Northwestern win highlights another crazy Saturday
Northwestern's gain was the Big Ten Conference's loss early this afternoon.
I always root for the Wildcats (at least when they're not playing Illinois), and normally seeing them knock off the No. 4 team in the BCS standings would make me very happy. I'm happy for them, and for coach Pat Fitzgerald, but when they defeated Iowa 17-10 today, it erased any hope that the Big Ten Conference had of being a factor in the national championship picture.
Maybe it's for the best, as the Hawkeyes probably would've been destroyed by Florida, Alabama or Texas in the title game had they been fortunate enough to qualify for it. Slim victories over the likes of Iowa State, Arkansas, Michigan and Michigan State had convinced me only that Iowa was lucky, not that it was really good. Now I'm certain, as the above three teams would crush Northwestern, even if their quarterback was injured during the first half, as Ricki Stanzi was today.
I now expect Ohio State, a 24-7 winner over Penn State in today's other big game in the conference, to finish in first place and earn a Rose Bowl berth. There's a much better chance that the Buckeyes will represent the conference well on the big stage. But I can't imagine a sequence of events that would land Ohio State in the championship game. Forgive me for wishing bigger things for the Midwest's once-dominant conference than a reasonabe shot at victory in a second-tier bowl, even a storied one.
Elsewhere, Illinois continued to show signs of life after flatlining several weeks ago, defeating Minnesota 35-32. Michigan continued its slide that may lead to the demise of coach Rich Rodriguez by losiing 38-36. And outside of the Big Ten, but certainly relevant to the Midwest, another coach on the hot seat, Notre Dame's Charlie Weis, lost 23-21. This isn't your father's Navy team, of course, but losing for a second time to a team the Fighting Irish have historically owned might just help seal the fate of Weis.
On a national level, I am simply stunned that Oregon fell to Stanford, 51-42. I thought the Ducks were the real deal after they defeated USC last week, and that they validaded Boise State, which defeated Oregon to begin the season before playing a bunch of also-rans in the weeks since. I'm not so surprised that Alabama held off LSU in a battle of top-10 teams, 24-13. And I'm presently being entertained by the spunk UConn is showing against fifth-ranked Cincinnati.
