#10 MSU favored by 2 over Joe Pa; Bo Pelini on thin ice

Michigan State is favored by 2 at Penn State. Kickoff is Noon ET, on ESPN. Ohio State is favored by 17 over scUM; Purdon't favored by 4 at home over Indiana; Wisky by 23 over Northwestern; Iowa is favored by 15 at Minny.

BIG TEN TITLE GAME IN INDY
FYI - The inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played in prime time on December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It will be televised by Fox Sports.

NEBRASKA CHANCELLOR CALLS OUT COACH PELINI AS HOT HEAD WITH BAD BEHAVIOR
If you saw the Nebraska loss to Texas A & M on Saturday night, you saw Nebraska coach Bo Pelini screaming at his players, officials... anyone who would listen. Well, the president at Nebraska ain't happy about it. "Bo has a lot of passion for his football team," Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman said, "and there is a strong upside to that. But again, overall, the conduct was unfortunate last night." Bo Pelini had a big downside when he was touted as a hire: he was a hothead. It's getting him in trouble...

MICHIGAN STATE AT #10 IN BCS
The Big Green have jumped to a solid #10 in the latest BCS rankings... Wisconsin is #7, Ohio State is #8, Nebraska is #15, Iowa is #24...

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	Oregon	.9764	1	1	2793	.9800	1	1459	.9892	2	2	2	5	2	2	2	.960
2	Auburn	.9682	2	2	2727	.9568	2	1398	.9478	1	1	4	1	1	1	1	1.000
3	TCU	.8995	3	4	2557	.8972	4	1300	.8814	3	3	1	2	4	5	3	.920
4	Boise State	.8860	4	3	2619	.9189	3	1341	.9092	5	5	3	4	6	7	6	.830
5	LSU	.8193	5	6	2227	.7814	6	1175	.7966	4	4	5	3	5	3	4	.880
6	Stanford	.7763	6	7	2209	.7751	8	1112	.7539	6	10	9	6	3	4	5	.800
7	Wisconsin	.7688	7	5	2295	.8053	5	1211	.8210	8	8	7	12	9	9	10	.680
8	Ohio State	.7148	9	8	2131	.7477	7	1116	.7566	9	6	10	10	15	11	9	.640
9	Oklahoma State	.6815	10	9	1805	.6333	9	990	.6712	7	7	8	7	7	10	8	.740
10	Michigan State	.6063	12	10	1797	.6305	10	927	.6285	12	9	11	11	16	15	11	.560
11	Alabama	.6019	11	11	1783	.6256	11	885	.6000	11	13	6	14	13	8	12	.580
12	Arkansas	.5697	13	12	1589	.5575	12	784	.5315	10	14	15	13	8	6	7	.620
13	Oklahoma	.5041	14	13	1412	.4954	13	733	.4969	14	11	14	9	12	16	15	.520
14	Missouri	.4564	15	16	1176	.4126	16	585	.3966	12	12	16	8	10	13	13	.560
15	Nebraska	.4423	8	15	1199	.4207	15	614	.4163	15	15	12	15	14	12	14	.490
16	Virginia Tech	.4213	16	14	1322	.4639	14	723	.4902	18	18	17	17	22	21	17	.310
17	Texas A&M	.3607	19	18	936	.3284	18	492	.3336	16	16	19	16	11	14	16	.420
18	South Carolina	.3583	17	17	1037	.3639	17	577	.3912	17	17	18	19	17	18	20	.320
19	Nevada	.2943	18	19	894	.3137	19	456	.3092	19	19	21	18	19	22	19	.260
20	Utah	.1961	23	20	495	.1737	22	228	.1546	19	20	13	20	20	20	18	.260
21	Arizona	.1848	22	21	471	.1653	20	279	.1892	21	24	20	23	18	19	22	.200
22	Florida State	.1296	25	22	439	.1540	21	243	.1647	24	21	0	21	0	0	24	.070
23	North Carolina State	.0923	NR	23	330	.1158	23	208	.1410	25	0	25	22	0	0	25	.020
24	Iowa	.0899	20	24	284	.0996	24	74	.0502	23	22	23	25	23	23	23	.120
25	Mississippi State	.0862	21	25	178	.0625	25	68	.0461	22	25	22	0	21	17	21	.150

#10 Michigan State gets to 10 wins in November

Thanks to the punt-block by Denicos Allen (#22 at right), MSU rallied feverishly to defeat Purdon't 35-31 today. Yes, all you betters didn't come close to covering today. MSU has jumped to #10 in the USAToday poll (below).

