Looky here: After an 0-2 start, Penn State is now 2-2 as we sit on the doorstep of Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions have some mojo as they head to Illinois on Saturday. Could this team win the Leaders Division? Hmmmm. If the offense keeps playing well under the leadership of surprising quarterback Matt McGloin, it could happen. No Big Ten quarterback is passing the ball better. Simply amazing. Read those Penn State links and find more of the Tuesday headlines from around the Big Ten further down in this post.

In sports, we constantly hear the phrase, “What a difference a year makes.” It’s a cliche, no doubt about it. But, often times, it’s so true. And that’s the case when one compares the first four weeks of the 2012 Big Ten football season to the first quarter of the 2011 campaign.

Normality prevailed this past weekend as Indiana and Northwestern got their conference seasons off to a winning start. However, the standout result of the weekend was Penn State’s impressive road win at Wisconsin.

According to USAToday.com, six cities are in the mix to host college football’s first championship game as part of the four-team playoff system that will begin in the 2014 season. The list of candidates includes the cities of the four BCS bowls – Miami (Orange), Pasadena, Calif. (Rose), New Orleans (Sugar) and Glendale, Ariz. (Fiesta) – plus Atlanta (Chick-fil-A) and Arlington, Texas (Cotton).

Saturday night’s Wisconsin-Nebraska Big Ten opener didn’t need a gimmick to prove it was a big game. There’s one anyway, thanks to adidas and its inaugural “Unrivaled Game,” an annual matchup of top adidas programs. The company has dubbed the tilt, “The Quick and the Red,” and, as we’ve reported (Nebraska & Wisconsin), the two teams will wear new alternate uniforms.