ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It's time to check the pulse of the Big Ten fan. Here's what's on your mind.

Nate in West Des Moines, Iowa, writes: A little troubled right now. On one hand I am a hard core Hawkeye fan, have been for life. Second I am a fan of the Big Ten, although I am a fan of any b10 team playing against OSU (Celebrated the Penn St victory). Watching the post game Kirk referred to Iowa as the only hurdle Penn State has to jump to run the table the rest of the season. on one hand I would like to see someone other than OSU run the table and take the b10 title and go to the NC game, on the other I would love to see Iowa upset PSU... What are the odds of Iowa pulling off the upset? And if that happens would Penn State still have a shot at the NC game?

Adam Rittenberg: That's an interesting dilemma, Nate, but always root for your team to win and let the system play out. Iowa's chances for an upset rest with its defense, which has been terrific for most of the season. The Hawkeyes' D will need a dominant performance to notch the upset. Star defensive tackles Mitch King and Matt Kroul should clog the middle and force Penn State to run to the outside. The key will be the Iowa secondary and its ability to contain the downfield passing attack. Shonn Greene will get his yards, but I see Penn State's defensive front having its way with Iowa's offensive line. If the Hawks do pull the upset, Penn State would have no shot at the national title game. Some even think a one-loss team could jump an undefeated Penn State squad, which won't happen.

Craig from West Lafayette, Ind., writes: Hey Adam, couple of quick questions. Do you think that Purdue's sub-par performance in the Big Ten this year is a product of several years of week recruiting? Also, how do you feel about Coach Hope's strategy of going after recruits in traditional SEC areas such as Florida. He seems to be behind on the recruiting trail to this point and is a 2 star kid out of Florida really the equivalent to a 3 star kid from the Mid-West? Can this strategy pay dividends in the long run or does Purdue just not have the draw to pull any big recruits out of these hotbeds and should Hope just "stay at home"?

Adam Rittenberg: Purdue's recruiting hasn't been stellar lately, but I like Danny Hope's strategy, even if it takes a while to pay off. He recognizes many of the better athletes come from the South and Southeast, and many of his recruiting ties are to his home state of Florida. He would be insane not to try and capitalize on those connections. No doubt Hope should also look locally, but as Joe Tiller has said, Indiana isn't exactly a gold mine for high school talent, so you have to look elsewhere. Purdue's roster will look very different in two or three years, and my sense is the Boilers will be better off for it.

Joe from Minneapolis writes: if the gophers win out and ohio state manages to lose another big ten game the gophers would be second in the big ten. if penn state goes to the title game do the gophers go to the rose bowl or would we have to be one of the top BCS teams to get to that bowl?

Adam Rittenberg: My sense is that Minnesota would go to the Capital One or Outback Bowl, even at 11-1. The problem is the schedule. Unless Iowa gets ranked by Nov. 22, Minnesota will have no victories against ranked opponents and only a handful against winning teams. The Gophers currently have only one victory against a winning team (Northern Illinois). Even though Illinois went to the Rose Bowl with three losses last year, the Illini had beaten the nation's No. 1 team (Ohio State). I could be wrong, but it seems like Minnesota would be penalized for its soft scheduling stemming from previous coaches and administrators. The good thing is that coach Tim Brewster has beefed up the nonleague schedule in future seasons.

Zak from Okinawa, Japan, writes: Hey Adam - you just got air time as Joe Pa walked by up to the Coach's Box. Good work (my wife actually spotted you before I did). She's up watching from Japan (w/ about a dozen friends over), I'm in the US for training right now (Little Rock Air Force Base).

Adam Rittenberg: I got a couple of e-mails like this one, but since Zak wrote from Japan, he makes the rundown. Yes, that was me on national TV, waiting alongside other reporters as Joe Paterno hobbled his way into the visitors' coaching booth at Ohio Stadium. We were hoping Joe would crack a joke or two, and he seemed surprised to see everyone waiting for him. Joe seemed to be moving better than he had been two weeks earlier at Wisconsin. Thanks for the note, Zak, and good luck to you!

Dan from Gainesville, Fla., writes: Adam, that's a huge jump in the computer rankings for Penn State. The biggest gap in the top five of the BCS standings is now between #3 and #4, not #2 and #3, as it was last week. I assumed we would get a lift because of Ohio State improving our SOS, but I didn't expect it to be that much, did you? If so, games against Iowa and MSU can't hurt the SOS down the stretch, either. On a related note, if teams we've played continue to win and climb into the rankings (maybe Illinois or Oregon State), can that help us? In other words, do you see Penn State's computer average remaining so high?

