The Hlist: Iowa is the master of 'Wisconsin football,' Purdue has Hope

OPENING KICKOFF

“One of the themes for the University of Wisconsin football team this season was a return to playing ‘Wisconsin football.'

“What that means is a return to physical, mistake-free, defensive-oriented football.

“That was on display on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in front of 81,043 fans, but it was the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes who showed it in their 20-10 victory.

“Nobody plays ‘Wisconsin football' better than Iowa.” - Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal

FIRST DOWNS

1. Hope is Alive: Purdue first-year head coach Danny Hope gave away his hat, his whistle and even his raincoat to fans on the field following the Boilermaker's 26-18 stunning upset over Ohio State in West Lafayette.

“Someone wanted my glasses,” Hope said, “but these are my good ones.”

Purdue ended a 5-game losing streak, as well as a 19-game losing streak to ranked teams.

“We have a great team,” Hope said. “We just don't have a great record.”

That's right, a coach of a 2-5 team called his squad “great.” Hey, Minnesota Coach Tim Brewster, someone's challenging you for the title of the Big Ten's loosest cannon.

2. Winning Drive: California's team went the 379 miles from Berkeley to Pasadena by bus rather than chartered jet to play UCLA, then rolled over the Bruins, 45-26.

The six-hour bus trip was made to help the school save about $100,000. The University of California school system is financially strapped, you might say.

So this could be called the first BCS (Budget Crisis Situation) game of the season,” wrote Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times.

“It's better when you're on the bus,” Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said. “We had some meeting time for an hour and everybody was loose and relaxed. We watched a movie, two movies actually, and we were there.”

So, will you ride the bus next time?

“We'll think about it,” he said.

FUMBLES

1. Columbus Discovers Pain: Ohio State's loss at Purdue was no fluke. The Buckeyes got outplayed, making five turnovers along the way.

The state of Ohio was not impressed.

“It took some doing,” wrote Jon Spencer of the Mansfield News Journal, “but the Buckeyes lost the turnover margin to an outfit ranked second in the nation in playing oopsie with the ball. And that's not taking into account the way (OSU Coach Jim) Tressel fumbled the gameplan.”

Ohio State is now 101st nationally in passing offense and 91st in total offense.

The Hlist didn't stutter. Ohio State is 91st in the nation in total offense.

Follow this stuff long enough and you'll see everything.

2. Big Red in the Face: Nebraska felt kind of good about itself a week ago, fresh off a 27-12 win at Missouri. Then Texas Tech came to Lincoln.

The Red Raiders are noted for offense, not defense, but they stifled Nebraska in their 31-10 cruise.

“Going back to the Huskers' loss Sept. 19 at Virginia Tech, I wondered if Big Red simply was rather ordinary talentwise on offense,” wrote Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star.

“I think I have an answer.

“However, saying Nebraska was ordinary on offense Saturday would be kind.

“The Huskers were inept, period.”

If highly improved Iowa State can do a similar number on the Huskers this week, the state of Nebraska will officially close for repairs.

POSTGAME

“Strange things have always happened. And we feel if we win out, we can go to the Rose Bowl. As long as we can keep winning all these games, that's our main focus.” - Michigan linebacker Stevie Brown.

There's one nagging detail. Michigan has two Big Ten losses. But Mark Snyder's story in the Detroit Free Press on Brown's comment included this passage:

“He has figured out that Michigan could have a shot if Iowa wins out and goes to the BCS title game.”

After you've just beaten Delaware State (a 1-4 FCS team) 63-3, the world is full of possibilities.