Ohio State's path to the Rose Bowl is far from impossible, but the question is whether the Buckeyes can run through the rest of their Big Ten schedule.
Following their victory in Ann Arbor, Iowa goes back to Iowa City knowing that the biggest remaining game on their schedule are all at Kinnick Stadium.THIS WEEK'S BEST NATIONAL GAMES
Note: Teams are ranked by their BCS standing
1. No. 6 LSU at No. 4 Auburn, Saturday, 3:30, CBS: A surprising undefeated showdown in the SEC West more than halfway into the season that doesn't involve Alabama. LSU has won three straight in the series, and the guess here is Auburn ends that.
2. UCLA at No. 2 Oregon, Thursday, 9, ESPN: The Ducks are No. 1 for the first time in school history, the 43rd team in the history of the AP poll to reach the top spot. UCLA is a crazy team — beating Texas and getting blown out by Cal.
3. Air Force at No. 5 TCU, Saturday, 8, CBS College Sports: There are now just 10 undefeated teams left, and the Horned Frogs will continue to lurk. This one won't be easy.
THIS WEEK'S BEST BIG TEN GAMES
1. No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 15 Iowa, Saturday, 3:30, ABC: Just a huge game in a tough spot. Wisconsin coming off the win over Ohio State, Iowa with undefeated Michigan State up next after the Badgers. A must-watch.
2. Purdue at No. 10 Ohio State, Saturday, noon, Big Ten Network: Trivia question: Which of these teams is undefeated in conference play and tied for the Big Ten lead? Hint: It's the team that won this matchup last year.
3. No. 7 Michigan State at Northwestern, Saturday, noon, ESPN: The Spartans are rolling and the Wildcats are coming off a bye week that followed a humbling loss. This series is 4-4 in the last decade.
HEISMAN WATCH
1. Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn, Jr., Odds: 4-1, vs. LSU: Second in the nation in passing efficiency and a dominant runner as well — has run for more than 170 yards in four of seven games.
2. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon, Soph., Odds: 9-2, vs. UCLA: Had the week off, moves up because, hey, he plays for the No. 1 team in the country in the polls.
3. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan, Soph., Odds: 5-1, Bye: Averaged 383 yards of offense per game in Michigan's 5-0 start, 251 in last two losses.
4. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State, Jr., Odds: 6-1, Bye: Just one 300-yard passing game, doesn't run, but just like his team, he keeps hanging around as others slip up.
5. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State, Jr., Odds: 7-1, vs. Purdue: Did not throw a touchdown pass Saturday for just the second time in 18 games. Will be a tough loss to shake from voters' memories.
6. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma, Soph., Odds: 10-1, at Missouri: Completed 89 percent of his passes (30-of-34) in a 52-0 blowout of Iowa State. Has 12 touchdowns against one interception last five games.
7. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska, Fresh., Odds: 500-1, at Oklahoma State: Actually benched in the loss to Texas. Heisman winners don't get benched. Has several more years to contend.
Dropped out: Alabama RB Mark Ingram
DOUG’S TOP 25
1. Oregon; 2. Auburn; 3. Boise State; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Michigan State; 6. TCU; 7. LSU; 8. Wisconsin; 9. Alabama; 10. Stanford; 11. Ohio State; 12. Utah; 13. Arizona; 14. Iowa; 15. Missouri; 16. Florida State; 17. Nebraska; 18. Oklahoma State; 19. West Virginia; 20. South Carolina; 21. Texas; 22. Mississippi State; 23. Arkansas; 24. USC; 25. Miami
EXPLAINING MY BALLOT
• There are no easy answers here, though I'm surprised Auburn and Oklahoma aren't getting more first-place support. Between the three major polls, the Sooners have 11 first-place votes and Auburn just one. The Tigers nearly got my No. 1 vote. Auburn is No. 63 in the nation in scoring defense, but has wins against three very solid teams in Arkansas, Mississippi State and South Carolina. That was a little better to me than Oklahoma's three wins against Florida State, Texas and Air Force.
• Boise State squeezed between Auburn and Oklahoma because the Broncos have been so dominant, winning their last three games by a combined score of 164-14. Virginia Tech is starting to show it is a pretty decent team, winning four straight, which will continue to help Boise.
