Update Shizz

Michigan junior defensive end  is named the Bo Schembechler MVP of the 2008 UM team. Graham becomes the 11th defensive player to be voted MVP since 1970. Graham ranks second nationally in tackles for loss and is tied for 10th in sacks this season. He set career highs with 20 TFLs and 10 sacks to go along with a career-best 46 tackles. Regardless of everything that’s happened for UM, at least he’s been a bright spot for them and possibly even next year assuming he comes back.

Freshman sensation Sam McGuffie was a no-show at the Michigan annual end of the season banquet Thursday night. Here come the rumors. “McGuffie to *insert team here*!!!!” Regardless it does create a cloud of speculation around his situation. He’s been unhappy with what’s going on there and it seems he could be exploring his options. McGuffie wasn’t the only no-show. Also absent was tight end-defensive end Carson Butler. Butler’s future with the team also has been a subject of speculation. Coach Rich Rodriguez had no comment on either situations.

Ohio State Linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins were named first-team All-Americans on the American Football Coaches Association team on Thursday which made history for Laurinaitis. He became eighth three-time first-team All-American in Ohio State history. By NCAA standards, Laurinaitis has the chance to become just the third three-time consensus All-American in OSU history.

Another freshman sensation is making news but this time positive news. Terrelle Pryor has been named Big Ten freshman of the year. Usually this is big news but since no other freshman made as much noise in not only the Big Ten but the whole country, this comes to no surprise. He ended the season atop the Big Ten passing efficiency rankings at 152.1. For the year, he completed 95 of 152 passes for 1,245 yards and 12 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

Today’s a pretty big recruiting day for Penn State recruiting. One of the top high school QB’s Kevin Newsome is visiting as well as WR/anything Antone Exum. Soft verbal Sean Stanley will be in State College today as well plus a few other recruits. Hopefully the student section will give them love tonight during the Temple/PSU basketball game.

When 7-1 Doesn’t Equal To 7-1

Here we go again. Penn State, 11-1, 7-1 in the conference. Ohio State, 10-2, 7-1 in the conference. Penn State beat Ohio State back on October 25th – call that PSU’s reasoning. However, PSU lost to Iowa two weeks later and both teams won out so both have the same conference record - call that OSU’s reasoning. Fanbases going back and forth, arguing like children then flaming like children. It was heated debate back in 2005 when this occured and now it’s heated again in 2008, maybe even more fueled. Same fanbases, same situation, same freakin’ story.

So what’s all the fuss about?

As noted before, PSU and OSU both finished 7-1 in the conference meaning them Co-Champions even though PSU defeated the Buckeyes in Columbus. Not cool.

Travis Johnson, a senior staff member at The Daily Collegian agrees with me that the boys in Ohio shouldn’t have a share of the Big Ten. He puts his own little spin on it suggesting that the Big Ten needs to add a 12th team so a conference championship game is enforced. Not so much. I don’t want see a rematch of two teams that already played because it’ll be pointless since they already played before. If team A beat team B, then why should they play again? Not only that but I don’t want to see an 12-0, 8-0 team get upset by an 8-4, 5-3 team in the championship game as well. I always hate when that happens just because you play one extra game.

But that’s another topic, here comes my real beef.

The Big Ten needs to adopt a tie-breaker. It’s so obvious. They’re can’t be “Co-Champions”, that just doesn’t sound right. There should be only one champion in all of sports. No co-champions, or even tri-champions, as that could’ve been a possibility had PSU gone undefeated and Michigan State beat them in the last week.

Not only that but if they’re co-champs and “equal champions”, then why does PSU get the automatic bid to the Rose Bowl?

Yeah, I know that answer and so do you which is “PSU beat OSU”. Well then…since PSU gets the auto-bid to the Rose Bowl by beating OSU, then why should OSU get a share of the title? It doesn’t add up, how can one equal get a better deal than the other equal? It simple does not make sense.

