Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, January 3, 2014

Time for today?s top Big Ten stories. Let?s start in cold and snowy Wisconsin, where the end to the Badgers? football season has sent a chill down the spins of many fans. Wisconsin ended the season with consecutive losses to Penn State and South Carolina, as a season with BCS promise melted into a disappointing finish. Does a 9-4 record and bowl loss equal a successful season for Wisconsin?

Here, let?s let Badger defensive end Ethan Hemer sum things up. ?I would say it was a successful, disappointing season,? Hemer said.

Yep. Sounds about right.

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Kinda crummy news for Ohio State: safety Christian Bryant?s appeal for an extra year of eligibility apparently has been denied. Too bad. Anyone who watched this team try to defend the pass knows this Buckeyes defense could use his leadership and skill. Bryant broke an ankle in the fifth game of the season and hasn?t played since.

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Penn State held a presser on Thursday to discuss its football opening. And, it looks like the school will move quickly to replace Bill O?Brien. Not a shock, considering that Signing Day is less than a month away. Urgency is needed.

David Jones of Pennlive.com chimes in on the subject. His take: Penn State needs a coach who will develop Christian Hackenberg and link to the future.

To me, that coach is San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman. His template/resume is very similar to O?Brien?s. But, like O?Brien, would Roman bolt to the NFL if he has success? Or, would Penn State be a destination job.

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The gang at Cleveland.com has five reasons why Ohio State will beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl tonight.

My favorite: Carlos Hyde hasn?t been stopped all season. And, Clemson certainly won?t do it. I think Hyde has been the Buckeyes? best player all season. Once he gets established, banging off Tiger defenders, every other aspect of the Ohio State offense will thrive.

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In the wake of the loss to LSU in the Outback Bowl, Andrew Logue of the Des Moines Register says questions remain for offensive coordinator Greg Davis.

No doubt. That was a rough performance for the Hawkeye attack vs. an LSU defense that, honestly, was a young unit that was being rebuilt this season after having eight players picked off of it in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Hawkeye passing game needs to be juiced up. Badly. And Iowa can begin by improving athletic ability at receiver.

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An injury? To Glenn Robinson III in Michigan?s win at Minnesota last night? Say it ain?t so.

?There?s some injury to his ankle, I?m not sure what it is,? Michigan coach John Beilein said afterward. ?He tried to run down in the hallway. He tried to run in the media timeout.?

This would be bad for a team that?s already without Mitch McGary, out with a back injury. Time for Zak Irvin to step up. He did last night. The former Indiana Mr. Basketball may end up being better than Robinson. Really. Stay tuned.

Minnesota lost a game at home it probably should have won last night vs. a depleted Michigan team. Check out this video of Andre Hollins discussing the difficult defeat.

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Nice story from Gold & Black Illustrated, which poses the question: Is it even worth taking charges anymore?

New NCAA rules have made drawing charges more difficult. Brian Neubert of G&D notes that no national statistics are readily available on the difference between this year and years past. But at Purdue, which has long made drawing charges a hallmark of its heavy emphasis on defense, it is pretty clear. Purdue's taken six charges this season, according to its statistics-keeping, through 14 games. (Oddly, all of them have been taken by first-year players in the program.) A year ago, in 34 contests, the Boilermakers drew at least three dozen such offensive fouls.

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This is the kinda season it?s gonna be for Northwestern hoops: Wisconsin 76, Wildcats 49.

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If you have watch Indiana play this year, you have noticed the turnovers. They have been abundant. And costly. The sloppiness must stop.

Check out some of this data from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: The Hoosiers have 63 turnovers in their last three games. They had an unacceptable 23 in Tuesday's overtime loss at Illinois. IU is last in the Big Ten in turnovers, averaging 16.4 a game. Purdue and Iowa are tied for the next worst, at 11.9. For the season, Indiana has 59 more turnovers than assists. And that's against one of the softest non-conference schedules a major college team will play. Imagine the possibilities for disaster in the rugged Big Ten.

TWEETS THAT MATTER

My take: This is the kinda game Minnesota needs to win. Hat?s off to Michigan for grinding out a victory.

My take: He is a physical stud who always gives max effort.

My take: Amen.

My take: The guy is a future star. You will hear more about him. Believe me.

My take: Yes, yes, yes and yes.

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