Oh, those crazy kids in the Big Ten are up to it again.
A year after the college football gods bestowed phenomenal and unlikely success on the Northwestern Wildcats, the perennial cellar-dwellers of the Big Ten, it looks like we're on the verge of yet another interesting year in the conference known for tough defenses and smash-mouth football.
But this year won't be interesting because a dark horse team has stepped up to stake a claim to the conference title. It will be interesting because so far this year, no team, expected or unexpected, has emerged as a favorite in the Big Ten.
Sure, you can say that the Michigan Wolverines are probably the favorite in the conference with a 3-0 record in the Big Ten and a No. 9 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. But beneath the Wolverines in the standings are five teams that have 2-1 conference records'Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
While the conference records for these teams might be the same, it's safe to say no team reached its respective 2-1 record in the same way.
Take, for instance, our beloved Wisconsin Badgers. UW got a much-needed win against conference punching bag Penn State Sept. 22 to move to 1-0 in the conference. However, in their next Big Ten game Oct. 6 against Indiana, the Badgers failed to show up, en route to a 63-32 loss. However, being the enigma that the Badgers are, they came off their embarrassment by the Hoosiers to upset No. 25 Ohio State 20-17 this past weekend.
Ohio State, on the other hand, played well throughout the first few weeks of the season, falling to then-No. 12 UCLA in a hard-fought 13-6 non-conference contest Sept. 22. The Buckeyes then trounced Northwestern 38-20 the first weekend in October to move to 2-0 in the conference.
However, the plucky UW squad couldn't let any team emerge as a front-runner for the conference title, so in the interest of equality, the Badgers beat the favored Buckeyes.
Speaking of favored teams, Northwestern was believed by many football experts to be a team that could run away with the Big Ten title. Not so fast, experts. While the Wildcats are 2-1 in the conference, they were blown out by Ohio State Oct. 6 and eked by Minnesota last weekend.
Led by quarterback Kurt Kittner, the Illinois Fighting Illini have proven to be another surprising team in the Big Ten. After Michigan drubbed Illinois 45-20 Sept. 22, the Illini proceeded to roll over their next two conference opponents, although those two opponents were Minnesota and Indiana.
Who needs Drew Brees? Apparently not the Purdue Boilermakers, who have found their new star quarterback in freshman Brandon Hance. Hance helped Purdue to four straight wins to start the season. However, Hance and the rest of the Boilermakers couldn't keep their momentum going when they faced the Wolverines last weekend as they lost 24-10.
There are still some other teams in the Big Ten that deserve consideration, such as Iowa, but that's for another column. Only time will tell who the conference champion will be. For my money, the smart bet is Michigan.
Or Wisconsin.
Or Ohio State.
Or Purdue.