Correct the ES if he is wrong, but at 10-1, this is the first time in its storied history that Michigan State has registered double-digit wins in the regular season. FIRST TIME EVER WE HAVE 10 WINS IN NOVEMBER.

MSU will moves up to #10, particularly with Nebraska's loss, 9-6, to Texas A&M in a field goal-kicker's marathon. Can't wait til Nebraska joins next year and we get to kick their ass on an annual basis. The Spartans had only 95 yards rushing today, and most of that was Baker moving across the 1,000-yard mark.

GREAT WIN. NOW, BEAT PENN STATE

Nov. 21, 2010
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Last week's ranking
1.	Oregon (48)	10-0	1,459	1
2.	Auburn (4)	11-0	1,398	2
3.	Boise State (5)	10-0	1,341	3
4.	TCU (2)	11-0	1,300	4
5.	Wisconsin	10-1	1,211	5
6.	LSU	10-1	1,175	6
7.	Ohio State	10-1	1,116	7
8.	Stanford	10-1	1,1112	8
9.	Oklahoma State	10-1	990	10
10.	Michigan State	10-1	927	11
11.	Alabama	9-2	885	12
12.	Arkansas	9-2	784	13
13.	Oklahoma	9-2	733	14
14.	Virginia Tech	9-2	723	15
15.	Nebraska	9-2	614	9
16.	Missouri	9-2	585	16
17.	South Carolina	8-3	577	17
18.	Texas A&M	8-3	492	19
19.	Nevada	10-1	456	18
20.	Arizona	7-3	279	23
21.	Florida State	8-3	243	NR
22.	Utah	9-2	228	24
23.	North Carolina State	8-3	208	NR
24.	Iowa	7-4	74	20
25.	Mississippi State	7-4	68	22
Dropped out
No. 21 Miami (Fla.) (7-4, lost to then-No. 15 Virginia Tech 31-17), No. 25 Northwestern (7-4, lost to Illinois 48-27).
Others receiving votes
Northern Illinois (9-2) 67; Central Florida (8-3) 21; Hawaii (8-3) 20; Southern Mississippi (8-3) 16; West Virginia (7-3) 13; Florida (7-4) 12; Miami (Fla.) (7-4) 11; Navy (8-3) 7; Ohio (8-3) 5; Pittsburgh (6-4) 5; Penn State (7-4) 4; San Diego State (7-4) 4; Temple (8-3) 4; Maryland (7-4) 3; Michigan (7-4) 2; Northwestern (7-4) 2; Tulsa (8-3) 1.

ES predicts Michigan State vs Purdue

OK, the Big Green is favored by 20 over Purdon't. I will have to leave here by 6:30 AM to go meet my buddy, Big Bob, at the Roadhouse at 11 am prior to the game... I'll be there, by hook or by crook.

ES sez: Big Green 42, Purdon't 13.

Iowa is a 3-pt dog to Ohio State. The ES has never, ever been a bigger Skinny Chicken fan than this weekend. And, Wisky is favored by 3 at scUM. They'll win by 14.

Did you hear about the zany decision with the Illinois-Northwestern game? All offense will head in one direction. It is the right decision for safety reasons, but makes for what will be a unique game, all four quarters playing in one direction.

NCAA PRESIDENT NOT OPPOSED TO FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

So, here I am in Indianapolis at the conference for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)... I was in a session yesterday, at which Bob Kustra, the president of Boise State University, interviewed the president of the NCAA, Mark Emmert.

BK: "When you were president at the University of Washington, you stated that a college football playoff was expected, sooner or later. So, when are we going to get an NCAA playoff?"

ME: "Now, I am in a bit of a different role. We make decisions based on the needs of the member institutions. We have 88 NCAA championships that we run, so we know how to do them. If the members decide that they would like a championship for NCAA Division I-FBS, then we will do what we are asked."

Michigan State at #11 and how to get to the Rose Bowl

ES sez: MSU must beat Penn State and Iowa must beat Ohio State. That hasn't changed from last week.

Here is a nice summary from the ES' brother in Chicago:

The good news is that Iowa lost. That leaves 3 teams in the drivers seat for the Big Ten Championship.

