FanHouse Terrelle Pryor

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Welcome to the heartland, home of the Big Ten, a league that doesn't deserve its own TV network and should respectfully reject a Rose Bowl bid on the basis of stodginess and cowardice. Ever wonder why the best talent routinely heads southward and westward? You should have seen the final minutes of the conference's unofficial title game Saturday evening, when two prominent head coaches laid down, played for overtime and reminded us why college football in these parts is maddeningly prehistoric.

There was Ohio State's Jim Tressel, the sweater-vested genius who writes self-help books about life, unable to help himself. Armed with a two-touchdown lead with 11:32 remaining in regulation, he watched the Buckeyes allow a 99-yard kickoff return for a score and have their own interception and touchdown return nullified by an offsides call. So what did Tressel do with 2:37 left and the score tied at 24-24? He shut down all creativity, went ultra-conservative in his own end and punted. In the process, he didn't utilize the running and passing talents of Terrelle Pryor, who might be one of the dynamic weapons in the college game if Tressel wasn't stuck in the 20th century and had a clue how to develop and utilize a two-way quarterback.

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Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten previews the weekend's games so Big Ten haters can get even more nervous.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the rest of the college football universe is sort of obsessed right now. They have a deep, lingering fear of Iowa winding up in the BCS Championship Game. That, to them, could only mean one of two things. The Hawkeyes could get blown out in a total snoozer. That would be bad. They could also win, which would be worse. Now what conference would they have to say is overrated? Their own?

Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten answers the questions, questions the answers, and looks ahead to Saturday's games.

It's now indisputably late October. The leaves here in Wisconsin went from being Monet-like things of beauty to being a soggy ground-based nuisance in less time than it takes for a new Jim Tressel criticism to appear on the internet. It feels like the season just started but after this weekend it's two-thirds over.

There are so many questions yet to answer, however. I've already explored the various Big Ten title scenarios, so let's look at some of the other burning issues.

The Purdue Boilermakers were long overdue for a victory. They got one today, and it was huge. Purdue defeated No. 7 Ohio State 26-18 in West Lafayette in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.

Boilermaker quarterback Joey Elliott sharpened his claws on Ohio State's secondary, going 31-of-50 for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Purdue's defense kept Ohio State's sputtering offense in check, with Terrelle Pryor looking particularly ineffective until a fourth quarter drive which pulled the Buckeyes within eight.

Every Thursday, Pickin' On the Big Ten tries to make sense out of the upcoming weekend's games.

It was not supposed to be like this for Mark Dantonio and the Michigan State Spartans. Sure, they lost in the Capital One Bowl last season, but not by much, which is why many people tagged them as the Big Ten's third-best team going into this year. It was going to be hard to replace Brian Hoyer and Javon Ringer, but at long last things were looking up for Sparty.

Now, after a heart-shattering 1-3 start, things are still looking up, if only because "up" is the only direction left. Now it's time to pull the wreckage of this season out of the ditch to see what can be salvaged.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- So what if he was surrounded by 106,000 loons, all standing and shaking and shrieking in the fabled Horseshoe, all sensing a merciful end to Ohio State's humiliating big-game-loss stigma? So what if the forbidding first few notes of the White Stripes screamer, "Seven Nation Army,'' kept pounding through the speakers like a throbbing headache? So what if USC was stuck at its 5-yard line, looking at second-and-19 and a five-point deficit with six minutes left?

And so what if Matt Barkley's throwing shoulder was aching, a victim of a throwdown by defensive tackle Nathan Williams? Somehow, none of these issues gave Barkley any reason for pause Saturday night. He wears No. 7, like another California-bred quarterback who once forged a legend deep in his own territory in a hostile environment. Just as John Elway told his mates that they had their opponents right where they wanted them, Barkley had calming words for the Trojans when all seemed lost. The difference between the two?

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The embattled Ohio State football program -- losers of five straight against elite programs -- made its stand. Saturday night was going to be the place where they bucked history and reclaimed some former glory in toppling No. 3 USC. Over 106,000 fans, most in Ohio Stadium history, made life hell for the visitors from sunny California. The Buckeye defense made stop after stop, harassing the Trojan run game and freshman quarterback Matt Barkley over four solid quarters. They made their stand, but in soul-crushing fashion, they once again failed.

Trailing 15-10 and looking ready to wilt, USC mounted a 14-play, 86-yard, six minute touchdown drive to go ahead 18-15 with just over a minute left. Same. Old. Story. Not enough.

Jim Tressel may not have exactly had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he certainly had the weight of everything between the Ohio and Lake Erie. As he sat at the dais in his familiar getup of squared eyeglasses and just plain square sweatervest, Tressel looked like a man that stood on 20 only to watch the dealer draw blackjack.

His eighth-ranked Buckeyes had just fallen to third-ranked USC 18-15 in the kind of loss that would probably keep a coach up for nights even with a barrel full of Sominex at his bed side, and Tressel wasn't much for the optimist role.

"All losses hurt," Tressel said, his voice sounding gray like his vest, "but this one hurts the most because it's today."

Pac-10 teams begin their second week of play on Saturday, highlighted by No. 3 USC's trip to Columbus to play Ohio State. It means nothing but consensus leans heavily towards the Trojans despite it being a cover of darkness road game before what Eleven Warriors calls 105,000 of college football's best hooligans, despite starting a true freshman quarterback in Matt Barkley and despite Ohio State having the tiebreaker of all tiebreakers in Terrelle Pryor.

Yeah, USC's loaded. The rest of the conference lineup Saturday is a mixed bag filled with one big road trip to SEC country, a couple middling names and a handful of regional cupcakes. Mmm, cupcakes. Wait, no, bad Pac-10. Time to bag some fresh game out of say, Knoxville? Hmmm, maybe not.

For his next facial Bible verse, Tim Tebow needs to promote forgiveness. Terrelle Pryor could use some.

Not only has Pryor unleashed hellfire and brimstone for wearing an eye-black patch with the word "Vick," but it might not be long before college football players won't be allowed to express their views on their faces.

That includes a person like Tebow, who has inspired countless souls by writing Bible verses on his eye-black patches. It all goes back to his childhood hero, Jesus Christ. Pryor's childhood hero was Michael Vick.

As much as most people prefer the former to the latter, it doesn't matter. You can't allow one player to face-paint his views and not let somebody else.