That's a Little More Like It

Down three at halftime with only 22 points, it looked like it might be another long afternoon for the Illini. The win moves Illinois to 18-4 and made it nine straight wins at Assembly Hall.

Mike Tisdale led the way for Illinois with 18 points and helped Illinois dominate the glass by 13 rebounds, just one game after getting owned by Minnesota in the rebounding department. Dominique Keller continued his strong play with 12 points off the bench.

So it's on to Wisconsin this week, where the Badgers will look to get back on track and Illinois will try to solve some road woes. A win at the Kohl Center would go a long way into securing a good seed for the tourney.

It's hard to say whether this is a good time to play Wisconsin or not. Will they be focused on snapping their six game skid, or will the spiral into Indiana territory continue?

Also, with Michigan State losing at home to Penn State Sunday, the regular season conference title is suddenly looking to be up for grabs. With a home game against the Spartans late in the season and a relatively favorable (knock knock) schedule the rest of the way, the Illini could very well sneak into a Big Ten Championship.

Bowling with the Big Ten

The Big Ten squeaked two teams into BCS games this year, mostly due to how awful the Big East and ACC were, and with an assist to the bowl committee for the Fiesta Bowl screwing over Boise State a bit. The two BCS berths make 19 total appearances by Big Ten teams, more than any other conference in the 11-year history of the puzzling system. Overall, the Big Ten will send seven teams to bowl games, here's a look at the match-ups:

Champ Sports Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Florida State, Dec. 27

Wisconsin will return to Florida for the fifth straight season when they take on the Seminoles in the Champ Sports Bowl. This is the first game for the Big Ten and might be the conference's best shot at a win. It also carries on the tradition of the Big Ten playing what are essentially road games in the bowl season.

Alamo Bowl: Northwestern vs. Missouri, Dec. 29

The Wildcats will go down to Big 12 country to take on Mizzou in the Alamo Bowl. Tough draw here for Northwestern, but they've come up big all year when people have counted them out. Northwestern will be looking get its first bowl win since 1949. Now is as good a time as any to get your first bowl win on color television.

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Kansas, Dec. 31

What a turnaround for Minnesota, going from winning only one game last season, to a bowl game this season. Another turnaround happened in the middle of Minnesota's season though. The Gophers went from the top of the Big Ten to four straight losses, including a 55-0 loss to end the season. Kansas and quarterback Todd Reesing did not live up to expectations this season, but should hand Minnesota its fifth straight loss.

Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. South Carolina, Jan. 1

Here is the other good chance for the Big Ten to win. Iowa has won five of six to end the season and will take on Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. The Gamecocks have beaten virtually no one this year and finished off their season with two lopsided losses. Iowa has taken down teams like Florida and LSU in the last five seasons in New Year's Day bowl games, so a win against South Carolina is not out of the question.

Capital One Bowl: Michigan State vs. Georgia, Jan. 1

Oh boy, this could be ugly. We have a Georgia team that was #1 to start the season and suffered through a disappointing year, culminating with a loss to Georgia Tech in their last game. Give them a month off to think about things and get ready for a bowl game. Add in the fact that Stafford and Moreno will want to show off for the pro scouts and Georgia becomes a team no one wants to see in a bowl game. Michigan State is not the team the Big Ten wants to send to match up, but there they are. The Spartans played well against Cal to start the year, but were blown out by the only other two good teams they played all year. It doesn't look good for MSU, but there is usually at least one big upset for the Big Ten recently, so maybe this one. Never know. Right? No.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. USC, Jan. 1

This game doesn't look favorable for the Big Ten either. Ohio State already went out to Southern California and got spanked this year, now it might be Penn State's turn. But hey, the Nittany Lions blew out Oregon State this year and the Beavers gave USC its only loss, so there is hope! Not much though. USC will be looking to make a statement that their crappy loss wasn't much different than Florida's crappy loss and maybe they deserved a little more consideration to play in the championship game. Penn State will be looking to make a similar statement, but I think they'd be thrilled with a 3-2 win.

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas, Jan. 5

Ohio State and Texas are toward opposite ends of the BCS spectrum. Texas is feeling the wrath of the system because their win against Oklahoma was played in October and not November, while Ohio State underacheived and coasted through their schedule beating bad teams, only to be welcomed to the BCS party with open arms over Boise State. This makes four straight BCS bowls for the Buckeyes, but the task will be tall against an angry Texas team holding out hope for a split national title. The formula will be the same for Ohio State as it has been all season, hope that the defense can keep it close and rely on Chris Wells for the offense. A win for the Bucks could take some sting out of what was a down year for the Big Ten.

