It’s hot out there, people. Be careful. Stay inside, and click on these cool Big Ten football links.

No one crunches numbers better than the great Phil Steele. Anyone who has bought one of his preseason magazines knows this. Well, the man of Steele is at it again.

Here’s a fun project: I am ranking each 2012 Big Ten football game, from 96 to 1. Up first today: 80-96. In the next four days, I will send in groups of 20. If you see anything crazy, let me know. Like rankings like this? You need to check out my Rankings archive, where I rank all things Big Ten, including my top 2012 Big Ten units. Also, get all my latest Big Ten football posts right here.

It’s Monday, it’s the height of vacation season, but that doesn’t mean the Big Ten football news is at the beach riding waves.

Billy Gonzales is ready for this. He’s ready to take the Illinois offense to the next level under new Fighting Illini coach Tim Beckman. The Illinois attack struggled in the second half of last season in what was a bizarre campaign that saw Illinois open 6-0 and then lose six in a row before ending the year with a bowl win over UCLA.

Buzz about college football’s new playoff continues. What did you expect? It’s only the biggest change to hit the sport in … forever. For instance, did you see how Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press thinks the new playoff will leave out the Big Ten. Sharp makes some interesting points.Read about that and more in this post.

Discussion of the new college football playoff dominates this week’s Big Ten reader mailbag, and that’s no surprise to anyone who follows college football. The people wanted change, and change is what we got. The formal announcement came down Tuesday and by now you know where I stand on it. Other experts, of course, have chimed in as well.

Where were you on the day college football changed forever? Yes, Tuesday was one of those iconic days when we all will remember where we were at when the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee officially adopted a four-team playoff, set to begin in 2014.

Make a note of this day. It’s memorable. It’s historic. It’s the day college football changed forever with the adoption of a four-team playoff. Today in Washington, the BCS presidential oversight committee rubberstamped a four-team playoff that was endorsed by conference commissioners and Notre Dame. The four-team configuration will be in place for 12 years beginning with 2014.

No assistant coaching hire may have had as much impact as the arrival of Greg Mattison to Michigan as defensive coordinator prior to last season. Brady Hoke plucked Mattison from the Baltimore Ravens, where he served as defensive coordinator. And the results were swift and immediate during an 11-2 season that was capped by a Sugar Bowl triumph over Virginia Tech.

On a day when college football may be changed forever, here’s my latest batch of Big Ten football links. Today: More on football playoff wrangling, Wisconsin’s offensive line, the pressures of coaching, and whether or not the NCAA should get involved in the Penn State story.

It’s so close, you can see it. There’s one last hurdle to clear. And then, the holy grail of college football will be reached: a playoff. I still can’t believe it.

Injuries can have a cruel way of twisting the fate of team. Lose a key player and a team’s season can take an entirely different direction. Just ask Purdue, which has had more than its share of key players injured in recent seasons, or Penn State, which saw several key players go down in 2011.

On Friday, BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart and BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina hit email to debate the 2012 Big Ten sack leader, the 10th in our series of Big Ten statistical predictions. Up next: Tackles. Who will lead the Big Ten in 2012? See Tom and Brent’s email thread in this post and vote for your leader, too.

You have questions, and I have answers right here in my latest Big Ten Mailbag. In this installment, a diehard Buckeye fan wonders if the hype surrounding Ohio State may be a little too high and another reader sends me one of the longer questions I’ve ever received. Check out my answers to all of your questions in this post. And don’t be afraid to send me any Big Ten questions you have for future mailbags. Simply fill out the form at the bottom of the post. It’s that easy.