Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0) #4AP/Coaches-

After yet another command performance, the Wisconsin Badgers are still undefeated and look like the best team in the conference if not one of the best in the country. Last weekend’s home 59-7 thrashing of Indiana was both emphatic and business-like. From the opening snap, there was no question as to who the better team was or who would end the day with a victory.

Wisconsin looked as explosive as they had all season on offense, scored the first 28 points of the game and didn’t look back as they took a 38-7 lead into halftime. Heisman candidate Russell Wilson was able to take a back seat though, as junior tailback Montee Ball had arguably the most effective game of his college career. Ball saw only 15 offensive touches, totaled 188 offensive yards, scored three rushing touchdowns and added another on a on a halfback pass to Wilson for a touchdown. He was awarded the B1G Offensive Player Of The Week award for his efforts.

“We’re excited for Montee to get some attention,” said coach Bielema. “The way our offense has gone, Russell (Wilson) has gotten most of the attention, but Montee’s been playing as well as we’ve had a guy play that position for us.”

The #4 Badgers are happy to be in their current position atop the B1G Leaders division, but are anything but overconfident going into this weekend’s contest in East Lansing against the Michigan State Spartans. Despite a dominant start to the regular season, and despite his team taking care of business in each of its first six games, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is wary of the challenge that Michigan State poses in their home stadium.

“It’s a difficult environment,” he said simply. “Their style of play is electric and exciting and they’re difficult to play against when they’re rocking and rolling. We’ll need to play disciplined football and capitalize on our opportunities.”

The Spartans serve as a potential stumbling block for the Badgers this weekend, and will be the biggest road test yet for a Wisconsin team that has played only one ranked team and one road game. If the Badgers can escape unscathed though, that could be indicative of a team ready to make some serious noise at BCS time.

Penn State (6-1, 3-0) Receiving votes AP/Coaches

Nothing came easy for Penn State last weekend against Purdue as the Nittany Lions escaped with a welcome, but unconvincing 23-18 victory. The Boilermakers’ mistakes included a missed field goal, a missed extra point, a missed two-point conversion and an interception near the end of the first half, which led to Penn State taking a 10-6 lead on a field goal as time expired. For Joe Paterno’s Lions, a home contest against a Purdue squad that had struggled early in the year was not widely expected to pose the challenge it did, but Paterno was quick to praise both the Boilers and the strength of the B1G after the game.

“Purdue’s a strong team and this is a very balanced conference,” he said. “There are three or four teams playing as good of football as anyone in the country this year and the rest of the teams are pretty close to each other and are well coached. The league’s very strong this year.”

Penn State’s struggles last week are magnified by the fact that they go on the road this week to face a Northwestern team that has shown the ability to score points and give good teams trouble. Despite not having yet recorded a conference win, the Wildcats were in position to win games against both Illinois and Michigan earlier in the year.

“They’re a fine team,” said Paterno. If you look at their games, they’re very explosive. Their quarterback (Dan Persa) is a Pennsylvania kid who was great against us last year. They play with a lot of enthusiasm and we’ll need to play better than we’ve played yet this year… I’m not crazy about playing them on the road at night. You’ve got the crowd to contend with, which is more of a challenge, no question.”

Paterno’s definitely right about one thing – his PSU squad will need to play better than they have all year in this week’s game. Northwestern has proven that it’s no pushover and if the Nittany Lions play sloppy, the Wildcats may be ready to pounce.

Illinois (6-1, 2-1) #21 AP/#23 Coaches-

For the first time all season, Illinois finds itself in the position of needing to bounce back from a defeat, following a 17-7 home setback at the hands of Ohio State. A high-octane offense that had been averaging 39.5 points per game in conference play was held to a single touchdown by a physical Buckeye defense, and the UI defense wasn’t able to respond with a sufficiently strong performance. Head football coach Ron Zook wasn’t dwelling too much on the loss though. Instead he focused on how he wants his team to respond.

“This is the first challenge this season,” he said. It’s a new one and we need to respond from a loss. I’ve been very impressed with our locker room and how the guys seem to understand the situation… I liked how we responded on Monday and Tuesday, and we’re looking forward to playing up at Purdue”

If the Illini bounce back, their front seven is likely to play a significant role. Illinois has been the top team in the B1G this season in both sacks and tackles-for-loss. Junior defensive end Whitney Mercilus has been a huge part of that equation and has recorded ten sacks already this season. According to Zook though, there’s plenty of credit to go around.

“Anytime a guy is in his second year in a system, adjustments are easier to make,” he said. “The ends are playing really well right now. They understand the system, they are talented and the coaches are putting them in position to make plays.”

The Illini have done a very good job of bothering the opposing team’s offense this season. If they can keep that up, this week’s response will likely be enough to notch another win.

Ohio State (4-3, 1-2)-

A win against a team like Illinois isn’t traditionally a huge deal to the Ohio State Buckeyes. This season though isn’t exactly business as usual, as Ohio State (which isn’t used to losing more than one conference game in a year) avoided a 0-3 B1G start with a 17-7 victory over Illinois. It wasn’t a pretty game, as the Buckeyes totaled only 17 yards through the air, but an invigorated defense and the return of ‘Boom’ Herron and Mike Adams were enough to sow the seeds for a crucial victory.

“We were excited to get the win any way we could,” said Coach FIckell. “We need more balance, but the results are the most important thing.”

As Fickell alluded to, having a quarterback go 1-4 for only 17 yards isn’t usually a winning recipe, but it worked in this game. Fickell attributed that to the confidence that Adams and Herron bring to the offense.

“We’d like to be more balanced,” he said. “But we can get away with some stuff because of what Boom and Mike bring. They both bring a confidence to the field and the locker room, and it’s important when you can bring attitude to the game and the locker room.”

Ohio State is on bye this week, but if Saturday’s win is any indication, the Buckeyes may have found some momentum. Whether they can carry it forward remains to be seen.

Purdue (3-3, 1-1)-

Danny Hope’s Boilermakers’ season can be best described as a roller-coaster with plenty of ups and downs. They’ve played in close games and blowouts alike and have ended up on both sides of the ledger. After blowing out Minnesota the previous week, Purdue lost in disappointing fashion to Penn State after repeatedly shooting itself in the foot; leaving at least six points on the field due to special teams and situational mistakes.

“We picked it up last week,” said Hope. “Penn State made hay, but we answered. That said, we need to minimize the mistakes. Little things and errors like lining up wrong on defense and some mistakes in the kicking game.”

Despite a disappointing outcome, the Boilers looked much better than they did in a blowout loss to Notre Dame three weeks ago. The offense has been balanced, and the defense has looked like the experienced unit the coaching staff was expecting at the outset of the season. Add that to the fact that Illinois is coming off a tough loss, and it makes this week’s game all the more intriguing.

“It’s a rivalry game and that’s always fun,” said Hope. “Illinois plays wide-open and with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. They’re athletic, they bring pressure and they’re balanced offensively… They’ve got a great quarterback with great skill guys around him. It’s exciting.”

Considering how uneven Purdue has been this year, this weekend’s game is sure to be exciting, if for no other reason than its unpredictability.