ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Several newsworthy items already have been covered from today's Big Ten coaches' teleconference, but here are a few more afternoon tidbits for you. 

PATERNO STAYING PUT ON SIDELINES: After spending the second half of last week's win against Temple in the press box, Penn State coach Joe Paterno has no plans to leave the sideline Saturday night against Illinois (ABC, 8 p.m. ET). Paterno said he could have stayed on the field the whole game but with Penn State comfortably in the lead, he opted to rest his injured right leg.

The 81-year-old coach hurt his leg days before the season opener while attempting an onside kick during practice. 

"I've given up my onside kicking for a while," he joked. 

BOECKMAN HANDLING DEMOTION WELL: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel named freshman Terrelle Pryor as the team's definitive starting quarterback Tuesday. The coach praised Pryor's ability to avoid turnovers and other major mistakes and make good decisions.

Tressel also isn't worried about the team's response to having Pryor replace senior Todd Boeckman as the leader of the offense. 

"It starts with Todd," Tressel said. "Everyone else looks on and sees a good example of how Todd is handling a difficult situation. ... The fact he's handled it so well has given the right message to anyone else that might want to start conjuring up any thoughts in their mind."

Tressel clearly made the right call by going with Pryor, but Boeckman deserves some credit for staying as positive as possible. The senior was booed after throwing an incomplete pass last week against Troy, which isn't right.

Ohio State fans have justifiably been ripped both locally and nationally for booing Boeckman. Not all Buckeyes' backers should be blamed for the stupidity of a few, but the booing only restores the perception that they're obnoxious, crass and not too far above the SEC fans they love to hate.

WISCONSIN ENTERS TOUGH STRETCH: No. 9 Wisconsin is the first team ever to open Big Ten play with consecutive games against Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State -- regarded by many as the class of the league. The Capital Times' Jim Polzin has an interesting piece explaining the scheduling process in the Big Ten, which is done randomly and is somewhat hamstrung by an unbalanced annual slate. 

Badgers head coach Bret Bielema noted he wasn't in his current position when the Big Ten schedules came out years ago. 

"We look at it as a great challenge," Bielema said. "It's a 1-0 mentality. It's something I brought with me. We are focusing on nothing but Michigan."

Obviously, Michigan has fallen from powerhouse status this season, and Wisconsin will try to become the first team to beat the Wolverines and Ohio State in consecutive weeks since Michigan State in 1966. 

IOWA QB ROTATION 'GETTING OLD:' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz prepared for plenty of quarterback questions Tuesday, and he got them. Ferentz confirmed that sophomore Ricky Stanzi will start Saturday against Northwestern, but the quarterback rotation might not be over yet. 

Neither Stanzi nor junior Jake Christensen has truly gasped hold of the starting job. Both have played in all four games, with the backup often outshining the starter. Iowa is the only Big Ten team without a definitive starter at quarterback.

"It gets old," Ferentz said. "At some given point, I think the picture will become a little bit more clear. I don't know when that point will be. It's been a while since we've been in this situation. Probably have to go back to 2000."

Among the pitfalls of the two-quarterback system is that the rest of the offensive starters only get limited reps with each quarterback in practice. Stanzi will take most of the practice reps with the first team this week.

"Traditionally, most teams settle with one guy," Ferentz said. "We'll see where it takes us."

Ferentz also addressed the hiring of former player Chigozie Ejiasi as the team's new director of player development. Ejiasi will fill a supplemental role and will focus mainly on helping Iowa's younger players make smoother transitions from high school to college.

Iowa has had 19 players arrested since April 2007.

"'Chick' was a very good pick," Ferentz said. "He's been with the program a couple of years here. He's a graduate of the university. He knows the school, knows the program, knows the town. He's a tremendous young man and he's got a great future."

INDIANA'S ADKINS TALKS TO BALL STATE COACH: Indiana coach Bill Lynch is keeping a close eye on cornerback Chris Adkins after the redshirt freshman was involved in a helmet-to-helmet collision last Saturday that left Ball State wide receiver Dante Love with a spinal cord injury that likely ends his career. Adkins was not injured on the play and should start Saturday's game against Michigan State. 

"We've certainly talked with Chris a lot," Lynch said. "Obviously, it affected him, as it would any of us. Chris had the opportunity to talk with coach [Brady] Hoke at Ball State. He's doing fine, under the circumstances."