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During the course of spring practice, Big Ten bloggers Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett visited 11 of the 12 league schools, getting an up-close look at the players and coaches who will shape the 2012 season.

Now it's time for them to share their thoughts on what they saw and learned this spring, and you can follow along as they exchange emails. Check out the Leaders Division exchange here. They now turn their focus to the Legends Division.

Adam Rittenberg: Let's take a look at what I believe to be the stronger division in 2012. You spent a lot of time in the Mitten State last month, and while you didn't gorge yourself like you did in America's Dairyland, you got the money quote of spring ball from Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who said, "We're laying in the weeds. We've beat Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?" How spicy is the Michigan State-Michigan rivalry getting, and how good do you think these two teams will be this season after visiting both campuses?

Brian Bennett: Oh, there was some serious gorging going on at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor and Sparty's in East Lansing. Good thing there's only one spring practice session per year.

Anyway, I went into the spring thinking Michigan and Michigan State were the two strongest teams in the league, and I didn't see anything to change my opinion. While the Wolverines are more focused on Ohio State and even Alabama, they know they have to end their losing streak against Michigan State. And the Spartans take serious pride in that four-game run while bristling at all the offseason accolades thrown toward Brady Hoke's team. Oct. 20 can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned.

If the two teams played right now, I'd definitely take Michigan State. Dantonio has done a terrific job of developing depth on both lines and all over the defense. There's not a deeper team in the Big Ten, and the Spartans' physical play has given Michigan fits. The Wolverines still need to figure some things out in the trenches, especially on the defensive line, but that's one area where Hoke and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison excel. I believe these two teams will be neck and neck all year for the Legends title.

Of course, there's another team lurking in the division, and that's Nebraska. You went to Lincoln this spring, and it sounded like the Cornhuskers are feeling mighty ambitious this season. Do they have the necessary tools to back up their lofty goals?

Adam Rittenberg: It was interesting to see a team openly discuss the national title, Brian, especially in a league like the Big Ten. Huskers safety P.J. Smith even went so far as to say a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl championship would be "kind of disappointing." That's bold. Nebraska would have to skip a step or two to reach that point, but I can see where the confidence stems from. There's a greater comfort level between players and coaches in Lincoln, and also between the coaches and what they face in the Big Ten. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck was candid about the difficulty of preparing for so many new opponents, particularly since Nebraska's offensive and defensive systems are a little different from what we see in the rest of the league.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez received good marks from the coaches, and his focus on footwork could translate into a more consistent passing attack. Beck certainly wants to be a bit more balanced, and Nebraska returns pretty much everyone at wide receiver and tight end. We often hear the cliche that it's all about the quarterback, but it holds true with Nebraska. If Martinez actually makes strides as a passer -- he'll be operating in the same offense as the starter for the first time in his high school or college career -- the Huskers will put up points this fall. But after watching Martinez last season, it's fair to have some doubts about No. 3.

The defense expects to exploit a schematic advantage we heard a lot about last season but didn't see much on Saturdays. I like coordinator John Papuchis, and Bo Pelini made two good staff additions in D-line coach Rick Kaczenski and secondary coach Terry Joseph. They're all about details and accountability, and they believe they'll be able to replace star power with greater depth in certain areas. Nebraska also should be strong in special teams. Do the Huskers have a unit better than Michigan State's defense? Not right now. But Nebraska could end up being the division's most complete team by season's end.

Getting back to Michigan State and Michigan. Both teams lose tremendous leaders from 2011 (Kirk Cousins, Mike Martin, Jerel Worthy, Joel Foreman, David Molk, Ryan Van Bergen). Who do you see filling those roles this year?

Brian Bennett: That's a good question, and one that will have to be answered this summer. For Michigan State, Andrew Maxwell impressed me as a guy who can lead in a similar way as Cousins did; he'll just have to play well at quarterback and battle through adversity. The Spartans have some seniors on defense who can lead, like Anthony Rashad White and Johnny Adams, but they also have some highly respected juniors in Max Bullough and William Gholston.

But they are replacing some very valuable leaders, just as Michigan is doing. Denard Robinson has worked on becoming more vocal and sounded like a different guy in interviews this spring. There's no question he has the respect of his teammates. Craig Roh and Jordan Kovacs seem like natural leaders on defense, and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan says he wants to take on that role as well. But leadership can't be forced, and it remains to be seen if either team can find such strong captains as guys like Cousins and Martin were.

Speaking of question marks, I feel like Iowa and Northwestern are two of the bigger mystery teams in the league. Both have talent and potentially potent offenses, but they'll also need some players on defense to rise up out of the shadows. What did you take out of your visits to Iowa City and Evanston this spring?

Adam Rittenberg: Let's start off with Iowa, which underwent some major changes this spring with a new offensive coordinator (Greg Davis), a position coach promoted to defensive coordinator (Phil Parker) and several more assistants shuffling, arriving or being promoted. The players seemed to embrace the changes, and coach Kirk Ferentz basically said the team needed a fresh start even though he didn't want to lose his previous coordinators. There's a lot of excitement about Davis' offense, which will be more up-tempo than what we've seen in the past from Iowa. Quarterback James Vandenberg really seems to get it, but will he have enough weapons around him to execute? The running back curse struck again this spring with Jordan Canzeri's ACL injury. Iowa needs young and/or unproven players to step up there, and wide receiver isn't a deep group. It'll be a big summer for Keenan Davis.

The feeling I had coming out of Evanston is that Northwestern will be a younger team but potentially a better one. The Wildcats say goodbye to an accomplished senior class that featured some outstanding players like quarterback Dan Persa. But was it the most talented group? I don't think so. Northwestern has improved its recruiting efforts in recent years, and the team could begin seeing the benefits this year. There are a lot of new faces at spots like defensive back and defensive line. I was impressed with cornerback Nick VanHoose and end Deonte Gibson. The wide receiving corps should be one of the Big Ten's best, even if Kyle Prater isn't eligible until 2013. The Wildcats might not have many familiar names at receiver, but they boast incredible depth there. This team still has question marks -- secondary, pass rush, running back, quarterback -- but the talent level is getting a bit better.

Neither of us made it up to Minneapolis this spring, but we both talked with Gophers players and coaches. What was your sense of the second spring under coach Jerry Kill?

Brian Bennett: We swear it's nothing personal, Gophers fans. Both of us would have enjoyed a trip to the Twin Cities, but the schedule just didn't work out.

Anyway, I did sense more confidence from the Minnesota players and coaches we interviewed. That's not surprising, given that it's the second year for Kill's staff and more familiarity almost always brings a better comfort level. MarQueis Gray really started to come on late last season and appears to have made strides as a passer. He could be one of the league's top playmakers this year. Overall, the Gophers look to have a little more talent this year, thanks to some junior college imports, youngsters who got experience last year and Troy Stoudermire coming back at cornerback. The defense should have more speed, though it remains undersized. The big question for me is who will emerge as weapons alongside Gray, especially at receiver.

But I think that, with a manageable nonconference schedule, Minnesota has a chance to win five or more games this year and it will be much more competitive in Big Ten play than it was early last season. The Legends Division looks more balanced top to bottom than the Leaders and should be fun to follow all year.

By now, it's pretty obvious who the last men standing are in our countdown of the Big Ten's top 25 players of 2011.

It's always a difficult exercise because there are many deserving players, and limiting ourselves to only 25 nominees means some excellent candidates got left out. So let's take a look at some of the toughest omissions.

