Commentary: Big Ten? More like big three

The Game is still The Game and always will be. But this year's showdown between No. 3 Ohio State and Michigan on Nov. 30 in Columbus won't have the same meaning as past years, when it usually decided which one would play an inferior team from the now-defunct West Division in the Big Ten championship game. The Game also often determined which team had a shot at the four-team College Football Playoff and a national title. Things have changed with the expanded, division-less Big Ten and the new, 12-team playoff system. This year's biggest conference game likely will be played a week earlier, when No. 8 Indiana enters the Horseshoe on Nov. 23 to try to keep its Cinderella season intact against the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1). That's assuming the unbeaten Hoosiers can stave off Michigan next week at home, a safe bet after the Wolverines' latest subpar performance in a 38-17 home loss to No. 1 Oregon. Indiana improved to 9-0, 6-0, the best start in school history, with 47 unanswered points in a 47-10 win over Michigan State, where it trailed for the first time all year. The Hoosiers had seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss. "That's really impressive. I don't know if I've ever seen those kind of numbers on a team I've coached," coach Curt Cignetti said. "I know we did knock the quarterback out at one point, but … wow! It got pretty dominant there at one point." After facing Michigan, the Hoosiers get an extra week of preparation for the Ohio State showdown, the most important game in Indiana football history. The winner figures to play Oregon in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. Could it be a battle of unbeatens between the Ducks and Hoosiers — or a rematch of the season's best game to date, the Ducks' 32-31 win over Ohio State on Oct. 12 in Eugene, Ore.? Oregon (9-0, 6-0) lost star wide receiver Tez Johnson to an apparent shoulder injury against the Wolverines (5-4, 3-3) but didn't slow down at all. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a Heisman Trophy candidate, has now beaten Ohio State and Michigan, a rare accomplishment for any Big Ten team in the same season. Gabriel downplayed the feat afterward. "I feel like history doesn't necessarily go with what we want to do," he said. "We've been so focused on the right now. … You can hopefully ask me that question in January." With four weeks of conference play left, the Big Ten is down to the Big Three, with No. 6 Penn State (7-1, 4-1) now on the outside looking in. Early season hopefuls such as Illinois and Nebraska have returned to their default factory settings, while Minnesota and Iowa are playing much better but too late to really matter. An extra hour of sleep did nothing to alter the mood in Happy Valley on Sunday after another heartbreaking loss to Ohio State. Penn State fans vented Saturday by throwing trash onto the field at Beaver Stadium. "I understand their frustration," coach James Franklin said while adding: "I own it all. I own it all." He should. Franklin's in-game coaching decisions and curious clock management at the end of the first half helped seal the Nittany Lions' reputation as a team that tenses up in big games. They failed to score inside the 5-yard line twice, including with 5½ minutes left. They never got the ball again. Franklin also made a dumb decision by confronting a taunting fan on his way to the locker room instead of ignoring the noise, as players are taught to do. "There is nobody that's looking in the mirror harder than I am," Franklin said. "I've said it before, 99% of the programs across college football would die to do what we've been able to do in our time here, and that's we — that's all of us. But I also understand when you're at a place like Penn State, there are really high expectations." There are, except when the Nittany Lions play a big game. Franklin is now 1-10 against Ohio State, which Penn State could face again in the College Football Playoff. Chants of "Fire Franklin" were heard after Saturday's game — though that seems like an overreaction considering the Nittany Lions still should make the playoffs and maybe even host a first-round game. The first CFP rankings come out Tuesday, and barring a surprise, Penn State will be one of four Big Ten teams in the mix for a playoff spot, along with Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. Franklin said there were "a lot of things I had planned on saying … but they are not appropriate for right now." Can't wait to hear it. In other Big Ten developments, Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) moved two wins away from bowl eligibility with a 26-20 overtime win that was handed to the Wildcats by Purdue coach Ryan Walters, who also gift-wrapped one a few weeks ago for Illinois. Purdue went for it on fourth-and-6 in OT instead of taking the easy field goal, then watched NU score two plays later. Whether the Wildcats can win two more games is doubtful. After a week off, they play Ohio State at Wrigley Field on Nov. 16 before a road game at Michigan and another at Wrigley against Illinois. Speaking of the Wildcats, a former NU quarterback has emerged as a savior at Iowa (6-3, 4-2). Brendan Sullivan, who transferred to Iowa after last season without the promise of playing, came off the bench last week to beat his former team, then helped the Hawkeyes rout Wisconsin 42-10 on Saturday night in Iowa City. Kaleb Johnson's 135 rushing yards was the key, but Sullivan's performance in place of injured Cade McNamara seems to have lit a spark under the Iowa offense. With games against UCLA, Maryland and Nebraska remaining, Iowa could finish 9-3. As for Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3), the Badgers' only chance at salvaging a lost season is a Nov. 16 matchup at Camp Randall Stadium against Oregon. Things were so awful for coach Luke Fickell that Iowa appropriated "Jump Around" after Saturday's win. That's about as bad as it gets in the land of cheese.