Big Ten: Penn State is league's best BCS hope

Much is being made about Penn State’s possible collapse in a conference it has controlled for the past few months. Should Michigan State beat Joe Paterno’s club next week (certainly a possibility) and should Ohio State beat rival Michigan (a near certainty) then the Buckeyes and Spartans would sit tied atop the Big Ten standings, with the Nittany Lions one game behind both.

But regardless of how things play out, no one can deny which team has proven the most dominant in the country’s most unstable conference. Penn State deserves the Big Ten’s lone BCS spot — and it’s an absolute certainty that the conference will be given just one — and Paterno and his staff deserve a conference crown.

Here are a few reasons why:

• Saturday’s 34-7 win over Indiana marked the fifth time in the last eight games that Penn State has held its opponent to seven or fewer points.

• Want to talk non-conference style points? Ohio State and Michigan State both have a Pac-10 blemish on their resumes. Penn State’s second victory of the year happened to come against an Oregon State team that is well on its way to the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions won that game 45-14.

• Everyone knows how good the Penn State defense has been, but consider the team’s display of offensive balance. The Nittany Lions’ feature back, Evan Royster, leads the Big Ten in yards per carry (6.5 yards per carry), while quarterback Daryll Clark rivals only Minnesota’s Adam Weber in efficiency (13 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 259 attempts).

Every Big Ten lover outside of East Lansing and Columbus should be cheering loudly for Penn State to prevail this weekend. Considering how poorly the conference has performed in the postseason in recent years, Penn State might be the Big Ten’s best chance for a respectable showing in January.

Scoreboard

Northwestern 21, Michigan 14
Penn State 34, Indiana 7
Ohio State 30, Illinois 20
Iowa 22, Purdue 17
Wisconsin 35, Minnesota 32

Team of the Week: Wisconsin

The Big Ten’s most inconsistent team did just enough right to beat Minnesota for its all-important sixth win of the season. Wisconsin received a big boost from P.J. Hill — who gained more than 100 yards for the third consecutive week — and from the defensive line, most notably Mike Newkirk. Perhaps the most encouraging sign that these Badgers are ready to play Wisconsin-style football: the offense controlled the football for more than 36 minutes.

Disappointment of the Week: Michigan

The Wolverines’ loss to Northwestern set a new school record for most losses in a season (eight). But Saturday’s loss was one of the most disappointing defeats in a season full of disappointment. The Wolverines earned more first downs, gained more yards and controlled the football for five more minutes but couldn’t get the job done. Three drives ended without points deep inside of Wildcat territory.

Player of the Week: Shonn Greene, RB, Iowa

Greene exploded for another huge week (211 yards), this time against the woeful Boilermakers. On one second quarter carry, Greene sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown; he added his 15th touchdown in the fourth quarter. Greene now leads the Big Ten in rushing with one game remaining.

Freshman of the Week: Brandon Green, WR, Minnesota

With Eric Decker dressed in street clothes no one expected Minnesota’s passing game would have a prayer against Wisconsin’s experienced secondary. Thanks to Green, who led the Gophers with five catches and 80 yards, Minnesota was able to achieve balance on offense. Green caught the Gophers’ first score and added a 37-yard reception later in the first half to set up his team at the Wisconsin two-yard line from where they scored on the next play to take a 21-7 lead.

Wildcats’ Wootton comes up big in Ann Arbor

In the win over Michigan the Wildcats’ defensive leader offered perhaps his best all-around performance of the season. After Northwestern gifted the Wolverines the ball on the Wildcat eight-year line the defense stiffened before Wootton blocked a K.C. Lopata attempt that would have given the Wolverines an early lead. Wootton later added a sack, a forced fumble and a half-dozen tackles to contribute to Northwestern’s eighth win of the year.

Ohio State gains on Gophers

The Buckeyes added a plus-one to their turnover ratio on Saturday, and now sit at plus-14 for the season — just one back from conference leading Minnesota, which hasn’t improved its ratio over the past three weeks — all three losses.

Painter rises above Siller for Purdue

As predicted, Purdue coach Joe Tiller split time on Saturday between senior Curtis Painter and sophomore Joe Siller. What was unexpected, however, was that Painter had by far his best performance of the season, guiding the Boilermakers on both of their touchdown drives, and leading them down the field in the closing seconds on a potential game-winning drive that came up just short. Painter completed 80 percent of his attempts for 190 yards, two touchdowns and one interception; Siller was 13 of 22 for 61 yards.

Additional Notes

Isaac Anderson had a breakout performance in Wisconsin’s win over Minnesota. Helping to fill the void set by injured tight end Travis Beckum and wide receiver Kyle Jefferson, who was lost in the game due to a concussion, the sophomore caught six passes for 114 yards and served as Wisconsin’s primary kick returner for the day.

The silver lining for Michigan this week was the play of running back Carlos Brown, who gained 115 yards on 23 carries. The junior also contributed a couple of catches in the loss. It was the third 100-yard game of Brown’s career.

Including his 61 yards on Saturday, Penn State’s Derrick Williams has gained 114 yards rushing over the past two weeks — more than his season total for either 2005 or 2007 (and not far off his total from 2006).

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