Friday, October 29, 1999
Big Ten like box of chocolates
You never know what you might get
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Can it get any stranger in Big Ten football? It just might. After five weeks, the Big Ten standings are more cluttered than a college dorm room, and with the near total parity of the league making each week's slate a guessing game, it's likely to get more confusing.
“Hopefully, we won't end up hurting ourselves,” Ohio State cornerback Ahmed Plummer said. “That's the way the Big Ten is.”
Even with undefeated and No.2-ranked Penn State at the top, it's a seven-team scramble, and it changes from week to week. Witness Illinois' upset at Michigan last week and Ohio State's tough win at favored Minnesota.
“There are no off weeks,” said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose team had to hold on to beat Purdue last weekend. “Anybody could beat you at any time. That's the hard part of it. ... It takes a very mature football team to be able to handle it.”
Penn State (8-0, 4-0) is the class of the league but isn't guaranteed an easy romp to the title.
Wisconsin (6-2, 4-1) lost to Cincinnati in the nonconference schedule, then beat up Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan State.
Michigan State (6-2, 3-2) beat Michigan, started talking national championship, then was spanked two weeks in a row.
Michigan (5-2, 2-2) blew a 20-7 lead at home and lost to Illinois, which came in winless in conference play.
Minnesota (5-2, 2-2) blew out bottom-feeding Illinois, then couldn't beat Ohio State at home the next weekend.
Ohio State (5-3, 2-2), left for dead a week ago, is salivating at the possibility of playing for its own destiny, not just as a spoiler. The Buckeyes are back in the bowl race after beating Minnesota.
Purdue (5-3, 2-3) beat Michigan State but still can't win against the big boys at Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.
After Penn State, the highest-ranked team is No.11 Wisconsin.
“If the Big Ten has a lot of teams with two losses or more, it's not because they're bad teams,” Plum mer said. “That's the way the Big Ten is. It's a pretty even conference.”
The bowl picture is just as cloudy as the standings. The Big Ten has tie-ins with six bowls: the Rose, Citrus, Outback, Alamo, Sun and Micron PC bowls.
But the standings don't necessarily determine the bowl picks. Ohio State could finish fifth but be picked for the Alamo Bowl because the San Antonio-based bowl has fourth choice. If the Bucks can pull a road upset at Michigan State or Michigan, they could end up leap-frogging ahead, perhaps to the Outback in Tampa, Fla.
But there are still four weeks left, with some huge games remaining on the schedule:
• Purdue at Minnesota, Saturday. It could be a playoff for the Big Ten's sixth bowl spot.
• Ohio State at Michigan State, Nov.6. The Buckeyes look for revenge after the Spartans ruined their season last year. Two weeks ago, it didn't appear OSU had much of a shot, but Michigan State has proven vulnerable. A win would elevate OSU back to the upper division.
• Wisconsin at Purdue, Nov.6. Can the resurgent Badgers keep pummeling the middle of the pack, or will Purdue play its way into a bowl?
• Michigan at Penn State, Nov.13, and Penn State at Michigan State, Nov.20. The Michigan schools get consecutive chances to ruin Penn State's national title hopes.
• Ohio State at Michigan, Nov.20. The early odds favored Michigan. Now the Wolverines' biggest advantage is simply having the game at home. The two old foes each could be playing for a better bowl.
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