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The people of Iowa have spoken, and the new design for the Cy-Hawk Trophy is set.

Herky the Hawk and Cy the Cardinal are celebrating.

Fans of Iowa and Iowa State have selected a design that puts both teams' mascots on the rivalry trophy. The design, a rendering of which can be seen here, shows Herky and Cy standing in a cornfield holding a brass football. Below them, the names of both schools are listed along with engraved plates with the scores of each game.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association, which sponsors the game, had a local design firm come up with three concepts for the trophy. A panel narrowed the choices to three, and online voting took place between April 14 and midnight Tuesday. The winning design, called "Mascot Football Concept," received 8,002 votes, winning easily ahead of two designs featuring corn that racked up just 2,280 votes combined.

The reason for the trophy redesign was this monstrosity unveiled last summer, which showed a family huddled around a bushel of corn. The trophy, which had no real link to football, understandably drew criticism both within the state and around the country, leading to the change.

The new trophy will be presented to the winner of the Iowa-Iowa State matchup on Sept. 8 at Kinnick Stadium.

Any design would have been a vast improvement over what Iowa Corn produced last summer. The new trophy actually looks like it should be awarded to the winner of a football game (hence, the football). While I'm not ecstatic about the design, it conveys the necessary messages.

What say you?

Kirk Ferentz doesn't have to do much to motivate Iowa's defensive line this week.

No words are needed. The Hawkeyes coach simply can press the play button and show last year's film of the Iowa State game.

Then he can sit back and watch the steam rise from his players' ears.

"I'm not sure I'll have to say a heck of a lot," Ferentz said. "Part of our film study is looking at last year's game. They'll get some reminders during the week."

Adrian Clayborn hasn't forgotten what happened last year in Ames as he prepares for Saturday's rivalry game against Iowa State (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET).

Sure, the final score read: Iowa 35, Iowa State 3. But Clayborn and his linemates didn't like another number -- 190.

That's how many rushing yards Alexander Robinson and the Cyclones racked up against Iowa last year. Although Iowa allowed more rush yards to both Michigan (195) and Ohio State (229), Iowa State had a better average rush (5.59 yards per carry) against the Hawkeyes.

"We really stunk it up," Clayborn recently told me. "We weren't playing the way we play. We weren't reading our keys and weren't doing anything right. We weren't playing physical.

"We just looked like a bunch of tired dogs out there."

Tired dogs might be the last description typically used to describe Iowa's defensive line. All four starters return this season -- Clayborn and Broderick Binns at the end spots, Karl Klug and Christian Ballard inside -- after they combined for 252 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 2009.

Add in top reserve Mike Daniels, and it's easy to see why Iowa's front four has been branded by many as the nation's top defensive line.

Just don't tell them about it.

"I try to tune out the outside world as much as I can," Ballard said. "I talked to a couple players who have been in this same spot, like Aaron Kampman. He let me know that all the attention you'll get will go away immediately if you don't perform, so performance is the No. 1 thing on our minds as a defense.

"The expectations and what people are saying is great, but you can't just rely on your expectations."

No player on Iowa's team enters the season with higher expectations than Clayborn. Coaches around the Big Ten were shocked that he decided to return for his senior season after recording 11.5 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles as a junior. He earned numerous preseason All-America honors and is considered at least a fringe candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

While quarterback Ricky Stanzi has achieved folk-hero status among Iowa fans, there's little doubt that the dread-locked Clayborn is the team's biggest celebrity.

"I didn't realize how bad it was until we both went to coach K's house," said Klug, referring to D-line coach Rick Kaczenski. "We carpooled, and as we’re walking back to his car, this random guy yells out the window, ‘Adrian!’ I asked him, ‘Does that happen a lot?’ and he says, ‘Yeah.’

"I can go under cover a little bit better."

Clayborn is the big name, but his line mates certainly share the spotlight.

"Christian, he’s just an incredible athlete," Clayborn said. "He's 300 pounds but he can run like a gazelle. Broderick's got those long arms, he can bat down anything. And Karl, he’s got a motor out of this world. And Mike Daniels, he's a beast. He's going to be good this year.

"It's going to be tough for teams to just focus on me."

Despite Clayborn's VIP status, the defensive line lacks big egos or huge personalities.

Just like their defensive scheme, tried and tested by coordinator Norm Parker through the decades, the Hawkeyes' linemen are straightforward but extremely effective at what they do.

"We rely on every guy to do their job," Klug said. "One guy screws up, the whole defense is screwed up. We really focus on fundamentals. We just don’t go out there and run around.

