Sadly, the biggest news in the Big 10 involves a huge scandal at Penn State University. There are reports that a former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, sexually abused eight boys over a 15 year period. That is bad enough, but the situation gets way worse for Penn State. Sandusky not only abused the children, but he did it on the campus of Penn State, and supposedly even in the football locker room showers. Since the news broke out about this, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president of business and finance Gary Schultz have both stepped down from their positions. Those two and Sandusky all are pleading innocence, but there is no way that Sandusky is innocent.
The big question in all of this is what happens to legendary Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno? Paterno has been coach of the Nittany Lions for over 40 years and has won two national championships, three Big Ten championships, and has the most wins of any football coach ever. He is a man that loves football, tradition, and Penn State. He is a guy that refuses to change anything, even while the whole world of college football is changing. That is what is so shocking about the allegations. Did Joe know what was happening? There is one story that a team manager saw Sandusky in a shower with one of the boys. The manager told Paterno what he saw, and Paterno then told his superiors, just like Paterno is legally obligated to do. But neither Paterno nor his superiors ever contacted the police or pursued the matter.
Now everybody is calling for Paterno to step down. I’m sorry, but I don’t think he needs to. How many coaches would have pursued that issue? The head coach of a football team has so many different things they have to do; it doesn’t shock me that Paterno never told anybody (besides schools officials) what happened. Paterno did what he was supposed to, so it is not his fault his superiors failed him. How do we know Paterno wasn’t told by his bosses that they looked into the issue and found nothing really happened? How do we know that they didn’t tell him to drop it or he would get fired? I have a lot more questions that I want answered before I believe Joe Paterno should resign.
UPDATE 11/9/2011: Joe Paterno will retire after this season. Paterno made the announcement to his team and coaches this morning in the locker room. He then left in tears.
UPDATE 11/9/2011 at 10:23 p.m.- Joe Paterno has been fired from his head coaching position.
How about we get to the on-field part of the Big 10? It has been all chaos in the Big 10 as preseason and even midseason favorites have fallen from their divisional leads (Wisconsin and Nebraska). Those have been replaced by team that nobody expected to be in first place (Penn State and Michigan State). Each team (except Northwestern and Indiana) all has three conference games left.
Here is a breakdown of the conference with teams in order of their standings.
Leaders Division
#12 Penn State (8-1, 5-0) - It’s pretty sad that the Nittany Lions success is being completely overshadowed by the sex scandal. The Lions remain the last team that is undefeated in conference play, but would you believe that I am still not buying the Lions? They have yet to beat a ranked opponent, and what’s considered their best win? A 10-7 victory over Illinois or a 13-3 win over Iowa? You have to do better than that. The Lions last three games are against great teams. They start this Saturday against Nebraska, and then hit the road for Ohio State and Wisconsin. All the Lions have to do is beat Ohio State to win the division, but I’m pretty sure they want to win all of them and finish 11-1.
Ohio State (6-3, 3-2) - The Buckeyes have really done a lot better than what I thought they would. They came into this season with a new head coach and a new starting quarterback after an off-season filled with controversy. The Buckeyes shot at a division championship are all but gone, but they can still finish the season strong and get to a good bowl game. Plus, they’re giving their freshman quarterback Braxton Miller more time to mature and learn the system. Remember that name because you’ll hear a lot more of it in the next few years.
#18 Wisconsin (7-2, 3-2) - The Badgers have to be the best two-loss team in America. Their two defeats were both road games against Michigan State and Ohio State, and both were decided in the last minute of the game. The Badgers could still win the Division, but it would take a lot of pieces to fall into the right place. That is unfortunate for Wisconsin because I believe they are one of the best teams in the Big 10 and one of the Top 15 teams in America.
Illinois (6-3, 2-3) – Oh, how things can change. After my Week 6 review this team was 6-0 and seemed like they could win the division. I figured they could reach 10-0 given their schedule and recent play, but I also said I would not consider them a legit team unless they reached 10-0. Well the Illini flopped big time and have lost their last three games against Ohio State, Purdue, and Penn State. The Ohio State loss wasn’t that shocking, but the Purdue one was. This is when most people realized Illinois was a product of a weak schedule. The Illini’s final three games are against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Hopefully they’ll get a win against Minnesota and finish with 7 wins.
Purdue (4-5, 2-3) - While we’re on the subject of things I’ve written before, I’ll remind everybody that I had this time predicted to finish 2nd in the division. Why did I have them there? Well I figured Ohio State would crumble after everything that happened in the off-season. I also figured Penn State would worse than they actually are. The only positive thing about Purdue is that their junior quarterback Caleb TerBush has potential and could be a key factor into Purdue making a bowl game next year. Purdue’s final three games are against Ohio State, Iowa, and Indiana.
Indiana (1-9, 0-6) - Boy there are some great football teams in Indiana, huh? The Hoosiers are abysmal, dismal, and anything else that ends in –mal. I honestly had no idea they would be this bad this year. Seriously, it is a complete embarrassment to Indiana University that this team is this awful. Look at state schools similar to Indiana and compare their success. Heck, even WESTERN KENTUCKY has five wins. Not just Kentucky, Western Kentucky. Come on IU, get it together.
“The Battle for Old Oaken Bucket” sure will be exciting this year! IU vs. Purdue!
Legends Standings
#17 Michigan State (7-2, 4-1) - The Spartans control their destiny and all they have to do is win their final three games to claim the Legends Division title. After the Spartans beat Michigan and Wisconsin, and they seemed like one of the best teams in the country. Then they went to Nebraska and lost 24-3. Michigan State’s last three games are at Iowa, Indiana, and at Northwestern. The Iowa and Northwestern games will be ones to watch as both teams have the potential to derail Sparty.
#24 Michigan (7-2, 3-2) - The Wolverines have made huge strides in their all-around performance from last year, but they still are not the dominant team they hope to be. Their division title hopes took a hit in their loss to Michigan State, but they were still in contention. Last week they loss to Iowa and now those hopes are all but gone. The Wolverines last three games are at Illinois, then at home for Nebraska and Ohio State. Michigan is good, but I don’t see them winning those last two.
#19 Nebraska (7-2, 3-2) - The new-comer of the Big 10 has been a roller-coaster of success this season. The Cornhuskers started 4-0 and faced a huge matchup against Wisconsin. In that game they were dominated and lost 48-17. All hope was gone for this team, but then they won three straight, including a win over Michigan State. Suddenly people started believing Nebraska could win this division again. They then proceeded to lose to Northwestern last week. The Cornhuskers’ last three games are at Penn State, at Michigan, and against Iowa. If they expect to win those they will need to bring the team that beat Michigan State.
Northwestern (4-5, 2-4)- Before the season started, it was agreed upon by everybody that this team would only go as far as senior quarterback Dan Persa would take them. Well Persa has been injured most of the season and the games he has started in the Wildcats have gone 1-4. His backup, Kain Colter, has taken the reins of this team and has a 2-0 record as a starter. Colter also took over after Persa got injured in the last game against Nebraska and won. You never hear anything about Northwestern, so I’m not sure who will get to start next week against Rice, but I’m thinking it should be Colter.
Minnesota (2-7, 1-4) - The Golden Gophers are the equivalent to the Indiana Hoosiers, a punching bag. This is a team with a new coach and a new system, so they are building for the future.
It will be very interesting and entertaining to see how the Big 10 plays out. Which two teams will meet in Indianapolis for the inaugural Big 10 Championship Game? Will it be the surprises of the season, Michigan State and Penn State? Or will a team like Nebraska or Ohio State sneak in? I will update this post after each week’s games.
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