• I continue to be surprised Michigan State isn't higher, with my No. 5 ranking one of their two highest votes in the AP poll. The Spartans handled the Wisconsin team that handled Ohio State — I thought that would matter more. Michigan State is No. 8 in every poll.
• I'm comfortable with Ohio State at No. 11, which is where they are in the overall AP poll. They should be behind Wisconsin after losing to the Badgers, and they are in the AP poll, with Wisconsin 10th. The other two polls have Ohio State No. 10 and Wisconsin No. 11, which I will never understand. One team that should not be ahead of Ohio State in the overall poll, yet is — undefeated Utah. The Utes' best win is against Pitt in overtime. Ohio State's best win is over a Miami team that destroyed Pitt.
-- Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Three weeks into the Big Ten season, Purdue is one of the three teams unbeaten in Big Ten play, Penn State is one of the three teams without a conference win, Minnesota has fired coach Tim Brewster and Michigan State is in the national title picture.
Just as we expected.
Here's what you need to know about the Big Ten race over the next six weeks.
1. Ohio State still has a decent shot at the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes are No. 10 in the first BCS standings but they'll get no benefit of the doubt as a one-loss national title contender, so a return trip to Pasadena is what the Buckeyes are shooting for.
It wouldn't hold the intrigue of last season's trip to Pasadena, which was the first for Jim Tressel and was a building block for a young team on the rise, but roses never get old.
2. Iowa controls the strings. There are four Big Ten contenders worth talking about, the four ranked in the initial BCS standings released Sunday -- No. 7 Michigan State and No. 15 Iowa, who are undefeated in the Big Ten, and No. 10 Ohio State and No. 13 Wisconsin, who each have a loss.
There are only three games remaining between those four teams, as Wisconsin already has played the Buckeyes and Spartans and Ohio State and Michigan State don't face each other. All three games are in Kinnick Stadium.
• Saturday: Wisconsin at Iowa
• Oct. 30: Michigan State at Iowa
• Nov. 20: Ohio State at Iowa
3. Many tiebreakers work for the Buckeyes. Here they are, in order, if there's a tie for first in the Big Ten -- head-to-head play, overall record and then BCS ranking.
Ohio State probably needs to run the table to have a chance at a record-tying sixth straight Big Ten title, and that includes beating Iowa, so that takes care of the Hawkeyes' loss. Otherwise, the Buckeyes just need to root for one Michigan State loss. The only head-to-head tiebreaker that wouldn't work for Ohio State would be if Ohio State and Wisconsin finish in a two-way tie at 7-1.
Many other scenarios would drop down to that overall record, where the Buckeyes have an edge on Iowa and would be even with Wisconsin and Michigan State. If it then goes to BCS ranking, because of their reputation and preseason standing in the polls, an 11-1 Ohio State team that is 7-1 in the Big Ten would probably be ranked higher in the BCS rankings than a 7-1 Iowa, Wisconsin or Michigan State team.
4. Could 6-2 win the Big Ten? It hasn't happened since 2000, when Michigan, Northwestern and Purdue finished in a three-way tie at the top. It might be hard to find two losses for Michigan State, with a remaining schedule of at Northwestern, at Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and at Penn State. If Wisconsin can survive at Iowa, maybe the Badgers are coming together after some injuries and a slow start and are ready to roll. But I don't think we're out of surprises in this race.
5. Where will Ohio State be in January? If the Buckeyes play like they did on Saturday, they'll lose at Iowa. The worry for Ohio State in Iowa City is that the Hawkeyes' defensive line will be as dominant as Wisconsin's offensive line was in Madison.
It's impossible to tell how the Buckeyes will regroup. Tressel teams have a history of improving during the season. But while last season's loss at Purdue was a turnover-filled blip for an offense that was a work in progress, the loss Saturday was about more fundamental problems. Special teams. Line play. Confidence in the passing game.
If an 11-1 Ohio State team is edged out of the Rose Bowl, the Sugar or Orange would snap up the Buckeyes. Ohio State hasn't been to the Orange Bowl since 1977.
While Iowa hasn't beaten a good team yet, the Buckeyes are going to need gain back the confidence of the fans in the next three weeks before facing the Hawkeyes. The first half Saturday was a shock. Checking out information on Orlando for the Capital One Bowl might not be a terrible idea.