"As a group, we're all business."

A lot of recruiting nuggets today.

• Iowa star Adrian Clayborn apparently thinks Iowa State doesn't exist, Mark Emmert writes in the Des Moines Register. Iowa can't entirely tune out the preseason hype, although the Hawkeyes are doing their best to stay focused, Andy Hamilton writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
• Northwestern lands its No. 1 target at quarterback for the 2011 class, and he's from the bayou, ESPNChicago.com's Scott Powers writes. Zack Oliver's name has topped Northwestern's recruiting board for a while, Lindsey Willhite writes in the Daily Herald.
• Michigan adds two more verbals to its 2011 class, including quarterback Kevin Sousa, annarbor.com's Jeff Arnold writes. Missed this one from last week, but The Sporting News' Dave Curtis thinks Michigan goes 5-7 this fall.
• Wisconsin also adds to its recruiting class with linebacker Derek Landisch, Jim Polzin writes in The Capital Times. The preview mags love the Badgers, Mike Lucas writes in The Capital Times.
• Forget 2011, as Ohio State just landed its first verbal commitment for 2012 in linebacker Joshua Perry, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch. Former Buckeyes receiver Duron Carter starts over at a Kansas juco.
• A look at the Penn State-Alabama series through the years from statecollege.com's Luke Fetkovich. Penn State officials understand the risk with their new, more expensive ticket plan for football, Cory Giger writes in The Altoona Mirror.
• The Purdue-Notre Dame game is must-see TV on college football's opening weekend, Matt Murschel writes in the Orlando Sentinel. Former Purdue star Mark Hermann learned he was a college football Hall of Famer through the mail, Mike Carmin writes in The (Lafayette) Journal and Courier.
• The preseason publications aren't high on Indiana for 2010, Dustin Dopirak writes in The (Bloomington) Herald-Times (subscription required).
• Now that Reilly O'Toole is committed to Illinois for 2011, his next task is to recruit other top prospects for the Illini, Jeremy Werner writes in The (Champaign) News-Gazette.

After launching its expansion study in December, the Big Ten hasn't been too forthcoming with information about the process, at least with media members.

Maybe two U.S. senators from Iowa will have better luck.

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin are asking for expansion answers and other details from the Big Ten in a letter dated June 10 to league commissioner Jim Delany. Grassley and Harkin are trying to find out whether the Big Ten's push for potential expansion -- and the possible repercussions for the rest of college athletics -- jives with the league's status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

In the letter, the senators write:

"According to its Form 990, the Conference's primary exempt purpose 'is to regulate intercollegiate athletics as institutional activities to encourage sound academic practices for student athletics, and to establish harmonious relationships among member institutions.' Despite this stated charitable purpose, it appears that the majority of the Big Ten's operations revolve around NCAA athletics and the marketing, promotion, and revenue generating activities affiliated with those athletic activities. Moreover, most of the discussions surrounding the potential realignment of member institutions from one league to another appear to be designed not to further the charitable operation of the Big Ten."

The senators go on to ask for a bunch of things, including the Big Ten's tax forms, the Big Ten Network's tax forms, revenue collection and dispensation forms and compensation documents for the league's commissioners. Having seen the Big Ten's 990 form from the last fiscal year (thanks to colleague Mark Schlabach), the league earned $221,990,529 in revenue.

Grassley and Harkin also ask for ... drum roll, please ... "All copies of any proposed expansion, merger, or consolidation plans the Conference has considered, developed, requested, or otherwise discussed and explain how the Conference decided on what schools to invite."

Good luck with that one, fellas.

What did the Big Ten have to say about the senators' letter? Not much (big surprise).

Delany could not be reached for immediate comment. Associate Commissioner Scott Chipman confirmed that the conference received the letter.

"The conference has followed up with the senators' respective staffs," Chipman said. "We have no other comment at this time."

This is very interesting stuff, but keep in mind that the letter was written a day before the Big Ten voted to admit Nebraska to the league and at a time when everyone thought the Big 12 would dissolve. The senators were clearly worried about Iowa State, one of the schools left on the outside if the Big 12 broke up.

Since Iowa State is safe in the new Big 12 -- at least for the next few years -- I wonder if the senators still want their answers as badly as they did June 10.

Iowa entered the 2009 season with a good defensive line and emerged from it with a great one.

The natural question, then, is when did the Hawkeyes' front four reach its turning point? Typically, a turning point takes place in a loss, or in a game a team nearly loses before rallying for a win. In case you forgot, Iowa had quite a few of those in a wild 2009 campaign.

