Yep, surprise at UCLA's rise and I definitely hope so. The Top 25 is strangely power conference dominated this year...there's no BCS buster in sight! Maybe Utah's fault for jumping ship to the Pac 10.
Quick Hits Around the Big 10
Adam Jitterbug, ASPN
September 23, 2010
Big Ten East Standings - Week 6 - 2010 Season Season
| Teams | CONF W-L | OVERALL W-L | PF | PA | STRK |
| Ohio State | 2-0 | 4-1 | 143 | 106 | W3 |
| Purdue | 0-1 | 2-1 | 117 | 95 | L1 |
| Indiana | 0-0 | 2-1 | 60 | 60 | W1 |
| Northwestern | 0-1 | 2-3 | 129 | 153 | L2 |
| Michigan | 0-2 | 2-3 | 126 | 130 | L-2 |
| Michigan State | 0-2 | 2-3 | 110 | 130 | L2 |
has recovered from an early home setback to Oklahoma State, with consecutive conference wins propelling them to the most solid position in the Big 10 East. The heightened QB competition between junior
Kynan Teague and incumbent senior
Steven Newland lasted well into training camp, and it looks like Coach Tressel's selection of Teague has been a good one. In week 4, Teague found
Charlie Matuszak in the endzone to culminate a pure clutch game-winning drive that gave the Buckeyes a 37-34 lead with 22 seconds to go.
Purdue is on bye this week after a heartbreaker loss to the Buckeyes in week 4. The power's been all Big 10 West, surprisingly, and we'll get a shodown of second seeds with Purdue hosting Penn State.
Indiana is the surprise team so far, despite a fairly brutal opening slate. They traveled to the Coliseum to upset top-ranked USC in their season opener, and lost by just one touchdown to then-#3 Oklahoma in the next week. They'll get sorely tested by #4 Wiconsin this week. Hoosier quarterback
Herbert McCall is going to need to step up.
Northwestern boasts one of the least talented teams in the Big 10, but has the unique distinction of having played Buffalo this year and not lost. It's been a dreary couple of weeks since, though.
Michigan is not the kind of team you'd expecting bringin up the tail rear in a Big 10 division, but that's exactly where they are. Losses to Top 10 Notre Dame and Penn State haven't helped, and the Wolverines dropped a must-win against Nebraska last week. Ann Arbor must now brace itself for what figures to be at least a 4 loss season after sky-high expectations in RichRod's third year.
Michigan State - at least something for Michigan fans to hang their hats on. Michigan State has had a very bipolar schedule, notching wins over ECU and Duke but losing handily to Notre Dame, Iowa, and Ohio State. All but the last were blowouts.
Big Ten West Standings - Week 6 - 2010 Season Season
| Teams | CONF W-L | OVERALL W-L | PF | PA | STRK |
| Penn State | 2-0 | 4-0 | 156 | 49 | W4 |
| Minnesota | 1-0 | 3-2 | 137 | 115 | W2 |
| Wisconsin | 2-0 | 5-0 | 172 | 103 | W5 |
| Iowa | 1-1 | 1-3 | 109 | 90 | L1 |
| Nebraska | 1-1 | 2-3 | 119 | 147 | W1 |
| Illinois | 0-1 | 0-4 | 66 | 144 | L4 |
has Heisman frontrunner
Ray Adams at the helm, and he's a big part of why JoePa's Nittany Lions are gunning for another national championship. Senior bruiser
Craig Bray is nursing a torn groin at the moment, but PSU should manage to get by. When healthy, there may not be a back in the country who's better.
Minnesota has turned to true freshman Larry Watson as its starter, and the kid has been an absolute gamer so far, completing 67% of his passes with 13TDs to 3INT's in three games. He'll need to continue this level of play down there in Lincoln, Nebraska to keep the Gophers undefeated in conference play.
Wisconsin - Just call this the Running Backs Conference. With Bray, Michigan's Wayne Martin, and Wisconsin's
Tom Heard, the Big 10 is boasting some of the best running backs in the nation this year. 3 yards and a cloud of dust? Try 6, because that's closer to what Heard (633 yds, 5.55 ypc) is averaging. Senior
Tra Westbrook has given away recently to sophomore Tony Harrison at QB, but the latter is out with an elbow ligament tear, and Westbrook has a shot to seize his job back.
Iowa has tumbled quite a bit from its preseason Top 10 billing, and it's been felt across the board. Tailback
Mal Boireau and quarterback
Ted Hayes were supposed to be one of the nation's premier duos, but both have had humblingly mediocre seasons to date. The Hawkeyes are 1-3 and face Ohio State this week. Kirk Ferentz has got to be sweating in his seat, because going from Top 10 to not making a bowl game - something the Hawkeyes are dangerously close to being on the path of - is not going to help anyone keep jobs.
Nebraska was exactly where Iowa was a week ago, both in terms of record and in the 'losses to MAC Buffalo' category. A win over Michigan has lifted spirits in Lincoln, but they'll need to show they deserve that 7-point edge the Vegas oddsmakers give them in Lincoln against Minnesota.
Illinois - Talk about bottom of the barrel. Illinois has not even really challenged in a game this year, and we're just getting into the tough part of the schedule. Owners of the 'Most likely to lose every game this season' midseason shame award.
Huskers Blog
Nevin Nipple, Lincoln Star Journal
Swayne charging forward
September 23, 2010
Fullback Windrell Swayne has been in a nice little friendly competition with starter (and fellow junior) Greg Asari-Dokubo in the past two weeks, although running backs coach
Tim Beck notes that no changes are expected in the lineup.
"Both those guys look good out there. They bring different skills to the table, and we like what we see out of both of them."
Stewart gets more on his plate
September 21, 2010
How did true freshman placekicker James Stewart feel when he heard the news that kickoff duties were now being handed to him?
"Ecstatic," said a beaming Stewart. "I've been waiting for this chance to show the coaches what I got. Kickers usually do this sort of thing and I don't think it's too much to handle at all."
KO duties previously belonged to backup punter Ernie Price, the Fairbury, NE junior who has managed just two touchbacks on the year. "Boy, I miss Adi Kunalic," said special teams coach
John Papuchis. "I wish this were the real-life 2010 Huskers. We'd be a heck of a lot better. Someone pinch me, is this a dream?"
Cesaire, Bowens aiming for return
September 19, 2010
2nd-string guard
Troy Bowens (a senior walkon) and starting defensive tackle
Rian Cesaire (a junior) should both be cleared by the academic probation house this week to take the field again after each missing three weeks of action. It's been a tough road for Nebraska, especially without Cesaire on the interior, so this should be a welcome return on both counts.
Bailey: broken ribs, 1-4
September 18, 2010
Starting cornerback Todd Bailey (Sr.) has got his x-rays back to confirm broken ribs, sustained in the third quarter of today's upset victory of Michigan. A smart, tough, and athletic defender, Bailey's been an invaluable chip in a secondary short on starting-caliber players. The diagnosis means he's likely out of next week's match against Purdue, at the very least.
This means some more playing time for Matt Schobel (Fr) and Matt Manning (RFr), so expect some growing pains.