Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, December 14, 2015

It was neat to see Michigan State recognize the program?s 1999-2000 national title team. It?s difficult to believe this is the last time the Big Ten has won a national championship.

"The memories, they take you back to a special place," Mateen Cleaves said. "As you get older, it gets better and better. The more and more I think back, I'm just happy to be part of something that was very special."

The group came back as Michigan State is ranked No. 1 in the country, with realistic hopes of becoming the next Spartans team to win a title.

***

Not good news for Michigan, as star DB Jabrill Peppers is ?working through something? and his status for the Citrus Bowl is uncertain. The good news: Florida has a horrible offense. So, if Peppers can?t play, it may not be the end of the world.

***

It didn?t take James Franklin long to find a new OC, tabbing Fordham coach Joe Moorhead.

Pennlive.com notes that under the direction of Moorhead, a Pennsylvania native, Fordham, went from 1-11 the year before he arrived to 38-13 on his watch and won the Patriot League title in 2014. In 2015, Fordham is second in team passing efficiency (168.30), ninth in scoring offense (36.8), 19th in total offense (453.3), 20th in passing offense (272.3), 17th in third-down conversion (.456) and 19th in first-down offense (262).

***

Ohio State also made a big hire in the last week when it picked Greg Schiano to run the defense. What a great hire for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes are losing their co-defensive coordinator in Chris Ash, who is the new head coach at Rutgers. So Ohio State hired as its new co-defensive coordinator the most successful head coach in Rutgers history. Schiano's resume is unquestioned. He was 68-67 as Rutgers' head coach between 2001 and 2011 before leaving for the NFL, hired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went 11-21 in two years there and was fired. Schiano didn?t work the last two years.

***

Minnesota needs an offensive coordinator. But, it could hire an offensive line coach, first.

Tracy Claeys ideally would like the OC to also coach QBs.

***

Iowa?s loss at Iowa State was a killer. But, as this piece in HawkCentral.com notes, the sky isn?t falling.

This team lacks depth, but it still has a good corps and has a shot to earn an NCAA bid. Chad Leistikow of HawkCentral.com points out that a year ago, the Hawkeyes weren't in the same league as Iowa State in a humbling 90-75 home loss that wasn?t that close. A week later at the Big Four Classic, the Hawkeyes were offensively inept, falling 56-44 to Northern Iowa. Remember what happened in the next three months? Iowa finished tied for third in the Big Ten Conference and recorded the program?s first NCAA Tournament victory in 14 years.

***

Nebraska is in a bowl despite a 5-7 record, taking on UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl. Playing the Bruins may not be a good thing for Huskers coach Mike Riley.

Omaha.com notes that Riley was 3-7 vs. UCLA while at Oregon State, losing his first five games - three against ranked Bruins squads - by an average margin of 19.6 points. Then he rebounded. In his final five matchups, going 3-2 with an average score differential of plus-6.2 points per game.

Here are Oregon State's game-by-game results vs. UCLA under Riley:

1997: L, 34-10 (UCLA ranked No. 17)
1998: L, 41-34 (UCLA ranked No. 3)
2005: L, 51-28 (UCLA ranked No. 8)
2006: L, 25-7
2007: L, 40-14
2008: W, 34-6
2009: W, 26-19
2010: L, 17-14
2011: L, 27-19
2012: W, 27-20 (UCLA ranked No. 19, with Jim Mora as coach)

***

Sad to see the great Rick Brown of HawkCentral.com stepping down at the Des Moines Register. He was one of the best.

***

Transfers are making a difference for the hoop teams at Indiana and Purdue. Keep an eye on Johnny Hill at Purdue, a quick guard who can defend and score in transition.

***

And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.