But for the Hawkeyes defensive line, the turning point happened in a 35-3 victory.

"Definitely that Iowa State one sticks out," defensive tackle Karl Klug said. "We underachieved in that game. A lot of us weren't running to the ball like we should have. To tell you the truth, it was pretty embarrassing."

Tough crowd to please.

Star defensive end Adrian Clayborn is even more direct about the line's performance against its in-state rival.

"We played like [expletive]," Clayborn said. "We weren't doing well on the pass rush. I was getting my [butt] kicked sometimes. I don't know what was wrong, but that was our turning point. We got together after that game and said we need to turn it around."

It's easy to look at the lopsided final score, but a closer examination of the Iowa-Iowa State game shows why Clayborn and his linemates were a little peeved on the bus ride back from Ames.

• Iowa surrendered 190 rush yards, its third highest total of the season.
• Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson reached the 100-yard rushing plateau on only 19 carries, and Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud, who had an otherwise miserable performance, rushed for 56 yards on nine carries.
• Iowa failed to generate a sack against Iowa State, which would mark the only time all season that the Hawkeyes didn't drop an opposing quarterback in his own backfield.

Other than the final outcome, Iowa's linemen and defensive coordinator Norm Parker had little to be happy about.

"I just didn't think they played as hard as they should have," Parker said. "On film, there didn't appear to be enough extra effort."

Parker smiled.

"We had a nice talk."

Safe to say, it wasn't G-rated. But whatever was said seemed to work.

A week later, Iowa held Arizona to 253 total yards in a 27-17 win, a game that Clayborn calls the defensive line's best of the season. Most would apply that label to Iowa's victory at Penn State, as Iowa surrendered only 109 rush yards and had two sacks, a safety forced by defensive end Broderick Binns and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Clayborn.

Iowa returns its entire starting defensive line for 2010. Outside expectations will be higher, but so will the standards set by Parker and the players themselves.

"They can be pretty good," Parker said. "They should be better than last year. They're a year older, a year bigger, a year more mature. The place where they can improve the most is they should be more consistent, they should be more mistake-free than they were a year ago."

Translation: no more performances like the Iowa State game.

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema has tabbed Chris Ash to coach the Badgers' defensive backs, replacing Kerry Cooks, who left for Notre Dame last month.

Ash comes to Wisconsin from Iowa State, where he coached the secondary and served as recruiting coordinator. He has spent eight of the last 10 seasons at Iowa State, though he worked with Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Doeren and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge at Drake in 1996 to 1997. Ash actually succeeded Doeren as Drake's defensive coordinator after the 1997 season.

"I’m very excited to welcome Chris aboard," Bielema said in a statement. "He brings great knowledge and tremendous experience. I've known Chris for a long time and his familiarity not only with our staff but with our schemes will help in what I think will be a seamless transition for him and the rest of our coaches."

Ash's familiarity with both Doeren and Partridge, as well as his knowledge of Midwest recruiting, certainly helped his cause for the job. One potential red flag: Iowa State ranked 102nd nationally against the pass in 2009.

Minnesota's second-half rally fell short as a mistake-prone offense made one too many in the closing minutes. The Big Ten fell to 1-1 in bowls with three more teams in action New Year's Day.

How the game was won: The teams combined for six turnovers, and Iowa State had four of them, but Minnesota committed the most damaging giveaway in the closing minutes as backup quarterback MarQueis Gray fumbled in the red zone. Minnesota's defense turned in a terrific performance, and quarterback Adam Weber had some nice moments at times, but the offense squandered too many scoring opportunities. Iowa State rode running back Alexander Robinson and a stout red-zone defense to victory.

Turning point: After taking over at its own 1-yard line, Minnesota drove downfield behind a revived offense. Coordinator Jedd Fisch effectively mixed personnel and play calls, and Gray had been stepping up as both a quarterback and a wide receiver. But on first-and-10 from the Iowa State 17-yard line, Gray coughed up the ball and the Cyclones recovered with 4:03 left. Iowa State then ran out the clock.

Stat of the game: Minnesota had seven drives reach Iowa State territory but only scored three times (one touchdown, two field goals).

Player of the game: For Iowa State, Robinson went for 140 rush yards on 23 carries. But I've got to give this to Minnesota safety Kyle Theret, who recorded two interceptions and had a 40-yard reception on a fake punt in the third quarter. The senior really stepped up in his final collegiate game.

