Before the month of October started, Michigan State was staring at a brutal conference gauntlet of four straight games against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Somehow, the Spartans found a way to win those first three, pushing themselves near the top 10 of the BCS rankings and taking control of the Big Ten Legends Division.

But with today’s loss to Nebraska, the Spartans and their very respectable 3-1 record during the month, need help to get to the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.

It’s a cruel fate for a team that found different ways to win against three of the Big Ten’s top six teams, and somehow was able to get emotionally ready to play all three of them. Apparently four is too much to ask for, however, as the Spartans — especially offensively — looked listless in the loss.

Kirk Cousins was terrible, the run game was non-existent and the defense was tired from spending most of the game on the field after the offense yet again failed to do anything.

So now Nebraska is in the Legends driver’s seat, holding the head-to-head tie-breaker against MSU and having the luxury of its one conference loss (at Wisconsin) coming outside of the division. The road is not easy, however, as Nebraska finishes the season at home against Northwestern, at Michigan, at Penn State and at home against Iowa. With as erratic as the Nebraska offense is, any one of those games is losable.

Michigan State’s road wasn’t a guarantee, but it was much easier than Nebraska’s, they substitute Michigan and Penn State for Indiana and Minnesota, the conference’s two worst teams.

It’s amazing how quickly the euphoria from a miracle last-second win against an unbeaten, top 10 opponent can wear off in college football. But I suppose that’s part of the reason we all love it so much.

These might have been hideous, and the game might have been, too, but Michigan State will take it.

The Spartans ended Michigan’s run at a perfect season today with a 28-14 win against “Big Brother.” That’s four straight, which pretty much makes big brother your older, fatter, kind of alcoholic brother that you can beat at sports.

Michigan’s offense was rendered impotent as the Spartans corralled Denard Robinson’s run game and forced him to pass, which, um, isn’t what Michigan wants to be doing. Robinson was 9-of-24 for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The interception was returned for a touchdown by Isaiah Lewis, effectively ending the game.

Perhaps more impressive, however, was Michigan State holding Robinson to under 50 yards rushing. The Spartans also hit him well after the whistle a couple of times, you know, just because. It worked, though, as Robinson was out of the game at the end of Michigan’s final drive, causing backup Devin Gardner — who Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges inexplicably used with relative frequency during the game — to come up with a fourth-and-22 play that is sure to reside at the top of ESPN’s Worst of the Worst for years to come. Seriously, Gardner ran for about 130 yards on the play, 125 of which were in the wrong direction or sideways.

It’s only loss No. 1 for Michigan, but it brings back memories of the Rich Rodriguez era. Michigan State out-schemed Michigan in the second half, destroying the “Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison won’t be out-coached” meme that Michigan fans were spreading. The Wolverines couldn’t tackle, which surely gave Michigan fans the shakes after watching that on repeat for the last three years.

I’m not saying Brady Hoke = Rich Rodriguez, but this should put the brakes on the Brady Hoke for Pope campaigns. Michigan is just now entering the tough part of its schedule, and should expect more of this as it goes on this season.

As for Michigan State, it’s not out of the woods yet. The Spartans have to play Wisconsin and Nebraska in the next two weeks, so the euphoria from this win could wear off quickly. But the Spartans are unbeaten in Big Ten play after games against Ohio State and Michigan, and control their own destiny when it comes to playing for the Big Ten championship.

But that’s all irrelevant right now, as “Little Brother” has officially grown up and is in control of the state of Michigan, which might be the most important thing to the residents of East Lansing.

After Friday’s games, today might be a little anti-climactic, but there’s still plenty to be determined on college football’s more traditional day.

The Big Ten title is still up for grabs, with three teams — Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State — all tied at the top with one loss. If all three win, the BCS standings will decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. That will likely be Wisconsin, which has that edge going into today. If Wisconsin loses and the other two win, the BCS will again decide who goes to the Rose Bowl, as Ohio State and Michigan State did not play each other. It’s a problem the Big Ten will have solved next year when there’s a title game (two title contenders not playing each other, that is. As the Big 12 showed us two years ago, the BCS can still decide a divisional race if all hell breaks loose).