The bad news is not only did Ohio State win convincingly in the second half, but Wisconsin destroyed Indiana by the highest point total of any game by any team this year. And both Oregon, Auburn and TCU survived. And MSU actually *dropped* one place in the rankings for not playing anyone.

This matters because if it ends up tied at the end - with MSU, OSU and Wisconsin all tied up - OSU would go to the Rose Bowl because they has the higher BCS standings; the MSU loss to Iowa looks all the worse as they have now lost 3 games, so they have the lowest of the three BCS ratings. Remember, MSU beat Wisconsin, so given that MSU wins out and OSU loses, MSU should get the Rose Bowl nod and Wisconsin into the Orange, probably. Two Big Ten teams will likely get into BCS bowls it appears - but not 3.

It is utterly critical not only for State to win out but for Iowa or - god, forbid - Michigan to beat OSU before end of season.

Latest expectations:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls/projections?season=2010&week=11

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1021713.html

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/39922542/ns/sports-college_football/?ns=sports-college_football

Michigan State up to #10 after beating up Minnesota, 31-8

Kind of a yawner, as expected, yesterday as Michigan State's defense dominated Minnesota, 31-8. RB Edwin Baker had a great game, with 4 TDs and 179 yards on the ground at 6.6 yards per clip. Michigan State continues its torrid pace at 9-1 overall. The ES left the game in the middle of the fourth quarter to get to the Harrison Roadhouse, only to watch Indiana's WR drop a game winning TD pass over Iowa. The Roadhouse exploded, just expecting he caught it... only for one minute later for everyone to realize the guy dropped it. The lesson: you can never count on Indiana to do the dirty work...

Michigan State made a big leap, up to #10 in the coaches poll... now a week off to sit back and watch other teams beat each other up.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 football coaches poll, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th and ranking in last week's poll.

Nov. 7, 2010
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Last week's ranking
1.	Oregon (50)	9-0	1,463	1
2.	Auburn (4)	10-0	1,389	2
3.	TCU (2)	10-0	1,340	4
4.	Boise State (3)	8-0	1,330	3
5.	Wisconsin	8-1	1,184	7
6.	LSU	8-1	1,153	11
7.	Ohio State	8-1	1,123	8
8.	Nebraska	8-1	1,067	10
9.	Stanford	8-1	1,058	12
10.	Michigan State	9-1	876	15
11.	Oklahoma State	8-1	832	18
12.	Alabama	7-2	791	5
13.	Iowa	7-2	779	16
14.	Arkansas	7-2	696	19
15.	Utah	8-1	659	6
16.	Oklahoma	7-2	569	9
17.	Virginia Tech	7-2	563	20
18.	Mississippi State	7-2	477	21
19.	Arizona	7-2	403	13
20.	Missouri	7-2	395	14
21.	Nevada	8-1	328	23
22.	South Carolina	6-3	151	17
23.	Central Florida	7-2	99	NR
24.	Florida	6-3	85	NR
25.	Texas A&M	6-3	79	NR
Dropped out
No. 22 Baylor (7-3, lost to then-No. 18 Oklahoma State 55-28), No. 24 Florida State (6-3, lost to North Carolina 37-35), No. 25 North Carolina State (6-3, lost to Clemson 14-13).
Others receiving votes
Miami (Fla.) (6-3) 67; San Diego State (7-2) 44; Kansas State (6-3) 36; Baylor (7-3) 30; Penn State (6-3) 28; Michigan (6-3) 15; Fresno State (6-2) 11; Temple (8-2) 11; Florida State (6-3) 8; North Carolina (6-3) 8; Northern Illinois (7-2) 8; Navy (6-3) 5; North Carolina State (6-3) 5; Pittsburgh (5-3) 5; Hawaii (7-3) 3; Southern Mississippi (6-3) 2.

Predicting MSU vs Minnesota

ES prediction for the second-most uninteresting game of the season: MSU 42, Minnesota 14. MSU will gain 200+ yards on the ground and move up two more spots in the national polls by days end...

Trifecta for 2010

After watching a wide variety of video clips from the fake-FG touchdown victory in OT over Notre Dame... the ES started wondering: how successful has been the TRIFECTA in 2010?

