Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, November 6, 2014

Mark Dantonio doesn?t think Michigan State and Ohio State are rivals; but the game is personal. Well, I guess. Whatever that means.

"Our rivals right here, right now are Michigan and Notre Dame," Dantonio said Tuesday. "That's how I see our rivals at Michigan State."

Dantonio said he agreed with Urban Meyer's comments that the two teams aren't rivals, but said the series can "begin to take shape as a rivalry" with the continued success of both programs.

Who cares about labels? Let?s just play the game.

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It?s official: The freshman season of mega-hyped Michigan CB Jabrill Peppers is over, as he?ll take a medical redshirt.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke announced Wednesday that Peppers — who has only played in parts of three games this season — is done for the year, and will now use a medical redshirt for the 2014 season. So, we?ll have to wait to see if he?s the ?next Charles Woodson.?

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I find if funny-and kind of  sad-that anyone is questioning Penn State offensive coordinator John Donovan?s ability. He?s one of the smartest OC?s I?ve met.

Yes, the Nittany Lions offense has had issues, but there is plenty of blame to go around-beginning with a line that is a mess. Pennlive.com notes that Penn State has played the last five quarters without starting left tackle Donovan Smith, Penn State's only scholarship tackle in the senior, junior, and sophomore classes. Senior guard Miles Dieffenbach, with 23 career starts, hasn't made one yet this year after suffering an ACL injury during spring practice. The same goes for the Nittany Lions' rushing attack, which ranks 121st out of 125 FBS programs with an average of 77.1 yards per game.

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So, has Rutgers hit rock bottom? The gang at NJ.com looks at that question. If RU isn?t at rock bottom, it certainly can see it from here.

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It was good to see Iowa?s offensive line spring to life and quell critics with a strong effort last week in a 48-7 win vs. Northwestern.

Was the effort vs. NU a tease or a sign the Hawkeyes' offensive line means business the rest of the way? If the answer is yes, that divisional sprint will be very interesting, according to Rick Brown of HawkCentral.com.

"The challenge is not to be satisfied," right tackle Andrew Donnal said. "We were happy with what we did. But you can't be stagnant and stay at the same level of play. We made mistakes Saturday. Tons of them. If we improve those mistakes, there's so much more improvement to be made."

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An issue that Minnesota is trying to shake: Defensive doldrums in the first quarter, according to Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Poor starts had the Gophers trailing at halftime in their past two games, a 39-38 home win over Purdue and a 28-24 loss at Illinois. Both opponents scored 14 points in the first quarter. That didn't happen all last season. DC Tracy Claeys hopes to see his defense open with more life Saturday against Iowa. But he's still trying to put his finger on the problem.

"If I knew, it wouldn't happen twice in a row," he said Tuesday. "We just keep going, talk about it, emphasize it, and hopefully we'll start better than what we have."

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The great Loren Tate of the Champaign News-Gazette had some fun filling out a sport ballot on election day. Check it out.

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Lots of unrest swirling around Indiana hoops. And Tom Crean admits he hasn?t done a good job with leadership, with several players getting into trouble.

"We're going to continue to do everything we can do to get decision making to improve, to get immaturity to become maturity," Crean said. "Does that mean everybody's gonna make it here? Maybe not."

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White-hot Wisconsin is coming to Purdue on Saturday. And, well, things may get ugly for Purdue in a series that has been gruesome for the Boilermakers of late. Issues stopping the run could prove disastrous for Purdue. And the receiving corps is a hodge-podge. And then there is this: The Badgers are No. 1 in the nation in total defense (253.8 yards) and No. 3 in scoring defense, allowing 14.1 points. Plus, Wisconsin is third nationally in pass defense, giving up 150.9 yards, and No. 11 in rushing defense (102.9).

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About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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