Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 27, 2015

What-if scenarios? Michigan?s Jim Harbaugh isn?t interested in them after that brutal loss to Michigan State.

"I'm not into the 'if this, if that' type of scenarios," Harbaugh said Monday. "If worms had machine guns then birds (would) be scared of them.
"We're looking to (define) our season over the next number of games that we play."

What did Harbaugh say? Worms? Machine guns? Never change, Jim Harbaugh. Never. Change.

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J.T. Barrett looked pretty good in his first 2015 start. How did he keep a starter?s mentality while backing up Cardale Jones? Cleveland.com has a good look at Barrett.

The guy is a great leader, the first sophomore captain in Ohio State annals who also is uber talented. I still am miffed as to why Barrett wasn?t the starter from the beginning of the year. Oh, well: At least OSU has it correct now. Barrett is special on so many levels.

"I (always) prepared myself as if I was a starter, because you never know what's going to happen," Barrett said. "I was always preparing as if I was the starting quarterback."

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In case you didn?t know it, Ohio State?s defense is loaded. How loaded?

The Buckeyes may have a shot to match the record of 21 defensive players eventually drafted from the 2001 Miami Hurricanes team. And it begins with end Joey Bosa, hailed by some as the next J.J. Watt.

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Eddie George in a Broadway musical? Yep.

Twenty years after George picked up his own Heisman in New York in 1995, he'll be back in NYC in the role of Billy Flynn in the musical "Chicago."

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Is there an offensive identity crisis at Michigan State?

Mike Griffith of Mlive.com thinks the Spartans need to decide who they are: a running team or a passing team. MSU's stubborn determination to run nearly cost the program the Michigan game. The Spartans had 20 first downs to Michigan's 10 but wasted far too many plays on the ground when big plays were available through the air. In earlier games, conservative play-calling opened the door for opponents to rally and close the gap on the scoreboard. Balance is key, but the Spartans might want to consider throwing to set up the run, rather than the other way around. MSU has the No. 87-rush attack (155 yards per game), and the No. 38 pass attack (258.8 yards per game). Why not take advantage of Connor Cook, one of the nation?s top QBs?

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Nice read from the great Lee Barfknecht of Omaha.com, who says there are no excuses for losses like the one Nebraska suffered Saturday at home to Northwestern.

I never thought I?d see the day when Northwestern was on equal footing with Nebraska. But, it is-and has been for several seasons now. Credit Pat Fitzgerald and NU. It seems like the mystic and magic-not to mention power-of Nebraska has vanished.

Two things about the 2015 Huskers bother Barfknecht:

1. Act like you?ve been coached.
2. Play like you care.

Right now, Barfknecht is not seeing either often enough. Nebraska, though playing close, doesn?t look close to contending for a conference title.

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The Jim Thorpe finalist have been announced. And the Big Ten has three of the top DBs in the nation.

Jourdan Lewis, Michigan
Vonn Bell, Ohio State
Desmond King, Iowa

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Looking for the key to the Illinois at Penn State game? Watch the trenches.

Illinois has yielded just eight sacks, which is the least given up by any team in the Big Ten. But the Illini have the fewest sacks in the conference with just nine in seven games. Conversely, Penn State has a conference-best 31 sacks through eight games, but their offensive line has surrendered a Big Ten-worst 28.

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Pete DiPrimio of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel wonders if the bye week can solve the mystery of Indiana?s football team. Can the losing be reversed? It?s four losses in a row and counting for IU.

The fourth quarter has been an issue. The Hoosiers rank last among 128 FBS teams in average fourth-quarter points allowed and 101st in points scored. Why does a team do so well for three quarters, as IU has done for much of the season with Nate Sudfeld at quarterback, and collapse in the final 15 minutes? Is it mental? Physical? Lack of depth? Poor conditioning?

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Purdue recently had a hoops scrimmage. And, the offensive potential was impressive.

The guy I?m excited about is freshman Ryan Cline, who made all five of his three-pointers. The guy is gonna be fun to watch while giving the team much-needed shooting to open the interior for the Boilermakers? loaded frontcourt.

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Speaking of Purdue, stud freshman Caleb Swanigan still has not been cleared to play by the NCAA, according to Bleacher Report. And this is bad news.

No one knows what is up. But if Swanigan isn't cleared, it would be a huge blow to a Boilermaker program that has high hopes. Stay tuned.

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