    7    225    262

The Schedule

Want to know which of this weekend’s games are worth your time? Here’s the dirt from sports editor Jim Rossow, who was no turkey last week (6-0):

TODAY
No. 17 Nebraska at Iowa
11 a.m., WICD (ABC)
Cornhuskers are 17-5 since 1990 in games on the day after Thanksgiving: 5-1 record against Oklahoma, 11-4 against Colorado and 1-0 against Iowa. All 22 games have been televised by ABC.
Rossow’s pick: Nebraska, 42-13

SATURDAY
No. 20 Michigan at No. 4 Ohio State
11 a.m., WICD (ABC)
Urban Meyer’s start is fourth best among first-year coaches in Division I history, trailing Miami’s Larry Coker (24 consecutive wins), Boise State’s Chris Petersen (14) and BYU’s Gary Crowton (12)
Rossow’s pick: Michigan, 24-23

Illinois at Northwestern
11 a.m., BTN
As if beating the snot out of his downstate rival isn’t enough incentive for Pat Fitzgerald, he can tie Pappy Waldorf’s school record for coaching wins (49).
Rossow’s pick: Northwestern, 49-7

Indiana at Purdue
11 a.m., BTN
Purdue’s six losses have come against teams that are a combined 50-16, including the only two unbeatens left (No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 4 Ohio State).
Rossow’s pick: Purdue, 35-31

Rutgers at Pitt
11 a.m., ESPN2
Scarlet Knights can clinch a share of their first Big East title and reach 10 wins for the third time in 143 years of football.
Rossow’s pick: Rutgers, 14-10

Maryland
at North Carolina
2 p.m., no TV (thankfully)
Banged-up Terps (10 season-ending injuries to potential starters) have lost five in a row, not helping Randy Edsall’s cause (he’s 6-17).
Rossow’s pick: North Carolina, 21-0

Wisconsin at Penn State
2:30 p.m., ESPN2
Montee Ball needs 273 yards to become the fifth Big Ten rusher to reach 5,000 in his career, joining Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne (7,125), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (5,589), Indiana’s Anthony Thompson (5,299) and Michigan’s Mike Hart (5,040).
Rossow’s pick: Wisconsin, 10-9

Michigan State at Minnesota
2:30 p.m., BTN
Le’Veon Bell needs 65 yards to become the seventh Spartan to reach 3,000 in his career.
Rossow’s pick: Minnesota, 21-17

Looking ahead

Coaches like to take it one game at a time. Not us:
DEC. 1
Wisconsin vs. TBD    7 p.m. (WCCU)

Illini MVP
Illini    PREVIOUS
Mason Monheim (above)    1
Terry Hawthorne    —
Dami Ayoola    —
Taylor Zalewski    —
Justin DuVernois    3
Rossow’s take: Now that he’s made a 54-yarder, some Week 12 goals for Zalewski: The longest field goal by an Illini on the road is shared by Mike Bass (53-yarder at Syracuse in 1982) and Dave Finzer (53-yarder at Purdue in ‘77); the longest field goal at Ryan Field is shared by Northwestern’s Sam Valenzisi (52-yarder vs. Ohio State in ‘94) and John Duvic (52-yarder vs. Purdue in ‘86)

IN THE PENTHOUSE
(Big Ten MVP)
PLAYER, SCHOOL    PREVIOUS
Braxton Miller, Ohio State    1
Taylor Martinez, Nebraska    2
Devin Gardner, Michigan    4
Matt McGloin, Penn State    5
Ryan Shazier, Ohio State    —
Rossow’s take: In Gardner’s three starts, Wolverines have scored 16 touchdowns, including 11 on drives of 75 yards or more.

IN THE DOGHOUSE
(Big Ten Goat)
FAN NON-FAVORITE    SCHOOL
Jim Delany    Commissioner
A.J. Barker    Minnesota
Mark Dantonio    Michigan State
Defense    Iowa
Quarterbacks    Maryland
Rossow’s take: Injuries to four quarterbacks have resulted in the Terps playing freshman Shawn Petty, a former linebacker. They are one of seven schools to start at least three different quarterbacks, a list that includes future Big Ten rival Minnesota.

COACH OF THE YEAR
COACH, SCHOOL    PREVIOUS
Urban Meyer, Ohio State    1
Bill O’Brien, Penn State    4
Bo Pelini, Nebraska    2
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern    —
Kyle Flood, Rutgers    —
Rossow’s take: Flood’s defense-first style is a good fit for the Big Ten. Only three programs — Alabama (10.1), Notre Dame (10.1) and Florida (11.7) — are allowing fewer points per game than the Scarlet Knights (12.4).

BOWL LINEUP
TEAM    BOWL
Nebraska    BCS
Michigan    Capital One
Wisconsin    Outback
Northwestern    Gator
Minnesota    TicketCity
Rossow’s take: Cornhuskers can clinch a spot in Indy with a win today, in the process becoming the only program in the country to reach a conference title game three times since 2009 (they made Big 12 championship in 2009 and ‘10).