Northwestern's 28-27 loss to Wake Forest last Saturday shook things up in Evanston. It seems the Wildcats can't decide whether they're still Cinderella or an ugly stepsister of the underdog 1995 team that won the Big Ten title.
"We don't know who we are," Northwestern coach Gary Barnett said Tuesday. "We played two games last Saturday - we played ourselves, and we played Wake Forest. And we lost them both.
"We didn't come prepared to play, and I think we tried to rest on our laurels from last year, especially on defense. We've lost a little bit of our spunk right now."
Barnett refused to find comfort in the Wildcats' recovery from an early-season loss last year. They fell to Miami (Ohio) on a last second play in 1995, and then went on to win nine straight games.
"This is nothing like that, because last year we had beaten Notre Dame, and we knew we could do it," Barnett said. "Last year, we had films, pictures of us doing it. We just had to regroup.
"Now, we're not sure. We haven't established ourselves in 1996."
Other Big Ten coaches were cautious when commenting on the Wildcats' loss. No need to stir sleeping Cindy.
Ohio State's John Cooper said he was "very surprised by the outcome" and that it "doesn't take you long to realize that there is parity in college football."
Iowa's Hayden Fry was even more careful.
"I have no reaction," Fry said. "We don't play them until real late."
Through all of the verbal tip-toeing, however, no sobbing or sniffles could be detected.
Cooper kind?: Cooper didn't appreciate assertions that he ran up the score in the Buckeyes' 70-7 victory over Rice last Saturday. On Tuesday, he was quick to point out that no passes were thrown in the fourth quarter, 12 true freshmen played, and everyone except the student managers saw action on the field.
"That's the first time I've ever been accused of running up the score, and I don't like it," Cooper said. "We played everyone we had in uniform, and we held off."
But that doesn't explain the third-quarter touchdowns the Buckeyes scored when the game was already in hand.
"If I had to do it again, maybe we don't do that," Cooper said.
Spartans sidelined: Two prominent Michigan State players went down with injuries in the Spartans' 55-14 loss to Nebraska last Saturday. Starting quarterback Todd Schultz tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and underwent surgery. He is expected to miss at least six weeks.
Starting middle linebacker Reggie Garnett strained his right medial collateral ligament but did not undergo surgery. He is expected to miss at least three weeks.
Indiana injury: The Hoosiers' 40-6 trouncing of Toledo last Saturday also came with a big loss. Indiana's best player, running back Alex Smith, bruised his sternum and is questionable for the Hoosiers' game this weekend against Miami (Ohio).
Lucky leprechauns: They both play in the same state. Their schools are very close geographically.
But in football terms, West Lafayette and South Bend are light years apart. Notre Dame is a black hole in the state of Indiana, sucking up all of the recruits, interest and support.
That's what made it so funny when Purdue coach Jim Colletto was asked Tuesday if the Fighting Irish will actually have a home-field advantage when the Boilermakers steam into South Bend Saturday.
"When the leprechaun comes running out, the home-field advantage gets pretty big," Colletto chuckled.
Purdue has struggled in its annual intra-state squabbles with Notre Dame. Wouldn't Colletto like a year off from the series?
"I'd like them all off," he said.
Wacky Wacker: Ball State isn't exactly a national power. So why would Minnesota coach Jim Wacker find David Letterman's alma mater anything but a bad joke when he takes his Big Ten team down to Muncie, Ind., on Saturday?
Well, because the Mid-American Conference isn't funny anymore. Miami (Ohio) upset Northwestern and gave Michigan trouble last season. Central Michigan beat Michigan State in 1991 and '92.
"If we take them lightly, we're crazy," Wacker said. "They scare the daylights out of you."
Dazed and confused: Against Arizona last Saturday, Fry's football knowledge was tested. Apparently, the Wildcats were playing some silly defense or something.
"We had a difficult time trying to figure out what they were doing," Fry said.
Well, all that head-scratching paid off. Iowa won, 21-20.
Viva Las Vegas: Fan support has been a storied tradition for Wisconsin, whose infamous crowds have been known to paint faces, drink excessive amounts of certain liquids, and yank down goal posts when the Badgers beat Michigan every couple decades.
But this is really ridiculous.
Nevada-Las Vegas is reportedly bringing in 12,000 extra seats for Saturday's Wisconsin-UNLV showdown in Las Vegas to accommodate hordes of Badger fans. Over 40,000 are expected to make the trip, and they are expected to boost attendance to a record level.
"It doesn't make any difference where we go, they come," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said.
But are they really coming, or are there just a lot of Wisconsin alums working the roulette wheel?
"No, I don't think they work in the casinos," Alvarez said. "I think a lot of our alumni like to go to those casinos."
Hey, it beats betting on the Badgers for the Big Ten title.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Northwestern tackled Michigan last year, 19-13, in Michigan Stadium. The Wildcats, however, let Wake Forest slip from their grasp last weekend in their season opener. The Demon Deacons stunned Northwestern, 28-27, on a late touchdown. On Saturday, Northwestern coach Gary Barnett hopes his squad will regain the magic that led it to a 10-win season a year ago.