Three-point stance: One Buckeye honoree?

November, 24, 2009
Nov 24
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By Ivan Maisel
1. The Big Ten coaches selected seven players from Iowa and six from Penn State on the All-Conference team. Wisconsin had three, Michigan State and Michigan had two apiece. Among the teams with one? Northwestern, Minnesota and….the conference champion. Ohio State went 10-2, 7-1 in the Big Ten, and only defensive back Kurt Coleman made All-Conference. It just may be Jim Tressel’s best coaching job.

2. Take a look at the BCS bowl coaches of two years ago. Slumping is easy as 1-2-3: one is clinging to his job (Mark Mangino), two have fallen way out of championship contention this season (Pete Carroll, Bob Stoops) and three haven’t sniffed a championship since (Les Miles, Mark Richt, Ron Zook). The others: Tressel, Frank Beamer, Bill Stewart and June Jones, who took his winning style to from Hawaii to SMU.

3. Of all the finalists named for the season-ending awards Monday, the one that interests me the most is Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik (best all-around defender) and the Butkus (best linebacker). It’s not unusual for an award-winner to miss a game. But I think Spikes’ one-game suspension for gouging at the eyes of Georgia back Washaun Ealey is going to cost him votes.

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