Please Please Please in the name of all that is holy on this earth beat the living crap out of the skunk bears. My life living in the middle of them is only tolerable when they are properly beaten down. I am reading now that they still have a change to win the B10 East of they win THE GAME. So get the boys riled up and properly focused.
I don't think they have a chance. Looking at the tiebreaking rules on the Big Ten site:
http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/archive/081011aaa.html
Damn - I can't copy and paste.
Anyway, if three or more teams are tied, you begin dwindling that down until you have two teams remaining. At two, the winner head-to-head goes to the championship game.
1. The records of the 3+ teams will be compared. (I'm guessing that's just conference record. I don't think the out-of-conference record means two squirts to conference championships. If I'm wrong, then never mind this whole post.) Obviously all 4 teams will be tied. Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan would all be 7-2.
2. Records compared within their division. Ohio State and Michigan State would be 5-1. Penn State and Michigan would each be 4-2. So they're out.
Now it's just Ohio State and Michigan State, and Ohio State won in the head-to-head.
If it DOES consider overall record, Ohio State would be 9-3, Michigan State would be 9-3, and Penn State and Michigan would each be 10-2. Penn State wins over Michigan based on head-to-head.
Again, that's all IF Ohio State beats Illinois, Michigan beats Wisconsin and Ohio State, Penn State beats Nebraska (or whatever you want to call them) and Maryland, and Michigan State beats whoever they still have on their schedule.