If Wisconsin wins, however, and either Ohio State or Michigan State lose, it will be a lot more clear cut. The Spartans get the bid with an Ohio State loss as they have the head-to-head edge over Wisconsin. The Badgers get it if Michigan State loses, because they hold that same edge over Ohio State.

So those are your scenarios (sure, there’s the “all three lose” scenario, as well, where Iowa is back in the mix, but I don’t want to force that upon you before noon). Here’s how it will play out.

I went 1-2 Friday, which is awful when picking straight up. But I don’t think I’m alone after the shocking results from one of the more impactful days of college football I can ever remember.

Michigan at No. 8 Ohio State, noon: Just four years ago, people were arguing whether or not this was the biggest rivalry in all of sports. But after six straight Buckeye wins in the series, it’s lost a lot of its luster outside of the Midwest. Ohio State should have its way with Michigan, as scoring shouldn’t be an issue, and it has the athletes up front to contain Denard Robinson. The big question here is how much Michigan can lose by and save Rich Rodriguez’s job. If they’re blown out, there are a lot of people in the state that think he’ll be gone within the week. If it’s close, some still think he’s gone. If he wins, there’s no way he goes. But he’s not winning. Pick: Ohio State 34-21.

No. 10 Michigan State at Penn State, noon: Had this game been played in Week 6, I would have called it a no-brainer. The Spartans were rolling and Penn State was reeling. Now, with a banged up Kirk Cousins and suddenly struggling run game, the Spartans don’t look nearly as powerful as they did when they defeated Wisconsin and Michigan in consecutive weeks. Penn State, meanwhile, doesn’t look near as bad as it did early in the season. Have they come all the way to meet in the middle? Yes, but I don’t think they’ve overlapped. Pick: MSU 21-20.

Northwestern at No. 7 Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m.: The Wildcats have proven to be pesky at times this season, but if you watched the one-way madness at Wrigley last week, you saw that they can be run on. If Mikel Leshoure can run for 300-plus yards against Northwestern, what can Wisconsin do at home with a Big Ten title on the line? Probably quite a bit. Enjoy Pasadena, Badgers. Pick: Wisconsin 48-20.

No. 5 LSU at No. 12 Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.: This game could very well be for the second SEC BCS berth. The Tigers would certainly head to the Sugar Bowl — assuming Auburn wins next week in the SEC title game — with a win, and there’s a decent chance that the Sugar would opt for Arkansas with a win, as well. I’ve had serious doubts about LSU all season, as it plays way too close to its competition way too often. But when the Tigers need to turn it up, they do. That should be the case today. Pick: LSU 27-24.

No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 9 Oklahoma State, 8 p.m.: A win sends the Cowboys to the Big 12 championship, while a loss causes some Big-Ten-like confusion at the top of the Big 12 South. I don’t really know what to think of this Jekyll and Hyde Oklahoma team, other than I know it’s more than capable of pulling this off today. But I have a real tough time going against that Oklahoma State offense and Justin Blackmon. Kid’s a creature, and I mean that as compliment. Pick: Oklahoma State 35-31.

It took a fat-guy fumble recovery in the endzone to do it (yes, technically the touchdown was given to Kirk Cousins, but my way is more fun), but Michigan State survived a surprising scare from Purdue today to remain alongside Wisconsin and (for the moment) Ohio State as the only one-loss teams in the Big Ten.

The Spartans fell behind 28-13 and 31-20 in this one before making a fourth-quarter comeback. It was aided by an ugly Rob Henry interception and a blocked punt, but it still counts.

Michigan State now goes into next week’s game at Penn State looking to lock up a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1988. If Ohio State loses today or at Michigan, the Spartans would have the tie-breaker in the conference over Wisconsin (head-to-head) and get the Big Ten’s automatic bid to a BCS game. If all three teams win out, the team with the highest ranking in the BCS will get the bid. It’s dumb, but that’s how the conference’s rule works.

What makes it even more dumb is that unlike in 2008, when Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech were had all beaten each other and needed the BCS to sort out the Big 12 South, this year, Michigan State doesn’t have a loss to one of the other two.

