Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

And they need to move the season back 2 weeks as well

[WM Wolverine]

Or more.

[entropy]

As part of “College Football Live’s” 100 Days Till Kickoff countdown, we're taking a look at the top 10 players in the Big Ten for 2012. Please note that this list could look different when we do our Big Ten Top 25 players list later this summer.

But here's how they're ranked for the "College Football Live" event:


1. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin: After scoring 39 touchdowns and earning an invitation to New York for the 2011 Heisman Trophy ceremony, Ball returned to school for his senior year and very much earned the No. 1 spot on this list. His numbers could go down a bit this year as they would be nearly impossible to top. Yet Ball, who has focused on pass blocking and improving his strength this offseason, could be a better all-around back in 2012.

2. Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska: Still a bit underrated nationally, Burkhead gets plenty of respect in the Big Ten. He ran for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns last season without much of a passing attack to keep defenses honest. The senior approaches every carry like his scholarship check depends on it, which is why Nebraska fans embrace him.

3. John Simon, DE, Ohio State: New Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer gushed over Simon this spring for his all-out commitment on and off the field. Simon had seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss on a banged-up defensive front last year and should contend for Big Ten defensive player of the year honors in 2012.

4. William Gholston, DE, Michigan State: We mean this in the best possible way: Gholston is a freak. How else to describe a 6-foot-7, 275-pounder with the speed of an outside linebacker? Gholston can be downright unblockable when he's focused and using proper technique, something he showed in an impressive Outback Bowl performance against Georgia in January. If that's a sign of things to come, he could be an All-American.

5. Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State: Hodges has become the latest member of Linebacker U. to seize stardom. He broke out last season with 106 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, as he anchored the middle of one of the best defenses in the country. Fast, strong and instinctive, he's got everything you want from the linebacker position.

6. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan: There might not be a more exciting player in the country than "Shoelace," who's put together more heroics than a comic-book character the past two seasons. But his passing remains suspect, as evidenced by his Big Ten-worst 15 interceptions last season. The word out of spring practice was that Robinson had improved his fundamentals and looked sharp as a passer. If he can add accuracy to his other many talents, the sky is the limit for him and the Wolverines this season.

7. Kawann Short, DT, Purdue: Short thought about skipping his senior year and entering the NFL but decided to make a push for first-round status this season. He certainly has the ability to do so as a potentially dominant run stuffer in the middle of Purdue's defensive line. Short had 17 tackles for loss and 6.5 tackles in 2011 and will be the focus of every opposing offensive game plan this season.

8. Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin: Bret Bielema says Borland might be the best middle linebacker he's ever coached. Which is saying something, since Borland didn't move to the middle linebacker spot until last season. Though a bit undersized, he makes up for it with natural instincts and underrated athleticism. Borland made 143 tackles last year and formed one of the best defensive duos in the country with fellow Badgers linebacker Mike Taylor.

9. Silas Redd, RB, Penn State: Redd carried Penn State's offense during the middle of last season and was as productive as any back during the month of October. He eventually wore down a bit under a heavy workload and because of some injuries, but he could be primed for an even bigger year in new coach Bill O'Brien's offense. Redd ran for 1,241 yards last season and figures to find the end zone more than the seven trips he made there a year ago.

10. Jonathan Brown, LB, Illinois: Brown burst onto the scene as a sophomore, posting 108 tackles and 19.5 for loss as a quarterback-seeking missile. He was a bit inconsistent, however, and he lost his cool when he kneed a Northwestern player in the groin, earning a one-game suspension. Now a year older and wiser, Brown should be one of the top defensive playmakers in the conference, if not the country.

[WM Wolverine]

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/big-ten-backs-proposal-to-shift-portion-of-baseball-season-to-fall/

Not really new news but more momentum towards a 'fall' season for the B10 in baseball instead of playing all those games in the south in February, March.

[WM Wolverine]

That along with MLB getting involved with helping fund CBB scholarships would dramatically help the B10 get at least relevant in CBB... Link below isn't as good as another article I read but

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2012/5/3/2997473/the-ncaa-and-major-league-baseball-are-in-active-discussions-to

Recruiting the south will always be difficult for the CBB teams in the north but both of these proposals would help a ton in leveling the playing field which right now is terribly imbalanced in favor of where all the talent is; the south.

