Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 13, 2014

Indiana?s Tevin Coleman continues to impress, busting off another 200-yard rushing game last week at Iowa. He leads the nation with 1,060 yards rushing. In addition to being a top talent, he also has an interesting story.

Coleman was born 10 weeks early and weighed 3 ½ pounds, small enough to fit in his mother's hand. Doctors gave him a 20 percent chance of survival. Look at him now. Amazing.

***

Is there a better 1-2 punch in the Big Ten than Wisconsin?s duo of Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement? Nope.

Gordon, in particular, continues to amaze. He became the fastest to go over 1,000 yards rushing in a season for the Badgers, doing it in the sixth game of the season. Against Illinois, Gordon scored on runs of 6, 30, 15 and 1 to reach the halfway mark of the regular season with 14 touchdowns and 1,046 yards.

?He is the best player I?ve ever been around,? UW coach Gary Andersen said, ?and his ability to change the game at any moment … is amazing."

***

Purdue lost to Michigan State, but it has stuff it can build on. In particular, the emergence of the receiving corps led by Danny Anthrop is encouraging.

For the second straight game, Anthrop delivered for the Boilermakers, catching a career-high nine balls in the loss to No. 8 Michigan State for 133 yards, including a long of 36. In the last two weeks, Anthrop has 12 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown. No doubt, he has developed into quarterback Austin Appleby's go-to guy.

***

Had to be impressed with the way Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner played in the win vs. Northwestern.

After missing a game with injury, Leidner has played well the last two times out, wins over Michigan and Northwestern. If he keeps it up, the Gophers should be a factor in the West. In fact, Jerry Kill said he bumped into Chandler Harnish after the game, and his former QB at Northern Illinois, now on the Vikings practice squad, was impressed.

?[Harnish] said, ?Man, that kid threw the post corner about as well as you can throw it,??? Kill said. ?Isaac Fruechte ran some great routes. Once your confidence gets going, you develop some chemistry. Donovahn [Jones] made some great catches, Maxx [Williams] - you start spreading the ball around, good things happen.?

***

No doubt, Saturday night was gut-check time for Michigan, which was riding a three-game winning streak. And, well, the Wolverines answered the bell with a win over Penn State. Devin Gardner showed pride and heart in what best can be described as ?ugly.?

Apparently, the team was inspired by a passionate letter written by punter Will Hagerup, who asked the players how they wanted to be remembered.

"He was basically saying, you came to Michigan for a reason," Michigan defensive end Frank Clark. "We didn't come to Michigan to lose. We didn't come to Michigan to get booed by our fans. We came here to play hard, play hard every down.

"No matter what you do. This was a punter writing a letter. You'd expect it to maybe be from a quarterback or a defensive player. But this is a punter. It spoke a lot about how far Will's come as a player and a man."

***

While Michigan?s win vs. Penn State wasn?t pretty, neither was Michigan State?s at Purdue. Still, in the end, the MSU defense found a way to clamp down on an inferior foe. Hey, it?s what championship teams do.

MSU?s adjustments at halftime were the difference after Purdue surprised MSU by attacking the flanks. More and more, Michigan State players say opposing offenses are drastically changing tactics when they face the Spartans defense. Hey, that?s what happens when you are a championship team.

Purdue managed just 43 rushing yards after halftime (a total that included 52-yard fourth-quarter rushing touchdown) and 63 yards through the air as Michigan State stretched its lead to 21 points and held on for the win.

***

The Penn State defense did its part to beat Michigan on Saturday.

It was the offense that was the issue. Do you see a trend here? Michigan finished the game with 256 total yards. The Wolverines averaged just 2.1 yards per rush. Very frustrating times for the PSU offense after that 4-0 start.

***

Yes, Jake Rudock looked good in helping Iowa dispatch Indiana. But, it was Indiana, which lacks a dynamic defense. Does this really end the quarterback controversy in Iowa City?

I think Beathard would have had a strong game, too. Am I alone?

***

Here is something for Illinois to consider: start Aaron Baily at quarterback. What do the Illini have to lose? Nothing, really. The kid may be the top athlete on the team. And he provided a spark when he played last week at Wisconsin.

***

Is there a better 1-2 punch in the Big Ten than Wisconsin?s duo of Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement? Nope.

Gordon, in particular, continues to amaze. He became the fastest to go over 1,000 yards rushing in a season for the Badgers, doing it in the sixth game of the season. Against Illinois, Gordon scored on runs of 6, 30, 15 and 1 to reach the halfway mark of the regular season with 14 touchdowns and 1,046 yards.

?He is the best player I?ve ever been around,? UW coach Gary Andersen said, ?and his ability to change the game at any moment … is amazing."