Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 22, 2015

OK, yesterday marked the two-month warning bell for the Michigan State at Ohio State game. I know what you are thinking ? that?s WAY too much time between now and then to be talking about that game. SO much can happen over the next 60 or so days. Point taken. But that won?t stop me from cranking up the hype machine right now. Will both teams make it to 10-0 before meeting?

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Good analysis of the offensive struggles at Minnesota from SBNation.

At some point, doesn?t Minnesota have to do something different? I mean, c?mon. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over ? expecting different results. Things clearly don?t seem to be working for the Golden Gopher offense.

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It?s Tuesday ? and Ohio State still hasn?t decided who will start at quarterback on Saturday. Carry on, America.

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Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said his team is in a fragile state of mind. Does that shock you?

With an injury-depleted offensive line, the Gophers rushed for just 104 yards against Kent State. Leidner completed 17 of 27 passes for 184 yards but remained inconsistent, tossing two interceptions. The Gophers had true freshman quarterback Demry Croft warming up on the sidelines, but Leidner wound up playing the whole game. The Minneapolis Star Tribune says Kill deferred all quarterback questions to later in the week.

?You can ask me Tuesday, and I?m not going to answer any of them,? Kill said. ?Because everybody will spin it the way they want to. They did last week anyway. So you?ve got some people saying this kid ought to start, and you?ve got some people, this kid ought to start.

?Like I said, we?ve got a lot of things to take a look at to have the best unit out there.?

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Interesting story here from Cleveland.com that wonders if Jim Tressel?s abrupt end saved Ohio State from a Texas-like fall.

Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com notes that Ohio State absorbed the blow of Tressel's NCAA transgressions and recovered, while Texas slowly bled out during Mack Brown's final four seasons, with second-year coach Charlie Strong still trying to save the program.

"I don't know the ins and outs of what went on there, but his was a slow ending," Tressel said. "Ours was an abrupt ending. But our program wasn't going that direction. Our program was going like this (hand like a plane again). Now the ending was abrupt, whereas theirs was kind of a slow move, with the tenure of the coach and the program, and obviously I'm not going to be negative about it, but big difference.

"Big difference."

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Because success hasn?t been overflowing so far for Penn State, let?s go ahead and look back on 10 moments that shaped the Nittany Lions? win over Rutgers on Saturday. It was a much-needed victory.

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I think we all had a feeling that Michigan would have a good defense. Well, through three games, it has been better than good ? it has been great thanks to a balanced unit featuring Chris Wormley on the line, Jourdan Lewis in the secondary, a strong linebacking corp, and a few emerging playmakers. The defense is proving capable of determining the Wolverines' trajectory.

Brendan F. Quinn of Mlive.com notes that after three games, Michigan ranks third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally in total defense, allowing 236.7 yards per game. U-M surrendered only 337 yards to Utah, 138 yards to Oregon State and 235 yards to UNLV, while opening the season 2-1.

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North Texas comes to Iowa. That probably doesn?t excite you. But the Mean Green are coached by Dan McCarney, an Iowa City native, former Hawkeyes o-lineman, assistant and Iowa State head coach. This is fun!

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The excitement is building in Evanston, thanks to a 3-0 start. The gang at InsideNU.com wonders what the over/under should be on wins for the Wildcats? Seven? Eight? Hmmmm.

Honestly, there really isn?t one game left on NU?s schedule where you go: Wow, the Wildcats have NO shot to win. Northwestern should have a shot in every game left, even at Michigan, at Nebraska and at Wisconsin.

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Just when things look tough for Rutgers, it glanced at its schedule and saw who it played next: Kansas. Thanks, Jayhawks!!!!

Dan Duggan of NJ.com says the Jayhawks are 0-2, with a 41-38 loss to Division 1-AA South Dakota State and a 55-23 rout by Memphis. Kansas will arrive at High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday looking to end a 30-game road losing streak. The Jayhawks' last win away from home came at UTEP on Sept. 12, 2009.

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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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