Big Ten football teams have had a sweet tooth for the last month. And fans paid the price.

A quick look at a composite league schedule yields opponent names such as Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, Indiana State, Florida Atlantic, Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State and South Dakota State. To name a few.

Hey, I like cupcakes as much as the next person. But not in mass quantity (metabolism slows with age), and not during a football tailgate (hamburger and icing don't mix).

Don't worry, though, you're not stuck in bakery limbo. Turn your oven down from 350 and stop figuring out if you can flip over to a log-rolling competition after halftime this week.

Welcome to what will be our weekly Big Ten roundup.

It’s time for Big Ten teams to face Big Ten teams.

Sweet.

No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 8 Nebraska will meet for a primetime game in Madison, Wis., possibly the most anticipated Big Ten matchup of the regular season. Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini was asked this week if he planned on monitoring his sideline behavior, so you know that means must-see-TV.

Mark Dantonio will take his Michigan State back to his native Ohio to face an Ohio State team that appears ready for Miller time. Freshman quarterback Braxston Miller, not the adult beverage.

Northwestern is hoping to bring dual-threat quarterback Dan Persa back from injury for a date with No. 24 Illinois. Persa has the potential to be one of the conference's most potent offensive threats and, according to his university bio, he's in love with sharks. Can't argue with that.

Also this week, Michigan will look to keep the world's oldest and most popular water cooler in Ann Arbor, Purdue will hope to turn Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly a different shade of purple and Joe Paterno will coach his 544th game when Penn State visits Indiana.

We're 65 days from the first conference championship game, and the race for Lucas Oil Stadium (and that really, really shiny trophy) starts Saturday.

Sky high: Wisconsin (4-0)

The Badgers may as well be hosting controlled scrimmages. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (48.5 ppg) and in scoring defense (8.5 points allowed per game) through four weeks. That's basically the definition of dominance.

North Carolina State transfer quarterback Russell Wilson has been video-game like (311 yards of total offense per game, 12 total touchdowns) and running back Monte Ball has nine rushing touchdowns.

Wisconsin's only mistake so far? Wilson threw an interception against South Dakota last week, the Badgers only turnover this season.

Come on, Russell, you're better than that.

Rock bottom: Indiana (1-3)

As if a season-opening neutral-field loss to in-state foe Ball State didn't sting enough, Indiana one-upped itself last week with a road loss to perennial ESPN Bottom 10 member North Texas.

Welcome to Bloomington, Kevin Wilson.

The Hoosiers are the most penalized team in the Big Ten, have allowed more sacks than any other conference member (take note, Gunner Kiel) and have the second worst rush and scoring defense numbers in the league.

On the bright side? Indiana is the only team in the league, to this point, to recover an onside kick. So there's that.

Last week's heavy lifter: K Derek Dimke, Illinois

Dimke booted three field goals last week, and the Illini needed every one to escape with a 23-20 home win over Western Michigan.

With the Broncos not going away, and no lightning in sight, Dimke booted a 21-yarder midway through the fourth quarter to break a 20-20 tie and give Illinois the narrow win over a WMU team that seems like it'll be a serious contender in the Mid-American Conference.

On the season, Dimke has been the conference's most reliable kicker. A perfect 21-for-21 on kicking attempts (6-for-6 on field goals).

Standout stats:

156.4
Combined passing yard average between Ohio State and Michigan through four weeks. Bo and Woody would probably dub those numbers as just fine. But in 2011, it puts the Buckeyes and Wolverines 11th and 12th, respectively, in the Big Ten.

24
Unanswered points scored to begin the game by North Texas against Indiana last week. The Mean Green, who entered this season with a 13-58 mark over the previous six years, dumped the Hoosiers, 24-21.

218.4
Pass efficiency mark for Wisconsin senior quarterback Russell Wilson, tops in the Big Ten and second nationally. That's right, a Wisconsin quarterback, not running back, has been one of the country's biggest weapons this season.

973
Combined rushing yards for Michigan's Denard Robinson and Nebraska's Taylor Martinez. Both are quarterbacks and are the top two rushers in the Big Ten.

Set your DVR for:

No. 8 Nebraska at No. 7 Wisconsin, Saturday (8 p.m. ABC)
Easily the most anticipated matchup of the weekend and perhaps the season. The Cornhuskers get an official initiation into the Big Ten with a nationally televised primetime game at Camp Randall.

How's that for a welcome wagon?

Wisconsin has racked up 532.2 yards per game, and Nebraska has averaged 439. Russell Wilson has been the league's best overall quarterback so far, and Taylor Martinez is the conference's best running signal caller not named Denard Robinson.

And in case you were wondering, Wisconsin won the last matchup between these two on Sept. 21, 1974. Jeff Mack caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Gregg Bohlig with less than four minutes to play to give the Badgers a 21-20 win in Madison.

Mack and Bohlig are out of eligibility, but this one should still be pretty interesting.

Quotable
"We just hope to get in front of him and make him fall down." — Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema on slowing Nebraska's Taylor Martinez

Off the cuff
A special get well soon to Minnesota coach Jerry Kill. The first-year Golden Gopher boss headed back to the hospital this past week to deal with recurring seizures, and his status for this weekend in Ann Arbor is questionable.

Earlier this week, Michigan head coach Brady Hoke called Kill and his wife, Rebecca, "two of the finest people you'll ever be around." Also, Kill is a cancer survivor and the head of his own Coach Kill Cancer Fund charity.

Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball and other sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com or 734-623-2514.