The 17-13 final score might not have been overly impressive, but Michigan State maintained its perch atop the Big Ten, according to two websites.

BTN.com writer Tom Dienhart said the Spartans had a "workmanlike" victory over Boise State,

.

"The defense looks to be as good as I thought, and Le’Veon Bell may be the top running back in the Big Ten. But if this team is going to be as good as I think it can be, the passing game needs to develop. And, I think it will behind Andrew Maxwell now that he has a game under his belt," Dienhart wrote.

In his rankings, Dienhart has Ohio State up to No. 2, and Michigan down to No. 4 after its loss to Alabama on Saturday night.

ESPN Big Ten bloggers Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett

following the weekend's action, and still have the Spartans headed to the Rose Bowl.

Nebraska is slated to join Michigan State in the BCS, with the Cornhuskers headed to the Fiesta Bowl. They have Michigan headed to the Capital One Bowl.

The latest Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls will be released Tuesday.

More links from around the conference:

• Nebraska piled up 632 yards of total offense in its 49-20 victory over Southern Miss, with quarterback Taylor Martinez throwing five touchdown passes. Running back Rex Burkhead left the game with a MCL sprain, but is "day-to-day" according to coach Bo Pelini. [

]

• Braxton Miller, another dual-threat quarterback not really known for his arm, threw for 207 yards and ran for 167 more in the first game of the Urban Meyer era at Ohio State. The Buckeyes beat Miami (Ohio), 56-10, but only after overcoming a rough start. [

]

• After a summer in which the university was in the news for all the wrong reasons, Bill O'Brien's first game at Penn State ended in a 24-14 loss to Ohio. (Not the Buckeyes, Brady Hoke.) The Patriot-News columnist David Jones writes "This is a team with limitations that we're not accustomed to seeing in Penn State uniforms." [

]

• Did you catch a replay of the one-handed touchdown grab by Ohio State's Devin Smith? BTN.com's Brent Yarina put together his Top 10 plays from Week 1, and it was rightfully at No. 1. (Sorry, Le'Veon). [

]