First, here are the players who were on our preseason list who didn't survive the cut for the postseason honors and the reasons why:

Preseason No. 25: Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin: One of the hardest players to leave off the list, as Borland had an excellent season with 143 tackles and was one of the top linebackers in the league. We chose to go with his position mate, Mike Taylor, though Borland was probably No. 26 on our list.

Preseason No. 24: Michael Mauti, LB, Penn State: Mauti was well on his way to a strong season before he suffered another knee injury that forced him to miss most of the year.

Preseason No. 22: Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa: Prater's tackle and interception numbers dipped from his junior year, and Iowa's pass defense as a whole was disappointing.

Preseason No. 21: Nathan Scheelhaase, QB, Illinois: Scheelhaase got off to a good start in 2011, but he and the rest of the Illini offense were MIA for the second half of the season.

Preseason No. 19: Ricardo Allen, CB, Purdue: Allen had a good season, with 79 tackles and three interceptions, and just missed our list.

Preseason No. 16: Derek Moye, WR, Penn State: Moye dealt with an injury midseason, but what really hurt him was poor quarterback play.

Preseason No. 9: Edwin Baker, RB, Michigan State: Baker didn't build off his breakout 2010 campaign and became the second option behind Le'Veon Bell late in the season.

Preseason No. 3: Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern: Persa was still really good when he was in the lineup; he just wasn't in the lineup enough because of injury issues.

Preseason No. 1: Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska: Crick was a little quiet early in the season, and then he suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle in October.

Here are a few other guys who just missed the cut:

Michigan State CB Johnny Adams: I really liked the year Adams had, and he was on my initial top 25 list. Very difficult to leave him off.

Michigan State G Joel Foreman and Wisconsin OT Josh Oglesby: Two of the best offensive linemen in the league, but we already had a bunch of linemen on the list in a strong year for the big uglies in the Big Ten.

Nebraska P/K Brett Maher: Unfortunately, kickers and punters don't get a lot of love on lists like these.

Wisconsin S Aaron Henry: If we could have considered interview skills as part of the criteria, Henry would have been in the top 10.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Many of the underclassmen who finished just outside the top 25 will likely appear on our 2012 preseason list this summer. If you have players you feel strongly about who we didn't include in our top 25 -- and I'm betting you do -- drop me a line and tell me who and why. We'll discuss it in a future post.

After a few technical glitches, the Big Ten chat got under way earlier today, and we had some good discussion about all things Big Ten.

Missed the chat? Tsk, tsk. No worries, as you can check out the full recap.

Some highlights.

Nastradamus from Los Feliz: Adam, I bleed Maroon and Gold and I thought that Jerry Kill did a good job recruiting in state and JUCO talent in the 2012 class. However, the out of state recruiting was extremely weak (most guys didn't have multiple BCS offers). I believe Jerry Kill needs 7 to 8 wins this fall in order to recruit better out of state in the future. What say you?

Adam Rittenberg: That's part of it, Nastradamus, but give Kill credit for keeping some of the top in-state players at home. That's the way you build a program, and that's what he's doing at Minnesota. Think about all the good in-state prospects who have gone elsewhere, whether it's Michael Floyd to Notre Dame or Seantrel Henderson to USC and then Miami. So keeping good players at home is a good start. But I agree that in the long run, Kill and his staff need to do better outside the area. The WR from North Carolina was a nice get.

Jason from Iowa: Hey Adam! Who would have guessed that Kirk would go vanilla on his DC hire? Ha...can't wait for more "bend but don't break (but actually break)" defense!

Adam Rittenberg: Jason, you're not alone in this belief. I don't think Iowa fans would have been upset had Kirk promoted Phil Parker back in December. But there was more to this search and outside candidates were contacted, I'm told. Ultimately, Iowa went with Phil Parker, who will maintain the defensive structure we've seen under Norm. The bigger issue in my mind is Reese Morgan moving from O-line to D-line. Morgan is a veteran coach who has seen it all, but he hasn't coached offense at Iowa. The defensive line, in my view, is the most critical area on the team in 2012 because of all the inexperience.

Jon from Colorado: Why is there so much confidence that MSU's running game/o-line will be so improved next year? That was supposed to be the strength of the offense last season and we all know how that turned out. They lose their best offensive lineman and I don't think the returning starters would start for a lot of other Big Ten teams. What exactly is causing the confidence that you and Bennett both seem to have? I think Maxwell will need to be exceptional (close to Cousins) for their offense to be in the same ballpark as last year's team.

Adam Rittenberg: Jon, who said the offensive line was supposed to be a strength in 2011? Anyone who did doesn't study Michigan State, which lost its starting offensive tackles and its starting center. Any time you're replacing those three linemen, you're probably in trouble. I think the Spartans will have fewer issues on the line because more players saw the field in 2011. Foreman is a big loss, but you can replace a guard easier than a tackle or a center. And I like Le'Veon Bell's potential, which he showed in games like Iowa.

Patrick from Chicago: Adam, if the Rose Bowl can't be protected, and is sort of left to twist in the wind, what sort of scenario do you see happening? Does it limp on with No. 2 teams from conferences, or does it fold up shop?

Adam Rittenberg: It doesn't fold up shop, Patrick. The Rose Bowl is the one major bowl that, in my view, still would be celebrated even in a playoff environment. And I think the access points are pretty clear. If the Big Ten and Pac-12 champs aren't in the top four, they play in Pasadena. If one is and one isn't, the champion plays the No. 2 team from the other league. If both champions are in the top 4, which likely will be pretty rare, you could see No. 2 vs. No. 2.

Thanks again for all the questions, and my apologies to those whose questions weren't asked. Let's do it again next week.

A Big Ten coach recently told me that the league will be more wide open in 2012 than it has been in recent memory.

He's absolutely right.

While Ohio State's personnel issues changed the complexion of the league race in 2011, things went more or less as expected. Wisconsin, projected by many as the preseason favorite, won the Big Ten championship and advanced to its second consecutive Rose Bowl. Michigan State was a mini surprise, but more because of the Spartans' brutal schedule than their talent level. Michigan exceeded expectations, while Ohio State, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern and Iowa fell short of them.

The forecast for 2012 is cloudy at best. Every potential frontrunner has some significant hurdles to overcome.

Let's look at seven of them:

Michigan's challenges: Brady Hoke's crew plays arguably the league's toughest schedule, opening against Alabama, playing road games against Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State, and hosting Michigan State, which has won the teams' past four meetings. The Wolverines also lose standout defensive linemen Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen, as well as center David Molk, the Rimington Trophy winner, and top receiver Junior Hemingway.

Michigan State's challenges: The schedule isn't as treacherous, but Michigan State loses several key pieces, most notably quarterback Kirk Cousins, a three-year starter and a three-time captain. The Spartans also must replace their top two receivers (B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin), their top offensive lineman (guard Joel Foreman), All-Big Ten safety Trenton Robinson and two players making an early jump to the NFL draft (defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and backup running back Edwin Baker). The Spartans say goodbye to six All-Big Ten performers.

Wisconsin's challenges: Although the Badgers regain the services of running back Montee Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist, they will be adjusting to plenty of new faces both on the field and on the sidelines. All-Big Ten quarterback Russell Wilson departs along with three starting offensive linemen, headlined by All-America center Peter Konz. While the defense returns mostly intact, Wisconsin will be replacing at least five assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Paul Chryst and offensive line coach Bob Bostad, two of the best in the business. On the bright side, Wisconsin doesn't have to visit Spartan Stadium.

