• It's a shame the Big Ten didn't give Nebraska a home game next weekend, because Nov. 3 will mark exactly 50 years since the Cornhuskers' sellout streak began on Nov. 3, 1962. The Huskers will celebrate one of football's most flabbergasting achievements Saturday against Michigan, sellout No. 323. The Gophers will make it 325 on Nov. 17.

• The Big Ten's four 0-3 teams match up on Saturday, and while bowl hopes are on the line for Minnesota and Purdue, the other game will have a much greater air of desperation. That's because Indiana hasn't won a conference game since Kevin Wilson took over a year ago, a streak that has caused some grumbling in Bloomington. And Illinois, which will host the Hoosiers, has been outscored 111-21 in three league games; the program seems to be falling apart around new coach Tim Beckman.

• Don't be surprised if Ohio State, which last week needed a touchdown and two-point conversion with three seconds left to send its eventual victory over Purdue to overtime, has to rally once more at Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions have yet to allow a point in the first quarter this season, outscoring their opponents 66-0 in the first quarter of their seven games.