The Spartans beat Wisconsin by 10 early in the season, and their one loss is to Iowa, who is not involved in this mess. Ohio State, meanwhile, lost to Wisconsin. So technically, head-to-head should go Michigan State’s way, right? Considering they don’t have a head-to-head loss like the other two.

I’m not saying the Spartans are the most deserving, necessarily, as I think it’s pretty clear that Wisconsin is playing the best football in the Big Ten right now. But those two did meet on the field, and Michigan State did win that game.

Should it shake out with all three teams winning out, it should make for a fun debate on Dec. 5 when all of this is decided.

I figured it was only a matter of time before Auburn jumped Boise State in the human polls. I just thought it would come after a win a little bigger than at Ole Miss — a team that is now 3-5 and lost at home to Jacksonville State.

But the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll is out, and there are the Tigers, 23 points ahead of Boise at No. 2.

I get it, Auburn has better credentials to this point in the season than Boise State does. It plays a tougher schedule, and is deserving of the No. 2 spot in the polls. (Side note: Saw Oregon for the second time live last night, and my god, the Ducks are good. I mean, I was impressed with the way they blitzed UCLA, but they made USC look slow last night. That’s crazy.)

What I don’t get is the timing. If you had Boise State No. 2 in your poll last week, what did the two teams do this week that made you change your mind? The Broncos were a little sloppy, and obviously not fully on their game on Tuesday, and still blew Louisiana Tech. To me, that’s the measure of a really good team, one that can still win handily while not at its best. Auburn, meanwhile, looked pretty slick in a 20-point win of its own against Ole Miss. Impressive, for sure, but not so impressive that you would think, “Wow, this is the performance that pushes Auburn to No. 2!”

Of course, I don’t know how important this jump really is. Boise needed Auburn and/or Oregon to lose anyway, and now that just becomes more evident. The Tigers and Ducks will still be Nos. 1 and 2 in the BCS standings when they’re released tonight, and the Broncos will continue to have to root against other teams for their own self interest.

A couple other notes from the poll: Missouri falls to No. 14 and Michigan State to No. 15 after some tough losses Saturday. Florida State fell from No. 15 to No. 24 after its loss Thursday. Of course, in the spirit of this always sane poll, that’s one spot in front of NC State, the team it just lost to. Which has the same record.

With the prospect of a bowl game or a Pac-10 championship taken away from it before the season even began, USC’s football program has had to look elsewhere for motivation.

After a lackluster showing in early-season matchups against Hawaii, Virginia and Minnesota, and a loss at home to Washington, many wondered if the Trojans really even cared. A last-second loss at Stanford and a blowout of California, however, has shown that not only do the Trojans care, but they’re still a pretty darn good football team.

There was attrition at the school this offseason when the NCAA instituted a two-year bowl ban and a reduction in scholarships, but it’s still USC. It’s still the same team that has been bringing in top five recruiting classes year after year, and putting more five stars on the bench than many teams have seeing the field.

So now nobody’s thinking of the Trojans, as they cannot be a part of the title discussion themselves. They can severely alter the landscape today, though, and I’d imagine they’ll be real excited to try and take advantage of that opportunity.

No. 5 Michigan State at No. 18 Iowa, 3:30 p.m.: I can’t help but think Iowa is overrated. It lost at Arizona early in the year, and its supposedly stout defense had all sorts of problems with Tate Forcier and then gave up 31 to Wisconsin a week later. Now the Hawkeyes will have to deal with their toughest opponent yet in the Spartans, who are coming off a squeaker against Northwestern. It was the type of game Michigan State fans are used to seeing go the other way, so you’ll have to excuse them for being overly happy with it. But can Sparty pull out another one in Kinnick? Does Mark Dantonio have any more trick plays up his sleeve? I think the answers are yes and yes, but for whatever reason, I just don’t see it happening today. Pick: Iowa 27-24.

No. 6 Missouri at No. 14 Nebraska, 3:30 p.m.: It turns out, Missouri was even better than I thought it was. The win over Oklahoma is a huge step for Gary Pinkel and his program. The difference between a program capable of winning a big game and one capable of winning a national title, however, is bouncing back and winning another big game the next week. I’m not sure if Missouri is equipped to do that. Heck, I’m not sure many teams are equipped to get up for No. 1 at home one week then travel to Lincoln the next. Pick: Nebraska 24-20.

