The Latest Breaking News from Chase Brown

Whoever wins “The Game” — the Wolverines or the Buckeyes — should be locked into college football’s top four no matter what happens a week later in the Big Ten title tilt.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Playing from behind, short-handed with key players on the sideline, Michigan relied on kicker Jake Moody to maintain the Wolverines' perfect season with all their goals still in place.

The death of Bret Bielema’s mother, Marilyn, hangs a cloud over the Illini’s attempt to score an upset that would greatly aid their cause in the Big Ten West.

The Fighting Illini need to win their final two games and hope that Purdue loses a game to grab the West Division crown.

CHICAGO — The Big Ten season once again should come down to The Game, a sure sign normalcy has been restored in Middle America.

The win gives the Boilermakers a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker over the Illini, who were firmly in control until losing their last two games.

Broader implications aside, simply getting the better of the Boilermakers for a change would hit the spot. They’ve taken home the Cannon in five of the last six renditions of this rivalry series and have a five-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium, where they haven’t lost since 2010.

It sure looks like C.J. Stroud is back in the Heisman race based on the odds released this week. #GoBucks

We're handing out Big Ten football conference midseason awards and comparing things to what we believed would happen at the start of the season. #B1G

Illinois ranks No. 1 in scoring defense (8.9 points per game), total defense (224.5 yards per game) and passing efficiency defense (77.9).

The 7-1 Illini aren’t playing around. They’re skipping the huffing and the puffing and going straight to blowing opponents’ houses down.