Nebraska's challenges: Along with Michigan, the Huskers return the most offensive firepower in the league and could take a significant step if the line comes together and the wide receivers and Taylor Martinez continue to mature. But if Big Red doesn't play the type of defense it did in 2009 and 2010, it could be another long season in Lincoln. Nebraska loses its top two defenders, linebacker Lavonte David and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, and must upgrade the defensive front seven to handle the more physical Big Ten offenses. The schedule might be a little easier, but not much as Nebraska visits both Michigan State and Ohio State.

Ohio State's challenges: Urban Meyer inherits a young football team with the chance to make big strides in 2012, but the Buckeyes are ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA rules violations. It wouldn't shock me to see Ohio State have the best record in the Leaders Division, but its season will end Nov. 24 against Michigan as the Scarlet and Gray can't play in the Big Ten title game. There also could be some growing pains as players adjust to new systems.

Penn State's challenges: The Bill O'Brien era begins in 2012, and it's hard to know what to expect from a Penn State team going through a transition period. The Lions once again should be strong on defense, although they lose Big Ten defensive player of the year Devon Still and most of their starting secondary. O'Brien and his staff will upgrade the offense eventually, but there could be some struggles initially with a unit that has underachieved since 2008. Although the Leaders Division is up for grabs, Penn State has no shortage of hurdles.

Iowa's challenges: Kirk Ferentz's program reaches another crossroads in 2012 after losing momentum from the 2009 Orange Bowl run. Will Iowa move into the Big Ten's lead pack or take another step backward? There are significant concerns along the defensive line, and Iowa must replace the league's top receiver in Marvin McNutt. If Marcus Coker returns, the offense should be decent, but quarterback James Vandenberg must show he can be more consistent away from Iowa City.

The Big Ten doesn't have an obvious team to beat in 2012, like Wisconsin in 2011 or Ohio State in 2010.

If I had to pick a favorite at this point, I'd go with Michigan State because of the Spartans talent-stocked defense. But the Legends Division race will be extremely competitive -- undoubtedly the tougher division to win. Ohio State's bowl ban, Wisconsin's player/coach losses and Penn State's transition make the Leaders race nearly impossible to predict. While Wisconsin will be a popular pick, I could see several teams, including a sleeper like Purdue, make a run in 2012.

The season kicks off in 235 days.

When it does, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride.

File this under "feel-good story" and "extremely well-deserved."

Michigan State's Arthur Ray Jr. has been named the winner of the 2011 Discover Orange Bowl/FWAA Courage Award. Ray, a senior offensive lineman from Chicago, returned to football this season, four years after bone cancer derailed his career.

The award will be presented Jan. 3, 2012, at the AVMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon in Miami. Ray will be honored again Jan. 4 on the field during the Discover Orange Bowl.

"This is a tremendous award for a young man who has conquered all of the odds up against him," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "He's played in games this year and has participated on the practice field daily. It's been a long road. He was on crutches for almost two years, from 2007 to 2009. He's really a living example to our football team on what you can do with a positive attitude and if you just continue to work, how you can conquer all obstacles."

I wrote about Ray's comeback from cancer in the spring of 2010. At that point, his status to see the field for the Spartans remained in doubt. He was cleared to practice in August and started the season opener against Youngstown State as senior Joel Foreman admirably gave up his spot for Ray.

Amazing story. Amazing kid. It's great to see Ray's story being recognized nationally.

In case you missed it, Brian and I released our 2011 All-Big Ten team on Friday.

It's always interesting to look back where the selections ranked as recruits coming into college. I took a look at the ESPN Recruiting database to check out where each all-conference selection stacked up. I've listed their scouting grade, which is explained here, along with where they ranked nationally overall (if applicable), by position and within their region. I also list quotes from recruiting analysts about the prospects at the time.

The first post takes a look at offense. The second will examine defense and special teams.

OFFENSE

QB: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin (began career at NC State), Class of 2007 -- Scout Grade of 73, rated as nation's 104th best quarterback. Analysis: "He has one of the quickest releases we have seen over he last two years. The ball comes out in a hurry. He is a great little athlete -- a true dual-threat -- but clearly a passer first. ... The problem is that he is short and lacks a great arm. Arm strength is adequate, but not powerful."

RB: Montee Ball, Wisconsin, Class of 2009 -- Scout Grade of 77, rated as nation's 74th best running back, 131st best player in Midlands region. Analysis: "At times Ball appears physically superior to his competition on film and could struggle maintaining his current yards after contact at the next level. With that said, you can't argue with his production and he is certainly built to carry the load and wear down a defense in a heavy power-running scheme."

RB: Rex Burkhead, Nebraska, Class of 2009 -- Scout Grade of 78, rated as nation's 44th best athlete, 61st best player in Midlands region. Analysis: "Burkhead is one of those junk yard dogs that makes your roster meaner and tougher and we love that about him. He's a warrior, throwback type of player that will fight, scrap and sellout to get the job done and make the play. ... He does show some stiffness to him and is not overly fluid in the hips. Has very good speed, but we would not term him to be a burner. He has an overachiever element to him that adds a chip on his shoulder."

WR: Marvin McNutt, Iowa, Class of 2007 -- Scout Grade of 77, rated as nation's 38th best quarterback. Analysis: "McNutt is an exceptional athlete who happens to be a pretty darn good passer with the upside to develop into an excellent passer. He is a true dual-threat quarterback who is a passer first, runner second. He is a dangerous spread offense, read-option guy with excellent speed and quickness. ... He is dangerous on the perimeter -- once he gets in space, look out."

WR: B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State, Class of 2007 -- Scout Grade of 70, rated as nation's 145th best wide receiver. Analysis: "Cunningham has very good size and leaping ability and flashes some big-play skills on jump balls downfield. However, he is the definition of a possession receiver in terms of speed and quickness. Builds speed as he goes and works the intermediate routes like curls, comebacks and digs very well."

TE: Drake Dunsmore, Northwestern, Class of 2007 -- Scout Grade of 77, rated as nation's 20th best tight end. Analysis: "He will need to add bulk to his frame and has adequate height, but if he can physically develop, he has the tools to be a productive college tight end. He impresses you with his in-line blocking ability. ... As a receiver, he can be productive. He catches the ball with his hands and does a good job of adjusting to bad balls and making the catch."

OL: David Molk, Michigan, Class of 2007 -- Scout Grade of 78, rated as nation's sixth best center. Analysis: "Molk is an offensive tackle in high school but will project to either the guard or center position in college. His build along with him having some experience makes him a good candidate to be a college center. ... There will be some adjusting for Molk, and you would like to see him continue to add bulk. He does play with tenacity and has good tools. Should be able to develop into a good center at the college level."

OL: Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin, Class of 2008 -- No Scout Grade and unranked among guards. No extensive analysis.

OL: Peter Konz, Wisconsin, Class of 2008 -- Scout Grade of 75, rated as nation's 71st best offensive tackle. Analysis: "Konz is a blue collar type player in the trenches. He has good size and displays good versatility. He plays both tackle and guard and could project as a right tackle in college or as a guard. He is a tenacious run blocker. He delivers a good initial blow. ... He slams into a defender and is able to drive an opponent off the line of scrimmage in the run game. He has a good motor in the run game and will run a path hitting whatever is in his way."

OL: Joel Foreman, Michigan State, Class of 2007 -- No Scout Grade and unranked among guards. No extensive analysis.

