Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/18/13

It's 70 degrees today in Chicago, but the last few days have started to feel like fall. Here are some Wednesday links:

• Rittenberg diagnoses what's ailing the Big Ten. "Certain position groups have gone downhill in the Big Ten in recent years, but the league has had no problems producing elite defensive linemen." Yeah, no problem at all. 

• Maine, Northwestern's opponent this week, has a player named Dakota Tarbox. Cormac McCarthy dystopian character? No, a freshman tight end. 

• Borges on Saturday: "If you look at the video, there's some really nice plays," he said Tuesday. "Surrounded by garbage."

• Bucky's 5th Quarter gets to know Purdue. I'll be in Madison this weekend and hopefully at the game (which would make my first visit to Camp Randall). 

• Zach on Michigan's new basketball ticket policy. 

• Tom Deinhart and the ESPN Big Ten Blog guys have the Illini going bowling in Dallas. As in, they will be playing in a bowl game, not trying to pick up a 7-10 split as George Strait plays in the background. 

• Joe Tiller had some not so optimistic things to say about the road ahead for Darrell Hazell's Boilermakers.