2011 Rose Bowl: The Four-Legged Race to Pasadena in the Big Ten

Who knew at the beginning of the season that the Big Ten standings would be as tight as they are now?

No one.

The projected Big Ten Champion, The Ohio State Buckeyes, is still very much in the picture at 8-1 (4-1 in conference), with their one loss coming on the road against Wisconsin, which is not a bad loss. However, the Buckeyes’ best win is at home against an overrated Miami Hurricanes team and they are yet to beat a top notch conference opponent.

It seems the only thing keeping the Buckeyes so high in the polls is their name. The showdown with Iowa in two weeks could change that. It will be the Buckeyes’ last opportunity to beat one of the four contending teams in the Big Ten, since they do not play Michigan State. If both Iowa and Ohio State take care of business this week, it will set up a game that could reveal the BCS at large team from the Big Ten.

Iowa is coming off consecutive wins against Michigan State and Indiana. The wins were both somewhat unexpected. The Hawkeyes dominated the then #5 ranked Spartans and barely snuck past the Hoosiers, who are yet to win a conference game. Iowa also has one loss in the conference to…you guessed it, Wisconsin. However, the Hawkeyes also have that one out of conference loss to the Arizona Wildcats, which will hurt them in obtaining a BCS at large bid. A win against Ohio State would certainly help their chances for a bid to a BCS bowl.

That brings us to the third team in the equation, the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin has been playing the best football as of late, with a home win against the Buckeyes and a road victory against Iowa. Their only loss of the season came at Spartan Stadium in the first Big Ten game of the season. To me, Wisconsin is in the best situation here. They’re the highest ranked BCS team, the hottest team in the conference and are showing no signs of slowing down. They finish the year relatively easy with home games against Indiana and Northwestern and a road game at the Big House.

The most interesting team of the four is the Michigan State Spartans. Cinderella’s story ended two weeks ago with a beat-down in Iowa City, but Rose Bowl hopes are still high in East Lansing. With their best victory at home against Wisconsin, they have the win that no one else does. State finishes the season with a home game against Purdue, then the battle in Happy Valley, which could be Joe Pa’s final game as their coach. Michigan State is ranked 11^th in the latest BCS Standings, jumping five spots from last week with a statement win against Minnesota. Also, Sparty would win a tie breaker between Wiscy and the Hawkeyes if it came down to one.

The race to Pasadena and an at large bid certainly isn't over. If I had to guess, I would give Michigan State the bid to the Rose Bowl and Wisconsin an at-large bid. But hey, in this crazy Big Ten season…anything can happen.