Illini Move To No. 11 In AP Poll
After a loss to Missouri knocked them out of the Top 10, the Fighting Illini are inching closer back to that status.
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After a loss to Missouri knocked them out of the Top 10, the Fighting Illini are inching closer back to that status.
He's three inches shorter, five pounds lighter and unlikely to be named National Player of the Year (or go No. 2 in the NBA Draft), but that doesn't mean Brandon Paul can't still pull an Evan Turner this season.
For Notre Dame, ranked No. 1 in the land with a single regular-season game remaining, the door to the national championship is wide open. But the door to the Big Ten? Well, that's almost closed.
Rutgers is leaving the Big East for the Big Ten and cashing in on the school's investment in a football program that only 10 years ago seemed incapable of competing at the highest level.
I've always found it odd that here in Illinois, despite being the fifth most populous state in the country, we have only three major college football programs.
So, is it really possible that Northwestern posts not only its best win total since 1995 this year, but even its better by one or two victories?
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany expects the new college football playoff to be finalized by Jan. 1, but he ruled out the possibility of the new four-team tournament starting next season.
Down in Champaign, where these days things are far more blue than orange, the Fighting Illini football team is a woeful 2-5 in head coach Tim Beckman's first season.
Matt McGloin threw for 211 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores to lead Penn State to a 35-7 win over Illinois Saturday in the schools' Big Ten opener.
This will come off as crazy talk to most, but don't be surprised to see Notre Dame in the middle of the national championship conversation in November.
And this deeper dilemma affecting U. of I. athletics is so discouraging that after reading this column, you very well may be driven to drink yourself.
The Big Ten is indeed off to its worst start in quite a while. And by the looks of it, the season could fizzle out before the conference games even begin next Saturday.
After a crazy Week 2, the games aren't as competitive this week and the experts have a lot of similar picks.
It passed on the Big Ten's TV millions. It passed on aligning itself with the familiarity of many of its most traditional rivals. And it passed on the region where its campus is based – although some Fighting Irish fans might tell you that, you know, Notre Dame doesn't really reside here in the Midwest.
Notre Dame's 50-10 routing of Navy in Dublin, Ireland helped propel the Fighting Irish to No. 22 in the newest AP poll.
Predictions for every Big Ten team, including overall record, conference record and bowl game projection.
Check out the full Big Ten schedule.
Jerry Kill has a reputation for turning around programs pretty quickly. Gophers fans are hoping he will successfully do that in Minneapolis, but this is probably his toughest test yet.
At Big Ten Media Days this week, much discussion swirled around the controversial topic of recruiting current Penn State players, who were who were essentially declared "free agents" by NCAA president Mark Emmert as part of PSU's sweeping sanctions.
Here are some football nuggets for each team from Big Ten Media Days Thursday.
Beckman confirmed Thursday that he had eight coaches camped out at a State College restaurant outside the Penn State campus Wednesday.
But thanks to the foibles and failures of two of his conference rivals, Illinois' first-year football coach could have a big "in" for 2012.
There was only one television network worth watching Monday morning as the NCAA handed down its historical sanctions on Penn State.
The following is a release from the Big Ten, detailing their sanctions against Penn State.
Without a doubt, the Big Ten's other schools and their fan bases – along with every college in the country – need to reassess their priorities in the wake of the Penn State disaster.
