• Michigan State has always been a little miffed that the other Big Ten university in the state considers Ohio State its biggest rival, not the Spartans. So MSU is particularly enjoying its three-game winning streak against Michigan, which can be stretched to four when they meet Saturday in Spartan Stadium. Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy put his feelings about the Wolverines on his left bicep, where a tattoo of a Spartan stepping on a Wolverines football player is displayed in permanent ink.
Phil Miller's short takes: Oct. 14
October 14, 2011 at 5:01AM
• Give Ron Zook credit for honesty, if not for math skills. After Illinois scored its third touchdown to take a 20-13 lead over Indiana last Saturday, Zook signaled his offense to go for two points -- a mystifying decision since kicking the extra point would have put the Illini up by eight. Zook admitted after the game he got the math wrong. "That's happened to me before," Zook told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's usually when we're behind. [This will] give you something to pound us about."
• Jared Crick, Nebraska's star defensive lineman, is done for the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle that will require surgery. The senior was projected as a top-50 pick if he had entered the NFL draft last year, but he said in August that he wouldn't second-guess his decision to return for his senior year, no matter what. "I told my parents I would get my degree, and I meant it," he said. "Football is important, but a degree will help you all your life."
Center Dawson Garcia played despite a groin injury, and starting guard Mike Mitchell Jr. and four others were absent for the Gophers. Among the results: a 14-point first half.