This is something that Jim Delaney needs to address and if he’s not smart enough to fix it (which he might not be), then this is a glaring mark on the Big Ten. A tie-breaker with “head-to-head” as the first criteria takes common sense to allow. It’s so simple yet for the Big Ten it’s so complicated to the point it’s irritating. Though the Big Ten isn’t the only conference that’s like this. The Big East and PAC 10 don’t have tie-breakers as well. Regardless of that, a tie-breaker needs to be enforced.

However, nevermind the tie-breaker talk. Let’s get down to who’s the real Big Ten champ. Call me a homer, call me biased, I don’t care but it’s a damn crime that OSU is selling “Big Ten Champions” t-shirts when they lost to PSU. Except for OSU fans, everyone is recognizing PSU as the real champs of the Big Ten. I’m in the boat that since PSU beat OSU, they are the Big Ten champs. I don’t care if PSU lost to Iowa and both teams finished with the same conference record. PSU beat OSU, that’s the bottom line. Trust me, if OSU beat PSU, then OSU proceeded to lose to Illinois while PSU won out, I’d be calling PSU fans jokes for actually thinking they’re Co-Big Ten champs when OSU beat them.

I hate rules like these. Team A can beat team B and both can finish with the same record yet they’re “Co-Champs” because both teams records are the same. I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Three Big Ten players make AFCA all-America

Three Big Ten players were present on the American Football Coaches Association’s all-American team announced today.

Shonn Greene, Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinaitis were the Big Ten players to make the team.

Greene, a junior running back for the Iowa Hawkeyes, finished the regular season with 1,729 rushing yards, an Iowa single-season record.  Greene also scored 17 rushing touchdowns, which ties the Iowa single-season record.

Jenkins, a senior cornerback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, forced three fumbles, had three interceptions and defended 12 passes this season.

Laurinaitis, a senior linebacker for Ohio State, was second in the Big Ten with 121 tackles in 12 games, which averages to 10.1 tackles per outing.  Laurinaitis also had four sacks on the season.

The two all-Americans for Ohio State bring the Buckeyes’ total AFCA all-Americans up to 56, which is second to Oklahoma’s 59.

Academic All-Big Ten Announced

Quick note…The Big Ten announced its academic all-conference team for the fall today, and 185 football players made the list of athletes who carry grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher.

Each school had the following number of selections:

• Illinois: 7
• Indiana: 22
• Iowa: 16
• Michigan: 9
• Michigan State: 11
• Minnesota: 26
• Northwestern: 26
• Ohio State: 26
• Penn State: 16
  
• Purdue: 14
• Wisconsin: 12

“We Want To Play O-State”

Trash talking. You got to love it. It makes players look like fools about 99.9% of the time. Some of it’s justified, some of it’s not.

But sometimes trash talking is so funny that it can not be taken seriously. For example, Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard calling out Ohio State.

If he just wanted to play OSU, I’d be cool with that. They’re overshadowed in that state and probably want to take down the Buckeyes so people start taking them seriously. But what Gilyard cried about in that interview went way beyond wanting OSU and wanting to be relevant.

First off, it’s “Ohio State”, not “O-State”. For some reason that annoyed me.

“We want to settle that big brother/little brother argument”.

Uhhh what argument? I had no idea there was a debate about who is “big brother and little brother”. Last time I checked OSU was the one winning the Big Ten almost every year, going to BCS bowl games annually and having a top 5 winning percentage this decade, not Cincinnati. Win consistently like OSU and even beat them if you ever play them, then MAYBE you’ll be the big brother.

“We’re not the little brother no more”.

Laughable, truly laughable. Like I said above, OSU has accomplished way more than Cincinnati ever has and ever will. They won the Big East and all of a sudden, they’re the real deal and the cream of the crop? In a New York accent, “Get outta here”.

“I say, ‘play us and find out’.”

I like the confidence, I really do. But I doubt the Bearcats would win. They barely won in a conference that doesn’t have any BCS caliber teams. Hell I don’t even think Cincinnati is BCS caliber. While OSU churns out 5 star prospects year after year and does test themselves against upper-echelon teams.

