Two Michigan losses and a series of close calls by the conference's so-called "favorites" have left the strength of the Big Ten in question.
"Football has gotten to the point where people are talking about it every day all day, and there are only so many topics to talk about," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said yesterday on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference. "Unfortunately, half the teams in the country lose each weekend, so it gives lots of things to talk about. I don't know if anyone in the Big Ten is going to do anything other than what they always do, which is trying and become the best they can possibly be."
First, Appalachian State stunned then-No. 5 Michigan in Week 1. Last Saturday, Michigan lost again to formerly unranked Oregon, which swiftly and impressively moved the ball against the Wolverine defense.
Elsewhere on Saturday, No. 10 Ohio State had a lackluster 20-2 victory against Akron at home. At the half, the Buckeyes were only up 3-2.
No. 7 Wisconsin escaped with a win against University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 20-13, on the road.
"I think things just tend to go cyclically," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I think if you look at the final polls, top 15, year in and year out, I think it kinda just rolls around a little bit. ... I go back to last year, all you have to do is look at the NFL Combine results. Ohio State had some guys that could run. Michigan had some guys that can run. I promise you they still do."
The notion that the Big Ten is slumping this year may, in fact, speak to the state of college football, which has traditionally been predicated by a handful of national powers and a huge pool of more pedestrian teams.
Just last week, South Florida, an unranked Big East team, knocked off then-No. 17 Auburn.
Wisconsin coach Brett Bielema indicated that there needs to be a shift away from that classic mindset.
"We see the world of college football in front of us this year," Bielema said. "Anybody can get anybody on any given Saturday. ... It's just a difficult time for maybe the outside world to understand. But those programs have great players, too. I can guarantee you that there's players on the Citadel who could come over here and start for us right now. We just have to be aware of it."
Michigan on the rebound -- with a new QB
If Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is going to pull the Wolverines from their season-opening slump, he'll do it with true freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett, who is starting in place of injured senior Chad Henne.
"I think they're have been a number of other times since I've been at Michigan as an assistant and head coach where we started slowly and were able to fight our way back and win the Big Ten championship," Carr said.
"Those are all things that I'm trying to look back on and see if there's any parallels and any messages from that part of our tradition."
Mallett went 6 of 17 for 49 yards, with two fumbles and an interception in his debut Saturday.
He'll be making his first start Saturday against Notre Dame.
The matchup will be especially interesting because his counterpart, Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen, will be making his second collegiate start. The pair was widely regarded as the two top quarterback prospects last year.
However, the adjustment to college life wasn't easy for Mallett. He enrolled during the winter of his senior year of high school and became homesick, Carr said.
With those issues behind him, Mallett will need to focus on an entirely different problem: Notre Dame.
"What you're trying to do is convince him to just concentrate on the things he has control over," Carr said.
Illinois RB committee
Illinois will be using Daniel Dufrene to complement Rashard Mendenhall at running back this season, Illinois coach Ron Zook said.
Mendenhall, a junior, has already rushed for 172 yards on 34 carries for three touchdowns this season. Dufrene, also a junior, has rushed for 117 yards on 15 carries for one touchdown.
"I don't think there's many teams any more that have just one guy. There's a few out there," Zook said. "Normally you need a change of pace or a guy that can kind of take some of the pressure off."
Iowa-Iowa State series
Iowa State will play host to Iowa this weekend, in the 55th meeting of the two schools. Iowa holds a 36-18 series advantage. Iowa is 2-0 this season; Iowa State is 0-2.
Injury update
Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton, who injured his right ankle against Nevada last Saturday, will be a game-time decision this week, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
The Wildcats take on Duke this Saturday.
Quotable
"Any time you can leave Vegas saying you're a winner, I've been told that's a good thing." -- Brett Bielema on Wisconsin's 20-13 win against UNLV.
