Big Ten notes: Road teams card rare sweep

Last weekend, all five Big Ten games were won by the visiting team for the first time since the 2006 campaign. Nine conference teams have recorded at least one road win this season, including 3-0 records for Iowa and Penn State and 2-1 road marks for Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Overall, Big Ten teams are 16-18 on the road in conference action after visiting teams produced a 20-24 mark in Big Ten road games last season. The last time five Big Ten teams all won in enemy territory on the same day was on Nov. 11, 2006, including triumphs by No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan to setup the first meeting between two 11-0 teams in conference history.

FOUR TEAM RACE: With two weekends of Big Ten play left , four teams still have a chance to win at least a share of the 2009 conference crown. Iowa and Ohio State are tied for first place with identical 5-1 marks, while Penn State and Wisconsin are one game back at 4-2. The Hawkeyes suffered their first loss last weekend against Northwestern, while the Buckeyes defeated the Nittany Lions to set up the first-place tie. The Badgers won at Indiana to pull into a tie for second place. All four teams still competing for the title end conference play with one home and one away game.

A LOT ON THE LINE: Iowa and Ohio State meet Saturday with at least a share of the 2009 Big Ten Championship and the conference's automatic berth into the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) going to the victor. Since both Penn State and Wisconsin already have two losses, the Iowa-Ohio State winner is guaranteed to finish with no more than two Big Ten defeats which secures at least a share of the crown. In addition, since both the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes have already defeated the Nittany Lions and Badgers, the Iowa-Ohio State victor will own wins over each of the other three teams that could finish in a tie for fi rst place. Therefore, the winner of the Iowa-OSU matchup would win all of the conference's tiebreakers in the event of a two-, three- or four-team ti e at the end of conference play and be guaranteed a spot in the BCS.

FAMILIAR FACES AT THE TOP: The four teams atop the Big Ten standings have combined for 12 conference titles over the past 11 years, with each team winning at least two championships in that span. Ohio State has finished first on six occasions since 1998 and is looking to become the first team to win at least a share of five straight titles since Michigan accomplished the feat from 1988-92. The Buckeyes hold the conference-record with six straight championships from 1972-77 and are aiming for their 34th title, which would rank second all-time behind the Wolverines' 42 crowns. Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin have each claimed at least a share of two titles since 1998.

SEEKING THE TITLE: While Wisconsin's Bret Bielema is looking to earn his first Big Ten title as a head coach, the remaining three teams still in the running all feature mentors with multiple conference crowns. Ohio State's Jim Tressel is aiming to become just the eighth conference head coach to win six Big Ten titles. Penn State's Joe Paterno could be just the 12th mentor to win four Big Ten crowns, while Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is targeting his third title.

BOWL BOUND: After improving to 6-4 last weekend, Northwestern joined Iowa (9-1), Ohio State (8-2), Penn State (8-2) and Wisconsin (7-2) as the fifth Big Ten team to become eligible for bowl competition this season. The Wildcats are seeking back-to-back bowl berths for just the second time in school history after taking part in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl. The Big Ten has seven bowl tie-ins this season - the Rose Bowl/Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight and Little Caesars Pizza Bowls.

IT'S ANYBODY'S BOWL GAME: With just two weekends of Big Ten play remaining, every conference team still has a chance to take part in a bowl game. While five schools have already secured bowl-eligibility, the remaining six teams all have a chance to reach the six-win mark. Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota all stand at 5-5 and need to win at least one of their final two games to become eligible for postseason action. Indiana and Purdue are both 4-6, but since they meet in their season finale on Nov. 21, only one can become bowl-eligible. Illinois won its second straight contest over the weekend to improve to 3-6 and needs to win its remaining games to have a shot at a bowl game.

A DEEP CONFERENCE: The Big Ten joins the Big 12 and Big East as the only three conferences in which every team still has hopes of playing in a bowl contest. The Big Ten is also one of only four conferences with fi ve or more bowl-eligible teams, along with the Pac-10 (6 bowl-eligible teams), ACC (5) and SEC (5).

IT'S TROPHY TIME AGAIN: After two weeks with no trophies on the line, one of the Big Ten's oldest trophies with a brand new name will be up for grabs when Illinois hosts Northwestern. In a conference that features 15 traditional trophy games, the Illini and Wildcats will battle for the Land of Lincoln Trophy for the first time. Previously known as the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, the two programs have played for a trophy in every matchup since 1945, with Illinois holding a 33-29-2 advantage. However, Northwestern has won five of the last six matchups, including winning the final Sweet Sioux Tomahawk game last season.