All in all, the “we’re the big brother” talk is stupid. They’re not the big brother and I hope someone informs him of that. Unfortunately OSU and Cincinnati probably won’t play because of the way the bowls are set up. It’d be real interesting if Gilyard would still be talking afterwards.

Illini looking for answers after poor season

A year ago, the Illinois Fighting Illini were the surprise team in the conference after ending the regular season at 9–3, 6–2 in Big Ten.

Even after USC routed Illinois, 49–17, in the Rose Bowl game, head coach Ron Zook’s program was viewed as one on the rise within the Big Ten.

This year, however, Zook and the Fighting Illini are left searching for answers after finishing the season at 5–7, 3–5.

Zook isn’t wasting any time in figuring out what went wrong.

“After a season, you go back and evaluate everything,” Zook said. “It’s obviously very important when you don’t meet expectations.

“Everyone has to be evaluated, and it starts with me.”

Last year, Illinois completed the regular season with four wins, including a 28–21 triumph over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Ohio State.

This season’s conclusion was quite the opposite.

The Fighting Illini followed a November 1 home win over Iowa with three consecutive losses, including a 23–17 defeat to Western Michigan at Ford Field.

But despite Illinois’ poor finish to the year, Zook maintains that his program is headed in the right direction.

“People are going to say the program slipped back,” Zook said. “It didn’t slip back. I promise you, this program’s still going full steam ahead. This is where we’re going to find out what we’re made of.”

The Fighting Illini will next take the field against Missouri on September 5, 2009, in St. Louis.

Get Used To It Nits…

11-1 vs. 11-1. Big Ten Champs vs. PAC 10 Champs. Top ten program vs. Top ten program. Penn State vs. Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

What an epic matchup eh? The ratings for this game will be off the roof and will probably be the biggest marquee matchup out of the five BCS games.

But if you ask USC fans if they want the Rose Bowl, most would probably say “no”. Of course they have their reasons and every one of them is understandable…except one.

Reason #1: They’ve been to the Rose Bowl 5 out of the past 6 years. If I were a USC fan, I’d be bored of tears of the Rose Bowl as well.

Reason #2: Many of their fans think they’re the best one loss team in the country. They definitely have a case and should be arguing they’re better than Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, etc.

Reason #3: They should lose to UCLA to play in the Holiday Bowl which would provide a better game than playing Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Wait, uhhhh huh?

Even Adam Rose of the LA Times wants to see USC lose to UCLA, then play either Texas, Oklahoma or Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl.

As a PSU fan, I disagree with this. First off, PSU does this thing called play defense which is something the Big 12 hasn’t been able to adapt all season long. USC will find it hard to score points against this defense that’s 11th in total defense. Add that PSU’s offense isn’t too shabby either averaging 40 points a game.

But the fact remains that for the next month, we’ll be hearing about how great USC is and how overrated PSU is. We’ll hear how badly the Trojans will stomp the Nittany Lions and how PSU shouldn’t even be on the same field as SC. PSU has no chance as they play in the ‘weak’ Big Ten yet outside of Oregon State, the PAC 10 isn’t exactly the NFL.

Is it fair and right? No freakin’ way. Is it going to continue? Unforunately…

Sunday Morning Tidbits

• Illinois Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley reportedly interviewed for the vacant Syracuse Head Coaching job on Wednesday. Locksley, 38, has been the Offensive Coordinator at Illinois since 2005 when Ron Zook was hired. This news comes two weeks after Greg Robinson was fired at the heels of a 3-8 season, with a 10-36 career record. It has also been reported that Locksley has interviewed for the Clemson Head Coaching position.
• Ray Stein of the Columbus Dispatch disagrees with the way Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel handled the playing time situation between Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor, calling him “classless” and “hypocritical”.
• MLive.com reports that Rich Rodgriguez stated he expects to see both sophmore-to-be runningback Sam McGuffie and senior-to-be defensive end Brandon Graham wearing maize and blue in 2009.
• The Outback Bowl has a tough decision to make in regards to picking between Iowa and Northwestern. The Wildcats finished with a better overall record and won the head-to-head matchup between the two teams, but Iowa is likely to bring in more fans and higher ratings. Northwestern AD Jim Phillips is looking at past NU bowl appearances to make the case for the Cats.

