Column: Once in the driver’s seat, Illinois needs an unlikely win at the Big House to stay alive in the muddled Big Ten West

The Big Ten season once again should come down to The Game, a sure sign normalcy has been restored in Middle America.

But before No. 3 Michigan takes on No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 26 in Columbus, Ohio, both teams are obligated to play this weekend, with the Wolverines hosting Illinois in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Buckeyes traveling to Maryland.

Barring twin catastrophes, the battle of Big Ten unbeatens should be set and the sport’s greatest rivalry will resume in the Horseshoe, same as it ever was.

Only a couple of weeks ago, the Michigan-Illinois game looked like one of the weekend’s best. The Illini were No. 16 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, their first appearance in the nine-year history of the CFP poll, and tailback Chase Brown’s name was being whispered in Heisman talk.

But that was before the Illini flopped in back-to-back home losses to Michigan State and Purdue, turning the orange crush into so much pulp. Instead of securing a Big Ten title game matchup against Ohio State or Michigan, the Illini now have to upset the Wolverines this week, beat Northwestern in the regular-season finale and hope Purdue stumbles in one of its final two games against Northwestern or Indiana. Illinois has the tiebreaker over Minnesota and Iowa, the other West Division co-leaders with Purdue.

[ [Don’t miss] ‘It’s been a long journey’: Twins Chase and Sydney Brown went from Canada to Florida to Champaign — and now they’re propelling Illinois football’s resurgence ]

The Big Ten East winner will have a virtual bye in the Dec. 3 title game, in which it will be a heavy favorite no matter who comes out of the West.

Michigan has only one impressive win — manhandling Penn State 41-17 in Week 7 — on a relatively weak schedule. The Wolverines can’t afford to overlook the Illini while thinking about Ohio State, but that’s probably the best chance Illinois has Saturday.

In addition to the disappointing losses, Brown, the nation’s leading rusher, injured his right leg in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Purdue. Coach Bret Bielema said at Monday’s press briefing that Brown was “trending in the right direction,” but it’s wait-and-see.

Illinois hasn’t played at Michigan Stadium since 2016 and hasn’t won in Ann Arbor since a 45-20 shellacking in 2008, when quarterback Juice Williams passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards and two more TDs. Bielema took a page out of “Hoosiers” when discussing his team’s chances at the iconic stadium.

“Our guys kind of embrace the moment to go into somebody else’s place and live in that moment,” he said. “I pointed out to them we have a 74-man travel roster that will match their 74-man hotel roster. We play on the same field. We have the same tunnel — as I’m sure everybody else has heard, right?

“So we have a lot of the same things. It’s just about who lines up and plays well on Saturday.”

Bielema was referring, of course, to the tunnel incident on Oct. 29 at Michigan Stadium after the Wolverines beat Michigan State. Eight Spartans players were suspended indefinitely for separate attacks in the tunnel on two Michigan players. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called for criminal charges, and police have referred the case to prosecutors after investigating.

While Illinois and Purdue had some skirmishes Saturday, Bielema said sharing the notorious tunnel with Michigan isn’t a big concern.

“I really don’t foresee any problems,” he said. “I just really haven’t concerned myself with those (things). I don’t think anyone wants a head coach worried about tunnel management. I think our guys will know the protocol.”

[ [Don’t miss] Column: As the era of 2 college super-conferences draws near, Notre Dame’s future appears up for grabs ]

That ugly brawl was the lowlight of the Big Ten season, which otherwise has played out close to form. Big Ten officials can’t be happy about the probability of a title game blowout in Indianapolis, but they can rest easy knowing the current lopsided state of its two football divisions should be a thing of the past when USC and UCLA arrive from the Pac-12 in 2024.

Whether the two California schools will join the West, as geography dictates, or the conference will go with a non-divisional format remains to be seen. Still, the chances of a mediocre team advancing to the Big Ten title game should be significantly lessened in two years.

At 7-3, Illinois is assured of a bowl game no matter what happens at the Big House, and as an 18-point underdog, not much is expected. If the anticipated butt-kicking occurs, the Illini will have blown their chance to win the Big Ten West and likely will settle for a second-rate bowl such as the Guaranteed Rate, ReliaQuest or TransPerfect Music City bowls.

It still would be a major step forward for the program. A bowl is a bowl to bowl-deprived Illini fans. It also would be a tribute to Bielema, the second-year coach who has made the team relevant quicker than anyone expected. The Illini haven’t finished with a winning record since going 7-6 in 2011.

Chicago Tribune Sports

Weekdays

A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.

But it won’t seem that way for some fans after having control of the division before the brutal losses to the Spartans and Boilermakers.

“As a head coach I’m disappointed in the results, but I’m not disappointed in where we’re at,” Bielema said. “That’s a key thing. It’s paying off for us in recruiting.”

While Bielema looks to make progress, Harbaugh hopes to pull off a Dusty Baker-style ride to his first national title and Michigan’s first since 1997, when it split the two polls with Nebraska.

Like Baker with the 2022 Houston Astros, Harbaugh has a history of tough endings and several twists and turns over his college and NFL coaching career.

He’s one of college football’s most interesting personalities and has a more-than-respectable 71-14 record in eight years at his alma mater. Most alumni would be ecstatic if their school’s coach had a record like Harbaugh’s, but he always has been difficult to love, even for many Maize and Blue die-hards.

Harbaugh hasn’t won a bowl game since Michigan beat Florida in the 2015 Citrus Bowl, going 0-5 since, including last year’s 34-11 Orange Bowl loss to eventual champion Georgia in a CFP semifinal.

This could be his best shot at a national title — and at long last, vindication.