OL: Reilly Reiff, Iowa, Class of 2008 -- Scout Grade of 74, rated as nation's 91st best defensive end. Analysis: "He is a big kid at the end position with the ability to get bigger. He has a good get-off and can come out of his stance and shoot his hands. He has the ability to punch and separate. He needs to work on placement, as he can wind up with his hands on the outside of a blocker's frame and let him into his chest. He flashes the ability to play with leverage and hold his ground. He is a tall kid and needs to focus on staying low."

Thoughts: No truly elite recruits appear among the offensive All-Big Ten selections, as Michigan's Molk and Northwestern's Dunsmore were the highest-rated players at their respective positions. The two guards, Michigan State's Foreman and Wisconsin's Zeitler, appear to be the biggest surprises as neither was rated coming out of high school. Both Iowa honorees were listed at different positions as recruits, and both received evaluations that indicated they could succeed elsewhere. The analysis of Burkhead appears spot-on, while players like Cunningham certainly exceeded the perception coming out of high school.

Editor’s Note: Tune into the “AT&T ESPN All America Team Show” on Saturday (ABC, 1:30 p.m. ET) to see who ESPN’s writers and experts selected.

The envelope, please ...

OFFENSE

QB: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin
RB: Montee Ball, Wisconsin
RB: Rex Burkhead, Nebraska
WR: Marvin McNutt, Iowa
WR: B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State
TE: Drake Dunsmore, Northwestern
OL: David Molk, Michigan
OL: Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin
OL: Peter Konz, Wisconsin
OL: Joel Foreman, Michigan State
OL: Reilly Reiff, Iowa

DEFENSE

DL: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois
DL: Devon Still, Penn State
DL: Jerel Worthy, Michigan State
DL: John Simon, Ohio State
LB: Lavonte David, Nebraska
LB: Gerald Hodges, Penn State
LB: Mike Taylor, Wisconsin
CB: Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska
CB: Johnny Adams, Michigan State
S: Trenton Robinson, Michigan State
S: Nick Sukay, Penn State

SPECIALISTS

P: Anthony Fera, Penn State
K: Brett Maher, Nebraska
KR: Raheem Mostert, Purdue
PR: Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin

Comments: We said before the season that the strength in the Big Ten lay in the interior lines, and that is illustrated in our picks. Still and Worthy had All-America seasons, and Simon was great as well. We didn't even have room for Michigan's Mike Martin, who had a terrific year. Our offensive line has two centers in Molk and Konz (two Rimington Trophy finalists) because we thought that position was much stronger than tackle. (Konz has played guard in his career, so we could figure it out if we actually had to play with this team). Some of our toughest choices came at the second receiver spot, where we liked Cunningham's production down the stretch far more than A.J. Jenkins' early numbers for an Illinois team that faded badly; the third linebacker spot, where we could have gone with Taylor's teammate Chris Borland or Illinois' Jonathan Brown; and the second safety selection, where we chose Sukay over Northwestern's Brian Peters, Minnesota's Kim Royston and Wisconsin's Aaron Henry because we felt Sukay made a big impact on a better defense. Lastly, only eight players who we chose on our preseason All-Big Ten team ended up on our official postseason squad. That shows how much things can change from season to season -- and it also shows that maybe our prognosticating skills need some improvement.

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS


Record: 10-3 (7-2 Big Ten)

Just about everything was great about the Spartans' season, except for the ending.

The 42-39 loss to Wisconsin in the inaugural Big Ten championship game put a damper on what was one of the best seasons in school history. Instead of going to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 24 years, Michigan State again got shut out of the BCS despite raising a Big Ten banner (this time, for the Legends Division crown) for the second straight year. Worse, hated rival Michigan is going to the Allstate Sugar Bowl even though the Spartans beat the Wolverines by two touchdowns and finished a game ahead of them in the division standings.

Hey, life's not fair. But that shouldn't take away from what Mark Dantonio and his team accomplished in 2011. The Spartans' second consecutive 10-win season was a first in school history. Many counted Michigan State out this year because of a brutal road slate and a schedule that included games at Ohio State, vs. Michigan and Wisconsin and at Nebraska in October alone. The team won the first three of those before getting blown out at Nebraska, when it was likely mentally and physically drained from the previous three weeks. That would be the only loss in Big Ten regular-season play.

The defense finished fifth nationally in yards allowed, embracing coordinator Pat Narduzzi's aggressive style by punishing opposing quarterbacks. Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy was the star up front at defensive tackle, but there wasn't a weak link on that side of the ball. On offense, the Spartans had to replace three linemen from last year and dealt with some injuries in that unit early in the year. Predictably, it took a while for everything to jell. But the O-line improved rapidly, and the offense was humming as well as anyone's down the stretch. Michigan State averaged 38.6 points in its final five games, with quarterback Kirk Cousins hitting his targets, receivers B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin giving defenses fits and Le'Veon Bell emerging as a hard-charging, go-to running back.

In any other year, the regular-season results would have been enough to send the Spartans to Pasadena. They came up just short in a rematch with Wisconsin. But this program proved that it's ready to compete for the league title every year.

Offensive MVP: Kirk Cousins. Receivers B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin were fantastic, but Cousins was the leader who made everything go. The fifth-year senior completed better than 67 percent of his passes in the final five games, with 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He finished as the Big Ten's top passer with a career-best 3,016 yards. He was in line to be the Big Ten title game MVP had Michigan State won, but a running-into-the-punter penalty prevented him and the offense from getting the ball back for one last drive.

Defensive MVP: Jerel Worthy. There were many noteworthy performances on the Michigan State defense, including defensive end Will Gholston, linebackers Denicos Allen and Max Bullogh, cornerback Johnny Adams and safety Trenton Robinson, among others. But Worthy was the catalyst, disrupting things in the middle of the line of scrimmage. He was also the team's fiery, emotional spark plug.

Turning point: Wisconsin's Hail Mary-esque, 36-yard completion on fourth-and-6 late in the Big Ten title game. That allowed the Badgers to go in for the game-winning score, and the Rose Bowl bid that seemed so close started to slip away.

What's next: An Outback Bowl matchup against SEC East champ Georgia in what should be a competitive game. The Spartans will look to win their first bowl game under Dantonio, an important next step. Losing Cousins, Cunningham, Martin, lineman Joel Foreman, Robinson and likely Worthy (if he goes pro) will create some major holes. Narduzzi also is likely to get a head coaching gig. But the majority of the roster returns, meaning the Spartans should be a factor again in the 2012 league race.

To get you ready for Saturday's Big Ten championship game between Wisconsin and Michigan State, I've gone back and watched the classic Oct. 22 game, won by the Spartans 37-31. This is my retro diary of that experience. If you missed Vol. I, which covers the first half of the game, click here. We'll pick up things now with the second half. (You can follow along through the magic of ESPN3.com here; however, after repeated attempts I can tell you the replay does not match up in any way with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon.")

