Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, December 21, 2015

According to reports, it looks like Michigan has a new defensive coordinator in sage Don Brown.

Mlive.com notes that Brown was running the defense at Boston College. His style? He ran a 4-3 scheme in Chestnut Hill last season, and has been known historically as a blitz-heavy coach. The 60-year-old Brown led a Boston College defense that ranked No. 1 nationally with 254.3 yards per game allowed in 2015. BC's rush defense allowed 83.2 yards per game (No. 2) and its pass defense was ranked No. 8 (171.2). The Eagles gave up 15.3 points per game last season, which ranked No. 4 nationally. Not bad, huh?

***

Illinois also has new hires, with former Bill Cubit line coach A.J. Ricker back and ex-Illini QB Jeff Hecklinski also returning to Champaign as tight ends coach.

Also, co- defensive coordinator Tim Banks has left to pursue other opportunities, leaving Mike Phair to run the unit.

***

Whoa! Iowa has fulfilled more than 23,000 Rose Bowl ticket requests! There will be a lot of black-and-yellow striped overalls in Pasadena!

***

What can Rutgers players expect from Chris Ash? NJ.com asked some Ohio State players.

"It's hard to come in and have an immediate impact on a player coming in from a different place, but I think when he came in he was definitely a likable guy," Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa said. "He just had the impact with the players and how well our secondary started playing after the struggle we had in 2013, it just made it easy to trust him. After we gave him our trust, I think that relationship was able to grow a lot easier."

Ash is credited with revamping Ohio State's pass defense, which ranked 112th nationally in 2013, after arriving from Arkansas in 2014. In Ash's first season, Ohio State ranked 29th in pass defense and won the national championship. Ash is good. I think he?ll succeed.

***

I was kind of bummed to see Penn State OC John Donovan get fired. I thought he was made out to be the fall guy, a scapegoat for a struggling offense that was undone more by a faulty line than his play-calling or game plans. Any way ?

"I think you guys know my personality now after being here a year-and-a-half and how loyal I am to our staff and how close we are," James Franklin said recently when asked about the decision to move on from Donovan.

"So (it was) probably one of the more difficult things that I ever had to do. I have so much respect for John and his family and what we've been able to achieve together, so yeah, that was not easy at all. … Still kinda working through it."

***

I still am stunned-and impressed-about Ohio State?s win vs. No. 4 Kentucky over the weekend. I saw this Buckeye squad lose at home to Texas-Arlington. Now, it beat UK? Wow. Maybe this is the type of win that sparks Ohio State. Maybe.

"Some things happened, we got on the floor for loose balls, we deflected passes to create loose balls and we got them. We had some guys get rebounds out of their areas," OSU coach Thad Matta said. "We had some things going, JaQuan (Lyle's) shot at the end of the half was a huge shot. Hopefully we made our own breaks."

***

Purdue?s loss to Butler certainly taps the brakes on Final Four talk in West Lafayette. This is the first high-quality foe the Boilers have played. And, they flopped. The big men got stymied and turnovers were rampant. A visit from Vandy is next. Interesting.

I still wonder about this team?s athletic ability and wing play.

***

With Purdue losing, No. 1 Michigan State is the lone Big Ten unbeaten team. And, at 12-0, the Spartans are off to their best start ever. Without a doubt, MSU is the team to beat in the Big Ten ? by a mile ? 10 miles.

***

Indiana found a way to turn jeers into cheers by rallying to beat Notre Dame. This was a win the Hoosiers desperately needed. And got. Now, can Indiana build on this? Stay tuned.

***

Email Tom Dienhart using the form below.

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