Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 24, 2015

It's Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, and Ohio State has a starting quarterback: Cardale Jones.

Big whoop, right? Right. This isn't really newsy or revealing. What will be newsy or revealing is how the OSU staff handles the QBs on Saturday. Will Jones get a chance to keep playing even if he struggles? Or will the staff continue to pull him if he hits a rough patch?

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During the BTN summer bus tour stop in Nebraska, it was impossible not to notice this true freshman receiver named Stanley Morgan. The guy just made plays. Turns out, he?s legit, as Morgan already is emerging as a key cog in a prolific Nebraska attack.

?He?s not afraid of anything,? Nebraska assistant Williams told Omaha.com. ?This guy?s different now. He?s a real one.?

It was easy to see how much the NU staff likes and trusts the 6-foot, 185-pounder as the Huskers rallied at Miami. Morgan was integral throughout the fourth quarter, including catches of 10 and 33 yards that helped sustain the previous two scoring drives.

?It?s real simple with me,? Williams said. ?It?s two things that will earn my trust: One, know what you?re doing; two, make the play when it comes to you.

?He?s done both of those, so I feel comfortable with him out there.?

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The season is just three weeks old, and the great Loren Tate of the Champaign News-Gazette already has a successor if interim Illinois coach Bill Cubit doesn?t work out: Jim Tressel. I hate this idea.

Tressel is 62 years old. How much gas is left in his tank? The next Illini coach is gonna need to have lots of fuel for this job. It?s a younger man?s gig. Sorry, Pops. Plus, Tressel got fired for lying to his bosses at Ohio State. Considering all the tumult going on in Champaign-all the way to the ivory tower-is this the guy the school REALLY should be trotting out as the face of its most high-profile program? Sweater-vest Jim?s "Ward Cleaver" image isn?t all it?s cracked up to be.

I like Bowling Green?s Dino Babers, Northern Illinois? Rod Carey, Memphis? Justin Fuente and Illinois State?s Brock Spack.

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Reminder: BTN is on YouTube now. Watch a lot of our videos there, including the one so far in our Week 4 football playlist below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2RRF9GtC9s2lSfT0CHH7D8invaQsp1kY]

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Check this out: A writer from SBNation has Northwestern in the four-team playoff.

His reasoning: "Ole Miss is a really obvious No. 1 right now, Notre Dame has beaten a power-conference team and two teams that are in power conferences, Michigan State did even better against Oregon's defense than Georgia State did, and Northwestern has beaten two power division contenders.

"Oh, you're just confused by the last one. Also on NU's resume is a transitive win at USC; I don't think the Trojans are title contenders, but who's beaten a team that has a better win than Stanford's?"

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Could a QB change be coming at Rutgers? Hmmm.

Chris Laviano is still listed No. 1 on the depth chart, but does that mean he?ll start vs. Kansas on Saturday? While he leads all Big Ten quarterbacks in completion percentage (72.0), Laviano has committed four turnovers while throwing just one touchdown pass the past two weeks. And he isn?t much of a down-field passing threat.

"Chris is doing a good job getting us in the correct alerts when he's asked to," Norries Wilson said. "Being the quarterback, a good run game helps the quarterback. Good pass protection helps the quarterback. (It helps) be an accurate passer when he doesn't get flushed (out of the pocket). So he's got a lot of things around him that need to improve that will also help him improve his play.

"So we're confident in the depth (chart) that Coach Flood has put out and that's where we're going with the quarterback right now."

So, there?s that.

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Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner is keeping his cool under pressure.

Leidner has been inconsistent on the field through the Gophers? 2-1 start, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the junior has shown consistency with his off-field demeanor, staying outwardly confident.

The Gophers had true freshman Demry Croft warming up Saturday, but Leidner played the entire game. Afterward, Coach Jerry Kill repeatedly said he wasn?t commenting about the quarterbacks. Leidner typically speaks to the media after every game, but that day, the team declined to make him available.

?I have a ton of confidence in myself,? Leidner said. ?I haven?t lost that, that?s for sure. ? I?m a leader of the team, been a captain for two years now, and you?ve just got to keep getting better every single day.

?I look at this as an opportunity for me to just keep continuing to strive to be great with this football team and my teammates.?

Well, Leidner is still saying the right stuff. Stay tuned.

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Here is this: Wisconsin RB Corey Clement took part in individual work in a recent practice. Could he play Saturday vs. Hawaii?

Why bother? It?s Hawaii, for crying out loud. And running backs Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal have combined for 341 yards through three games in Clement's absence with a groin issue. Let Clement get healthy for Big Ten action.

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Also on the injury front, Iowa may get back TE Jake Duzey, DE Drew Ott and RB LeShun Daniels.

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Just as Michigan State lost CB Vayante Copeland, Darian Hicks is rounding into form after a case of mono and is looking for an increased role.

"I'm back out here, I'm trying to make my statement back, that the competition's on now," Hicks said this week.

Hicks entered the preseason as a co-starter at field corner, looking to earn back the position he won early last fall and held through most of the season. Now, he?s back in the fold-just in time.

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Did you notice the play of Wisconsin true freshman LB Chris Orr last week? He was a tackling machine.

The kid has good bloodlines, notes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel?s Jeff Potrykus. His father, Terry Orr, played tight end at Texas and then with the Washington Redskins (1986-93). One of his brothers, Zachary, is a linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens. Another brother, Nick, is a safety at TCU.

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Kevin Wilson sees improvement in Indiana?s defense. Really.

IndyStar.com notes that in wins against Florida International and Western Kentucky, the Hoosiers have allowed just 207 rushing yards and created five turnovers, all of which led to touchdowns. Pass defense remains a weakness, but generally, Indiana is playing more to Wilson?s preference.

?We gave up some yards, 484 passing, 35 points, some big plays. But there's a lot to me, again, to continue to build on,? Wilson said of IU?s 38-35 win over Western Kentucky. ?They had 84 yards rushing on 26 attempts, so that was good to see. Even though they had a lot of passing yards, it's easier when it's one-dimensional.?

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Good column from Ben Goren of InsideNU.com on the beauty of winning ugly at Northwestern. In the past, no NU lead was safe. But with this Wildcat defense, that no longer is the case. These guys can play defense! This is gonna be a fun season in Evanston!

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I will leave you with this nice feature on Pennlive.com about Nittany Lions CB Grant Haley. This is one smart cookie!

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About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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