Last weekend might not have gone entirely as planned for the Big Ten, but the conference did manage to regain a little credibility.
The team that made the biggest national impression was Michigan, which climbed to No. 25 in the AP poll after pulling out a 38-34 victory over then-No. 18 Notre Dame in the Big House.
Iowa and Minnesota also caught eyes. The Hawkeyes crushed Iowa State in Ames, and the Golden Gophers won their first game ever inside brand-new TCF Bank Stadium, defeating Air Force, 20-13.
But with the success came a few disappointments — perhaps none greater than Ohio State losing in the final minutes at home to USC, 18-15, in front of the biggest crowd ever at the Horseshoe.
Michigan State
Ohio State had the marquee loss last weekend, but the Big Ten team taking a major step backward was Michigan State.
In the final minutes of their game against Central Michigan, the Spartans blew a late fourth-quarter lead. And behind the play of quarterback Dan LeFevour, the Chippewas pulled off a stunning 29-27 victory in front of the Spartan faithful.
Now, Michigan State will take to the road for the first time this season to play its annual showdown with Notre Dame. The Spartans have won the past six meetings with the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind., a streak that dates back to 1993.
However, Notre Dame is also coming off a stinging loss as well, which perhaps makes Saturday’s game more significant for both squads.
“Both teams are coming off a close loss at the end of the game in the last seconds, and they need to emotionally get reinvolved,” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said Tuesday during a teleconference. “That will be one of the keys — how emotional will we be able to play and can we put things behind us?”
Illinois
While the rest of the Big Ten plays on Saturday, Illinois will rest.
Because the Fighting Illini have two nonconference games, against Cincinnati and Fresno State, after the Big Ten slate comes to an end on Nov. 21, Illinois will have the benefit of two bye weeks this season — one of which comes this week.
The Fighting Illini might need the rest, too. Illinois and Purdue are the Big Ten’s lone teams that will play eight-straight conference games, and right away, the Fighting Illini have to deal with Ohio State on the road and Penn State in the confines of Memorial Stadium.
“In my belief, to go 12-straight weeks is hard,” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said on Tuesday. “It gives us an opportunity to practice on the things we got to practice on and get better on, and it just happens to come before the Ohio State game.”
Northwestern
There are only 11 teams in the Big Ten, but lately, it feels like Syracuse is a 12th member.
For the third week in a row, the Orange will play a Big Ten foe. Northwestern will cap a home-and-home with Syracuse this weekend when the Wildcats pay a visit to the Carrier Dome.
Like Minnesota and Penn State before it, Northwestern will try to feast on the Orange and remain unbeaten as both the Golden Gophers and Nittany Lions did.
“We’re going into a hornet’s nest,” Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said in a teleconference on Tuesday. “With having played the Gophers multiple times and playing in the Alamo Bowl in the dome down there, we’ve got a plan for when we’ve got to go play inside, play in hostile environments.”