Hlog Week 11 Big Ten Rank: 1. Nebraska, 4. Iowa

Here's all you need to know about the drive home from West Lafayette to Cedar Rapids: It's good once it's done.

Now, on with the Week 11 Big Ten rankings, which are for Week 11 and Week 11 only.

1. Nebraska, W 17-13 at Michigan. Nebraska has had a schizo season, with two low lows in losing at home to UCLA and at Minnesota. It had the high high of the Hail Mary win over Northwestern a weekend ago.

Saturday, the Huskers gave Michigan its first home loss in three years, and held the Wolverines to 175 yards. That's a high high.

Bo Pelini was supposed to have been a Dead Coach Walking the week after the UCLA game and the tape-recording of him ripping Nebraska fans. But if the Huskers win out (Michigan State, at Penn State, Iowa) they take their second-straight Legends Division title.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Armstrong led a 75-yard drive that was capped by the game-winning touchdown with 2:03 left in the game.

“We wanted to quiet 110,000 fans - and that's what we did,” Armstrong said.

2. Wisconsin, W 27-17 vs. BYU. The Badgers needed this one to keep their hopes of a BCS bowl appearance alive, and those hopes got strengthened.

BYU is a good team that had beaten Texas, Georgia Tech, Houston and Boise State. But Wisconsin is better than any of those teams. BYU had 370 yards. It had 1,249 yards over its previous two games, against Houston and Boise State.

Wisconsin controlled the line of scrimmage. In other words, it won.

"I think that Wisconsin is a great football team," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

3. Minnesota, W 24-10 vs. Penn State. The Gophers are No. 25 on the USA TODAY Coaches poll. Everyone who saw that happening after Minnesota got flattened at home by Iowa in its Big Ten opener, stand on your heads.

It's the Gophers' first four-game Big Ten winning streak since 1973. The win earned them something called the Governor's Victory Bell. The Big Ten may have too many traveling trophies. Minnesota and Penn State, teams from opposite divisions that are separated by four states have a trophy game? Teams that won't play each other more years than ones in which they do meet?

The wooden part of the trophy came apart after the Gophers grabbed it Saturday. No one cared. Minnesota is 8-2, and nobody saw that coming.

“I always said our biggest goal was to make sure we could get all the people in the state of Minnesota to feel good about the direction we're going,” Gophers Coach Jerry Kill said. said Gophers coach Jerry Kill. “We've still got a lot of room to get better, and we've got a young team, but we're moving forward.”

If this season ended today, the Big Ten Coach of the Year might have to come from Minnesota. But would it be Kill or his sometimes-acting head coach/full-time defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys?

Minnesota's next game is at home Nov. 23 against Wisconsin. It's been a long, long time since a battle between those two meant as much to both. The Gophers are probably one win from a New Year's game.

4. Iowa, W 38-14 at Purdue. It's hard to get style points in this ranking when you play Purdue.

The Hawkeyes had 509 yards, Purdue 266. Iowa did what it had to do, and some more.

Iowa got bowl-eligible with the win, but there were no bowl scouts in attendance. That had nothing to do with the Hawkeyes. It was November in West Lafayette, and bowl scouts are only human.

5. Indiana, W 52-35 vs. Illinois. Ah, smash-mouth Big Ten football. The Hoosiers had 650 yards, the Fighting Illini 612.

Indiana's Tevin Coleman rushed for 215 yards and teammate Stephen Houston added 150. Coleman had touchdown runs of 64 and 75 yards. He has eight runs this season of 40 or more yards, more than anyone else in major-college football.

"That's an explosive guy right there," said IU wide receiver Cody Latimer, who had three TD catches.

Indiana has scored 52 touchdowns this season, tying the school record. And there are still three games left. But the Hoosiers are 4-5, which means they'll have to win two of their final three games to get to a bowl. The remaining opponents are Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue. It's not happening.

6-7-8. Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State: Idle

If Michigan State wins at Nebraska Saturday, it will be in a great position to play Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. That would be a good one.

9. Illinois, L 52-35 at Indiana. That's 19 straight Big Ten losses for the Illini, and No. 20 is coming Saturday in Champaign when Ohio State shows up. But then comes a trip to Purdue, so keep hope alive.

"(Winning's) going to come," Illinois Coach Tim Beckman said. "I haven't been through anything like this before in my life either. These players are very, very important to me. … I want to see them successful in the worst way."

What does mean when people say "in the worst way?" What is being successful in the worst way? Cheating? Blackmailing? Doing it with the assistance of organized crime?

10. Purdue, L 38-14 vs. Iowa. Hey, the Boilermakers trailed by only 14-7 at halftime. And they did run plays in the red zone for the first time since Sept. 28.

Baby steps.

11, Penn State, L 24-10 at Minnesota. After the game, Penn State Coach Bill O'Brien didn't make any players available for comment.

Some sportswriters wouldn't like that. Others wouldn't care. It just gives them more room to offer their own observations. Bob Flounders of the Harrisburg Patriot-News wrote this:

"And when a good offense is on the field against the Penn State defense, you have a great chance to win. Because the Lions cannot match up."

Added his colleague at the Patriot-News, David Jones:

Minnesota has that something extra going for it now, bright and bouncy and exuding sunshine of spirit even beneath a charcoal sky.

Penn State looks like it's just trying to find a way to get through a tunnel to its brighter light, somewhere off in the distance.

12. Michigan, L 17-13 vs. Nebraska. On Sunday morning, Michigan didn't get a single vote in either major Top 25 poll.

That's right. Michigan.

For the second-straight game, the Wolverines gave up seven quarterback sacks.

That's right. Michigan.

“Whoever questions our toughness, they can shove it,” Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner said. There might have to be a lot shoving. Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press wrote this:

Gardner has no blocking, so he has had to hurry and get rid of the ball too fast. Which takes away the deep ball. So the defense is clamping onto the receivers. Which means nobody is open. So he is forced to hold the ball too long.

And then, when he tries to run, that defense is so jammed up by the line of scrimmage, there is no room to breathe.

Michigan is 6-3, looking at games at Northwestern, at Iowa, and at home against Ohio State. A 6-6 mark isn't out of the question.