Best call: Trailing 14-3 in the third quarter, Minnesota called a fake punt on fourth-and-4 from its own 37-yard line. Punter Blake Haudan found Theret, who raced 40-yards. The Gophers scored their first touchdown on the next play, as Weber found Nick Tow-Arnett.

What it means: Minnesota drops to 6-7 on a season that began with elevated expectations and an experienced roster. Athletic director Joel Maturi said earlier this week that Brewster is safe and will receive a contract extension. And though the team didn't look great on offense at times, it's not Brewster's fault that Gray fumbled. On the other hand, Mike Leach is available, right? The Gophers head into the offseason with questions on offense, and Weber and Gray will compete for the starting job this spring. There will be pressure on Brewster and his staff to win more than six games in 2010.

Here's what you need to know about Thursday's matchup between Minnesota (6-6) and Iowa State (6-6) in the Insight Bowl:

WHO TO WATCH: Adam Weber. The Minnesota junior quarterback has taken a step back in his third year as the starter, but as he showed on Halloween night against Michigan State, he still can light it up. Weber also can struggle mightily, as he showed in shutout losses to Iowa and Penn State and a near shutout at Ohio State. Golden Gophers head coach Tim Brewster will open up the quarterback competition in spring practice, but Weber can help his cause with a strong showing against a vulnerable Iowa State defense that ranks 95th nationally against the pass (245 ypg). Minnesota is still searching for someone to replace Eric Decker's production, but Weber has some decent options in tight end Nick Tow-Arnett and wide receiver Troy Stoudermire. If Weber struggles, don't be surprised if Minnesota goes to MarQueis Gray.

WHAT TO WATCH: Minnesota's linebackers against Iowa State's rushing attack. Seniors Lee Campbell, Nate Triplett and Simoni Lawrence have carried the Gophers' defense this fall, combining for 284 tackles. Iowa State isn't much of a passing team and wants to get Alexander Robinson going. Robinson, ranked 29th nationally in rushing average, is a Minneaoplis native who nearly considered transferring to Minnesota after Gene Chizik bolted from Ames. If Minnesota can plug the middle with defensive tackles Garrett Brown and Eric Small, the linebackers should be in position to slow down Robinson and mobile quarterback Austen Arnaud.

WHY TO WATCH: Brewster is safe and will receive a contract extension in the near future, but this remains a pivotal game for the Minnesota program. A victory assures Minnesota of a winning season and could bring some life back to a fan base that seems unhappy with the current direction. The Gophers haven't won a bowl game since 2004 and lost the Insight Bowl in 2006 and 2008. A loss will brand the 2009 season as a disappointment and increase the pressure on Brewster and his assistants this offseason. It's also a nice regional game between two upper Midwest teams that haven't played since 1997.

PREDICTION: Neither of these teams is very good, and both offenses are inconsistent at best. Expect a low-scoring affair, and the team that makes the fewest number of major mistakes wins. Iowa State will have more fans in Tempe and could be more motivated than Minnesota, which has gone to the Insight Bowl in three of the past four years. The Gophers offense has been too inconsistent for my liking, and Iowa State finds a way to win, 17-14.

Minnesota (6-6) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
Dec. 31, 6 p.m. (NFL Network)

The Insight Bowl might not attract much national attention, but you can bet it'll mean a lot in the upper Midwest.

Minnesota and Iowa State haven't played since 1997, but the two schools are separated by only 215 miles and share a hated rival in the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa State makes its first bowl appearance since 2005, while Minnesota returns to the Insight Bowl for the second straight year and for the third time in the past four seasons.

This is a very critical game for Gophers fourth-year coach Tim Brewster and a team that broke even despite boasting the Big Ten's most experienced roster. A victory would secure consecutive winning seasons and build momentum for 2010, when Brewster's recruits will occupy most of the key roles. A loss would increase doubts about the program's direction and put Brewster squarely on the hot seat.

The Insight Bowl typically is high scoring, but don't expect too many points on Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz. Minnesota has been shut out twice this season and ranks 98th nationally in scoring (21.6 ppg), while Iowa State is even worse, coming in 102nd in scoring (21.1 ppg). Both teams have quarterbacks (Minnesota's Adam Weber, Iowa State's Austen Arnaud) who can do big things, but also hurt their teams with turnovers.

