Penn State (7-1, 4-0) #21 AP/#19 Coaches

The Nittany Lions continued their surprisingly strong start to the season last weekend as they stymied the Northwestern Wildcats’ potent offense and put up their best offensive total of the conference season in a 34-24 victory. There was plenty to be happy about on the offensive side of the ball, as Penn State showed a nice balance of run and pass – scoring the final 14 points to secure the win. However, Joe Paterno also seemed pleased with a defense that gave up a lot of yardage, but held strong when it mattered most. In particular, Paterno was happy with the play of Gerald Hodges, who led the team in tackles and added 1.5 sacks and an interception.

“(Hodges) is an excellent athlete,” Paterno said. “When we recruited him, he could have been a fullback or a defensive back, but he’s filled in. He’s a natural linebacker who’s getting better all the time and he’s played well. He has everything it takes to be a good linebacker.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for Paterno’s Lions, as they host Illinois this weekend. Despite the Illini’s current two-game losing streak, Joe Pa had plenty of compliments to pay Ron Zook’s Illinois team.

“I think Illinois, other than Alabama is the best team we’ve played so far,” Paterno explained. “They have an excellent quarterback, a couple strong running backs, fine wide receivers, a great big strong offensive line… and their defense is excellent. I think they’re a fine football team and they’re going to be hard to match up against.”

If Penn State can hold off the Illini this week, they’ll move to 5-0 in conference, and give themselves that much better of a shot at playing for some high stakes – possibly a BCS bowl – this winter. Paterno though, isn’t at all concerned with future goals at this moment.

“I haven’t thought about it too much,” said Paterno when asked about such a possibility. “We’re just taking our games one at a time and concentrating on that. We haven’t been a dominant team, we’ve had to practice well and take care of the little things. We’ve not thought beyond game-by-game.”

Knowing the success Coach Paterno’s had, it’s probably safe to assume he knows what he’s doing.

Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) #12 AP/ #11 Coaches

How a week can change a season. As recently as a week ago, Wisconsin’s biggest worry was its ranking in the BCS standings and the implications that had on the Badgers’ national championship hopes. After losing to Michigan State in heartbreaking (or miracle, depending on who you ask) fashion, Wisconsin’s circumstances have changed somewhat.

“We lost a heartbreaker on Saturday,” said Bret Bielema. “We didn’t capitalize and we gave too many things away. Credit goes to coach (Mark) Dantonio. Luckily we have a new opponent this week, we’re going on the road to play a night game at Ohio State. Our work’s cut out for us and we’re excited.”

The Badgers’ national title hopes may be dead and buried in the wake of their 37-31 defeat at the hands of the Spartans, but what really bears watching is how Wisconsin handles the loss and how they move forward from it – a point coach Bielema made very clear.

“We addressed it after the game,” Bielema said of the possibility of a hangover. “It’s hard to go through film after a loss, as coaches and players we make mistakes but the loss doesn’t affect the next game unless you let it. The kids came in with every good indicator that they won’t carry it into this weekend.”

The Badgers handed the Buckeyes their only loss of the year last season and though both teams appear to have moved in opposite directions since then – Wisconsin for the better, Ohio State for the worse – Bielema seems to know better than to take the Buckeyes for granted.

“Ohio State is Ohio State,” Bielema said bluntly. “I don’t care what the record says, they’ve got tremendous football players and they’re very talented. The more Luke (Fickell) and his staff get comfortable, the better they’ve been doing.”

Saturday is the beginning of a brand new season for the Badgers, but if Bielema’s team takes his words to heart, it should be a promising start.

Purdue (4-3, 2-1)

A mere two weeks after Purdue was left for dead after a decimation at the hands of Notre Dame, the Boilers are right back in the thick of the Leaders division race. Their next test comes this weekend against the Michigan Wolverines, a team that Danny Hope holds in high regard.

“They’re very physical on both sides of the ball,” said Danny Hope of Michigan. “They do a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. They’ve bought into the new coach and what he’s brought. They’re playing hard, physical, tough and they’re playing to win.”