[entropy]

I hope some of this happens

[Dr. Strangelove]

SEC distributing $20M per school...still about $4 M less than the B1G

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/19227678/sec-distributes-201-million-per-team-falls-further-behind-big-ten-in-money-race

[entropy]

Nice article

[entropy]

Our daunting assignment for Monday was to identify the top five individual seasons by a Big Ten player in the past 50 years. It was not in any way easy.

There have been so many great players and great performances in this league that it seemed almost unfair to limit this list to just five. It's impossible not to omit some very, very worthy individual efforts.

But that was our task, and we did the best we could while trying to pick out the most memorable seasons and weighing team success into the formula as well. Please remember a couple key notes about this list. This is limited to the past 50 years, so legends such as Red Grange and Nile Kinnick were not eligible. We are including Nebraska, even though the Cornhuskers have only spent one year as a Big Ten members. Blame conference realignment and feel free to complain, but the Huskers are part of the family now and are going to be included in these kinds of historic lists. Deal with it.

OK, here we go, and we'll do this chronological order:

[+] Enlarge
Dick ButkusAP PhotoDick Butkus (50) made 145 tackles and caused 10 fumbles in 1963, leading the Illini to a Big Ten title.
Dick Butkus, LB, Illinois, 1963: In many ways, Butkus is synonymous with the hard-nosed defensive style that has become the Big Ten's calling card. If you want a symbol for toughness, you couldn't do much better than him. He was named the player of the year in 1964 and finished third in the Heisman voting that year. But we're going with his 1963 season, in which he recorded a whopping 145 tackles, won Big Ten MVP honors and led the Illini to a Rose Bowl win over Washington. Little wonder that the award for the nation's best linebacker is named after him.

Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State, 1974: Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, and his first statue-worthy season was his best as a collegian. He ran for 1,620 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 6.9 yards per carry in an era of less offense. As he broke tackles left and right that season, Griffin earned the high praise of legend Woody Hayes, who called him the best football player he'd ever coached.

Mike Rozier, RB, Nebraska, 1983: The Cornhuskers' ground game was an unstoppable machine in '83, and Rozier was its engine. He averaged an amazing 7.8 yards per carry, a NCAA record for players with at least 214 attempts, and finished with 2,148 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. He ran for more than 200 yards in each of his last four regular-season games. Would Nebraska have beaten Miami in the Orange Bowl had Rozier not injured his ankle in the second half? We'll never know, but we do know this was one of the top seasons of all time.

Charles Woodson, CB/WR/PR, Michigan, 1997: Woodson became the first primarily defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy with his extraordinary performance for the Wolverines, who won a share of the national title that season. He had eight interceptions even though teams steadfastly avoided throwing the ball to his side of the field. He also compiled 500 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver and punt returner, including his memorable score against Ohio State. Woodson had to be special to beat out Peyton Manning for the Heisman that year, and he sure was.

Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin, 2011: This may be controversial, since it happened so recently. But we firmly believe that when historians and fans look back on Ball's 2011 season, they will be astounded that he didn't win the Heisman or get more attention for what he accomplished. Ball led the nation in rushing yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry, matching the best mark that Heisman winner Ron Dayne ever put up during his Badgers career. He also scored 39 touchdowns, tying Barry Sanders FBS record. While a lot of people like to point out that Sanders played in fewer games, they conveniently neglect to mention that Ball had 37 fewer carries in 2011 than Sanders did in 1988. It was truly a historic season for Ball, and one of the best in Big Ten history.

Who's on your list for the top five seasons of the past 50 years in the Big Ten?

[*JD*]

I wouldn't include Rozier, since he was in the Big 8 when he did all those things.

[entropy]

I think they should. We are part of the family...

[whodean]

Married in.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well if we married in...don't we get half of everything? My lawyer told me we do.

[iam416]

From the best OSU blog out there and, IMO, one the best bloggers period:

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2012/06/11655/b1ggie-pac

tl;dr -- P10 and B10 are killing the SEC financially, let alone other shitbird conferences.

[*JD*]

I think they should. We are part of the family...

Yes, but you got born into the B1G family last year. Rozier is B1G Nebraska's grandfather.