CHAMPAIGN — An email hit the inbox this week offering a list of odds to win the Big Ten championship. Ohio State and Michigan, tied atop the East, were at 1-to-4 and 13-to-4, respectively. Illinois, alone in first place in the West, was at 14-to-1 — a longshot figure that says it all about how vastly different the divisions are perceived to be.
Not many expect the West winner — whether it’s Illinois or one of the three teams that are a game behind in the standings — to put up a real fight Dec. 3 in the conference title game in Indianapolis, but isn’t getting there a big deal in itself? Of course it is. Purdue (+6½) at No. 21 Illinois (11 a.m., ESPN2, 890-AM) isn’t setting the world on fire like a potential clash of unbeaten mega-rivals would when Michigan visits Ohio State on Nov. 26, but it’s the game of the year in the West. Not a damn thing wrong with that.
