As promised, here is the third and final installment of the Big Ten Bloggers' preseason picks. Homerism seemed to win the day this week. Away we go...
Coach of the Year
Hmmmm. Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Tressel went neck-and-neck (or sweater vest to polo shirt) on this one with only Wisconsin and Indiana not getting a single vote. Tim Brewster and Minnesota in general got some love under the "nowhere to go but up" category. Survey says....Pat Fitzgerald! I was shocked considering the same constituents voted the Cats to finish 9th just two weeks ago. As I mentioned the Cats received votes at nearly every ranking though, and clearly my badgering of the bloggers has influenced the vote. Amazing, a coach who is heavily favored to bring his team to the 3rd straight title game comes in second to Fitz. So much for low expectations by my peers!
Most Likely To Strike Heisman Pose
No real surprise here. Survey says.... Beanie Wells, Ohio State. The only other competitor in the voting was Wells' Ohio State teammate, LB James Laurinaitis, though most conceded the offensive bias of the Heisman would make this unlikely.
Last Year's Illini Will Be This Year's....?
Survey says....Michigan State. General consensus is Ohio State is in a league of their own with Wisconsin and Penn State a tier below and then it is a free-for-all. Sparty had lots of competition as everyone other than the three top tier teams mentioned above got some love with the exception of Indiana.
Upset Game of The Year
This was wild. Games were all over the map. No Name on My Jersey made the gutsy "letdown" pick with Troy over Ohio State. BHGP tried to stir up Happy Valley by taking Coastal Carolina over Penn State (BHGP gets the homerism award for picking Iowa in nearly every category, including Mitch King for Heisman...wise guy!). I chose Central Michigan over Purdue in the combo "its tough to be beat a team 3 times in 2 seasons" cliche along with the classic trap setup between Oregon and Notre Dame games. Wisconsin going down early was a popular choice as, Buckeye blogs led the way. Around the Oval had Akron over Wisconsin while Eleven Warriors had Fresno State upsetting the Badgers. However, nothing was stronger than the App State halo effect, survey says...Utah over Michigan.
Name You'll Know In December That No One Knows In June
This one was classic homerism. Amazingly only one player received more than four votes as nearly every blogger voted for someone from his own team. Several were able to raise above the fray and survey says....Evan Royster, RB, Penn State.
Most Likely to John McLaren (lose it in postgame rant, NOT lose his job)
Bonus points to Badger Sports Fan for providing visual aides for several of his answers, especially this one, where he made his case for Mark Dantonio. A Sparty blow-up has become almost a rite of passage thanks to John L. Smith's legacy, but once again Michigan State lost out to its big bro in Ann Arbor as bloggers are warning you to keep Michigan postgame pressers on the TIVO. Survey says....Rich Rodriguez, Michigan.
Highest Draft Pick In 2009
Probably a poor question on my part based on the similarity in Heisman voting, but I was curious to see if Heisman translated to pro prospects in this year's campaign. The voting was much closer, but again it was a two dog race between Laurinaitis and Wells. Survey says....Beanie Wells, Ohio State.
Must See Game of The Year That Is Not Michigan-Ohio State
OK, first problem, terrible category. I should've included "or Ohio State - USC" as survey says....duh, Ohio State - USC on September 13. However, Penn State-Wisconsin got quite a few votes and came in 2nd and the Illini got some love, mostly from bloggers whose teams are seeking revenge (most of them!).
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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5 comments:
The Utah over Michigan pick is really weak because, in all honesty, it isn't much of an upset at all.
Central Michigan over Purdue is a good pick. They scare the bejesus out of me and I don't even know what a bejesus is.
The only thing that encourages me is that the four times in our history we have played them (all since 1999) we have scored 58, 48, 45, and 51 points. In that time we gave up 16, 0, 22. and 48 points, so we ahve at least played SOME defense while they haven't.
I don't get why Michigan-Ohio State is automatically considered the biggest game of the year. Michigan isn't going to be all that good this year. This is one thing the Big Ten does a poor job with compared to other conferences. Sure, it's a great rivalry and a big game, but there are lots of other intriguing games.
Like Bacher's going to win the Heisman, c'mon, Ill Mitch in 08 baby.
The beauty of the Badgers noting Dantonio's "boiling under the surface" is the cold hard fact of how much beating the Yellow Bellies means to this man, instead of slap happy and idiotic Cowboy Clown, John L Smith.
Dantonio is firing off a warning shot -- but of course his team needs to back it up. But, its a start. And, yes, he may blow up this year if they don't get it done in AA.
But, I'll take the Doctor over Richie Rich any day.
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