Just a reminder to enlighten the masses: the trifecta is a weekend with an MSU football victory, a Michigan loss, and a Notre Dame loss. As of last year, for the 41 years of the life of the ES (since 1968), it had happened 17 times in 479 weekends of football. But, it happened 7 times from 2007-2009, and only 10 times from 1968-2006. So the frequency had increased dramatically as both ND and scUM take a nosedive in their quality of football.

Does the trend continue in 2010? Not yet. Actually, Michigan lost the past three of the past four weeks, including a bye... but, in two of those weeks when scUM played, Notre Dame did not lose. And, when scUM and ND lost last week - so did Michigan State. Sigh.

This weekend, the TRIFECTA looks good - Notre Dame sans Crist faces undefeated #5 Utah; Michigan faces Illinois, and Michigan State faces Minnesota.

ES predicts TRIFECTA this weekend.

Michigan State by 24 over Minnesota

Regrouping this week... the Big Green Touchdown Machine is a home 24-pt favorite over the coach-less Minny Gophers on Saturday. A noon kickoff on the Big Ten Network. Wear your thermals, it will be 41 degrees, coming off a night with a forecast of potential snow showers, the first white flakes of the season. It will be nice for the ES to head out on Sunday to Louisiana to accomplish some dissertation data collection in 75-degree weather...

scUM is favored by 3 at home over Illinois...which is a joke. Illinois is the second-best team Michigan State has faced all year. Wait until Denard gets a load of that Illini interior smack-down defense.

Teaching MSU a lesson

Umm.... the ES wuz wrong. We got our asses kicked today, 38-7 or whatever, by Iowa. Got taught a good lesson on how to play football. Jeez.

ES prediction: Michigan State vs Iowa

ES sez: Michigan State 19, Iowa 17.

Give it up for 4 Dan Conroy FGs in an otherwise evenly matched game...

#5 Michigan State at #18 Iowa
3:30 pm, ABC TV

re: on ESPN/College Game Day Friday night, Kirk Herbstreit said "everytime I pick the Spartans to lose they win. This time I pick Michigan State, and Kirk Cousins will come through again... but they better be careful."

Dantonio: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime? Boise State in 2012 and beyond

Wow: Mark Dantonio and Mark Hollis are doing to Spartan football what Tom Izzo has done to Spartan basketball - play the big boys.

On the eve of the Michigan State vs Iowa game, the Biggest Football game in 44 years for Spartan fans, the MSU athletic department announced a three game series with Boise State: in EL in 2012, in Idaho in 2022, and back in EL in 2023.

In the last 18 months, Michigan State has announced home-and-home series with West Virginia (2014-15), Alabama (2016-17) and Miami-Fla. (2020-21) as well as the extension of its series with Notre Dame through the 2031 season, with two-year breaks in 2014-15, 2020-21 and 2026-27.

Predictions: MSU vs Iowa

Prove the pundits wrong? Yes, 'tis time. Noone is picking the #5 Spartans at the #18 Hawkeyes.

Rittenberg/ESPN: Iowa 27-24
CNF/Scout: Iowa 34-27
NBC Sports: Iowa 24-23
Forde/ESPN: Iowa
Jacobi/CBSSports.com: Iowa 20-17
Bleacher Report: Iowa 24-23
Hueguin/Rivals: Iowa 24-21

Shit, why bother playing? 'CAUSE IT IS OUR YEAR AND OUR TURN AND WE WILL KICK CHICKEN-LITTLE BUTT!

Michigan State at #5, Iowa favored by 6 over MSU

Your undefeated Spartans move to 8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten, and #5 in the polls -- its highest ranking in 44 years, two years longer than the ES has been alive. Four weeks left, and the games get bigger every week starting with this week, at #18 Iowa. Despite Michigan State's #5 ranking, the bookies in Vegas aren't buying it... and putting the Hawkeyes as early 6-point favorites.

In the BCS, MSU is also ranked #5 - but ranked as #3 in the computer rankings. Kirk Herbstreit and Rober Smith ranked MSU #6, while Craig James had MSU #3 "based on their body of work and four tough challenges."

Here is the latest poll, with Michigan State moving up three spots to #5 in both the AP and the USA Today polls.

