Yes, the Big Ten will have a football championship game in December 2011, with the addition of Nebraska to the conference schedule. Where will it be? ES sez either Lambeau Field (Milwaukee), Soldier Field (Chicago), Lucas Oil Field (Indianapolis), or Ford Field (Detroit)... Early nod goes to Ford Field because it is INDOORS and is by far the nicest football facility in the Midwest, if not the country. Though, seeing a Big Ten title game outdoors in December would be sensational - imagine MSU vs Nebraska, playing for the Big Ten title, in a blizzard in Chicago or Lambeau. Yes, I'd buy that ticket!

But, maybe bigger news is a consensus of a need to move to a 9-game conference schedule. That is EXCELLENT. The more Big Ten-scheduled games, the better, and that will help to drop pathetic scheduling of D1-AA teams such as Montana State, Northern Colorado, Youngstown State, and the like.

Other news? Expansion is STILL in play... and the ES wouldn't be surprised to still see Pittsburgh, Missouri, and/or Notre Dame added in the next year and move up to a 14-member conference.

As for Michigan State: Coaching staff very high on Mike Sadler as a future punter or kickoff guy for Michigan State - reports are that he has an amazing leg.

On defense: "We have four starters back. We also have young players like Max Bullough and William Gholston, who I think are going to play for us. You take those two guys and try to implement defenses that allowed us to have four linebackers on the field. Certainly 3-4 lends to that."

And on offense, the Doctor mentions that the passing game is the strength: "When you look at us as an offense, positions of strength would be quarterback, wide receiver and tight end"... and, at RB there were "outstanding spring practices and are really poised for a great year. So it should give us a great combination in terms of running and throwing the football, which I think you have to have great balance as an offense to be truly successful."