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THE SCHEDULE

Want to know which of Saturday's games are worth your while? Here's the scoop from sports editor Jim Rossow, who has demanded a contract extension after a 5-1 week left him 44-13 overall:

Illinois at Purdue, 11 a.m., ESPN2

It's a meeting of the only two teams with below-.500 records in the Big Ten. With nine teams at 4-3 or better, the Big Ten has more winning teams than any Division I-A conference. The Big 12 has eight teams above .500. The Pac-10 and SEC have seven.

Rossow's pick: Purdue, 49-3

Minnesota at No. 18 Ohio State, 11 a.m., ESPN

A scheduling quirk has the Gophers visiting Columbus for the second consecutive season. Not that site has made much of a difference for Minnesota, which has lost 22 of its last 23 games to the Buckeyes, including five in a row.

Rossow's pick: Ohio State, 24-9

Indiana at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network

Hoosiers have lost seven consecutive Big Ten road games since winning Sept. 29, 2007, at Iowa. And they've lost five straight in Evanston since winning 24-0 in 1993.

Rossow's pick: Northwestern, 21-20

No. 13 Penn State at Michigan, 2:30 p.m., WICD (ABC)

Expect increased playing time for Sean Lee. The Nittany Lions star linebacker returned from a three-game break (left knee) and had two tackles last week, playing mostly on passing downs.

Rossow's pick: Penn State, 27-21

No. 7 Iowa at Michigan State, 6 p.m., Big Ten Network

Only Florida (16) has won more consecutive games than the Hawkeyes (11), who haven't won so many in a row since ripping off 20 between 1920 and '23. The last Big Ten team with as long a streak was Ohio State, which won 19 in a row in 2005 and '06. Not to jinx Kirk Ferentz & Co., but Iowa never has started 8-0.

Rossow's pick: Michigan State, 24-20

LOOKING AHEAD

Ron Zook takes it one game at a time. But we aren't football coaches:

OCT. 31

Purdue at Wisconsin 11 a.m.

Indiana at Iowa 11 a.m.

New Mexico St. at Ohio State 11 a.m.

Michigan at Illinois 2:30 p.m.

Penn State at Northwestern 3:30 p.m.

Michigan State at Minnesota 7 p.m.

NOV. 7

Illinois at Minnesota

Ohio State at Penn State

Wisconsin at Indiana

Northwestern at Iowa

Purdue at Michigan

Western Michigan at Michigan State

NOV. 14

Northwestern at Illinois

Michigan State at Purdue

Iowa at Ohio State

Indiana at Penn State

Michigan at Wisconsin

South Dakota State at Minnesota

JIM ROSSOW'S RANDOM THOUGHTS

P.R. 101

I didn't go to school to learn about public relations. But if I had Ron Zook's ear, this is what I'd tell the embattled Illinois coach: Make yourself available. Mingle with the fans. Go to the next Quarterback Club meeting and stick around afterward. Shake some hands. Tell some stories. Surely there's time to take a break from the X's and O's to relate to the paying customers, most of whom seem dissatisfied with the product these days. It'd go a long way to easing the tension that is enveloping the program.

P.R. 102

I'd like to hear from Ron Guenther, too. Critics (check out any message board) and backers (read the Q&A below) are weighing in on the Illinois athletic director, who is catching flak about the football team's dismal performance. It'd be refreshing to get his take on the situation. He doesn't need to tell us what he plans to do with Ron Zook, but any bit of candor would go over well with a fan base in the dark. Maybe he'll join us Monday at our radio show at the Esquire in Champaign. We'll save a seat just in case.

WIENKE ENJOYING THE RIDE

Tuscola's John Wienke is an injury away from taking snaps for seventh-ranked Iowa. Or maybe not. All season, the Hawkeyes have listed Wienke and James Vandenberg as second-string quarterback behind Ricky Stanzi, and it's unclear who would step in if a fill-in was needed. Wienke is tight with Stanzi, which has helped in learning Iowa's complex offensive scheme. Still, the redshirt freshman still is waiting to take the field in what looks to be a memorable season.

TEMPERATURE CHECK

WHO'S HOT

KIRK FERENTZ

Master motivator made sure his players weren't mesmerized by Iowa's spot in the first BCS poll (a Big Ten-best No. 6). The grumpy coach let them know that three teams ranked from No. 6 to No. 10 in last season's initial BCS poll – Oklahoma State, Georgia and Texas Tech – didn't reach a BCS bowl. In other words, don't get cocky. "A conclusion there is you could go up, you could go down or you might stay the same," Ferentz said. "So that's about all I took out of that whole thing."

PENN STATE RECRUITING

Joe Paterno's uncertain future hasn't been a hindrance. The Nittany Lions got their 20th commitment for the freshman class of 2010 when offensive tackle Khamrone Kolb of Burke, Va., said yes this week.

GREG JONES

The Michigan State linebacker is one of 16 semifinalists for the Butkus Award. Even better, he cracked our list of Big Ten MVP candidates at the bottom of this page. That's what happens when you average 12.1 tackles per game, which ranks first in the Big Ten and second nationally.

WHO'S WARM

DAVID MOLK

His broken foot is still sore, but Michigan's best offensive lineman is expected to play against Penn State. Out since Week 2, Molk allows Rich Rodriguez to move David Moosman from center to his most comfortable spot, right guard, just in time to play the Big Ten's best defense.

PURDUE'S HANDS

The Boilermakers still rank last in the Big Ten in turnover margin at minus-seven. But they were plus-two against Ohio State last week – forcing five turnovers – and likely will pad their stats against Illinois.

JEDD FISCH

Minnesota is bound for a bowl game under its first-year offensive coordinator. But he's getting the Mike Schultz treatment largely due to Adam Weber's struggles. The Gophers rank 114th out of 120 Division I-A teams, with an average of 293.7 yards per game.

WHO'S COLD

GOLDY GOPHER

And you thought the Chief was a distraction. Minnesota had to apologize for its mascot's behavior at Penn State. Goldy toyed with Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes while he was kneeling in prayer in the end zone, mimicking his movements. Minnesota spokesman Dan Wolter said the stunt was "plainly a mistake" and the mascot didn't intend to offend anyone or trivialize religion.

JIM TRESSEL

The relentless bashing isn't relegated to fans. Terrelle Pryor's high school coach said this week Ohio State's offense is not maximizing Pryor's abilities. Ray Reitz even said Rich Rodriguez's spread offense at rival Michigan would have been a much better fit for Pryor. "I don't know why (Reitz) would say something like that," Pryor said. "I wouldn't trade where I'm at right now."

SCOTT TOLZIEN

He looked like the Big Ten's best quarterback during Wisconsin's 5-0 start. That seems like years ago. He was picked off twice in a loss to Ohio State, a game in which he was sacked six times, and had three more interceptions against Iowa.

GIMME FIVES: This week's rankings, courtesy sports editor Jim Rossow

Illinois MVP

Player PREVIOUS

Mikel Leshoure 1

A.J. Jenkins –

Anthony Santella 2

Hugh Thornton –

Jacob Charest –

Big Ten MVP

Player PREVIOUS

Pat Angerer, Iowa 3

Greg Jones, Michigan State –

Josh Hull, Penn State 4

Donovan Warren, Michigan 5

Eric Decker, Minnesota 2

Coach of the Year

Coach PREVIOUS

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa 1

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan 3

Mark Dantonio, Michigan St. –

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern 5

Tim Brewster, Minnesota 2

Bowl lineup

School Bowl

Iowa BCS

Penn State BCS

Michigan State Capital One

Ohio State Outback

Wisconsin Champs