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Lima


Big Ten stumbles into conference season
Jim Naveau | jnaveau@limanews.com - 09.21.2007
COLUMBUS ? When Steve Spurrier was at the University of Florida, he used to mock Tennessee?s track record of finishing far enough down in the Southeastern Conference football standings that it ended up in the Citrus Bowl by saying, ?You can?t spell Citrus without a U and a T.?
It?s not technically correct, but three weeks into this college football season, you can?t spell embarrassment without the Big Ten.
Nightmare losses to Appalachian State, Duke, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State by Big Ten teams just months after Ohio State and Michigan?s humiliation in their bowl games have put the Big Ten?s reputation into a free fall.
Power ranking guru Jeff Sagarin rates the Big Ten fifth among the six Bowl Championship Series conferences. Other say it?s No. 6.
At this point in the season, it?s hard to argue with those rankings.
Yes, the Big Ten has three teams in the Top 10 ? Ohio State at No. 8, followed by Wisconsin at No. 9 and Penn State at No. 10.

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