Written by David Regimbal

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“Telling Quotes” is a weekly recap of the Big Ten’s top stories using quotes from around the conference (with a moderate Ohio State lean).

If you haven’t heard already, the Big Ten had a rough week.

Colleague Dan Wismar recapped the carnege, a macabre task for even the strongest of stomachs. The Big Ten went 6-6 last week with just one victory over teams from AQ conferences. Nebraska gave up a hair under 100 million yards of offense in a 36-30 loss to UCLA, Iowa committed whatever futility is required to score only six points in a three point loss to Iowa State, and most surprisingly, Wisconsin rushed for just 35 yards in a 10-7 loss to Oregon State.

The conference only has a couple opportunities to redeem itself on a national stage this week. Michigan State plays No. 20 Notre Dame in East Lansing Saturday night, and of course, the Buckeyes will host the California Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon.

Check out the week’s top quotes after the jump.

"I think [Jordan Hall] will play Saturday, I’m just not sure how much." - Urban Meyer, Ohio State head coach
Via Dave Biddle

After Carlos Hyde went down with a knee injury against UCF -- which was later revealed to be an MCL sprain that will sideline the junior running back for at least two weeks -- Ohio State’s dwindling depth in the backfield became a concern.

At the beginning of the week, Urban Meyer had just two available running backs for the Cal game -- freshman Bri’onte Dunn and sophomore Rod Smith. You get the impression that the coaching staff doesn’t entirely trust either back, especially when you look at the number of rushing attempts Braxton Miller had in Week 2.

If hall is finally ready to carry the ball this week -- even if it’s somewhere around 10 carries -- that will take an enormous amount of pressure off Braxton Miller.

"This one is on me as a head coach. I righted the situation I felt we needed to do." - Bret Bielema, Wisconsin head coach
Via Steve Helwagen

In a move that was even more surprising than the upset itself, Bret Bielema fired his offensive line coach -- Mike Markuson -- the day after Wisconsin’s loss to Oregon State.

It’s incredibly rare for a position coach to be fired midseason, and even more bizarre considering Bielema and Wisconsin brought Markuson on just eight short months ago. Markuson was hired at Wisconsin with five other coaches to replace the barrage of personnel losses the coaching staff suffered when Paul Chryst filled Pitt’s head coaching vacancy this offseason.

Markuson’s firing shows just how desperate the times are in Wisconsin, and early indications show that Bret Bielema relied heavily on members of a staff that have now moved on. It’s looking like it could be a long year for the Badgers.

"I could list a multitude of reasons or excuses, but [Ohio State’s pass rush] must improve." - Urban Meyer, Ohio State head coach
Via Bill Rabinowitz

The Buckeye come into the Cal game ranking 96th overall in pass defense, giving up 281 yards per game so far this season.

Urban Meyer does not like that.

Part of that can be contributed to the fact that both UCF and Miami couldn’t get anything going on the ground. The two teams combined to throw the ball 94 times against Ohio State, and when you average that out, the Buckeyes are doing a decent job limiting bigger plays.

Another big part of that comes from the Buckeyes’ surprising lack of a pass rush so far this season. Through two games, Ohio State has only notched three sacks, all of which have come from backups on the defensive line. Granted, Michael Bennett hasn’t played a snap this season because of a groin injury and Nathan Williams has been limited (did not play against UCF) with his recovery, but guys like John Simon and Jonathan Hankins need to step up to give Ohio State’s secondary a hand.

"We will continue to monitor the landscape." - Jim Delany, Big Ten Commissioner
Via Adam Rittenberg

In a move that surprised everyone but Jim Delany apparently, Notre Dame made their move on Wednesday by joining the ACC in all “ACC sponsored sports” except football. As a result, Notre Dame will schedule five ACC opponents every year in football, essentially ending any chances of the Big Ten landing its most coveted hopeful-member.

Everyone appears to have come out a winner here but the Big Ten. Notre Dame gets to keep their super important independance in football, and the ACC raises its national brand by adding a school with a fanbase that can be found everywhere you look.

A visual representation of the week the Big Ten just had can be found here.

(Photo credit - Dan Harker - TheOzone.net)

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