Third quarter

• 14:45: Wisconsin defensive back Dezmen Southward leaves the game with an injury, pushing freshman Peniel Jean into the game for the second half. Not like the Badgers will need extra defensive backs at any point later on ...
• 11:58: Michigan State is forced to punt after pressure from Mike Taylor pressures Kirk Cousins into an incompletion. Good start for the Badgers' defense.
• 10:28: Russell Wilson completes his third straight pass, the last one to Montee Ball for 22 yards to the Michigan State 19. It's Ball's first touch since he went out in the second quarter with concussion signs. Wilson hit two straight big passes on play-action. There's not a more dangerous play-action team in the country than the Badgers, which sometimes makes you wonder why they don't use that on every passing down.
• 9:56: Oh, here's why. The Spartans stuff the play-action for a 1-yard loss as Johnny Adams comes on a corner blitz. Does any team in America use the corner blitz more than Michigan State does with Adams?
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Andrew Weber/US PresswireMarcus Rush forces Russell Wilson out of the pocket, leading to a rare misfire by Wilson.
• 8:40: Big miss here for the Badgers, as Wilson -- after being flushed out to his left by Marcus Rush -- misses a wide-open Jacob Pedersen for what would have been an easy touchdown. Wilson floated his pass over Pedersen in one of his rare bad throws. But pressure will make even the best quarterbacks to fall out of sync.
• 8:31: Wisconsin settles for a 33-yard field goal to make it 23-17, Michigan State. Wisconsin scored touchdowns on 56 of 65 red-zone trips this year but had to try field goals on its past two forays inside the Spartans' 20.
• 6:13: Wisconsin forces a Michigan State three-and-out, thanks in large part to a Chris Borland sack.
• 4:58: Wilson hits Jared Abbrederis for a 20-yard gain off, of course, play-action. Michigan State's Jerel Worthy cramps up and has to leave for the rest of the series. Other than a first-half tackle for loss, Worthy has been quieted by Wisconsin's Kevin Zeitler and Peter Konz. But Konz is not expected to play this week.
• 4:42: Another missed touchdown opportunity from the Spartans' 39. On yet another play-action, Wilson runs to his right, pivots and throws back across the field to Ball, who was well covered. He missed Pedersen, who was running wide open about 10 yards to Ball's right. How'd Pedersen get so open? He actually falls down near the line of scrimmage after sliding off his block, and everybody forgets about him -- maybe even Wilson. Credit Max Bullough for getting in Wilson's face and making him throw it more quickly than he wanted.
• 3:54 On third-and-7, Wilson scrambles to his left, with Johnathan Strayhorn in hot pursuit. Wilson might have an angle to get to the first-down marker, but he drops the football and has to jump on it for a 1-yard loss. In one of my football pet peeves, Wisconsin punts from the 37 and it results in a touchback, a net gain of only 17 yards.
• 0:55: Le'Veon Bell runs through hard-hitting linebacker Mike Taylor to pick up a first down. Bell really asserts himself in the second half of this game, and the sophomore would become the Spartans' main back for the rest of the season.
• :00: Third quarter ends. Wisconsin has outplayed Michigan State most of the quarter but only has three points to show for it. And the Spartans are driving.

Fourth quarter

• 11:05: Huge play here, as Michigan State faces third-and-11 from the Wisconsin 15. Cousins hits Keshawn Martin well in front of the sticks, but Martin uses his speed to race right past Borland. No other Badgers defender can cut him off, and Martin takes it to the end zone. Mark Dantonio wisely goes for two, and Cousins throws a fade to B.J. Cunningham, who makes a great adjustment and catch to beat Marcus Cromartie. It's now 31-17 Michigan State. After falling behind 14-0, the Spartans have outscored Wisconsin 31-3. This touchdown drive took 7:34 off the clock, and Cousins has been razor sharp on the night to this point, completing 16-of-19 passes for 202 yards.
• 10:03: Another blown opportunity for the Badgers. They line up in the I-formation and get single coverage on the outside. Abbrederis shakes Darqueze Dennard at the line of scrimmage and has him beat deep. Wilson delivers the strike down the field -- but the normally sure-handed Abbrederis just plain drops it. How many touchdowns can Wisconsin give away?
• 9:54: Wisconsin punts after Denicos Allen pressures Wilson into an incompletion.
• 8:56: Michigan State goes three-and-out again, curiously choosing to pass twice instead of bleeding clock with the run game. The Spartans use only a minute on the clock, even though the best defense against Wisconsin's offense is to keep it off the field.
• 8:40: Abbrederis, making up for his drop, returns the punt 33 yards to the Michigan State 43. Abbrederis leads the nation this season in punt return average, at 16.4 yards per attempt.
• 8:10: Moments after Ball's first big run of the second half, Wilson scrambles for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 31-24 Michigan State. Isaiah Lewis had a bead on Wilson, but Wilson pump faked a pass and Lewis -- who made comments about hurting Wilson the week before -- jumped in the air. Ball missed two big blocks in the first half, but this time he picks up Allen on the blitz to spring the play. The Badgers could have easily scored touchdowns on each of their first four second-half drives; instead, they have managed 10 points.
• 7:09: Michigan State goes three and out for the third time in four drives and again throws two incompletions, using up barely a minute on the clock. Momentum has shifted back toward Bucky Badger.
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Andrew Weber/US PresswirePerhaps the play of the year in college football: Keith Nichol scores the game-winning TD on a Hail Mary pass.
• 6:54: The worst moment arrives for Russellmania. Wilson is pressured again, rolls to his right and then heaves a pass all the way back to the left sideline for Pedersen. But Bullough has decent coverage on Pedersen, and the ball sails. Lewis finally makes an impact, racing over to catch the ball and tiptoe the sideline for a big interception.
• 5:13: But Michigan State can't capitalize as it goes three and out once again. On third down, the Spartans appear to call the same play that led to the first-half touchdown pass to Cunningham on a fourth down. Only this time, the Wisconsin linebackers spot Cunningham, and Ethan Hemer gets penetration to sack Cousins.
• 3:57: After taking over at their own 13, the Badgers get back-to-back first-down runs from Ball. Most teams would panic and throw the ball down seven with under four minutes left, but Paul Chryst has enough confidence in his running game to call four straight runs to start this drive.
• 2:39: On third-and-9, Wilson dances in the pocket to avoid the rush, keeps his eyes downfield and hits fullback Bradie Ewing for 15 yards to extend the drive.
• 1:39: More brilliance from Wilson. Michigan State gets pressure again, but Wilson spins around and runs backward to create some room. Downfield, Nick Toon breaks off his route and sprints to the sideline, and Wilson finds him for a 42-yard gain. Toon, coming back from an injury, has only two catches in this game. I expect him to be a bigger factor in Round 2.
• 1:26: Wilson, flushed out again, starts to run but then dumps it to Ball for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 31-31. Wilson was 4-for-4 on the drive, and if Wisconsin were to win in overtime, he just had his Heisman moment.
• 1:06: On third-and-7 from the Michigan State 25, Cousins hits Bell across the middle for the first down. Large.
• 0:42: Unsung hero alert! Cousins scrambles and fumbles on a hit by Brendan Kelly. Offensive lineman Joel Foreman falls on the ball, but the pigskin squirts away. In a huge heads-up play, tackle Dan France pounces on it. Both Borland and Taylor had a chance but can't come up with the ball. Had Wisconsin recovered, it would have taken over at the 24-yard line with all three timeouts. The Badgers almost surely win the game then. Still, it's second-and-21 now, and Bret Bielema calls timeout as he starts to think about getting the ball back. Worthy screams at the offense on the sidelines. I'd like to tell you what he said, but this is a family-friendly blog.
• 0:30: Cunningham makes an 8-yard grab, and Bielema calls his second timeout. Michigan State was jogging back to the line of scrimmage, and it seemed clear that the Spartans were going to let the clock run down. I understand the first timeout, but I think this one was a bad idea, especially with the momentum Wisconsin would have taken into overtime. During the break, Brent Musberger says, "this could be the first of two" between these teams. Good call.
• 0:24: The Spartans pick up the first down on an inside shovel pass to Martin. Wisconsin has to know where Martin is on that situation. Also, it sure looked like France jumped offside before the snap, but perhaps karma rewarded him for the fumble recovery. Michigan State did not get called for a single penalty in the game.
• 0:09: Cousins finds Bell over the middle again to the Badgers' 44. The Spartans need about 10 more yards to get in field-goal range.
• 0:04: Cousins rolls out and throws to tight end Brian Linthicum, but the pass is a little high and bounces off Linthicum's hands. Aaron Henry had good coverage. A completion there would have set up a field-goal try, but now Michigan State has no choice but to throw it to the end zone. Bielema calls his third timeout to set up the defense, and Dantonio changes the play he had called
• 0:00: "Rocket" time. Here's an excellent breakdown of all that went wrong and yet right for Michigan State on the play of the year in college football. Keith Nichol is ruled down inside the 1 on the field. But after a replay takes 2:12 of real time, the officials overturn the call. Touchdown, 37-31 Spartans. What a game. Can't wait for the rematch.

