Big Ten links: Take a spin around Thursday's notable football stories

That 24-17 season-opening loss for Michigan at Utah looks better with each passing week, says the great Nick Baumgardner of Mlive.com. And, he?s correct.

Utah is now 4-0 and ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Utes just crushed Oregon, 62-20, in Eugene last weekend. The same Oregon team that Michigan State beat last month in what many hailed as a ?program defining? win. And now Utah is being mentioned as a contender for the College Football Playoff. Michigan? The Wolverines-who had three turnovers vs. the Utes–are 3-0 since that night in Salt Lake City with workmanlike wins against Oregon State and UNLV, and a 31-0 domination of BYU.

While Utah used its win over Michigan to jump start its success, Michigan used the loss as a cold shower.

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For those of you grousing about Ohio State?s offense, remember this: This is Urban Meyer?s offense-no matter who the coordinator is.

Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com notes that plenty of young, intriguing offensive minds were floated when OC Tom Herman bolted for Houston: Boise State's Mike Sanford, who wound up at Notre Dame, and East Carolina's Lincoln Riley, who went to Oklahoma, were two. The Buckeyes hired former Nebraska coordinator Tim Beck, who brought Texas recruiting ties but was also out of a job after Bo Pelini and his staff were fired. Whomever the hire, the new coordinator wasn't going to bring his offense. He was going to come to Meyer's offense. So, cool your jets on the offensive criticism in Columbus, OK?

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This sports hernia injury for Wisconsin RB Corey Clement is serious. How serious? He?s gonna travel overseas to have it checked out.

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Last week, Kirk Ferentz tied Wisconsin icon Barry Alvarez for ninth place on the all-time Big Ten wins list with 119. Now, Ferentz can pass Alvarez this Saturday in Madison.

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Good news for Michigan State: The left knee injury to stud Spartan OT Jack Conklin won?t end his season.

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Penn State plays Army. So, let?s go in the Way-Back Machine and look at some photos from the 1973 Army-Penn State tilt. John Cappelletti in black-and-white. Sweet.

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The 4-0 start by Indiana has taken any perceived heat off Kevin Wilson. In fact, if he gets the Hoosiers to their first bowl since 2007, he could become a hot commodity.

The great Lee Barfknecht of Omaha.com notes that IU has stuck with Wilson, who is in his fifth season. It?s a welcome change, considering the previous four coaches had lasted an average of only 3.6 years on the job. The outlook for this season looked bleak after tailback Tevin Coleman, the nation?s No. 2 rusher at 169.7 yards a game, left a year early for the NFL. But Wilson scrambled and found a worthy replacement - former UAB tailback Jordan Howard, who was immediately eligible after the Blazers disbanded their program. IU not only figures to go bowling this year-it could go to a nice bowl. Do the Hoosiers have a chance this Saturday vs. No. 1 Ohio State? Check out this podcast from IndyStar.com.

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Big game for Minnesota on Saturday, as it treks to Northwestern. And when the Gophers arrive, they won?t be at full strength. The secondary is banged up. Then again, it?s not like NU has a prolific passing game.

Josh Burton of InsideNU.com has reasons why Northwestern will/won?t beat Minnesota. Let?s just say NU QB Clayton Thorson needs to make some good decisions if the Wildcats want to remain unbeaten. He threw two interceptions against Duke and one in the Ball State game, but also lost two fumbles this past Saturday. Of those five turnovers, three led to points for the opposing team (two touchdowns and a field goal).

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