Jim Rossow's Big Ten report: Illini will pull upset
The Standings
LEADERS DIVISION
TEAM BIG TEN ALL
Ohio State 2 0 6 0
Wisconsin 2 1 4 2
Penn State 1 1 4 2
Indiana 1 1 3 3
Illinois 0 1 3 2
Purdue 0 2 1 5
LEGENDS DIVISION
Michigan State 2 0 5 1
Nebraska 2 0 5 1
Michigan 1 1 5 1
Iowa 1 1 4 2
Minnesota 0 2 4 2
Northwestern 0 2 4 2
The schedule
Want to know which of Saturday’s games are worth your while? Here’s the scoop from sports editor JIM ROSSOW, who emailed Condoleezza Rice for help on this week’s picks after a disastrous 1-3 week:
Minnesota at Northwestern
11 a.m., ESPN2
It’s Peanut Free Day at Ryan Field, the Wildcats looking out for fans with peanut allergies by refusing the sell the nuts. What folks can count on is an opportunistic Wildcats defense (their 17 takeaways lead the Big Ten) and Kain Colter doing something special (with 21 yards passing and 46 yards rushing he’ll reach 2,000 for his career in both categories).
Rossow’s pick: Northwestern, 42-14
Purdue at Michigan State
11 a.m., BTN
If Sparty played a Big Ten team from Indiana every week, it’d be as good in football as it is in men’s basketball. Michigan State stretched its winning streak against Indiana to five last week. On Saturday, it’s heavily favorite to win its fifth in a row against the Boilermakers.
Rossow’s pick: Michigan State, 24-0
Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State
2:30 p.m., WICD (ABC)
Things working against the Hawkeyes include: A) Urban Meyer is 34-2 when given more than a week to prepare for a game, including 13 wins in a row; B) the Buckeyes haven’t lost since Jim Otis was in the backfield (or so it seems), their 18-game streak the longest in the nation; and C) Braxton Miller is completely healthy and likely to become the 10th Buckeye with 4,000 career yards passing (he needs 193).
Rossow’s pick: Ohio State, 40-13
Indiana at Michigan
2:30 p.m., BTN
Tight ends in the spotlight: Indiana fifth-year senior Ted Bolser (nation-best five touchdown catches) this week was named to the John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List; Michigan’s Devin Funchess has 100-plus yards receiving in back-to-back games.
Rossow’s pick: Michigan, 28-27
No. 25 Wisconsin at Illinois
7 p.m., BTN
Badgers are one of 14 teams to win at least 70 percent of their games during the BCS era (1998). Illinois has helped the process, going 3-8 against Bucky in the span and losing by an average margin of 17 points.
Rossow’s pick: Illinois, 31-25
Looking Ahead
Coaches like to take it one game at a time. Not us:
OCT. 26
Northwestern at Iowa 11 a.m.
Nebraska at Minnesota 11 a.m.
Michigan St. at Illinois 2:30 p.m.
Penn State at Ohio State 7 p.m.
NOV. 2
Illinois at Penn State
Michigan at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Iowa
Minnesota at Indiana
Northwestern at Nebraska
Ohio State at Purdue
NOV. 9
Illinois at Indiana
Iowa at Purdue
Penn State at Minnesota
Nebraska at Michigan
BYU at Wisconsin
Award stand
Here’s how we rank ‘em heading into the cold-weather stretch of the Big Ten season:
MVP
NAME SCHOOL
Tailbacks Wisconsin
Christian Hackenberg Penn State
Ameer Abdullah Nebraska
Ryan Shazier Ohio State
Chris Borland Wisconsin
ILLINI MVP
NAME PREVIOUS
Josh Ferguson 3
Jonathan Brown 2
Nathan Scheelhaase 1
Justin DuVernois —
Cvijanovic (Simon & Peter) —
COACH OF THE YEAR
COACH SCHOOL
Urban Meyer Ohio State
Mark Dantonio Michigan State
Bill O’Brien Penn State
Gary Andersen Wisconsin
Bo Pelini Nebraska
BOWL OUTLOOK
BOWL TEAM
BCS title game Ohio State
Rose Michigan State
Capital One Nebraska
Outback Wisconsin
Gator Michigan
Shop & Chats
Login to shop for Deals and books or to chat.