Check out what’s going on around the Big Ten.
By Charlie Green
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In addressing the media for the first time since quarterback J.T. Barrett’s citation for drunk driving the morning of Oct. 31, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer discussed the conversation the two had.
“I said, ‘Why did you do this?’ and he said, ‘It didn’t even cross my mind because I didn’t have that much, I was fine, and I was helping someone else out to give them a ride home,’ ” Meyer said at a press conference on Monday.
Barrett was pulled over at 1:41 a.m. with a blood-alcohol level of .099. The legal level is .08 for those 21 years of age and above, but for the 20-year-old Barrett, the limit is .02.
The incident came just one week after Barrett, the Big Ten’s reigning Player of the Year, made his first start of the year in place of Cardale Jones.
Barrett will be suspended for the Nov. 7 matchup with Minnesota and lose his scholarship for the summer semester of 2016. He’s due in court at 9 a.m. Friday.
Jones will start in place of Barrett on Saturday, with Braxton Miller filling in as the backup.
Harbaugh confident Rudock will play
Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock left the team’s Oct. 31 win over Minnesota after sustaining a hit that knocked his helmet off. He remained on the ground for several moments before walking off the field on his own.
According to head coach Jim Harbaugh, the injury is to Rudock’s torso as opposed to his head or neck as originally feared. After the game, Harbaugh seemed confident the redshirt senior would start against Rutgers on Saturday.
“I think so,” Harbaugh told the Detroit Free Press. “I don’t know for sure, we’ll see. It seems like soft-tissue type of bruising, so we’ll see.”
Minnesota’s Claeys adjusting to first full week as head coach
In the wake of Jerry Kill’s retirement because of health problems, Minnesota interim head coach Tracy Claeys is busy adjusting during his first full week at the helm.
“Game day’s pretty easy as far as the decisions and all that, you have to be yourself,” Claeys said. “The hardest thing is making these adjustments for all the off the field commitments that you have to do.”
It’s been quite the time of the season for the coach to adjust to his new role. After losing to No. 16 Michigan in a nail-biter on Oct. 31, Claeys and the Gophers now prepare for a trip to No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday.
The team is 1-3 in the Big Ten, 4-4 overall.
Five teams make playoff poll
The College Football Playoff Committee released its first poll of 2015 on Tuesday, which featured five teams from the Big Ten. Ohio State came in at No. 3, followed by Michigan State at No. 7, Iowa at No. 9, Michigan at No. 17, and Northwestern at No. 21.
Clemson made the cut at No. 1 in the poll, with LSU (No. 2), Alabama (No. 4), and Notre Dame rounding out the top five.
