The biggest success story in the Big Ten this year is the remarkable turnaround for Penn State and its 78-year-old coach, Joe Paterno.

The Web sites calling for Paterno's firing have backed off as the Nittany Lions have won nine of their first 10 games and climbed to No. 6 in the country. Enjoying a bye week on Saturday, they need only to win at Michigan State on Nov. 19 to clinch at least a share of the conference title — their first since 1994.

So why is this team better than the last two Penn State teams, which went 4-7 and 3-9?

"It is better because we have decent players offensively," Paterno said on this week's Big Ten coaches call. "We were never really settled at a couple of spots. ... We were in every game, but we just couldn't make a couple of plays. We had to go out and recruit a couple of kids who could go down the field and make some plays. We did that and now we are a little different football team."

As for those who were calling for his retirement, Paterno said he never paid any attention.

"I don't have e-mail. I don't know the first thing about a computer. I don't have a cell phone," Paterno said. "I go around and do my job as best I can. Once in a while people will say something to me, 'Hey, did you hear what so and so wrote?' or 'Did you hear what was on the radio?' I say, 'Yeah, that's great.' A lot of people out there don't know what they are talking about. If you take any of it seriously, you are crazy."

While other teams riskchampionships and BCS rankings in their final games, Iowa and Michigan State need to win at least one more game just to keep their seasons alive.Both teams are 5-4. The Hawkeyes, who have lost their last two, play at No. 19 Wisconsin on Saturday and then host Minnesota a week later. Michigan State plays at Minnesota on Saturday then welcomes No. 6 Penn State the week after that."We're a couple plays away from being 7-2, but we're 5-4 and it doesn't do any good to dwell on it," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "If we were lacking effort, then I'd be concerned. We're not lacking effort or commitment, so we enter every game with a chance."The Spartans have lost four of their last five after a 4-0 start."The rewards take care of themselves if we play for each other," coach John L. Smith said.Indiana (4-5) also retains a shot at a bowl, needing to beat No. 21 Michigan on the road and Purdue at home."Our seniors are very determined," Hoosiers coach Terry Hoeppner said. "I am confident that the younger guys will respond and not write this off."

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr got a chance to watch the Big Ten race unfold on TV while the Wolverines enjoyed their bye break.After being involved in several close games this year, he saw some more Saturday, and it made him feel even better about instant replay."I think 42 percent of the plays in the Big Ten conference that have been reviewed have been overturned," Carr said. "In other words, we're getting a lot of plays right that weren't necessarily called correctly. It's a very difficult game to officiate, and I think instant replay, for some of the problems that we do have with it, I think it has been an overwhelming success."

Minnesota's Gary Russell (28 rushes, 188 yards, 3 TDs), Penn State's Tamba Hali (four sacks, five tackles for a loss) and Northwestern's Joel Howells (4-for-4 PATs, perfect onside kick) were the conference's players of the week. ... Five teams still have a shot at getting at least a share of the Big Ten title. ... Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, who is retiring from coaching, will be on the sidelines for the final time at home against Iowa. ... Two childhood friends from Akron, Ohio, will be the featured backs when Northwestern (and Tyrell Sutton) plays at Ohio State (with Antonio Pittman) on Saturday.