The 10 Biggest Moments in the Big Ten This Season

We're more than halfway through the Big Ten season. A surprise contender sits at 7-0, Ohio State lost to a sub-par Big Ten team, Wisconsin runs the ball a lot because when they throw they get picked off, and Illinois is hemorrhaging for a quarterback.

It's been a strange, strange year.

Here's a look at the ten biggest moments in the Big Ten so far. I took pains to make sure each team is featured with the exception of Northwestern, which is a field goal against Eastern Michigan away from a disaster year.

Any NU fans that want to suggest what play gets them through the year can feel free to send it along, and I'll add it posthaste.

Enjoy!

#10: Ron Zook Wonders If You Can Substitute Juice For That

It's bad news when the biggest moment for your team happens off the field.

But such is the case in Champaign, where four year starter Juice Williams was benched after getting blanked by the Ohio State defense in Columbus.

Coach Ron Zook announced that Juice would be benched in favor of backup Eddie McGee for the Illini's game against Michigan State.

McGee fared no better, going two for eleven, throwing a costly pick, and getting pulled in favor of Juice in the third quarter in the Illini's 24-14 loss.

There might be another off-the-field incident that turns out to be season-defining for the Illini happening any day now, if you catch my drift.

#9: Derek Moye Stretches Out For The Nittany Lions

One of the big questions for the Nittany Lions heading into the year was how they were going to replace the departed all-conference talent at their wide receiver positions.

They might have found one of those replacements in WR Derek Moye. The four-star redshirt junior stretched out big time to catch Darryl Clark's pass on second and goal. The play was initially ruled incomplete but overturned on review.

We've seen this pass caught many times by Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood, squeezing the ball into tight spots in the corners of the endzone.

But Moye, who caught six total passes for 120 yards in the Nittany Lions shutout of Minnesota, this could be the beginning of a beautiful, and timely, friendship.

The Nittany Lions go on the road to face Michigan this Saturday.

#8: John Clay Rumbles 72 Yards To Put The Badgers Ahead

John Clay's 72-yard touchdown run with 5:45 to go in the third quarter is what the Wisconsin rushing attack is all about: wearing down defenses with smashmouth runs and then breaking a big play behind an explosive running back with fresh legs.

Clay's run in the third gave Wisconsin their first lead in the game, 24-21, a lead they never let go of in the Badgers near-miss against Fresno State.

There's even a great interactive slideshow on the touchdown over at the University website. Man, they take their football seriously, don't they?

#7: Indiana's Darius Willis Takes It 82 Yards To The Big House

The Hoosiers did a lot right in their 36-33 loss to the Michigan Wolverines. They racked up 472 yards on offense and kept Tate Forcier bottled up in a pocket he's still not comfortable in.

They also showed their offense is a play away from breaking loose on this, the best run of the game. Darius Willis scampered 82 yards around the strong side, leaving the flatfooted Wolverine defense in the dust, and the offense scrambling for a response.

If not for the late heroics of Forcier, Indiana wins in the Big House for the first time in 42 years.

#6: Minnesota Christens TCF Stadium With A Fumble Return TD Against Air Force

The Gophers' great unveiling of TCF Stadium wasn't going as planned while the Minnesota struggled to score against Air Force.

Losing 10-3 heading into the fourth quarter, Minnesota decided enough was enough. Adam Weber hit Nick Tow-Arnett for a 25 yard gain, and Deleon Eskridge scampered in to tie the game.

But it was Nate Triplett's 52-yard fumble return to give the Gophers a 17-10 lead that was the play of the night. Brandon Kirksey slapped the ball out of AF QB Tim Jefferson's hands, and Nate Triplett took it to the house to put the Gophers ahead for good.

#5: Ray Small Sprints 96 Yards To Put The Badgers On Ice

After kicking a field goal to make it 21-13, the Badgers might have thought the tide was turning their way. After all, they'd shut down the Buckeyes offense rather effectively and had only their Scott Tolzien's tendency to throw pick-sixes to blame for Ohio State's lead.

That's when OSU's Roy Small took the kickoff return and sprinted 96 yards to put the game on ice. The Badgers, who had outgained Ohio State by more than 200 yards and 14 first downs, and allowed only five pass completions, let the Buckeyes off the hook (despite being who Wisconsin thought they were).

The Buckeyes haven't seen return prowess that good since Ted Ginn, Jr. led the Big Ten in kickoff returns in 2005.

#4: The Spartans Pick Off Tate Forcier, And Caper Rolls To Win Two Straight

Despite allowing late-game heroics that had doomed them in previous contests, the Michigan State Spartans held on against their rival Wolverines in overtime.

Chris Rucker picked a batted Tate Forcier pass on third and goal, and Larry Caper broke a few tackles and cut into the endzone to end the ballgame, 26-20.

The victory was Michigan State's second straight in the annual hatefest. Michigan better start paying attention lest they forget there's more than one rival on the books.

#3: Tate Forcier Pegs Greg Mathews, And The Wolverines Overcome The Irish

Thankfully, there are several Michigan clips to pick from this year. Last year maybe I could have posted a highlight of one of our few first downs.

It was unknown whether Michigan could even compete with the Fighting Irish, who were ranked 18th in the country and had shut down Nevada in their opening game.

The rivalry game featured six lead changes, but the final one decided the game, when Tate Forcier hit Greg Mathews on an out cut with eleven seconds on the clock to put the Wolverines up, 37-34, an extra point away from the final score.

Forcier put it right where it needed to be, with a lot of help from Brandon Minor, who explodes an Irish blitzer on this play, along with the stellar play of the rebuilt offensive line.

Tate Forcier: he don't get nervous.

#2: Danny Hope's First Big Ten Win Is A Huge Boiler Upset

Listen to the air rumble and rush by in this video.

That's the sound of a fanbase that hasn't seen their team beat a ranked opponent in four years finally getting some relief.

The Purdue secondary picked Terrelle Pryor twice and the defensive line forced two fumbles as the Boilermakers shocked the 7th-ranked Buckeyes in West Lafayette, 26-18.

Joey Elliott threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns against the vaunted Buckeyes secondary, and Purdue held off a late rally to score coach Danny Hope his first Big Ten win. They don't get much bigger than this.

#1: Iowa Blocks Jeremy Boone's Punt To Take Over The Big Ten

The Iowa Hawkeyes overcame the Penn State White Out, hanging tough on defense and using one clutch special teams play to swing the game resoundingly in their favor.

Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn crashed in and blocked Jeremy Boone's punt, picking it up and taking it all the way to the endzone to put the Hawkeyes ahead, 11-10.

Another Daryll Clark interception and touchdown run by Adam Robinson made it 18-10, and Iowa added a field goal to make eleven points the decisive margin of victory. Iowa eliminated Penn State from the BCS championship picture for the second straight year, and put their own team's name in the mix.

If You Liked This Slideshow...

If you liked this slideshow, why don't you check out my analysis of ten possible BCS matchups now that the rankings are out?