No. 1 Auburn at Mississippi, 6 p.m.: A look at Auburn’s schedule would suggest that it will be undefeated heading into the Iron Bowl on Thanksgiving weekend. This one, along with home dates with Chattanooga and Georgia precede the Tigers’ matchup with Alabama. But if you’ve been watching any ESPN this week, you’re aware of Houston Nutt’s ability to spring an upset over a highly-ranked team. He did it a few times at Arkansas, and will be looking to add another one to his belt today with Ole Miss. The problem is, I just don’t see Mississippi have the playmakers on the field to pull this off. And it certainly doesn’t have the playmakers on defense to stop Cam Newton. Pick: Auburn 34-24.

No. 25 Baylor at Texas, 7 p.m.: I read somewhere that to motivate his team this week, Mack Brown took a $20 bill, crumpled it up, spit on it and stomped on it. He then asked his team if the bill had changed at all. That science lesson was supposed to show the team that it’s still Texas, no matter the beating it has taken on the field or in the press. It’s an interesting analogy that Brown made, considering a $20 bill doesn’t have 25 new pieces to it every year. But, hey, maybe science is different in Texas. As for this week, he’s probably going to be proven to look like a genius. The Longhorns should be able to shut down Robert Griffin and Baylor. Pick: Texas 31-21.

No. 2 Oregon at USC, 8 p.m.: First of all, I and the rest of the Midwest would like to thank ABC/ESPN for giving us Ohio State at Minnesota on ABC and Michigan at Penn State on ESPN instead of arguably the game of the week. We really enjoy watching three crap-tastic Big Ten teams rather than a Pac-10 matchup that will go a long way toward deciding who the national champion is. So, thanks. As for the game we won’t be able to watch, logic would tell us that USC, although talented, doesn’t have the defense to hold Oregon under 60. I’d agree, if Oregon was more of a passing attack. USC still has good athletes on that side of the ball, and most of them are up front. I’m not saying they’re going to shut down Oregon, but I think this will be as tough a defensive matchup as Oregon has faced. Offensively, the Trojans can score with anyone. Matt Barkley is somehow flying under the radar this year, despite throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns already. Like I said in the headline, this is USC’s title game, and as much as I despise the way Lane Kiffin works, I think he’ll have his kids ready to go in this one. Pick: USC 35-34.

The latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll is out, and once again an upset near the top has forced some movement.

Oklahoma lost to Missouri in primetime, and tumbled from No. 3 to No. 11. That means there will be a new BCS No. 1 when the standings are released tonight. The most likely candidate is Oregon, which remained a very strong No. 1 in the poll, receiving 50 of the possible 58 first-place votes.

One team that could jump the Ducks with the computers’ help, however, is Auburn. The Tigers have the best resume with wins over LSU, Arkansas and South Carolina. They jumped over TCU from fifth to third after Saturday’s win against LSU, and I’d be surprised if the Harris Poll didn’t mirror the coaches. Because, well, Harris Poll voters are lemmings (and I really don’t have a problem with Auburn jumping to No. 3).

Michigan State moved into the top five with its squeaker against Northwestern. It’s a curious time to move a team ahead of Alabama, but it’s a big thing for the Spartans, who face their stiffest remaining test next week. A win over Iowa sets the Spartans up for an unbeaten season, and it would be tough for pollsters to move a one-loss team — even Alabama — over a major conference unbeaten. It would have been easier to keep Alabama ahead, if that makes any sense.

The poll’s biggest mover was Missouri, which catapulted to No. 8 from No. 16 after beating Oklahoma. The Tigers and Utah remain the only undefeated teams who are behind Alabama. The most surprising move of the week: Michigan moving back into the top 25 after a bye week. Apparently the voters not getting a chance to see Michigan’s defense allow 500-plus yards and 30-plus points was enough to bring back the just-lost-two-home-games-in-a-row Wolverines.