The Big Ten will announce its all-conference teams and award winners Monday night (Big Ten Network, 8 p.m. ET), and there figures to be plenty of interest in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin is one of two Big Ten teams with legitimate candidates for all four Big Ten awards: offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, freshman of the year and coach of the year. Iowa certainly can make a case as well, but Wisconsin is a good bet to win in at least two of the four categories.
It wasn't a major surprise when I received e-mail from Wisconsin on Wednesday night detailing the school's Big Ten awards candidates.
Here's a quick breakdown of the Badgers' hopefuls and their chances of winning Monday.
RB John Clay
Category: Offensive player of the year
Notable: Big Ten's leading rusher (112.4) by a wide margin, leads league in touchdowns (12), owns six games of 120 rushing yards or more
Up against: Penn State QB Daryll Clark, Purdue QB Joey Elliott
Chances of winning: Clay has to be the front-runner at this point
DE O'Brien Schofield
Category: Defensive player of the year
Notable: Tied for national lead in tackles for loss per game (1.95), tied for second nationally in overall TFLs (19.5), Bednarik Award finalist
Up against: Michigan State LB Greg Jones, Michigan DE Brandon Graham, Iowa S Tyler Sash, Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan, Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn, Ohio State S Kurt Coleman, Indiana DE Jammie Kirlew
Chances of winning: He's definitely in the discussion, but it could be tough to beat Jones, Graham or Sash
LB Chris Borland
Category: Freshman of the year
Notable: Tied for Big Ten lead in fumble recoveries (3) and tied for third in forced fumbles (4), named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 1) and co-special teams player of the week (Sept. 20), has made countless plays on special teams throughout the season
Up against: Michigan QB Tate Forcier, Iowa RB Adam Robinson
Chances of winning: Borland absolutely deserves it, though the award typically goes to offensive players
Bret Bielema
Category: Coach of the year
Notable: Badgers might win 10 games after being picked a mid- to lower-tier Big Ten team before the season, turnaround has happened largely with young players, team plays disciplined football
Up against: Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Ohio State's Jim Tressel
Chances of winning: Bielema deserves a ton of credit for getting Wisconsin back on track, but the award should and likely will go to Ferentz.
Wisconsin is one of two Big Ten teams with legitimate candidates for all four Big Ten awards: offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, freshman of the year and coach of the year. Iowa certainly can make a case as well, but Wisconsin is a good bet to win in at least two of the four categories.
It wasn't a major surprise when I received e-mail from Wisconsin on Wednesday night detailing the school's Big Ten awards candidates.
Here's a quick breakdown of the Badgers' hopefuls and their chances of winning Monday.
RB John Clay
Category: Offensive player of the year
Notable: Big Ten's leading rusher (112.4) by a wide margin, leads league in touchdowns (12), owns six games of 120 rushing yards or more
Up against: Penn State QB Daryll Clark, Purdue QB Joey Elliott
Chances of winning: Clay has to be the front-runner at this point
DE O'Brien Schofield
Category: Defensive player of the year
Notable: Tied for national lead in tackles for loss per game (1.95), tied for second nationally in overall TFLs (19.5), Bednarik Award finalist
Up against: Michigan State LB Greg Jones, Michigan DE Brandon Graham, Iowa S Tyler Sash, Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan, Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn, Ohio State S Kurt Coleman, Indiana DE Jammie Kirlew
Chances of winning: He's definitely in the discussion, but it could be tough to beat Jones, Graham or Sash
LB Chris Borland
Category: Freshman of the year
Notable: Tied for Big Ten lead in fumble recoveries (3) and tied for third in forced fumbles (4), named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 1) and co-special teams player of the week (Sept. 20), has made countless plays on special teams throughout the season
Up against: Michigan QB Tate Forcier, Iowa RB Adam Robinson
Chances of winning: Borland absolutely deserves it, though the award typically goes to offensive players
Bret Bielema
Category: Coach of the year
Notable: Badgers might win 10 games after being picked a mid- to lower-tier Big Ten team before the season, turnaround has happened largely with young players, team plays disciplined football
Up against: Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Ohio State's Jim Tressel
Chances of winning: Bielema deserves a ton of credit for getting Wisconsin back on track, but the award should and likely will go to Ferentz.
Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Adam Rittenberg
Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago.
