For No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan, this weekend was supposed to be little more than a tune-up in preparation for their Nov. 18 showdown in Columbus.
Ohio State was facing a two-win Illinois team that is at the bottom of the Big Ten and Michigan had a home game against a sub-.500 team from the Mid-American Conference in Ball State.
Both teams were ultimately successful, but they both faced much more difficult games than they had anticipated.
Ohio State squeaked past Illinois 17-10. The Illini scored all 10 of their points in the fourth quarter and their lone touchdown with under two minutes to play. On the ensuing possession, Ohio State recovered the onside kick and left Illinois with a win that was significantly more difficult than they had believed it was going to be.
"It was a reality call that when you travel to any stadium in the Big Ten conference, you better play for 60 minutes," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "Having a tough schedule really prepares you, and that tough schedule includes being in a dogfight for 60 minutes; that's healthy as can be."
Tressel spoke to the overall difficulty of the conference and said no team can be overlooked.
Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman rushed for less than 60 yards on less than two yards per carry, and OSU QB and Heisman frontrunner Troy Smith threw for just over 100 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Michigan defeated Ball State 34-26. The Wolverines struggled in the early part of the first half but went into halftime with a 24-12 lead and looked to put the game away getting a touchdown midway through the third quarter making it 31-12.
But Ball State refused to give up and got within one possession, 34-26, late in the game. Behind by just eight points, Ball State drove the ball down the field and was on the Michigan 2-yard line with an opportunity to tie. They were ultimately unable to convert and had a turnover on downs, and Michigan was able to escape with the victory.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr saw the game as an opportunity to get his team refocused.
"Any time you make critical errors, it forces you to refocus on the things that force you to lose," Carr said. "I look at every game as an opportunity to learn, and this game provided us with a number of opportunities to learn."
A disappointing season
Disappointing is probably the best word to describe this year's Iowa Hawkeyes team. They were ranked 16th in the nation at the start of the season and were supposed to compete with Ohio State and Michigan for the Big Ten title.
Things have not quite worked out as planned for the Hawkeyes. The season started out well for them as they won their first four games, including a 27-17 win against cross state rival Iowa State.
Since then things haven't gone their way. The team lost four of its next six games and went from possibly being a Big Ten title contender to possibly not even making a bowl game.
The low point of their season was this weekend as they fell to Northwestern, 21-7. The Hawkeyes were soundly defeated at home by a team that, at the time, had yet to win a Big Ten game.
"They really outplayed us in all three areas (offense, defense and special teams)," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It was a tough loss for us, particularly to be at home; it's tough to lose anywhere, but you especially hate to lose at home."
The indestructible Joe-Pa
The Wisconsin Badgers beat Penn State 13-3 last Saturday. But that wasn't the big story of that game.
The big story was a sideline collision where Nittany Lions tight end Andrew Quarless and Wisconsin linebacker DeAndre Levy ran into Penn State coach Joe Paterno. This resulted in a fractured tibia and two torn knee ligaments for Paterno, who had surgery on Monday.
After a surgery like that, most coaches would take the next game off, especially when the game is non-conference and against a one-win team like Temple. Add in the fact that Paterno is 79 years old, and it could be understood if he not only took the next game off but possibly the rest of the season. But just five days after surgery, Paterno will try to be on the sideline this Saturday against Temple.
"Everybody is worried about him, but if you know Coach, all he's worried about is the team," Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "He's chomping at the bit to get back here, and he'll be back here soon enough."