Be Careful What You Wish For

We all cheered as Oregon took down Oregon State last night. The Beavers loss would likely mean an Ohio State BCS bowl birth, meaning every Big Ten team moves up one spot on the bowl pecking order. In addition, Penn State avoided a dreaded rematch with Oregon State, who they pounded earlier in the year.

But now, as the dust settles, you’ve gotta be thinking: “Can we do this over?”

Take a look at this Big Ten bowl lineup:

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs Southern Cal
Sugar/Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs Alabama/Texas
Capital One Bowl: Michigan State vs Georgia
Outback Bowl: Iowa vs South Carolina
Alamo Bowl: Northwestern vs Missouri
Champs Sports Bowl: Minnesota vs Georgia Tech
Insight Bowl: Wisconsin vs Kansas

Yes, Ohio State’s back-to-back BCS National Championship blowouts were devastating for the reputation of the Big Ten. As were 3 straight Rose Bowl losses for Michigan. But fans from inside the conference often overestimate the value of playing top competition. The Big Ten needs to put together bowl wins against…anybody…before they worry about beating the big boys.

Take a look at the PAC-10 this past year. And first let me note, no one spews anything at all toward the PAC-10. This is a conference that is widely considered to be one of the best in college football each and every year. This is a conference that went 4-2 this past bowl season. Conference champion Southern Cal took down an undermanned, badly coached Illinois team. The second place team, Oregon State, defeated a Maryland team that finished 6-7 and finished in 5th place in the ACC Atlantic. And the third? Oregon had their way with a South Florida team that finished in 4th place in a less than spectacular Big East. An Oregon State State win yesterday would have afforded the Big Ten a similar opportunity.

I’m not telling you to hope for gimme wins for the Big Ten. Look, I understand the angle of wanting to play the best. But you’ve got to be in a manageable situation. How much better does this look?

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs Oregon State
Capital One Bowl: Ohio State vs Georgia
Outback Bowl: Michigan State vs South Carolina
Alamo Bowl: Iowa vs Missouri
Champs Sports Bowl: Northwestern vs Georgia Tech
Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs Kansas
Motor City: Wisconsin vs Ball State

Instead, with a near certain BCS bid for the Buckeyes, the bowl slate leaves the Big Ten scratching for wins yet again. We will be left wondering what went wrong, and the talking heads will have even more material to throw in our faces for an agonizing 364 days.

Minnesota Headed In Right Direction, AD Says

Following a 0–4 finish and a 55–0 shellacking at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi says his football program is “going in the right direction.”

In his comments, Maturi noted how the Golden Gophers lost to four bowl teams, which was a far cry from last season.

“Every game we lost this year, except for Michigan, those four teams are going to a bowl game,” Maturi said. “So, what happened is that we’re in the middle now.”

In 2007, Minnesota finished the year with a 1–11 record. Included in the eleven losses were defeats to Bowling Green (32–31), Florida Atlantic (42–39) and North Dakota State (27–21).

Maturi also mentioned the excitement fans, coaches and players should be feeling going into 2009, which will be the Gophers’ inaugural season in TCF Bank Stadium.

“Next August we’re going to be 0–0, preparing for the 2009 season against a more difficult schedule, but in a new stadium,” Maturi said. “Fans will get excited again of the hope. The kids will be excited. Coaches will be excited.”

Minnesota concluded the regular season with a 7–5 (3–5 Big Ten) record after opening the season at 7–1. The Golden Gophers’ bowl fate will be decided on December 7, after conference championship games have been completed.