For much of its history, the Big Ten staged a championship game at the end of the season. It was called Ohio State vs. Michigan.

Then the league added Penn State in the 1990s and Nebraska in 2011, two more blue-chip programs used to competing for national championships on at least a semi-annual basis. It made sense, then, to split the four of those schools up when the conference went to divisions this year so as to create competitive balance. Let them duke it out in the regular season and then meet for a winner-take-all affair in Indianapolis.

Except it hasn't turned out that way, at least in Year One of the Big Ten title game. All four of the league's most tradition-filled powers are sitting home this weekend, waiting for bowl invitations. Instead, Michigan State and Wisconsin are battling for the Stagg-[Name Redacted] Championship Trophy on Saturday.

"The fact that the standard names aren't here, really, it's a new era," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.

The Spartans and Badgers are doing their best to change the perception of who the real Big Ten superpowers are.

It's not all that surprising to see Wisconsin in the title game. The program has been steadily enhancing its reputation for some time, going to three Rose Bowls in the 1990s under Barry Alvarez and punching a ticket to Pasadena last season by winning a share of the league title. Last week's blowout victory over Penn State gave the Badgers 10 wins for the third straight year, the first time that has been done in school history. Wisconsin is 31-7 since 2009, the best record by any Big Ten team in that span.

"A lot of positive things are going on here," said head coach Bret Bielema, who is 59-18 since succeeding Alvarez. "I was able to sit in my office [Sunday] with a recruit, and I pointed at my desk. I told him, 'Over the last 20 plus-years, only two coaches have sat there. Some other programs have had three, four and even five coaches in that exact same time.' So the consistency is there."

The Badgers have been knocking on the door of the national elite, finishing No. 5 in the final BCS standings last year and coming within a couple of last-minute, long touchdown throws of getting into the national title chase this season. The success of Russell Wilson at quarterback has likely opened new recruiting doors, showing that quarterbacks can become stars in Madison, not just huge offensive linemen and running backs.

Wisconsin knocked off then-No. 1 Ohio State last season and no doubt benefited from the Buckeyes' struggles this season (even though the Badgers lost in Columbus). Urban Meyer will make life more difficult in the Leaders Division, but Bielema has built a program with staying power.

"We can be one of the elite teams in this conference and take the conference and make it ours," Wisconsin senior defensive lineman Patrick Butrym said. "But we need to have success for more than two years if we want to do that."

Having success for two straight years had often proved elusive for Michigan State. The Spartans have long been known as one of the most inconsistent, arguably underachieving, teams in the Big Ten. Every step forward in East Lansing seemed to be accompanied by a pratfall.

That's beginning to change under Dantonio. The Spartans followed up last year's 11-1 regular-season record with a Legends Division championship this year. They proved they could win on the road, continued their recent dominance against rival Michigan and snapped a losing streak at Ohio State. For the first time in school history, Michigan State has put together back-to-back 10-win seasons.

"We've worked long and hard to try to remove that stigma and build a championship-type program here," Dantonio said. "Right now, Michigan State is moving in the direction we want to move in. I don't think we've accomplished our ultimate goal yet, but we're very, very close."

Dantonio says Wisconsin is one of the programs he looked to emulate when he took over the Spartans. Some hurdles remain, including winning a bowl game. Last season, Michigan State won a share of the Big Ten title but got destroyed 49-7 by Alabama in the Capital One Bowl.

"We felt like, at the very least, we should have gone to a BCS game [last season]," Dantonio said. "In retrospect, we didn't play to that level when we had a chance, so that ended the discussion as far as I was concerned. It was like we climbed a mountain, got to the top and found out there were other mountains to climb."

The Rose Bowl remains Mount Everest for the Spartans. They haven't reached that summit since 1988. To put that in perspective, offensive lineman Joel Foreman pointed out that he and the team's other fifth-year seniors were born in 1988.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin is trying to win a second consecutive Big Ten title for only the third time in history. The other two came in 1998-99 and way back in 1896-97. Three of the Badgers' wins in that pair of 19th century glory years were credited against Madison High School.

Safe to say that the competition is a little tougher these days. But so are Michigan State and Wisconsin. They might not have the tradition of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska, but times are changing.

"You can't erase the history those four schools have had," Bielema said, "but history is in the history books. We try to focus on the now and what's in the newspaper today."

Saw you so much clearer, once you were in my rear-view mirror.

Team of the week: Michigan. The Wolverines flexed their muscles and blew out Nebraska 45-17 in their best performance and arguably biggest win of the season. Michigan is now the Big Ten's best hope for an at-large BCS bid. Michigan State sure liked what happened in Ann Arbor this week, too.

Game of the week: Penn State 20, Ohio State 14. Ultimately, this game had no bearing on the Big Ten title race, but try telling these two teams that. In a week without many thrillers, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes played an old-school, physical game that featured no second-half points but plenty of hold-your-breath moments. Given the backdrop of what Penn State had been dealing with back home, it was far from meaningless.

Biggest play: Illinois led Wisconsin 14-0 in the second quarter when punter Justin Duvernois dropped the ball after catching the snap. The Badgers' Conor O'Neill tackled him at the 2-yard line to set up a Montee Ball touchdown run and finally give Wisconsin some momentum. Who knows how the game would have unfolded differently had the Illini taken a 17-0 lead into half instead of 17-7. And for a team that had special-teams breakdowns in losses to Michigan State and Ohio State, it was good for Wisconsin to get one back in the kicking game.

Best call: Lions turning into Wildcats. Interim coach Tom Bradley and his staff decided to use Curtis Drake and Bill Belton in the Wildcat formation against Ohio State, something Penn State hadn't shown much of all season. By the time the Buckeyes adjusted to it, Penn State had piled up 254 yards and 20 points in the first half. The defense did the rest in the second half. Question: Would the Nittany Lions have used that kind of creativity if Joe Paterno was still the head coach?

Toughest call: Robert Marve's touchdown-no-fumble near the end of the Purdue-Iowa game. The Boilers quarterback scrambled and dived for the end zone with 1:27 left in the game, losing the ball just as he hit the pylon. The officials on the field ruled it a touchdown, which would have cut the lead to 31-27 with an extra point giving Purdue a chance to get within a field goal. But after a review, the play was ruled a lost fumble in the end zone, which gave the ball to Iowa and basically ended the game.

