Well now, I think things just got a little more interesting in the midwest. For the Illini to have any real chance to steal their first Big Ten championship since '05, Michigan State was going to have to lose to Purdue and the Illini would have to beat the Spartans at home next weekend. Purdue held up their end of the deal Tuesday night, now its up to the Illini.

Now this is by no means a foregone conclusion. This scenario is dependent upon the Illini winning out their final five conference games including in Columbus, (where we haven't won for years) and at home against Minnesota, who earlier held the Illini to only 36 points. Those are both daunting propositions, but Illini dominated OSU in Champaign last month, and have not lost at home since the two point loss to Clemson before conference play began. Fact is if Illinois wins its next 3 games, the game in Champaign against MSU could very well be the deciding game of the Big Ten.

But first things must come first, and the lllini cannot afford to drop any of their next games, including tonight against Penn State. There is a lot to look forward to, but for now, be happy that the Illini are in a serious position to take at least a share of a Big Ten championship this year. A year after 19 losses, who would've thought? I think we all owe Purdue a debt of graditude for this one.