ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The briefing begins with an item I meant to post yesterday. My apologies.

An independent report showed that Iowa made mistakes in its investigation of an alleged sexual assault involving two former football players, but the school didn't attempt to cover up the incident. The report said head football coach Kirk Ferentz, athletic director Gary Barta and others adhered to school policies. Here are the findings and recommendations.

"The university's response to the alleged sexual assault was inadequate. While the substance of the response was not acceptable, there was no cover-up or attempted cover-up and no pressure to deal with it informally," lead investigator James Bryant said in his presentation.

It looks like Ferentz has dodged a bullet here, as the report showed he never instructed two football players to move back into the dorm room where the alleged incident occurred.

Getting back to the gridiron, here's what's going on around the league:

• The Big Ten Network's Dave Revsine still has faith in Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman and Northwestern's offense and defense in the red zone. The MAC gets a great chance to take down two Big Ten teams this weekend, Jeff Rabjohns writes in The Indianapolis Star.
  
• Illinois true freshman Jeff Allen has slimmed down and looks ready to step in for injured tackle Ryan Palmer next week at Penn State, Loren Tate writes in The (Champaign, Ill.) News-Gazette.
  
• Indiana has geared its defense to stop the run and currently ranks fourth nationally in rushing defense, LaMond Pope writes in The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Don't know how much it'll help against Nate Davis and pass-happy Ball State.
  
• Injuries continue to sidetrack talented Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki, Eric Page writes in the Quad City Times. Safety Tyler Sash is the latest young defender to step up for the Hawkeyes, Scott Dochterman writes in The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette.
• Michigan hasn't missed the postseason since 1974, but it could happen this fall, John Heuser writes in The Ann Arbor News.
  
• The Michigan State-Notre Dame rivalry seems more civil than in past seasons, Joe Rexrode writes in the Lansing State Journal. Inspirational Spartans player Arthur Ray Jr. is back in school and expects to return to the field next fall, Shannon Shelton writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Minnesota freshman running back DeLeon Eskridge has grown up fast, Marcus Fuller writes in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• A prince doing a paper route? Northwestern linebacker Prince Kwateng has worked diligently to reach this point, Jim O'Donnell writes in the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Jim Tressel isn't about to give up play-calling duties at Ohio State, Doug Lesmerises writes in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Tressel's steady approach helps the Buckeyes avoid upsets but might hurt the team in big games, Lesmerises writes in his blog.

For one big game, when a team needs to be at a peak mental, emotional and physical state for a dogfight with an elite opponent, give me Urban Meyer or Pete Carroll. Week in and week out, when you want to make sure Minnesota doesn't jump up and bite you, give me Tressel.

• Penn State's captains lead in different ways, Cory Giger writes in The Altoona Mirror. As the Nittany Lions' line gets thinner, Jared Odrick is blossoming at tackle, Jeff McLane writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  
• Central Michigan coach Butch Jones has high praise for Purdue's Curtis Painter, David Goricki writes in The Detroit News. Purdue's recruiting pipeline to Florida behind coach-in-waiting Danny Hope continues, Tom Kubat writes in The Journal and Courier. 
• Wisconsin linebacker Jonathan Casillas will use the next few days to rest his injured left knee, Jeff Potrykus writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.