Defense is certainly Iowa State's calling card, as the Cyclones have held opponents to 17 points or fewer in each of their six wins. Minnesota also relies heavily on its defense, particularly linebackers Lee Campbell, Nate Triplett and Simoni Lawrence, but needs some offensive playmakers to emerge at Sun Devil Stadium.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

A secondary knows it has things rolling when two of its members have a conversation like the one Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood had on the Iowa bench last Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

Iowa led 28-3 over Iowa State, and both Sash and Greenwood had recorded two interceptions against Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud. As the two safeties took a few moments to relax and celebrate a big day, Sash turned to Greenwood.

	Stephen Mally/Icon SMI
	Tyler Sash had three interceptions in the Hawkeyes' win over Iowa State.

"On the bench, I said, ‘If I get another one, you owe me dinner. If you get one, I owe you dinner,’" Sash recalled. "A couple plays later, I got my third one."

Sash admits one of his picks should have gone to Greenwood, but he's not about to give it back. The two players tentatively scheduled a dinner date for Monday night.

“He told me he was going to buy me a quarter-pounder or something, but I don’t think coach [Chris] Doyle, our strength coach, would like that," Sash said. "So it’ll probably be something a little healthier."

Opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers are always on the menu for Iowa, which led the Big Ten in takeaways last fall (32) and already has a league-high seven in the first two games. Sash and teammate Pat Angerer shared the league lead in interceptions with three in 2008, and Sash's three picks against Iowa State tied a single-game team record.

He's tied for second nationally in interceptions and needs just 10 picks to tie the team career record of 18 shared by Nile Kinnick and Devon Mitchell.

Defensive coordinator Norm Parker can't explain the spike in takeaways, and neither can head coach Kirk Ferentz. Angerer admits he didn't play much pass coverage in high school but was always around the ball last season.

"We just practice hard, play hard and things happen," Sash said. "We, as a team, try to be around the ball, if it’s fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions, whatever it is. There’s really no answer to that."

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

This is exactly what Iowa needed after a rough few weeks.

Despite a few early speed bumps, the Hawkeyes are in control at Iowa State, a place where they have struggled in recent years. Ricky Stanzi has rebounded from two interceptions to throw three touchdowns, and the running game is showing some life with several backs, including true freshman Brandon Wegher. The Iowa defense has kept Iowa State out of the end zone and picked off Austen Arnaud four times.

Clearly, the Big Ten's top playmaking secondary is back in good form.

A very complete performance by the Hawkeyes after surviving against Northern Iowa last week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium is dwarfed by Big Ten monoliths in Ann Arbor, State College and Columbus.

But when the Iowa Hawkeyes come calling, it becomes just as raucous, if not more.

A.J. Edds has been to Ames only once, in 2007, when Iowa fell 15-13 to an Iowa State team that won only three games that fall. Though Iowa is the state's flagship football program and Iowa State barely registers on the Big 12's radar, the Hawkeyes have dropped four of their last five games in Ames.

The Cy-Hawk rivalry resumes Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium, and Edds knows what will be waiting for him and his Iowa teammates.

"The Iowa State fans show up in force, without a doubt, for this game," the senior linebacker said. "It’s the one game that whenever we’re playing in Ames, the Iowa State fans always seem to take an extra interest in, fighting for the state bragging rights and all of that.

"Ames turns into a very, very hostile atmosphere when we go over there. And we know that."

Surely it couldn't be more inhospitable than Ohio State, Penn State or Wisconsin?

"It’s as rowdy, if not more, as anywhere else that we play," Edds said. "It gets loud, it gets intense. It definitely compares with some of the most hostile Big Ten stadiums."

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed Friday that standout left tackle Bryan Bulaga will miss the Iowa State game after being hospitalized this week with an undisclosed illness.

"Bryan is doing much better, has been released and will accompany the team this weekend," Ferentz said in a statement. "We expect Bryan to return to his normal activities soon."

A source close to Bulaga told me this morning that the Hawkeyes junior is doing well and that rumors of a serious illness have been exaggerated. The source declined to provide details of Bulaga's illness. Still, this is certainly good news for the long term.

Bulaga has started the last 19 games for Iowa and emerged as the Big Ten's premier left tackle and one of the best in the country. I ranked him as the league's fifth best player, and he's drawn comparisons to former Hawkeyes star Robert Gallery. Iowa's offensive line already has dealt with some shuffling this year, as right tackle Kyle Calloway and guard Julian Vandervelde missed the season opener against Northern Iowa.

Both Calloway and Vandervelde will return Saturday, but Iowa needs to replace Bulaga and protect quarterback Ricky Stanzi's blind side. The Hawkeyes also hope to spark a rushing attack that struggled against UNI.

