Big
10 Football Report Card: F to A
Yup, Ohio State got a share of yet another
Big Ten title (33rd in school history) but there were more surprises
than ho-hum developments during the conference’s 2008 football season
that ended last Saturday. Joe Paterno, 81, proved he could still
recruit and coach (even if it was from the press box on game day)
leading his Penn State team to a co-title with the Buckeyes and along
the way showed the Nittany Lions were the best in the Big Ten.
Before the season there was expectation
that Wisconsin, Illinois and maybe even Michigan would out-do Penn State
in the conference race to see if any team could finish ahead of Ohio
State. Instead the Badgers, Illini and Wolverines faltered, while Penn
State, Michigan State, Northwestern and Iowa enjoyed surprising
celebration seasons.
Here’s a summary and report card from
Sports Headliners on Big Ten teams with remarks and grades based on
preseason expectations and actual performance.
Put the Gophers down for a B-.
Losing the last four games was bad and on a family Web site I can’t
write the word that describes Minnesota’s performance in the 55-0 final
game loss to Iowa, but remember the Gophers were a popular choice before the season
to finish last in the conference. The Gophers, 1-11 in 2007, won four
marshmallow-like nonconference games, and then won three of their first
four conference games defeating Indiana, Illinois and Purdue. Two of
the wins were on the road.
The Gopher season changed after a 24-17
loss to Northwestern that if played differently might have gone into
overtime and led to a Gopher victory. Coach Tim Brewster’s
play-to-win style produced an opening game closing minute win against
Northern Illinois, but a late fourth quarter interception by a
Northwestern defender sent the Gophers on their way to four consecutive
losses.
On Monday offensive line coach Phil
Meyer announced his resignation. Yesterday Tim Davis, an
assistant at Alabama, joined up with Brewster as running game
coordinator/offensive line coach. Expect, too, that in the upcoming
bowl game (site not determined) the Gophers run some plays with the
quarterback under center and show modifications in their play
package trying to liven up an offense that produced six points in two of
the last three games.
Hardly anyone thought the Gophers would
win more than four, five, or six games, and fewer foresaw bowl
eligibility. Mostly behind an improved defense under coordinator
Ted
Roof, the Gophers won seven, lost five and despite the awful finish
surprised the Big Ten and made improvement.
With three national championship
appearances since the start of the new millennium, it’s difficult to
give Ohio State anything better than a B+ for a 10-2 season. The
Buckeyes had almost all their starters back from the national
championship game against LSU last winter but hopes of making the next
title game vanished with a 35-3 third game loss to USC. Ohio State
(what else is new?) will be formidable again next season, in search of
its second national championship since 2003, but may not be so powerful
if junior running back Beanie Wells goes pro. Good news for
Gopher fans is that they won’t have to hear anymore about all-honors
linebacker James Laurinaitis, the former Wayzata High School star
who is a Buckeye senior.
Penn
State, 11-1, has a nice collection of senior
players, but none as important as junior quarterback Daryll Clark.
He was among the conference’s most efficient passers and his running
ability brought to life a Penn State offense that had struggled at the
quarterback position the year before. Seems like when Penn State
commits to an
option quarterback (see Michael Robinson and 11-1 season in 2005)
the Nittany Lions have an offense, plus there’s always a good defense in
Happy Valley. This season Penn State led the Big Ten in scoring offense
and defense. Give the Lions an A grade with an asterisk that it would
have been A+ if not for a 24-23 loss at Iowa.
Who can blame them for crying in their
beer in Madison? Before the season, except for Ohio State, the Badgers
looked like the Big Ten’s best. Three games into the year Wisconsin was
3-0 and ranked No. 8 in the country. Then the Badgers blew a 19-0 lead
at Michigan, lost the game and things were never the same. Wisconsin lost four of the
next five games before recovering to win against three season ending
softies, Indiana, Minnesota and Cal-Poly. It’s a D+ grade for the
Badgers who finished 3-5 in the conference, 7-5 overall. Coach Brett
Bielema, 12-1 in his first season and 9-4 last year, better do
something about his fading popularity in Dairyland.
