In football, the Big Ten teams beat each other up every fall.

Just look to the remaining teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament as an example of the Big Ten's dominance on the court. Of the 16 remaining teams, three hail from the Big Ten, including two No. 1 seeds in Michigan State and Illinois. Oh, and Penn State is still alive, too.

But no other sport is dominated by a single conference like men's gymnastics is by the Big Ten.

So tonight at 7 at Rec Hall, the top gymnasts in the country will sort out a pecking order going into the NCAA Championships.

No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Illinois, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 9 Penn State will compete for the team title. An all-around individual champion will also be named. The meet will continue Saturday at 7 as qualifiers from Friday will compete for individual titles.

But clearly, the focus is on the team title.

"Every team you look at above and below you can beat you," Ohio State coach Miles Avery said. "You know you have to do a good job."

Ohio State and Michigan have been ranked first for long stretches of the season and numerous individuals are or have been first in various events.

Michigan is the reigning Big Ten Champion. Penn State won the NCAA championship last season, while Michigan was second, followed by Iowa.

But this year might be the closest race ever.

"There's usually a clear leader coming in," Michigan head coach Kurt Golder said. "This year it's not so clear."

It has been a trying year throughout gymnastics due to the implementation of a new scoring code before the season. Teams did not receive instructions for the code until December.

"Some of the stuff we did all summer long didn't pan out," Illinois senior Jon Ham said.

Gymnasts have had to narrow down their routines, deciding between big score tricks and more conservative skills that are easy to hit.

"Our team is doing a little bit of both," Ham said.

There has been a rash of injuries also this year, partly caused by adaptation to the revised code.

Michigan lost Justin Toman and Kevin Roulston for the year. Ohio State's Jay Nardelli has seen limited action this year, and Penn State has been without Adam Benas.

"The code is more demanding," Penn State's Dominic Brindle said. "You're trying harder things earlier in the year when maybe you aren't ready for them."

All of the Big Ten teams have followed a similar formula to reach this point of the season in the best shape possible.

"During the dual meet season it didn't matter who we put out there," Avery said. "If guys needed rest, we rested them. We wanted everyone prepared for the end of the year, which obviously matters most."

Tonight's team competition will likely come down to the last few routines. Michigan and Ohio State have been strong all year long, while Michigan State and Penn State have improved towards the later part of the season.

But it will come down to whichever team can put together the best performance tonight.

"Don't make any mistake about it, I'm afraid of every team in the Big Ten," Michigan State coach Rick Atkinson said. "I'm afraid of my own team. I don't know which one will show up."