ESPN Big Ten Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It looks like my All-Big Ten predictions got under your skin a bit. I'll have an updated list sometime after the final week of games. Other than that, a lot of bowl questions this week.

Fire away.

Kevin from Davenport, Iowa, writes: Assuming Iowa beats Minnesota in their season finale and Michigan State loses to Penn State, Iowa will be 8-4 and Michigan State will be 9-3. Iowa would already be a lock for the Outback Bowl over Northwestern considering the Wildcats can't even fill up their own stadium, but what is the likelihood that Iowa goes to the Capital One Bowl over Michigan State since Hawkeye fans travel so well and because of their dramatic upset over LSU in that bowl game in 2005?

Adam Rittenberg: Let's not forget about the BCS situation. Two Big Ten teams (Penn State and Ohio State) would need to earn BCS bowl berths for this situation to happen. If it did, I think Michigan State gets the nod over Iowa for the Capital One Bowl. Michigan State travels well and hasn't been to a New Year's Day bowl since 2000. The Spartans also have a better record and won the head-to-head matchup. The teams are about even in terms of attractiveness, but I think Michigan State goes to Capital One and Iowa to Outback. Though Northwestern struggles to pack Ryan Field, the Wildcats do travel well for bowl games with a national alumni base. I've heard Outback is interested in Northwestern as well, but Iowa would get the nod.

Rob from York, Pa., writes: Adam, Please explain why PSU is the only 1-loss team ranked behind Utah? Of similar opponents, PSU has won by a large margin, Utah has won by a few points. Then comparing PSU to USC, Florida, Oklahoma....none of them have been any more impressive with their schedules. I think the BCS is ridiculous. It's no more obvious than Georgia being ranked #7 by the computers. They've lost their only two quality games. I'm sick and tired of hearing about who's better than who. The only solution is to settle it on the field, with a PLAYOFF!!!

Adam Rittenberg: I agree, Rob, and put the Nittany Lions ahead of Utah in my latest power rankings. Penn State is the better team, though the Utes deserve a ton of credit for surviving a very tough Mountain West Conference this season. Georgia is another team that doesn't deserve to be near the top 10. Ohio State had one disaster without its best player (Chris Wells), Georgia had two disasters. I would disagree with you regarding Florida's and Oklahoma's schedules. Those teams played tougher slates than the Lions.

David from Iowa City, Iowa, writes: Do you remember any player that simply came out of nowhere and had a season like Iowa's Shonn Greene? Iowa's Brad Banks in 2002 comes to mind, but I could not think of many others.

Adam Rittenberg: David, I threw this out there to some of our other bloggers and writers and no one could remember a case quite like Shonn Greene's. Please feel free to e-mail me if you think of someone. He's truly an amazing story. To go from hauling furniture and working out on his own last fall to being the nation's most dominant running back is remarkable. At least Banks played in junior college and had a season under his belt before breaking out in 2002.

Drew from Edwardsville, Ill., writes: Adam, a couple observations from the Illinois-OSU game Saturday: It seemed like the a personal foul call in the second half really ended Illinois game. They were down 10 at the time and had just made a third down stop. An OSU receiver got hit and knocked out of bounds as a tipped pass headed his way. The official ruling was that the hit came after the play was over. Still trying to figure that out. Also, it was very clear who the best corner in the country is Saturday and it's Vontae Davis. I was surprised how often the Illini went at Malcom Jenkins and though they had some success, he was beat on a few more plays they didn't capitalize on. Davis was solid which is easy against a team that doesn't allow its QB to throw, but he also made contributions in run defense, something he doesn't always get enough credit for. He may be a top 10 pick.

Adam Rittenberg: The phrasing of that penalty bothered me as well, Drew. It was clearly not a late hit because the ball was still in the air when Donsay Hardeman clocked Dane Sanzenbacher. It should have been a penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit, which was one of the Big Ten's officiating points of emphasis this year. The penalty was justified, but the wording was wrong. And I agree that it took Illinois out of the game. Not sure I'm with you on Vontae Davis, though. He's very talented and a surefire NFL pick, but Malcolm Jenkins can play a bit, too. Both guys might be top 10 picks when all is said and done.

David from Jamestown, Ohio, writes: Could Joe Paterno have made a difference during the game at Iowa if he had been down on the sideline with the team?