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oregon (44)	7-0	1480
2	Boise State (11)	6-0	1419
3	Auburn (3)	8-0	1376
4	TCU (2)	8-0	1354
5	Michigan State	8-0	1175
6	Alabama	7-1	1173
7	Missouri	7-0	1121
8	Utah	7-0	1098
9	Wisconsin	7-1	1022
10	Ohio State	7-1	931
11	Oklahoma	6-1	861
12	LSU	7-1	831
13	Stanford	6-1	830
14	Nebraska	6-1	760
15	Arizona	6-1	691
16	Florida State	6-1	606
17	South Carolina	5-2	476
18	Iowa	5-2	468
19	Arkansas	5-2	435
20	Oklahoma State	6-1	336
21	Virginia Tech	6-2	270
22	Miami (FL)	5-2	229
23	Mississippi State	6-2	221
24	USC	5-2	172
25	Baylor	6-2	56

• Dropped from rankings: West Virginia 20, Texas 22

• Others receiving votes: Nevada 32, Hawaii 19, Michigan 9, Syracuse 8, West Virginia 8, San Diego State 7, East Carolina 7, Navy 5, Oregon State 5, Northwestern 4, Florida 2, Maryland 1, North Carolina State 1, Northern Illinois 1,

Meanwhile, and don't look now, but the Spartans are also ranked #2 in the preseason USA Today men's basketball poll.

Aaron Bates for Heisman

Come on, let us all be real. The Heisman Trophy should go be awarded to the best player in America, no?

That would be Spartan quarterback Aaron Bates, who is now 2-for-2 for 50 yards, two fourth-down conversions, 1 TD, and a QB rating of 475.0. By the way, Bates is also the Spartan's starting punter, with a 45.1 average, including 7 kicks inside the 20 and 8 punts of over 50 yards each. But what has Bates as the Heisman candidate is not only his OT-game winning TD pass against Notre Dame, but today's 4th quarter, 4th-and-22 conversion on a throw to Bennie Fowler in the Michigan State 35-27 victory at Northwestern.

Give Mark Dantonio credit... many thought it may be coming, but still NW bit on the kick fake, Fowler turned open, and it led MSU to a touchdown -- and significant momentum change from a deficit to the eventual victory. Great call and BETTER execution on the fake.

MSU now sites 8-0 (4-0 Big Ten), alone undefeated in Big Ten play, and will likely move up in the national BCS standings with a loss by LSU, poor scheduling by Boise State and TCU, and potential impact of the Oklahoma-Mizzou game.

All of this, thanks, to Aaron Bates.

Team Totals	MSU	NU
FIRST DOWNS	24	22
Rushing	4	13
Passing	19	9
Penalty	1	0
NET YARDS RUSHING	105	170
Rushing Attempts	26	47
Average Per Rush	4.0	3.6
Rushing Touchdowns	2	3
Yards Gained Rushing	127	208
Yards Lost Rushing	22	38
NET YARDS PASSING	352	215
Completions-Attempts-Int	30-44-0	19-30-1
Average Per Attempt	8.0	7.2
Average Per Completion	11.7	11.3
Passing Touchdowns	3	0
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	457	385
Total offense plays	70	77
Average Gain Per Play	6.5	5.0
Fumbles: Number-Lost	2-1	2-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	4-30	6-66
PUNTS-YARDS	6-258	5-191
Average Yards Per Punt	43.0	38.2
Net Yards Per Punt	33.0	37.6
Inside 20	1	2
50+ Yards	1	1
Touchbacks	1	0
Fair catch	0	3
KICKOFFS-YARDS	6-374	6-366
Average Yards Per Kickoff	62.3	61.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff	41.8	42.7
Touchbacks	3	2
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	1-3-0	3-40-0
Average Per Return	3.0	13.3
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	3-70-0	3-63-0
Average Per Return	23.3	21.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	1-16-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	30:44	29:16
1st Quarter	7:07	7:53
2nd Quarter	8:13	6:47
3rd Quarter	5:59	9:01
4th Quarter	9:25	5:35
Third-Down Conversions	5 of 14	8 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions	2 of 2	0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	3-4	5-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards	8-35	2-18
PAT Kicks	5-5	3-3
Field Goals	0-1	2-2

ES prediction: Michigan State over Northwestern, 37-17

Go Michigan State! Pits to Fitz.

