Big 10 Football Season Predictions and Projections

September 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

michigan state

There’s four good teams in the Big Ten this season and five more that could be good or just blah. You can call it parity (just don’t call it PARODY, I HATE when people make that mistake, it isn’t Weird Al Yankovic playing college football here) or you can call it mediocrity.

Expect a lot of conference teams to be ranked in the 30s and 20s overall in the nation. On the flipside, don’t expect too many to be in the top ten or the 80s or higher either.

For the Big Ten QB Power Rankings go here

The talent at quarterback is anything but mediocre though. There’s dual threats everywhere you look, and at least five that could be all-conference. And 3-4 more with serious potential beyond that as well.

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#29 Penn State Nittany Lions: College Football 77 in 77

August 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

psu cheerleader

Every year at Big Ten media days, JoePa on dais is one of the biggest highlights.

There is always the token ghoulish question about his health/age. It happened again this year. He has a good time with reporters on it. And I’m not sure how much of his confused old man bit is contrived and how much of it is genuine.

-JoePa when asked about his contract: “Is this the last year of my contract?”

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Big Ten Football Media Day: Notable Quotables, Nuggets and Tidbits

July 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s officially “back to school” season as another round of Big Ten Football Media Days has begun. You know what it means, college football season is now within striking distance. And it’s a new era in the Big Ten, a conference championship game, new divisions, and a new member with a storied history, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

But the old is always good too. We love our “JoePa-isms,” as Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is always one of the highlights of Big Ten Football Media Day. (Future post coming later on just this topic).

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No more “Golden Loafers” at Minnesota with Kill in charge

July 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Jerry Kill has been making changes since he arrived at Minnesota in December. One of the most important changes has been discipline. According to linebacker Mike Rallis, one of the new disciplinary measures at Minnesota is a brown shirt with pink lettering: “Minnesota Loafers: I let my teammates down.” [Read more…]

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Jerry Kill ready, excited about transition at Minnesota

July 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Despite being in the MAC, Jerry Kill had some success against the Big Ten in his three-year tenure with Northern Illinois. Kill’s Huskies beat Purdue in 2009, and beat Minnesota in 2010, which was one of the major factors in the firing of Tim Brewster.

Now, Kill has begun to turn around the Minnesota program he beat 10 months ago. But Kill doesn’t think success at NIU will necessarily translate directly to success at Minnesota. [Read more…]

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Kevin Wilson looking forward – not back – at Indiana

July 28, 2011 By 1 Comment

First year Hoosier head coach Kevin Wilson said he won’t look back at the past of Indiana football as he starts his tenure. Literally.

“I have yet to watch one snap of last year’s games,” Wilson said at the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “If you’re a police officer trying to catch me, you’re going to have to chase me a while because I’m not looking in the rearview mirror. I’m looking forward.” [Read more…]

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2011 Big Ten QB Power Rankings: Preseason Edition

July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There’s four good teams in the Big Ten this season and five more that could be good or just blah. You can call it parity (just don’t call it PARODY, I HATE when people make that mistake, it isn’t Weird Al Yankovic playing college football here) or you can call it mediocrity. The talent at quarterback is anything but mediocre though. There’s dual threats everywhere you look, and at least five that could be all-conference.

And 3-4 more with serious potential beyond that as well.
[Read more…]

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Big 10 Football Power Rankings: 2011 Inaugural Edition

July 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

Yes,  hate the names of the two new divisions as much as everyone else. How did that atrocity happen? I don’t know, let’s not talk about it anymore and just move on to the fact that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are here now, and they arrived just in time to strengthen the Big Ten. At the exact same time that the Ohio State Buckeyes deteriorate into a real life college football version of the Western University Dolphins in the classic college basketball movie “Blue Chips.” Therefore, the overall power of the conference is close to where it was last year.

Expect a lot of conference teams to be ranked in the 30s and 20s overall in the nation. On the flipside, don’t expect many to be in the top ten or the 80s or higher either. Every team fits into one of three classes.

For the Big Ten QB Power Rankings go here

[Read more…]

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Despite Media Day Reports, Joe Paterno Still not Dead

August 7, 2010 By 2 Comments

paterno

As I went through my Big Ten Media Day audio and transcript of legendary Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno, I thought “wow, some of my media brethren are ghouls. There’s a lot in here about death and illness.”

And this is very important because the 83-year-old Paterno is THE “get” of Big Ten Media Days. He’s like a college football version of Yoda, Jackie Mason and Rodney Dangerfield combined.

He summed up the day’s theme best at the dais:

“what did Mark Twain say, the rumor of my death has been over-exaggerated or something, I forget.  I used to know a little bit more about those. I really ?? I didn’t lose any time.  I had, as I said, the problem I had was not having control of some things, and I had to be careful that I didn’t get myself in a position where I would embarrass myself.”

JoePa was so detailed about his “ailments,” because the media fixated on it.

By Paul M. Banks

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2010 Big Ten QB Power Rankings

August 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

kirk-cousins

It’s Big Ten Media Day! The first of two actually!  You know what that means: football season will soon be here! So let’s talk shop.

By Paul M. Banks

1. Terelle Pryor, Ohio State. No surprise here. You know all about this kid. But seriously, WHY DIDNT THEY BRING HIM TO MEDIA DAY???

2. Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin. Has little to no NFL potential, and he’s about as exciting and flashy as Ben Stein, but he commanded last year’s number one offense, and scoring offense, in the Big Ten. As good as he was last year, he still needs to cut down on big game interceptions.

3. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State. His early season position battle with Keith Nichol seems to have really faciliatated his development. He’s a true dual threat. Trying to stop him this fall will be like hitting on a woman out at a bachelorette party- your outcome will just not be favorable.

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ESPN’s Rece Davis will Emcee Big 10 Kickoff Luncheon

July 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

rece-davis

The Big Ten Conference announced today that ESPN’s Rece Davis will serve as emcee for the 39th Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon, which will take place Tuesday, August 3, at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Festivities are set to begin at 10 a.m. CT with the annual players and coaches autograph session for fans attending the luncheon. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. CT.

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