Adam Rittenberg: Aside from arguing with officials about some of those late penalty calls, probably not. Paterno did mention today that he might have made a mistake in signing off on the deep post pass from Daryll Clark that got intercepted in the fourth quarter. Perhaps if he was on the field, he wouldn't have OK'd that play because of the weather. But I don't really think his whereabouts mattered that much. The assistants do most of the work for most teams on game day.

Adam from Des Moines, Iowa, writes: Omitting LT Bryan Bulaga from the all-conference list would be a rather large mistake. The big man was 2nd team on SI's mid-season AA list and is a major factor in the resurgence of the Iowa run game.

Adam Rittenberg: I thought about Bulaga and might include him on my final All-Big Ten team. I know Iowa has had some issues on the offensive line this year and Greene is doing much of the work by himself, but Bulaga and Seth Olsen appear to be the best of the bunch.

Bryan from State College, Pa., writes: I'm not trying to take anything away from you with your Big Ten selections, but I just do not see how Jared Odrick can not be included in your first team defensive line. Penn State has the best defense in the Big Ten and one of the best defenses in the entire country, however they only have one first team defensive player? I agree with Mitch King and Maybin, but I think Jared Odrick is one of the best four linemen in the Big Ten, I think at the end of the year, you will see that he will receive that honor.

Adam Rittenberg: Odrick has done an excellent job this season, but he's not one of the best four linemen in the Big Ten. The defensive line might be the strongest position in the league this season, and 6-8 players can make a case for first-team selection. I've gotten some grief for including Indiana's Jammie Kirlew and Minnesota's Willie VanDeSteeg over guys like Northwestern's Corey Wootton and Michigan's Brandon Graham. Kirlew's numbers are insane (18.5 tackles for loss), and VanDeSteeg single-handedly won a game for Minnesota (Illinois). Odrick will get more accolades as he continues to develop, but it's hard to get noticed when you share a line with Aaron Maybin, the league's defensive MVP in my view.

Colby from Williamsport, Pa., writes: hey adam, i was just checking out some players stats for the Penn State-Michigan State game. Is it true that in about 800 career carries, Javon Ringer has never fumbled?

Adam Rittenberg: No, that's incorrect. Though Ringer does a good job of securing the football, he actually lost a fumble in the third quarter of Michigan State's last game against Purdue. He also had a fumble Sept. 6 against Eastern Michigan that was recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Brandon from Denver writes: Do you think Michigan would still be the same if they were to have English or another coordinator inherit the head coaching job instead of going after Rodriguez. I was surprised to know that Mallet left after the end of the Lloyd Carr era. He could have been something. It just seems that you can't just bring in a new fleet and expect to win, especially not in the big ten. So why not keep some or even all of the coordinators.

Adam Rittenberg: Ryan Mallett's decision to transfer certainly hurt Michigan, but this would have been a tough year no matter who was coaching. As Rich Rodriguez has pointed out, there were some major drop-offs in talent and ability on the depth chart after some of the superstar players last year. There hasn't been enough competition in the program, and a lot of young players were going to play this season no matter what. Should Michigan be better than 3-8? No question. But I don't know if Ron English could have coached this team to 7-5 or better. Rodriguez isn't going to abandon the things that have made him successful, even if it means having a season like this one.

Bob from St. Louis writes: Adam- Going into Saturday's game, Illinois' FBS opponents are 68-41 on the year, and Northwestern's FBS opponents are 49-58. I guess I'm not sure why you (and other) bloggers consistently refer to Illinois as "inconsistent" and Northwestern as "resurgent" when, in my mind, the difference is basically a hard schedule vs. an easy schedule. Swap their schedules, and I think Illinois is 8-3 while Northwestern is 5-6. Do you agree?

Adam Rittenberg: Sorry Bob, but Illinois is inconsistent. The Illini have some of the most talented players in the league and they can't get it done on a week-to-week basis. Don't believe me? Ask Ron Zook and his players. They keep saying how this is a better team than the one that reached the Rose Bowl. And yet they've won back-to-back games once this season. As for the schedules, you're right, Illinois has played a slightly tougher slate (Missouri, Penn State). But feel free to beat Western Michigan or pound Louisiana-Lafayette. Northwestern didn't play a brutal schedule, but the Wildcats have suffered more key injuries than the Illini. They have less talent and boast three more victories.