Adam Rittenberg: The BCS computers seem to like Big Ten teams. Not only did Penn State get a nice bump, but Ohio State didn't drop too far in the computers and both Minnesota and Michigan State moved up. Northwestern also had a nice computer average until its loss to Indiana last Saturday. Judging by this week's standings, the only teams that could keep an undefeated Penn State squad out of the title game are Texas and Alabama. If one of those two loses and the Lions win out, they'll play for the championship. But I don't see Penn State passing Alabama or Texas in the standings without one of those teams losing.

Matt from Chicago writes: Minnesota ahead of Michigan State in your power rankings? You have to be kidding. I appreciate that MSU has one additional loss, but wouldn't you say the Spartans have played a slightly more difficult schedule in getting to 7-2?

Adam Rittenberg: It's very close between those teams, and I agree that Michigan State has played a tougher slate. But the way the Spartans lost to Ohio State was really damaging. They really should have been more competitive in that game. Ohio State also soundly beat Minnesota, but the game was in Columbus and at least the Gophers made the final score somewhat respectable. Minnesota needs some strong performances down the stretch to remain No. 3, and Michigan State can help its cause with a big win against Wisconsin.

Sam from Altoona, Pa., writes: I just read one of the links you posted this past monday afternoon which came from rivals.com senior writer Tom Dienhart. He seems to think that Penn State doesn't deserve to play in a national championship no matter how well they perform, solely because they play in the Big Ten. I'm just curious how you feel on this subject, as I personally think this is absolutely ridiculous.

Adam Rittenberg: Last I checked, going undefeated meant something. No BCS-conference team did it a year ago. While I'll admit the Big Ten is, at best, an average league, Penn State has done everything asked of it this year. We whine about style points. Penn State has beaten eight teams by 14 points or more. We whine about being balanced. Penn State is arguably the most balanced team in the country, from a statistical standpoint. Penn State of 2008 isn't Ohio State of 2007 or 2006. The Nittany Lions have won bowl games in each of the last three seasons. Just because
Penn State has gone undefeated and been left out of the title picture before doesn't mean it's right to do it again.

Steve from Chicago writes: After watching NU implode on Saturday, and with Sutton out for what looks to be the remainder of the season, and with Bacher probably out this coming Saturday, I have lost all my confidence in the Wildcats. I was hoping for a 9-3 season at 11am on Saturday, and now I am worried we will end 6-6. What are your predictions for the rest of Northwestern's season?

Adam Rittenberg: It was a crushing loss for Northwestern on Saturday, one that certainly lowers the ceiling for the season. I still see this team finding a way to win another game. The defense is still markedly improved from past versions and could shut down one of the remaining opponents. Bacher should be back for the last two games, Michigan and Illinois, both of which are winnable. My sense is the Wildcats finish 7-5 and take a mini step forward from last year, but things turned sour awfully fast for that team.

Brad from Denver writes: Does Iowa beat Illinois this weekend?

Adam Rittenberg: You'll have to wait until Thursday for my official prediction, but Iowa certainly seems to have turned a corner. Both teams really need a win Saturday for their bowl hopes, especially Illinois, which could struggle to reach six wins with a loss to the Hawkeyes. If Iowa can contain Illinois' downfield passing game, it should win. Illinois' defense is far too inconsistent and Shonn Greene will pile up big numbers, as he has all season.

Matt from St. Paul, Minn., writes: Quick hitter about your Northwestern motivational speaker blog entry....ironically, Chris Farley fashioned the Matt Foley character from his high school football coach at Madison [Edgewood] High....who was his coach? Current Minnesota AD Joel Maturi. It's true!

Adam Rittenberg: Matt, you're officially the e-mailer of the day. That's awesome! I was going to make a joke about how a Wisconsin native like Farley might have wanted Minnesota to lose, but I didn't know the character was based on Maturi, who, by the way, is a great guy. Good stuff.

Phil from Ann Arbor, Mich., writes: Is there any consideration nationally for the Brewster from Minnesota to win coach of the year? All I've read or heard in the papers, on tv and radio people appear to be in favor of the new coach at Duke (Cutcliff or something I'm drawing a blank). Taking a team that went 1-11 the season before and has their team ranked 17th in the BCS and standing at 7-1 is pretty impressive. I understand how historically bad Duke has been, but the Minnesota turn around so rapidly is just crazy (and I readily admit the non big ten schedule wasn't very good). If Brewster keeps this up the Big Ten looks like it should be much more competitive in years to come.

Adam Rittenberg: Brewster will definitely be considered, especially if Minnesota finishes strong. As I referenced above, the schedule and lack of signature wins hurts the Gophers from an attention standpoint, but any coach who takes a 1-11 team and wins nine, 10 or even 11 games deserves plenty of recognition.