Needless to say, it hasn't been a good start for an Iowa team that doesn't have much margin for error this season. The Hawkeyes need Bulaga back soon.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

As expected, there were a ton of good responses to the villains series. You're definitely in midseason form.

After reading your e-mails, it's clear that I'm the biggest Big Ten villain here. I definitely swung and missed on a few of these picks. This is one subject where I'll gladly defer to the fans. You know your teams, and you know who you love to hate.

Bret Bielema is definitely off the hook for Iowa fans. Same goes for Terrelle Pryor and Nittany Nation.

Talk back time.

Mark from Perkasie, Pa., writes: Hey Adam,Big Meee-chigan fan here, and without a doubt, the biggest villain against Wolverine football has to be...Troy Smith. No one has ever played better in this series in the past 25 years. A close second on my list would be...Justin "THE ULTIMATE TURNCOAT" Boren.Keep up the great blogging, Adam!!

Adam Rittenberg: Good call, Mark. Smith torched Michigan for 857 pass yards and seven touchdowns in three games against the Wolverines.

---

Tom from Hoboken, N.J., writes: As a Buckeye Fan, Tim Biakabutuka (spelling) is still one of the Bucks worst villians, his 300-yard game killed the Bucks hope for the National Title in the late 90's. Hearing his name makes me cringe.

Adam Rittenberg: Biakabutuka was a beast against OSU. As long as we're talking running back villains, Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells would probably qualify as well. He hurt Michigan in his final two seasons as a Buckeye.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

If you check out the college football front page, you'll notice a bar graph displaying schedule strength around the country. The Big Ten, needless to say, doesn't pack much punch in its nonconference slate for 2009. 

Colleague Mark Schlabach examined the easiest and most challenging nonconference schedules from around the country, and the Big Ten comes in at No. 1 on his list of cupcake collectors. 

1. The little five

Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin hail from the Big Ten, but you wouldn't know it by glancing at their nonconference schedules. Combined, they play five FCS opponents, five smaller directional schools and only three opponents from BCS conferences (and that includes Syracuse twice). The five schools combined play only four non-Big Ten road games, and Michigan and Penn State don't play a single nonconference game away from home. Indiana plays at Akron and Virginia. Northwestern plays at Syracuse. Wisconsin plays at Hawaii. No wonder Penn State coach Joe Paterno didn't want Notre Dame in the Big Ten. Why would he want to give up playing Akron, Syracuse, Temple and FCS opponent Eastern Illinois at home? 

A lot of the criticism is justified, and it never helps when big-name programs like Penn State and Michigan schedule the way they have for 2009. Big Ten teams have been increasingly reluctant to give up home games and increasingly willing to add FCS opponents (Purdue and Ohio State are the only league members not facing FCS foes this fall). And as the league continues to get rich, its members will continue to pay large guarantees for these games.

Most of us who closely follow Big Ten football would love to see teams take more risks with their schedules. It's why recent announcements from Minnesota, Michigan State and Penn State are exciting.  

But as I've stated before, I don't think the Big Ten is immune from these practices, and the conference seems to take more abuse than other leagues that do the same thing (ahem, SEC and Big 12). It's also worth restating several factors that have contributed to the decline of Big Ten scheduling:

• Notre Dame is no longer guaranteed to be a marquee opponent, which can hurt Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and any other Big Ten team that faces the Irish.
  
• While other BCS leagues are located closer to the better non-BCS leagues (Pac-10 and WAC, Big 12 and Mountain West), the Big Ten continues scheduling games against the MAC, which has fallen off a lot since its breakthrough season in 2003. Nonleague games against the likes of BYU, Utah, Boise State and even East Carolina are seen as more challenging than those against even a top-level MAC program like Central Michigan.
• Several rivalries that Big Ten teams schedule with other BCS foes have really lost some luster. Iowa State isn't considered a marquee opponent for Iowa. Neither is Syracuse for Penn State. 

For what it's worth, one Big Ten team made Schlabach's list of hardest schedules:

9. Illinois Fighting Illini

Unlike most of their Big Ten brethren, the Illini are actually playing a very aggressive nonconference schedule this season. Illinois opens the season against Missouri in St. Louis on Sept. 5. After playing FCS opponent Illinois State on Sept. 12, Illinois plays eight consecutive Big Ten opponents. Then the Illini finish the regular season with non-Big Ten games at Cincinnati on Nov. 27 and home against Fresno State on Dec. 5. Scheduling nonconference games so late is a risk, but the Illini might help their bowl chances by winning one or both contests.