Purdue has done its share of playing to win the past few weeks in the B1G, blowing out Minnesota, nearly knocking off Penn State and shocking Illinois. Much of the Boilers’ improvement can be pinned on a defense that has looked like a completely different unit since being physically dominated by the Irish. One of the centerpieces of that unit is defensive tackle, Kawann Short, who was voted this week’s B1G defensive player of the week.

“He had a really good game last weekend,” Hope said of Short. The last three weeks, him along with the rest of the defense has gained momentum. He’s doing the little things better on a more consistent basis. He’s in better shape and has the size speed and quickness to be dominant. He has a great upside and he’ll continue to improve.”

Purdue has also had some success on offense, which surprised some because of the unconventional two-quarterback system that Hope is fond of running. Despite being unusual, Hope stands by playing both his starter and his backup – Caleb TerBush and Robert Marve respectively.

“A lot of coaches have to ask ‘Is our second quarterback good enough to come in and play?’” said Hope. “And a lot of times the answer is no. We’re committed to having another quarterback ready to play and we’re fortunate that we have a #2 (quarterback) in Robert Marve who can make a difference as to winning.”

Whatever Hope’s been doing over the past couple of weeks, he may want to stick with it, because his Boilers are looking like a whole new football team.

Illinois (6-2, 2-2)

Ron Zook’s Illinois squad had turned a lot of heads in the B1G and around the country with their fast start out of the gate (they started 6-0) but have faltered over the last two weeks – losing as favorites against both Ohio State and Purdue. The road doesn’t get any easier this week, as the Illini will visit Penn State, the only undefeated team left in the division.

“They’re number one defensively in our conference and have one of the best defenses in the country,” said Ron Zook. “Our offense has been struggling the past couple of weeks and we need to find some continuity. They’ve just been getting better every week, particularly on offense the past three or four weeks. (Happy Valley) is a tough place to play.”

Despite the fact that his team appears somewhat behind the proverbial eight ball Zook seems confident in his team’s ability to shake off two tough losses and reverse its fortunes against the Nittany Lions.

“You’ve got to rebound,” said Zook. “But because of our leadership and coaching I think we will. We understand it’ll be a challenge, but that’s part of the game. We’ve got to fight through, battle through and play loose.”

AJ Jenkins will need to be a big part of that rebound. The conference’s leading receiver, Jenkins has been a key cog in an offense that was unbelievably explosive to start the year but has struggled as of late. For what it’s worth, Zook has faith in his senior wideout, and says he’s taken his game to another level in his last season at Illinois.

“A.J (Jenkins) has really stepped up,” said Zook. “I don’t know if it’s that it’s his senior year, but he’s stepped up his game on the field and in the classroom.”

If the rest of his teammates follow his example and rebound from two tough losses, it shouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see the Illini reverse course this weekend.

Ohio State (4-3, 1-2)

The Buckeyes enjoyed a break last weekend following a much-needed win over Illinois, but will enjoy no such respite this weekend as they host a talented Wisconsin Badger team, presumably still angry about losing at the horn to Michigan State last weekend. Luke Fickell, Ohio State head coach, seems to understand that, as well as what makes Wisconsin so tough to defend.

“We have to focus on not giving up big plays,” emphasized Fickell. Big plays downfield are our focus. (Russell Wilson) scrambling has led to a lot of those big plays, so we need to contain that.”

When asked about the outside attention being paid to this game, as well as his perceived lack of job security after a subpar season by OSU standards, Fickell was characteristically measured.

“We’ve had enough stuff go on outside here that we try not to look at things we don’t have control over,” said Fickell. “It’s still about playing on Saturday night.

As a man who may be coaching on borrowed time, Fickell’s views are those of a man concerned only with next week. That approach certainly can’t hurt the Buckeyes this week, as they seem to enjoy less talent than Wisconsin, but only Saturday’s result will tell for sure.