Big Ten Week 11 Wrap-up

"It will be the last game away from Beaver Stadium and a possible trap game for Penn State." Sometimes I know what I'm talking about when I do these things. Of course, then I go against my gut and pick PSU to win. What a great win for the Hawkeyes, even though their fan base showed it learned nothing from the Texas Tech fans last week and rushed the field with time on the clock. Shonn Greene needed to be great and he had 117 yards and two scores; Stanzi had to come through and he did, leading the Hawkeyes down the field, setting up the game-winning kick with a pass to the Penn State 15 with under 20 seconds to play. The final drive started when Daryll Clark overthrew Derrick Williams for an interception at the Iowa 29 with 3:46 left in the game. After the 24-23 loss, the Nittany Lions dropped to 8th in the BCS and saw hopes of giving Joe Pa another national title fade into the Iowa night.

Another MAC team brought down a Big Ten foe as Western Michigan beat Illinois 23-17 at Ford Field Saturday in what might be the only win for the home team in Ford Field for years. The MAC's four wins against the Big Ten is the most ever. Illinois will need a win against either Ohio State or Northwestern to earn bowl eligibility. Ron Zook's thoughts: "We can fold our tent and put it away if that's what they want to do. Obviously, the coaches are going to preach and demand and push, but still, they're going to need to step up and play the way they're capable of playing." Pitch that tent and secure a return trip to Ford Field for the Motor City Bowl!

Michigan's 29-6 win against Minnesota has fans wondering where this team has been all season. Even with walk-on Nick Sheridan starting at quarterback, the Wolverines outgained the Gophers 435-188. Michigan retained the Little Brown Jug and since Minnesota will be moving out of the Metrodome, the Wolverines clinched a perfect 12-0 record in the rotten venue.

Michigan State kept its conference championship hopes alive with a 21-7 win over Purdue Saturday. The Spartans will have a week off before going to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in the final week to play for at least a share of the Big Ten Championship and a possible Rose Bowl berth. Ugh, please no.

Northwestern kept it close with Ohio State early, then Ohio State opened up a big lead and didn't slow down, winning 45-10. Wisconsin had three running backs top 100 yards Saturday as the Badgers beat Indiana 55-20.

Your Week 11 Big Ten Preview

All 11 teams are in action this week as they'll try to follow up last Saturday's theatrics. The conference has really started to take shape now as you can clearly see that Penn State and Ohio State are the class of the league, with MSU, Northwestern, and Minnesota separating themselves from the bottom of the conference.

As Penn State pushes toward a possible shot at the BCS title game, the Nittany Lions will take on Iowa this week. It will be the last game away from Beaver Stadium and a possible trap game for Penn State. Quarterback Daryll Clark will be ready to go after suffering a concussion against the Buckeyes. For Iowa this is a chance to make their season and the Hawkeyes will look to star Shonn Greene and will need a hell of a game from their own first year starter at quarterback. Penn State might have to do more than just win the next few weeks to silence a lot of whining that is sure to come from the Big 12 and SEC (I'm looking at you Urban).

The only other fun game this week features Ohio State and Northwestern. There is some grumbling going on in Columbus as some of the seniors are upset they came back to see the offense handed over to a freshman QB, who has led the Bucks to 10th place in total offense. That wouldn't be so bad nationally, but I'm talking 10th in the Big Ten. Ohio State has outscored Northwestern 112-17 in Fitzgerald's first two games in the series as NW's head coach.

Michigan travels to Minnesota to battle for the Little Brown Jug, possibly the ugliest trophy in sports. It sounds like quarterback Steven Threet will be out for the Wolverines, meaning limp-armed walk-on Nick Sheridan will probably start, and lose.

Michigan State hosts Purdue with a chance to clinch their best season in recent memory with a win. Even if the Spartans can't upset Penn State, they would be on their way to a 9-3 finish...without one impressive win.

Illinois plays Western Michigan and Wisconsin travels to Indiana. Time for picks.

Wisconsin 30 - Indiana 17
Western Mich. 21 - Illinois 38
Purdue 13 - Michigan State 35
Michigan 14 - Minnesota 27
Ohio State 28 - Northwestern 10
Penn State 31 - Iowa 17