Purdue won three straight Big Ten games to get bowl eligible for the second season in row. Despite accomplishing at least six wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2006-2007, the Boilermakers sent their head coach, Danny Hope, packing in favor of former Kent State head man Darrell Hazell. Former wide receivers coach Patrick Higgins will act as the interim leader for the bowl trip.

The merits of recruiting rankings are debated in every sports bar and around every water cooler in the nation. Athlon continues its look at how each all-conference team ranked as high school recruits with the first-team All-Big Ten team.

Related: College Football's 2012 All-American Team as Recruits

2012 Offensive All-Big Ten Team as Recruits

Which bowls should you tune into? Athlon ranks and previews all of the matchups from the must-see to the ones you can avoid. Although Alabama and Notre Dame is clearly the biggest bowl game, with 34 other contests, there are plenty of other quality pairings to watch this postseason.

Ranking the 35 Bowl Games: Must-Watch to Must-Miss

Even though Purdue will make its second consecutive bowl trip under Danny Hope, the school decided to end his tenure on Sunday. Hope went 22-27 in four seasons at Purdue and never had a conference record over .500 during that stretch. Although Hope had a couple of close calls this year against Ohio State and Notre Dame, it wasn't enough for the school to bring him back for a fifth season.

10 Coaches to Replace Danny Hope at Purdue

Bizarre might be the best word to describe the 2012 edition of Big Ten football. The best teams with the best player and the best coach won't be playing for a championship of any kind after finishing the season as one of only two undefeated teams in the nation. The non-conference performance by the league as a whole was fairly atrocious as a road win over Syracuse might be the best out-of-league win this season. What about the emotional roller coaster fans in Happy Valley have been on for over a year?

Wisconsin is in and waiting for either Nebraska or Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game. Senior day will take place all across the Midwest, including what should be a very emotional day in Happy Valley. Michigan and Ohio State renew arguably the greatest rivalry in all of college football. And, oh by the way, the Big Ten is no longer at 12 teams as Maryland and Rutgers have officially been added to the league. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Big Ten's Top Storylines to Watch in Week 13:

The Ohio State Buckeyes will finish the regular season with the best overall record in the Big Ten after an exciting overtime win in Madison. But what really mattered most was a 24-point home romp by the Nebraska Cornhuskers over Minnesota.

There is very little left in the Big Ten to be determined. Nebraska shouldn't be tested by either Minnesota or Iowa, so their ticket is all but punched to the title game. Wisconsin already has their hotel reservations in Indianapolis. 

Coaching changes are inevitable at the end of every college football season. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, some coaches still have a chance to save their job. Gene Chizik, Derek Dooley, Jeff Tedford, Frank Spaziani and Danny Hope? File those five names away as coaches who will be packing up their office in a few weeks.

The Wisconsin Badgers have clinched a berth in the Big Ten championship game for the second year in a row. And even though it won't finish with the best record in the Leaders half of the league, UW could still finish 5-0 in the division. Games against Penn State and Ohio State technically don't mean anything, but Jim Delany would likely feel better if the Badgers could win out.