Boilermakers coach Danny Hope brought a still picture of the play to his Sunday media briefing, saying it showed Marve's hand hitting the pylon and the ball out of bounds. Other angles and replays seemed to validate the replay officials' ruling. You can watch the video of it here at the 1:40 mark. Either way, Purdue simply made too many mistakes in the game to be whining about one call, no matter how crucial it was.

Big Men on Campus (Offense): Wisconsin's Ball and Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson. Ball had career highs in rushes (38) and yards (224) and scored three more touchdowns, becoming just the fifth player in FBS history to reach 30 touchdowns in a season. Robinson bounced back from a couple of rough outings to account for four touchdowns and 263 total yards of offense against Nebraska. He has now won six Big Ten player of the week honors, third-most in league history.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland. The sophomore made a career-high 16 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles against Illinois. His second forced fumble gave the Badgers a short field to set up their second touchdown, and he helped lead a defensive effort that shut out the Illini in the second half and forced four turnovers. A special shout out also goes to Northwestern's Brian Peters, who forced and recovered a fumble and made an interception despite wearing a cast on one arm against Minnesota.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Penn State's Anthony Fera. He made a 43-yard field goal and a 46-yarder at the end of the first half to account for the margin of victory in the Nittany Lions' 20-14 win against Ohio State. He also had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including one on the 3-yard line. How good has Fera been this season? This is third Big Ten weekly honor of the season.

Strangest moment: It's not often you see an offensive guard taking a handoff and running a sweep. But Michigan State's Joel Foreman did just that on Saturday in a nice gesture from Mark Dantonio.

The Spartans were up 48-3 on Indiana when Foreman lined up at tight end and came around the left side for a three-yard gain. Dantonio said he thought of the idea in practice Thursday as a way to honor Foreman, a fifth-year senior who has started 46 career games at left guard.

"That was for every big guy out there who ever wanted to run the ball," Foreman told reporters. "I'm averaging three yards a carry, broken tackle. I think that's more than [quarterback] Kirk [Cousins] has, so I'm doing all right."

It was a particularly appropriate way to end the home season for Foreman, who let cancer survivor Arthur Ray Jr. begin the game in his place in the season opener despite his consecutive starts streak. After Foreman's run, he jogged to midfield with the ball under his arm, saluted and then came out of the game. Ray was one of the first players to greet him.

"He got the game ball for that," Dantonio said of Foreman. "He took it, as a matter of fact."

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Not long after his interception for a touchdown against Michigan sealed a 28-14 win, Michigan State safety Isaiah Lewis fired the first shot toward Madison.

"Wisconsin should know we're coming," Lewis said. "They have a good offense, and that quarterback [Russell Wilson]. But they should just know our defense is coming. And just like any other team, if they're throwing the ball up, our DBs are going to go get it, our linebackers are going to go get it and our lineman are getting after the quarterback. And they're going to hurt him."

Those are bold, confident words considering that the No. 4 Badgers have clearly been the class of the Big Ten through the first half of the season. But the way these Spartans are playing, especially defensively, the confidence is understandable.

After all, they just finished making Denard Robinson, arguably the most difficult player in the nation to contain, look lost and confused. Their offensive line, beset by injuries and youth, finally came together and paved the way for a 167-yard rushing day for tailback Edwin Baker. They bullied and beat the Wolverines for the fourth straight year, the first time Michigan State has done that since 1962.

"I don't need to say a word the rest of my life," senior quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "I've just got to hold up four fingers."

The Spartans have a chance to hold up just their index finger, at least in the Big Ten. They are the last team left in the Legends Division with an unbeaten conference record, making them an early front-runner to get to Indianapolis on Dec. 3. If that happens, it will likely be because the defense led the way.

Michigan State entered Saturday's game ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense, a perch that seemed shaky when Michigan drove 80 yards for a touchdown on the game's first possession. From then on, however, the top ranking started to make sense.

The Wolverines managed just 170 total yards after their opening drive. Like they did two weeks ago against Ohio State, the Spartans caused all sorts of problems with their pressure. They followed up a nine-sack day in Columbus with seven more in this game, which is even more impressive because Robinson is usually so good at slipping away from tacklers.

But Robinson netted only 42 rushing yards on 18 carries, as he was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for 36 negative yards. Already a wobbly passer, Robinson struggled to even throw near many of his receivers in swirling winds in excess of 25 m.p.h. He completed just nine of his 24 passes and frequently was replaced on passing downs by Devin Gardner, who didn't fare much better (3-of-7 for 45 yards).

"They always want to talk about the September Heisman and how good he is, but we played well," Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said. "You never want to let a guy like Denard burn you with his feet, so you try to put pressure on him to throw the ball. And when he has to throw, he's a little less accurate than he's supposed to be."

The Spartans had already proved their defensive worthiness this year. Maybe the most promising development on Saturday came on the offensive side.

In its two losses last season, and in games against Notre Dame and Ohio State this season, Michigan State became too one-dimensional because it couldn't run the ball. The offensive line features three first-year starters and lost some key contributors to injury early in the season. But the Spartans averaged 5.5 yards per carry against Michigan, and Baker repeatedly ran through big gaps on the way to his first 100-yard performance of the season.

"They were definitely more physical," Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs said. "They pounded us and ate us up."

One of the offensive line's lone veterans, senior guard Joel Foreman, saw the improvement begin during Michigan State's bye week last week.

"Because of all the injuries, we had to put some new guys in there halfway through the season," Foreman said. "The bye week let the more experienced guys rest their bodies a little bit and got those young guys a lot of work. It's an amazing thing to see a young offensive line play with an edge. That usually doesn't happen."

A search party has been sent out for the second-best team in the Big Ten. Nebraska entered the season as a co-favorite along with Wisconsin, but the Cornhuskers' defense has disappointed. Michigan had sneaked up to No. 10 in the USA Today coaches' poll after starting 6-0, but Saturday's game exposed some serious cracks in Maize and Blue facade. Illinois, which also jumped out of the gates 6-0, didn't look so hot against Ohio State.

Well, maybe Michigan State is the second-best team in the league. Wisconsin's last regular-season loss happened here in East Lansing last year, and the Badgers come to Spartan Stadium next Saturday night. The first shots have already been fired.

"I think it's going to be the test of who plays for the Big Ten championship," Baker said.

Joel Foreman can still remember the look on their faces.

Foreman was a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for Michigan State in 2007 when the Spartans lost to Michigan 28-24 at home. It was the sixth straight loss in the series for the guys in green, and another class of seniors went out winless against their rival.

"You could see how much it meant to the seniors, and for them to leave never to have beaten Michigan," Foreman told ESPN.com, "it was pretty impacting, seeing how it affected them and how much they wanted to do that and weren’t able to."

The expressions could be very different this Saturday.

Michigan State has won the past three games against Michigan and has a chance for its first four-game winning streak in the Paul Bunyan Trophy game since 1959-62. The Spartans have only won four straight against the Wolverines three times in their history, the other two streaks coming from 1950-53 and 1934-37. Maybe most importantly, a whole group of seniors, including Foreman, can say they never lost to Michigan during their playing careers.

“It would mean a lot to me and my senior class," safety Trenton Robinson said. "It hasn’t been done in a long, long, long time, so to do something that hasn’t been done is always a good feeling. It would change the tide in Michigan and let everyone know that Michigan State is here and here to stay.”

The Spartans have already accomplished one milestone this season. In their last game, they beat Ohio State 10-7 for their first win in Columbus since 1998. With two dozen players on the roster from the state of Ohio, that was an emotional and important victory for the program.

