Big Ten Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference teams went 4-6 Saturday -- two of the losses to Division I-AA teams -- and somehow still came away having not any less luster than the Big Ten, which went 9-1 in openers. The reason: two nationally ranked Big Ten teams needed special plays from their special teams to avoid what would have been huge upsets. A four-point switch saved No. 6 Ohio State, which led Navy, 29-14, in the fourth quarter before the Midshipmen scored two touchdowns in four minutes.

Penn State safety Mark Rubin, out here to play in the Rose Bowl on Thursday in Pasadena, made the mistake of tuning in to the Champs Sports Bowl on Saturday in Orlando. Must all these games be televised? We thought the Big Ten started its own network in part to confine these humiliations to in-house programming. Watching Florida State put a 42-13 pounding on Wisconsin did little to enhance the notion that Penn State stands any chance against USC.

at No. 10 Ohio State 42, Michigan 7: Chris "Beanie" Wells rushed for 134 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown run, to lead the Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1) over the Wolverines (3-9, 2-6) at Columbus for their unprecedented fifth straight win in the series. Ohio State's margin was its biggest since Woody Hayes was coach in a 50-14 rout in 1968. The win gave Ohio State a share of its fourth straight Big Ten title.

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. -- Chris Wells ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and Terrelle Pryor rushed for 110 yards Saturday in No. 10 Ohio State's 30-20 Big Ten Conference win over Illinois. The victory kept the Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1) in the chase for the conference title. It was also revenge for last year's 28-21 loss to the Fighting Illini (5-6, 3-4), which ended Ohio State's pursuit of a perfect season. On a windy, 40-degree day, Wells carried the load for the Buckeyes.

John Pont, 80, a football coach who guided Indiana University to its only Rose Bowl appearance 40 years ago and also coached at Northwestern, Yale and Miami of Ohio, died Tuesday at his home in Oxford, Ohio. He had been fighting cancer. Pont coached the Hoosiers from 1965 to 1972. In the 1967 season, Indiana was 9-2 before representing the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl in 1968. The Hoosiers lost, 14-3, to USC's national championship team that featured running back O.J. Simpson.

Cal State Fullerton is going to Omaha. Nothing new there, but this time it's the basketball team heading to the NCAA tournament instead of the baseball team going to the College World Series. The Titans were seeded No. 14 in the Midwest Region and will play No. 3 Wisconsin on Thursday in Omaha, a city where the baseball team has become a fan favorite because of its 15 appearances in the College World Series and four championships.