WNUR picks MSU 27-24
Rittenberg/ESPN picks MSU 28-20
USA Today picks MSU 28-27
Betonline picks MSU by a TD

ES is more confident than any of these pundits. Michigan State has held five of seven oppts under 20 pts. Only Wisky and ND scored more than 20. The Big Green has scored more than 30 in six of its seven games. NW defense is not as good as Illinois and Wisky, and the Spartans gouged them for 26 and 34. At Ryan Field, there will be 20,000 Spartans - mitigating home field to some extent (yes, the ES has been to Ryan Field five times).

ES is thinking something closer to 37-17, a nice clean demolition by Cousins, Baker, Jones, and Dantonio. It shall be surgical.

Around the Horn: Spartans - Wildcat previews; Pick a BCS Bowl: Orange, Sugar, or Rose? MSU Schedules Convicts

Previews are trickling out for the Spartans' road game to Chicago to take on Northwestern...

• TheSpread.com preview
• ESPN official game preview
• Accuscore predicts a close game (MSU)
• Belmont sides with the home team (NU)
• CFN predicts a Spartan 34-26 victory, with the Spartans steamrolling the Cats on the ground (MSU)

Meanwhile, though it is early, ESPN is projecting a MSU Spartan New Year's Day trip to BCS land, to either the Orange Bowl vs Virginia Tech or a Rose Bowl vs TCU... meanwhile CBS Sports is projecting a [gulp] Sugar Bowl stint vs Alabama!

CBS Sports mid-season All-America teams includes three Spartans on the first team: LB Greg Jones, OL Joel Foreman, and PK Dan Conroy. And, Dennis Dodd calls the Spartans' this year's college football "cinderella" - can't argue with that.

SPARTANS VS CATHOLICS AND CONVICTS
Finally... bring on the Hurricanes. Nice job to AD Mark Hollis scheduling a home-and-home with the University of Miami in 2020 and 2021. The Spartans will kick off the two-game series with Miami on Sept. 26, 2020, in East Lansing, Mich., and make their first-ever appearance in the 74,916-seat Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Sept. 18, 2021. We've got the Convicts filling the two-year void in the schedule left by the Catholics (Notre Dame).

MSU equates to statistical balance

I do not think I have ever seen better statistical balance than below. You wonder why Mich State is #7 nationally. Read it and weep...

TEAM RANKINGS
120 teams ranked in Football Bowl Subdivision
11 teams ranked in the Big Ten Conference
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Big Ten Conference Leader	Actual
Rushing Offense	26	206.14	Air Force	346.86	4	Michigan	281.57
Passing Offense	47	241.43	Hawaii	402.43	5	Indiana	319.33
Total Offense	23	447.57	Oregon	567.00	2	Michigan	532.00
Scoring Offense	25	34.43	Oregon	54.33	4	Ohio St.	39.57
Rushing Defense	22	111.71	Boise St.	59.33	3	Iowa	83.83
Pass Efficiency Defense	17	107.22	Nebraska	80.41	2	Ohio St.	98.37
Total Defense	28	325.00	Boise St.	210.17	6	Ohio St.	251.14
Scoring Defense	17	16.57	TCU	9.29	3	Iowa	13.17
Net Punting	28	38.70	Pittsburgh	44.83	3	Illinois	41.14
Punt Returns	10	15.27	Maryland	24.61	1	Michigan St.	15.27
Kickoff Returns	99	19.38	Utah	29.21	8	Penn St.	26.76
Turnover Margin	9	1.14	Army	1.57	3	Ohio St.	1.43
Pass Defense	65	213.29	Nebraska	117.00	7	Ohio St.	157.43
Passing Efficiency	10	164.16	Boise St.	188.11	3	Iowa	177.76
Sacks	T-85	1.43	Florida St.	4.29	6	Purdue	3.00
Tackles For Loss	102	4.43	Miami (FL)	9.50	10	Purdue	7.50
Sacks Allowed	T-66	2.00	Boise St.	.17	8	Michigan	.43
T=tied at this ranking

Michigan State sits atop the Big Ten

Just seeing this, brings a tear to mine eye...

TEAM	B-10	ALL
#7 Michigan State	3-0	7-0
#15 Iowa	2-0	5-1
Purdue	2-0	4-2
#13 Wisconsin	2-1	6-1
#10 Ohio State	2-1	6-1
Northwestern	1-1	5-1
Michigan	1-2	5-2
Illinois	1-2	3-3
Indiana	0-2	4-2
Penn State	0-2	3-3
Minnesota	0-3	1-6