Bleacher Report - Articles by Austin Thomas

Troy Davis: A Cyclone Legend

Austin Thomas — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:48:55 -0400

The year was 1996. The Florida Gators were celebrating a national championship season and their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Danny Wuerffel.

Meanwhile, back in Ames, there, too, was a celebration.

Junior running back Troy Davis had just finished the most prolific Cyclone football career in the history of the program.

During Davis’ junior season, he set new school records in almost every category, including most rushing yards in a career, most rushing yards in a single season, and most rushing touchdowns in a career, easily making him one of the most decorated and celebrated Cyclone football players of all time.

Davis also left his mark in the NCAA record books too. Davis achieved a feat his junior season that legendary running backs such as Herschel Walker, Archie Griffin, and even Barry Sanders did not—rushing for 2,000 yards or more in consecutive seasons.

Before Davis, rushing for 2,000 yards in one season seemed unlikely, much less in consecutive seasons.

It is clear Davis left his mark on both Iowa State football history, as well as NCAA football history. Davis, however, did more for Iowa State than just shake up the record books a little.

During Davis’ sophomore year, he was invited out to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation—not as a spectator, but as a Heisman finalist. Davis ended fifth in the Heisman voting that year as Eddie George of Ohio State took home the prize.

However, 1996 was a different year. Davis had a year of experience in head football coach Dan McCarney’s system that had given Davis the success in the previous year. He also had one thing that very few returning college football players had; Heisman continuity.

Davis had an immediate in with the Heisman committee because he had been to New York before, showing his high caliber performance ability.

The 1996 season went even better than Davis’ sophomore season and he was invited to New York once again—this time, he thought the trophy was his.

Davis’ mother had planned out the exact spot to place the trophy in their home in Miami, and Davis thought that after coming to New York as a sophomore rushing for over 2,000 yards and then doing it again as a junior, he was a shoe-in.

Davis was wrong as Wuerffel stole the trophy by just under 200 votes. Davis won three of the Heisman voting regions, however Wuerffel won the South, and he won big.

Davis traveled back to Ames without the Heisman Trophy, however, what that did for Iowa State football and Iowa State sports in general is monumental.

Davis’ runner up Heisman Trophy finish put Iowa State on the Division I football map. After Davis’ season, the Cyclones football program started rising with the culmination of the Insight.com Bowl victory in 2000.

Troy Davis will be forever remembered in Cyclone country as one of the most decorated football players in school history, and fans and coaches will never forget what Davis started at Iowa State — a tradition.

Davis went on to play three seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, and then eight seasons in the Canadian Football League. He helped lead Edmonton to the 2005 Grey Cup Championship.

Note: This article will also appear in the Iowa State Daily as part of the 12 Most Memorable Moments in Cyclone Sports History.

Is Gene Chizik Right For Auburn?

Austin Thomas — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:44:46 -0500

After a very unsuccessful season at Iowa State, Gene Chizik has taken over the reigns as the Head Coach at Auburn University. Chizik led the Cyclones to a measly 2-10 record losing their last ten games after starting 2-0. His overall record at ISU is a whole 5-19. This then poses the question, is Chizik the right guy for Auburn?

Chizik knows the Auburn staff quite well as he was the defensive coordinator under Tommy Tuberville before leaving for Texas and then eventually Iowa State.

Chizik had just begun here at Iowa State before the sudden bolt to Auburn. Even though the Cyclones looked mediocre at best this season, they showed signs of promise for Cyclone fans. However they also showed signs of the Cyclones of old on many occasions.

Can he take the talent that Auburn already has and succeed in the SEC?

To answer both of those questions, yes. Chizik has now seen all the top teams from both the SEC and the Big XII in action, this can prove very useful in both preparation for the game and coaching the players.

Chizik has a very similar offensive system to that of Penn State, not quite the Spread HD but a lot of mixing around formations. On several occasions during games, the Cyclone offense would come out on one play in the Power I and the next be in the Shotgun. This system showed promise against teams with weak secondaries.

Chizik is also a very defensive minded coach, after all he was a defensive coordinator for both Texas and Auburn. This will prove very useful in the rugged SEC.

Now, Chizik will not have immediate success due to the fragile state the Auburn offense is in at the moment, however let the guy get a few recruiting classes under his belt and Auburn will be the team it should have been this year. All in all Auburn made a good decision choosing Gene Chizik as Tommy Tuberville's heir.

A Match up Made in Fiesta Bowl Heaven?

Austin Thomas — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:01:43 -0500

If you haven’t heard, this year’s Fiesta Bowl pits 10th-ranked Ohio State against third-ranked Texas. As Texas has shown, they are almost unstoppable; Ohio State has shown that once again they have a brick wall defense. What happens when an unstoppable force hits an immovable object? One Fiesta Bowl made in heaven.

The Texas Longhorns were an afterthought to Oklahoma and Texas Tech in the mighty Big XII South in the preseason however thanks to the Heisman-like play of Colt McCoy the Longhorns surprised the whole college football world.