And yet, Foreman said the players hadn't even gotten to their locker room after that win before talk started turning toward Michigan. This is, after all, the in-state rivalry, and Michigan is the team they have to hear about all year long.

"It's personal," quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "It's very personal. I grew up in Michigan, so it means a lot to me and I take it very, very seriously. We talk about this as a streets versus alleys game. If you beat Michigan, you can walk the streets. If you lose, you walk in the alleys."

Michigan State has been walking tall for the past three years. Nowhere is that more evident than on the left arm of Jerel Worthy. The junior defensive tackle showed up for fall camp this year with a new tattoo, which depicts a Spartan warrior stepping on the fallen body of a football player with a block "M" on his helmet. It's not exactly subtle.

The tattoo attracted a lot of media attention this summer, and now Michigan players will see it up close for the first time. What does Worthy expect the reaction to be?

"They're not going to be happy about it," he said. "I'm sure those guys will be riled up and ready to go. It's a little more incentive for those guys. But everybody is already going to be amped up."

Of course, Michigan's top rival has always been Ohio State. The Wolverines measure themselves against the Buckeyes and sometimes see themselves as better than their neighbors in East Lansing. Former Michigan running back Mike Hart infamously referred to Michigan State as "Little Brother" after the 2007 win.

"Little Brother," though, hasn't lost to the supposed bigger brother since then. There's no question this year that the game matters to the Maize and Blue, as first-year coach Brady Hoke installed a countdown clock to both the Michigan State and Ohio State games at Schembechler Hall. The Spartans believe they have made people stand up and notice.

"A lot of people in Michigan are Michigan fans," Robinson said. "That’s how it was. I know it’s not the same any more. They’re like, ‘OK, Michigan State is here. They’re playing and they’re winning.’”

They've won three straight in this all-important rivalry. A fourth victory Saturday would create some pretty memorable expressions.

Week 1 is in the books. Now it's time for a book review.

Be kind, rewind:

Team of the week: Northwestern. Missing star quarterback Dan Persa, the Wildcats still went on the road to Boston College and won 24-17. Most impressively, their offensive line pushed around what had been the nation's stingiest rush defense a year ago. If the offensive line can continue to play like that, and Persa can come back (Persa) strong, then Northwestern will be a factor in the Legends Division race.

Best game: Northwestern's win, again. The game was close throughout, and Boston College drove into the red zone in the waning seconds before a Vince Browne sack ended matters.

Biggest play: Purdue's Ricardo Allen blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Middle Tennessee's Alan Gendreau on the game's final play, preserving a 27-24 victory. It was sweet redemption for Allen, whose earlier fumble on a punt return set up a Blue Raiders touchdown. And had the Boilermakers lost this game, it could have set a bad tone for their season.

Best call: This one happened on Wednesday of last week, when Michigan State senior guard Joel Foreman approached coach Mark Dantonio and asked if Arthur Ray Jr. could start in his place. Ray is a cancer survivor who had never played in a college game before. Foreman made a selfless decision, stopping his personal 22-start streak. Ray was in tears before the game and played the Spartans' first offensive snap before coming out.

Best meaningless play: The game was wildly out of hand by this point, but Ohio State receiver Evan Spencer made a spectacular, twisting, one-handed catch during the fourth quarter of a 42-0 blowout of Akron. It ultimately meant very little, but Spencer now has his own YouTube moment.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson. There was considerable hype accompanying Wilson's debut after his highly publicized transfer from NC State, and Wilson lived up to it. He accumulated 317 total yards, including 255 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 10 of his 13 attempts. And his sizzling 46-yard touchdown run was something Badgers fans have rarely if ever seen out of the quarterback position.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): Michigan linebacker Brandon Herron. Things might be changing in Ann Arbor when a Wolverines defender is garnering all kinds of recognition. Herron deserves it after scoring two defensive touchdowns, one on a 94-yard interception return and the other on a 29-yard fumble recovery. Raise your hand if you predicted Herron would have two more scores than Denard Robinson in the opener.

Big Man on Campus (Special Teams): Chaz Powell, Penn State. Clearly, you should never kick to Powell to start a season. The Nittany Lions senior returned the opening kickoff against Indiana State 95 yards for a touchdown. That matched his performance from last year, when he took the first kick of the year to the house against Youngstown State.

Worst hangover: Indiana. I remain convinced that Kevin Wilson will eventually do very good things in Bloomington, but Saturday was a very bad start. The Hoosiers lost to Ball State 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium, a place in which they're highly unlikely to play in December any time soon. It's hard to use the first-year coach excuse, since Ball State also had a new guy on the sidelines. What's worse, IU got pushed around in the trenches. If that happens against a MAC foe, what will the Hoosiers do against Ohio State, Wisconsin and other Big Ten opponents?

Strangest moment: Mother Nature wins this award in Week 1. Storms and lightning gave us the odd sights of both Kinnick Stadium and the Big House being evacuated -- that's more than 180,000 people who had to be moved out of harm's way. Iowa hadn't experienced an in-game weather delay in the 82-year history of Kinnick Stadium. Things were even crazier in Ann Arbor, where Michigan and Western Michigan agreed to end their game with 1:27 left in the third quarter after a couple of lightning delays. It was the first weather-shortened game in Wolverines history, and who knows what would have happened had the game actually been close at the time.

Week 1 suggests that deciding to play the Big Ten title game indoors might have been the right call.

Instant analysis from No. 17 Michigan State's 28-6 home win over Youngstown State on Friday night:

How the game was won: It wasn't a particularly pretty performance by the Spartans, especially in the first half. They committed seven penalties in the half and turned the ball over on a muffed punt, leading to a Penguins touchdown. If not for a missed PAT and botched field goal by Youngstown State, the halftime score could have been a lot closer than 14-6. Michigan State cleaned up its mistakes in the second half, the offense found a little bit better rhythm in the third quarter and the defense kept the Penguins from making more of an upset bid.

Turning point: Isaiah Lewis intercepted a Kurt Hess pass with a little more than eight minutes left and Michigan State clinging to a 21-6 lead. Lewis returned it to the Penguins' 17, and Le'Veon Bell scored his second touchdown of the game two plays later to salt the game away.

Player of the game: Spartans wide receiver B.J. Cunningham had a career night. He caught nine passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. With that performance, Cunningham now is tied for the most career receptions in Michigan State history, an impressive feat at a program that has produced the likes of Plaxico Burress, Charles Rogers and Andre Rison.

Key stat: Quarterback Kirk Cousins was sharp in the opener, completing 18 of 22 passes for 221 yards and a score.

Best moment: Cancer survivor Arthur Ray Jr. got a surprise start at left guard when Joel Foreman surrendered his spot to his fellow senior. Ray -- who had never appeared in a college game before Friday -- was visibly choked up before the game when he found out he would start. Ray played the first offensive snap for Michigan State -- a 7-yard gain -- before heading to the sidelines in favor of Foreman.

What it means: OK, so it wasn't all that impressive of a victory. But it was a difficult week for head coach Mark Dantonio, whose father passed away just days ago. Some sloppiness was to be expected by the offense with three new starters on the offensive line, and things got better later in the game. The defensive line should have dominated more, and it's surprising that the Spartans couldn't manage a single sack against an FCS opponent. Bottom line: a win is a win, and though the Spartans have some things to clean up and work on, that's the same for virtually every team after Week 1.