Fourth Annual Brainsplotch/Treasures from the Spartan Attic Big Ten Football Awards

It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for: the 4th Annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards: hereafter renamed the Brainsplotch/TFTSA Big Ten Football Awards (in honor of my new Michigan State Spartans sports-related blog, Treasures from the Spartan Attic). So, without any further preamble, the winners are...

Most Valuable Player: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin. A case could easily be made for Wilson's backfield teammate, Montee Ball, but Wilson added a dimension to the Badger's offense that made a huge difference for them. His dual threat capabilities gave Wisconsin the most dynamic offense in the conference, if not the nation--and it's hard to imagine the Badgers having the year they had without Wilson at quarterback.  Beyond his athletic abilities, Wilson has proven to be a great leader and teammate. Pretty darned good for a player who is essentially a one-year "free agent signee".

Best quarterback: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin. For all the reasons listed above, and his stat line is incredibly impressive, with an astonishing 28 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions, to go along with 2692 yards through the air.

Honorable mentions: Kirk Cousins had an outstanding senior year for Michigan State, leading them to the Legends Division title. Denard Robinson improved throughout the season at Michigan and Brady Hoke eventually settled on an offensive scheme that utililized his abilities. Dan Persa of Northwestern once again demonstrated that he is one of the toughest and grittiest (not to mention elusive) quarterback in the conference.
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Best running back: Montee Ball, Wisconsin. A no-brainer if there ever was one, Montee "Bowling" Ball easily led the Big Ten in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards per game, and averaged an astonishing 6.5 yards per carry. His 29 rushing TDs were almost double the number (16) his closest competitor (Denard Robinson) had this season.

Honorable mentions: Marcus Coker (Iowa) had a great sophomore season, Rex Burkhead (Nebraska), Silas Redd (Penn State).

Best wide receiver: Marvin McNutt, Iowa. McNutt, in his senior year, led the Big Ten in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. As a Michigan State fan who has watched this guy victimize the Spartans for three years, I won't miss him--but I wish him well at the next level.

Honorable mentions: B.J. Cunningham (Michigan State), A.J. Jenkins (Illinois), Jeremy Ebert (Northwestern). I was so close to giving this to Cunningham, but don't want to be accused of being a homer. Jenkins had a good year for the Illini, and I've always been a fan of Ebert's.

Best kicker: Brett Maher, Nebraska. Maher had a great season for the Huskers. He was perfect in PATs (42-42) and led the Big Ten in field goal percentage, making 19 of the 22 he attempted. By the way, those 22 attempts and 19 conversions were tops in the conference.

Honorable mention: Mitch Ewald (Indiana). 13 of 16 of field goal attempts and perfect on PATs (30 for 30).

Best defensive lineman: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois. I didn't really see him play this year, but I sure wish I had because this guy sounds like a beast, and arguably has the most badass name in college football. Mercillus led the conference in three different defensive categories: sacks, tackles for loss, and forced turnovers. Mercillus anchored a solid Illini defense that finished third in total defense in the Big Ten. His 13 solo sacks were easily the best in the Big Ten, far outpacing the runner-up John Simon (Ohio State) who had 7 solo tackles. Mercillus also led the conference in total sacks (solo and assisted) with 13, five better than Denicos Allen (Michigan State) who had 8 (6 solo, 2 assisted). His 9 forced fumbles outdistanced his closest competitors, Chris Borland (Wisconsin) and Sean Prater (Iowa), each of whom had 4.

Honorable mentions: Jerel Worthy (Michigan State), John Simon (Ohio State), Devon Still (Penn State)

Best linebacker: Chris Borland, Wisconsin. Borland is a tough, gritty guy who is the lynchpin of the Badgers' defense. He finished fourth in the conference in tackles, and third in tackles for loss.

