For the first time since Nov. 12, 2005, Northwestern has climbed into the top-25 of one of the major BCS polls. The Wildcats are ranked No. 22 in the country in the USA Today Coaches’ poll but failed to make it into the Associated Press poll, finishing 19 votes behind Ball State.

Off to a 5-0 start, the Cats were able to lick their wounds during a bye week on Saturday, watching at home as Oregon, Fresno State and Connecticut all lost and fell out of the top-25.

Which raises the question(s): Has college football become a war of attrition? Or is it more like survival of the fittest?

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1. Penn State (6-0, 2-0) – Who could have seen this coming? After losing cornerback Justin King early to the NFL draft and with Sean Lee lost for the season due to a knee injury, Penn State’s defense has somehow been dominant. It’s safe to call the defensive unit underrated. Coach Joe Paterno circled the wagons in Happy Valley, and has the spread offense working to perfection. A 20-6 win over Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., is impressive. Could it be Joe Pa’s last hoorah?

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A week after a bone-crushing hit that knocked out Iowa running back Shonn Greene, Northwestern junior safety Brad Phillips mentioned the upcoming challenge of facing Michigan State running back Javon Ringer, in practice on Wednesday.

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Let’s take a look around the Big Ten at the Coaches’ Weekly Press Conferences in the weekly installment of Around the Big Ten…

At Michigan State, coach Mark Dantonio was reserved in releasing too much information about his football team. He said he is excited for the Homecoming crowd as the Spartans seek a 2-0 Big Ten start.

Summary:
“I thought our guys persevered, were resilient. They came back, did enough good things to get the win. In going onto the Iowa game. Big game, homecoming. It should be an outstanding crowd. Iowa comes in. They’ve played very well so far, and they’re a physical football team… Very disciplined football team”
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The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings consists of two human polls (Coaches’ and Harris Interactive) and six computer polls (Billingsley, Colley, Massey, Sagarin, Wolfe, and Anderson & Hester). The complete BCS rankings will not be released until Oct. 19, but fans have six of the eight polls to go off of at this juncture.

The good news for the Northwestern faithful? The Wildcats are getting some love in three of the four computer polls.

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We’re only one week into conference play and there have been many surprises in the Big Ten. Expect it to continue - parity runs rampant in the Big Ten. Here’s how the teams stack up…

1. Penn State (5-0, 1-0) – Until the Nittany Lions lose, they’re the favorites. Quarterback Daryll Clark reminds people of the 11-1 Penn State team that went to the Orange Bowl with Michael Robinson as the signal-caller. Derrick Williams is one of the nation’s best all-around players, and running back Evan Royster is the real deal. The defense is ferocious, and the return of lineman Abe Koroma and Maurice Evans only helps the cause. Still, the Nits didn’t play a tough opponent until meeting with Illinois on Saturday. Their fate will be decided in games at Wisconsin and at Ohio State in October.
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