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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — No. 3 Ohio State is staying alert for letdowns as the schedule softens in the second half of the season. Last year after the Penn State game, the Buckeyes were upset by unranked Iowa. A week removed from another emotional win over Penn State, Ohio State hosts three-touchdown underdog Indiana on Saturday. The schedule indicate the Buckeyes shouldn't be seriously challenged again until well into November.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Winless Nebraska faces another tough challenge with a trip to No. 16 Wisconsin this weekend. The Cornhuskers are 0-4, having lost a program-record eight straight going back to last season. But coach Scott Frost says how his players respond to the hard times will make things sweeter when the team gets better. The rested Badgers are coming off a bye week. They feature the nation's leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, who is averaging 157 yards per game.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Much of the success Iowa has had over time can be pinned on superior strength at the line of scrimmage. The Hawkeyes have long more than held their own in the trenches, and this point-of-attack prowess has been on full display so far this season. That's another reminder for rival Minnesota of how much work is left to do in building the program under coach P.J. Fleck. The Gophers were outmanned on the lines in their last game at Maryland. They host the Hawkeyes for homecoming this weekend.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Lovie Smith of Illinois and Chris Ash of Rutgers are in the third year of trying to rebuild programs. Their teams now meet, and both coaches sense an opportunity. Smith is 7-21 at Illinois, including 2-2 this season with a 0-1 record in the Big Ten. Ash is 7-22 but this has been a down year after a 4-8 mark. Rutgers was blown out three weeks in a row before a closer loss to Indiana last weekend. Says Ash: "For us, the margin for error is very, very small."
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska running back Greg Bell has left the team and received a release from his scholarship. An athletic department spokesman said Bell didn't make the trip for the Cornhuskers' game at No. 16 Wisconsin on Saturday and planned to transfer. Bell started the first three games but lost his job to Devine Ozigbo last week.
UNDATED (AP) — The first weekend of October features three games matching ranked teams, with an unbeaten team in each game. No. 19 Texas and No. 7 Oklahoma face off in the Big 12. No. 5 LSU is at No. 22 Florida and No. 6 Notre Dame goes to No. 24 Virginia Tech.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Division I Council has introduced legislation that would allow some athletes to transfer and be immediately eligible to play for a new school if there is a coaching change before the first day of fall classes. The NCAA is looking at three other proposed changes. The others would require schools to commit two years of financial aid for all graduate transfers, allow walk-on transfers to play immediately and bar athletes from competing for different schools in the same academic year.
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