Honorable mention: Lavonte David (Nebraska)

Best defensive back: Trenton Robinson, Michigan State. Robinson, a senior, is a great leader on Michigan State's conference leading defense. He tied with four other players (including teammate Isaiah Lewis) for the conference lead in interceptions.

Honorable mentions: Isaiah Lewis (Michigan State), Johnny Adams (Michigan State), Ricardo Allen (Purdue)

Best punter: Brett Maher, Nebraska. Maher led the Big Ten in punting average at 45.0. His 61-yard punt late against Penn State helped the Huskers cling to a 17-14 lead and get out of Happy Valley with a victory.

Honorable mention: Cody Webster (Purdue).

Coach of the year: Brady Hoke, Michigan. Hoke built a defense at Michigan (something Rich Rodriguez was never able to do) and performed an impressive turnaround in leading the Wolverines to a 10-2 record.

Honorable mentions: Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern). Dantonio proved that 2010 was no fluke by leading the Spartans to the Legends Division championship and a 10-2 regular season record. Fitzgerald continues to get the most out of the limited talent he has at Northwestern.

It's time to move on...and more random college football thoughts

It’s time to get over not going to the Rose Bowl, and it’s time to get over not going to a BCS bowl.  Let's all agree that the BCS is a greed-fueled travesty and move on.  Face it, Spartan fans, this program is still young and getting back on its feet after the Death Valley years of Bobby Williams and John L. Smith.  Until MSU develops a proven track record of winning seasons—and winning bowl games—the Spartans will continue to be passed over for BCS bowl games by lesser teams with a fancier pedigree.  The first step towards this ultimate goal is winning the Outback Bowl on January 2, 2012.

If the Spartans beat Georgia, they still have a shot to be the highest ranked Big Ten team when the dust settles on the 2011 college football season.  This HAS to be MSU’s current goal.  They need to take out all of their anger and frustration on the Georgia Bulldogs.


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The award for Worst Bowl Matchup goes to UCLA (6-7) vs. Illinois (6-6) in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, which coincidentally should win the award for worst bowl game name.  Both teams have fired their respective coaches and enter the game under dubious circumstances.  UCLA actually had to receive a special waiver from the NCAA to even play in the game, since the Bruins have a losing record.  Illinois won its first six games of the season before finishing the season with a six game losing streak.  What are they playing for?  The opportunity to finish the season without a losing record.  Anyone looking for proof that there are too many bowl games need look no further than this game.

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Count me as one who doesn't think Alabama deserves to be in the national championship game.  They had their chance at home against LSU and lost.  Why exactly do they deserve yet another chance?  And is this fair to LSU, who now have to beat Alabama for a second time?  I'd rather have seen Oklahoma State get a shot at LSU.  At least the Cowboys have a conference title.

Heartbreak in Indianapolis

I'm not taking last night's Big Ten championship loss well.  I slept perhaps all of one hour last night tossing and turning.   There are tough losses  (Iowa 2009 comes to mind) and there are gut-wrenching, tear-your-heart-out-of-your-chest, depressing killers like last night's 42-39 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers.

I suppose the higher the stakes, the more difficult it is to accept these defeats, and it's unfamiliar territory for me and probably plenty of other Spartan football fans.  But what make this loss particularly hard to handle is the collateral damage: No Big Ten title, no Rose Bowl, and probably no BCS bowl game.  And to add further insult to injury, the second Big Ten BCS slot will probably go to our hated rivals in Ann Arbor.  Talk about kicking a dog when it's down.

But for as bad as I feel, I can't imagine how rough it must be for the MSU players and coaching staff--the ones who actually make up the team and are fully emotionally and physically bound to the program.  I truly feel for them and hope that they are able to rebound and make a strong showing in whatever bowl game they end up in.

I have to take a step back and appreciate how far this program has come in five short years.  In three of Mark Dantonio's five years as head coach, the Spartans have played for the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl on the final day of the season.  Not too shabby.

Well, life goes on--as the old cliche goes.