• As pointed out by BTN's Dave Revsine, Ohio State's victory over Nebraska was all but guaranteed by halftime, when the Buckeyes led 35-24. The reason? Ohio State is 272-0-1 in its history when scoring 35 or more points, the lone exception being a 35-35 tie with Southern Methodist in 1978. In this high-scoring era, that perfection is unthinkable.

• The Iowa-Michigan State game could harken back to the Big Ten's 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust history on Saturday, when the conference's two leading running backs -- Hawkeyes walk-on Mark Weisman and the Spartans' Le'Veon Bell -- meet in Spartan Stadium. They are not only averaging more than 100 yards apiece, but they are two of the biggest backs in the league; Weisman weighs close to 230 pounds and Bell is listed at 244.

• Halfway through his first season, Illinois coach Tim Beckman has already been caught spitting at the NCAA rule book. TV cameras caught Beckman using chewing tobacco during Saturday's loss at Wisconsin, prohibited by the NCAA during games or practices. Seems like a pretty minor thing that doesn't figure to draw anything worse than a formal scolding, but Illinois self-reported the violation to the NCAA, just in case. "It's a bad habit, and one that definitely will be corrected," Beckman said.