Big Ten weekend efforts: 1. Wisconsin, 3. Nebraska, 11. Iowa

It was kind of a newsy weekend in Big Ten country.

Nebraska's coach got fired, Wisconsin won its way into the Big Ten title game, Ohio State lost its quarterback to injury, Illinois got bowl-eligible, and Maryland and Iowa blew leads of 25 and 17 points, respectively, to lose home games.

Here are the rankings of the Big Ten's Week 14 performances:

1. Wisconsin, W 34-24

vs. Minnesota

Hail! Hail! To Wisconsin

The champions of the West!

2. Rutgers, W 41-38

at Maryland

This would be No. 1 most weeks, maybe all other weeks. Rutgers trailed 35-10 in the second quarter.

Rutgers' offensive coordinator is former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen. His offense posted 491 yards and his quarterback, Gary Nova, threw four touchdown passes.

It was the Scarlet Knight's biggest comeback in school history.

Rutgers' bowl of choice is expected to be the Music City Bowl in Nashville, according to this NJ.com story.

3. Nebraska, W 37-34

at Iowa (OT)

Had Nebraska fired head coach Bo Pelini before the game instead of on Sunday morning maybe the Huskers would have let their 24-7 deficit snowball into something like 52-7.

But Pelini's guys played passionately in the second half, and well enough to win. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., certainly made some plays. Then he made one on Twitter Sunday morning when he wrote this:

Biggest mistake you ever made ... Bo was the best coach I've ever had and I'll always appreciate the things you taught me.

4. Illinois, W 47-33

at Northwestern

Illinois is bowl-bound. What that means is the Illini went 6-6 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten.

But in a showdown of 5-6 teams, Illinois hopped on Northwestern early and stayed on top.

'Two years ago I walked in here (the Ryan Field visiting team interview room) and was disappointed as a football coach could be,” Illini Coach Tim Beckman said. 'Not with our players but with the way the program had turned out. I just felt that we needed to give more.”

Illinois fans will say it still does. But the Illini will have a winning season if they prevail in the Heart of Dallas Bowl or whichever rum-dum game that reluctantly welcomes them.

5. Indiana, W 23-16

vs. Purdue

Tevin Coleman of the Hoosiers rushed for 130 yards to up his season-total to 2,036. On a losing team.

'I wasn't even worried about the 2,000, I was worried about the win,” Coleman said. 'That's all I wanted and that's all I wanted for my seniors and that's all we did.”

The Hoosiers finished 4-8. They did beat SEC East champion Missouri. But they didn't beat MAC East champion Bowling Green.

6. Michigan State, W 34-10

at Penn State

This is too low, but expectations for Michigan State are high now and we've come to take methodical routs over lesser teams for granted.

Going 10-2 with losses only to Oregon and Ohio State would be so welcome in so many other Big Ten outposts right now.

R.J. Shelton ran the game's opening kickoff for a touchdown to give MSU a 7-0 lead. So, the Spartans weren't ahead in this game for only 13 seconds. That's efficiency.

7. Ohio State, W 42-28

vs. Michigan

What, an Ohio State win over Michigan doesn't feel great?

Not when you lose your stellar quarterback, J.T. Barrett, to a fractured ankle. Not when you need style points to impress the College Football Playoff selectors and you're tied with a 5-6 Wolverines team at home midway through the third quarter.

But the Buckeyes did finish off their third-straight unbeaten Big Ten season, something not accomplished since Minnesota in 1933-35.

8. Minnesota, L 34-24

at Wisconsin

The Gophers led 17-3 at one point, and showed the grit that got them in a winner-take-all game in the Big Ten West.

But Minnesota completed just five passes, and you can't get from 'good Big Ten team” to 'league champion” without something better than that from your passing game.

'We need to continue to improve on a lot of things,” Gophers Coach Jerry Kill said. 'That's one of them. No question. And we will.”

But it's been a good season, and Minnesota will go its best bowl since the 1961 Rose.

9. Michigan, L 42-28

at Ohio State

'What I know is I'm going to be the football coach at Michigan,'' Brady Hoke said after the game. 'That's what I know right now.''

He will probably know something different sometime soon.

Meanwhile, former Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez takes his 10-2 Arizona team to the Pac-10 title game.

10. Purdue, L 23-16

at Indiana

The Boilermakers have gone two straight years without winning the Old Oaken Bucket from the Hoosiers for the first time since 1993-94.

Purdue closed the season with six consecutive losses. Off-season ticket sales for next season will be tough in the Big Ten's Indiana locations, won't they?

11. Iowa, L 37-34 (OT)

vs. Nebraska

The Hawkeyes might go to the Foster Farms Bowl and play fellow 7-5 team Stanford.

It's 15 miles from Stanford's campus to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Iowa is considerably further from the Bay Area.

12. Penn State, L 34-10

vs. Michigan State

It's been a nondescript season for the Nittany Lions. The highlight is when the NCAA ended the school's football sanctions, allowing it to go to a bowl.

So it's going to one. But the 6-6 Lions aren't going to a good one. No, they aren't.

13. Northwestern, L 47-33

vs. Illinois

OK, Wildcats starting quarterback Trevor Siemian was hurt and missed this game. But what a mess, falling behind 16-0 to a mediocre Illini team and never catching up.

The Wildcats are 3-13 in the Big Ten over the last two seasons.

'We have to look at everything in our program,” said Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald. 'Everything.”

Wrote Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune: ' ... the current state of Northwestern football: Strong on promises, weak on results.”

14. Maryland, L 41-38

vs. Rutgers

You're a 7-win team and you blow a 35-10 lead at home to Rutgers?

On top of that, the announced crowd was 36,673. The Big Ten's newbies apparently aren't rivals.

If the Terrapins fell from the Jacksonville bowl to the Detroit bowl because of this loss, maybe they'll be consumed with enough hate for Rutgers to make this a rivalry.