Tag: Michigan State

Griffiths: Big Ten Picks – Week #6

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor Thankfully, the Big Ten’s so-called Fall Break is over. After half of the conference’s 12 teams enjoyed a bye week last Saturday, 10 of the teams return to the gridiron for action this week. This Saturday will really mark the opening of Big Ten play, since all 10 active […]

Griffiths: Big Ten Picks, Week 4

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor What do you say we get this party started? The 2013 Big Ten season officially kicks off this weekend. No, the Purdue-Wisconsin game won’t be close, but it does signal more meaningful games are just around the corner. Three weeks into the season, the Big Ten’s Legends Division is […]

Griffiths: Big Ten Picks – Week #1

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor Thankfully, the college football season has finally arrived! As we celebrate this Labor Day weekend, college football officially kicks off. In fact, three Big Ten teams got things going prior to Saturday. On Thursday night, Indiana destroyed Indiana State, scoring 73 points – the most for a Hoosier football […]

Samples: Big Ten football forecast for Legends, Leaders Divisions

By CHUCK SAMPLES ISL Correspondent Big Ten football begins this week, and ISL’s Chuck Samples is here to offer his forecast. Leaders 6. Illinois. Fighting Illini didn’t show much fight last year. A two-win season already has head coach Tim Beckman on the hot spot, largely because the team had virtually no offense to speak […]

Griffiths: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame oozing with confidence

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor When Brian Kelly held his first formal press conference of the 2013 season, it was blatantly obvious just how confident the fourth-year Fighting Irish boss was. Shouldn’t he be? After all, he has re-energized a program that saw its usual sky-high confidence brought down to earth before his arrival […]

Griffiths: What you need to know about Big Ten football

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor If you’re like me, you’re beginning to think more and more about the college football season. Sure, we haven’t even arrived at the Fourth of July or endured the dog days of summer. But in about a month conferences across the country will hold their annual media days and […]

Griffiths: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Nebraska in mix for Big Ten title

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor The Big Ten has to be sick and tired of hearing about its lack of recent success in college football. It knows Ohio State’s 2002 national title was the last time the conference was king of the sport. In fact, the Big Ten has had just two national champions […]

Brunt: Big Ten needs Michigan to win title to save face

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor The Big Ten was a powerhouse during the non-conference season and a dominant force in the national rankings throughout January and February. Now, it’s hanging by a thread. Michigan is the conference’s only hope in the Final Four. Yes, Michigan. The same team that needed an out-of-this-world second-half performance by national player of […]

Klemet: Purdue needs to “fight back” against Michigan State

By SAM KLEMET ISL Correspondent Purdue and Michigan State have developed a rather contentious relationship over the past two seasons. The foes have exchanged blows both literally and figuratively. Saturday, Michigan State has a chance to deliver a knockout blow to a team that has been wobbling on the mat. For Purdue, the showdown in West Lafayette […]

North Carolina headed to Big Ten?

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor As North Carolina prepares to play IU tonight in Assembly in one of the biggest games of the young college basketball season, you have to wonder if we’ll see the Tar Heels more frequently in Big Ten country in the very near future. There’s plenty of legit talk circulating […]

Griffiths’ Big Ten picks: Much yet to be determined in final weekend

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor There’s plenty to be determined as we enter the final weekend of regular season Big Ten play. We don’t know who is going to represent the Legends Division in the Big Ten Championship Game or if five, six or seven teams from the league are going bowling. On Friday, […]