Coming off of an 11-1 record and a win over one of the National Title contenders, the Texas Longhorns have every right to be angry. Texas should have had a shot at the Big XII Championship but because of the last second heroics of one Michael Crabtree and a lack of assistance from the computers, they ended up in the Fiesta Bowl for only the second time in school history, their first attempt ended in a thumping by Penn State 38-15.

Ohio State, on the other hand, had its fair share of ups and downs this season. After shutting out Youngstown State and losing their star tailback Beanie Wells the Buckeyes struggled to beat Ohio and then went on to lose to USC badly.

Then quarterback controversy began after Pryor performed much better than Todd Boeckman in the USC game; Pryor then took the team upon himself leading Ohio State to only one more loss against Big Ten rival Penn State in a thriller, finishing the season at 10-2. Ohio State, however, has done very well in the Fiesta Bowl, having an overall record of 4-1, their one loss coming to Penn State. The Buckeyes are 3-0 in the Fiesta Bowl under Jim Tressel which bodes well for Ohio State.

The Fiesta Bowl now marks the third time in four years that these two storied programs have taken the field against each other. The last game in 2006 ended in a 24-7 rout of Texas in Austin.

What makes this match up so special is the defense of Ohio State against the insanely explosive offense of the Texas Longhorns. Colt McCoy has been one of the most outstanding players this year, as he will be attending the Heisman Trophy presentation on Saturday; however, one thing he has not faced this season is a veteran defense that has a tremendous front seven and one of the best corners in the game Malcolm Jenkins.

However the same thing could be said about the Ohio State defense. They have not faced a quarterback with the versatility and toughness that Colt McCoy has, nor have they faced a core of talented receivers like the core at Texas.

You could argue that almost all bowl match ups are special, however this one is different. When you look at these two teams, what you have are teams that both have something to prove. Texas wants to go out and show that they deserve to be in the BCS National Championship Game. On the other side, Ohio State has gotten embarrassed in the past three years on the big stage, and they have taken a lot of heat for that. Ohio State wants to prove that they can play when the stage is bigger and when the lights are brighter. When you have two teams that are out to prove everyone wrong well something has got to give, and it will on January 5^th, 2009.

The Heisman Trophy: Who Truly Deserves It?

Austin Thomas — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:54:29 -0500

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the most esteemed individual award, not only in college football but arguably in all of sports. This award is given out at the end of the year to the most outstanding college football player from that season. This year, who was the most outstanding college football player?

The list has been trimmed and cut down throughout the season, players have hyped themselves onto the shortlist only to fall out weeks later, but we still have not found the most outstanding player this year. As the countdown to the Heisman voting wanes and the hype surrounding the players involved reaches its climax, it’s time to see who deserves the Heisman, not who will win it but who truly deserves it.

Sam Bradford

The red-shirt sophomore has far exceeded expectations this year throwing for 4,080 yards, 46 touchdowns. He is leading the No.2 Oklahoma Sooners to possibly their third straight Big XII Championship, along with the Sooner offense, which is 10th all time in total points scored this year.

His talents aren’t just throwing the ball, Bradford also runs a 4.6 forty yard dash, accuracy and speed combine to make Bradford one of the most lethal quarterbacks in the game. Another thing Bradford has is insane accuracy; he has completed 68.2 percent of passes, going 268/393. That is fantastic.

The cherry on top of the Bradford Sundae is his combined passer rating of 134.8; this is the most outstanding statistic he has, that throughout 12 games he has maintained that high of a passer rating. Along with his season passer rating of 134.8, Bradford has not had a passer rating below 100.4 this season, far surpassing the other two Big XII South quarterbacks.

Colt McCoy

After a sophomore slump that ended in McCoy being sacked 24 times, the junior matured into the passer the Longhorns thought he would be. McCoy led the Texas Longhorns to a share of the Big XII South Championship and an outside shot at the National Championship.

What Colt McCoy does for his team is amazing; not only is he a phenomenal quarterback, but he also leads the Texas Longhorns in rushing with 576 yards. Do not be fooled by his rushing statistics though, McCoy also has a combined passer rating of 125.6, throwing for 3,445 yards and 32 touchdowns.

The thing that truly sets McCoy apart is the fact that he leads his team in rushing as a quarterback. This is phenomenal considering the talent Texas has at the running back position. Much like the other two quarterbacks Colt McCoy has amazing accuracy but he has the highest of the three Big XII candidates completing over 77 percent of his passes, absolutely amazing.

Graham Harrell

Coming into the season, everyone knew Graham Harrell was going to put up video game numbers. Passing for 4,747 yards with 41 touchdown passes and completing 71 percent of his passes. What Harrell throws into the mix is his deep and short pass accuracy, granted he has talented receivers around him, but Harrell has completed 406/568.

This is an insane amount of attempts but what is even better is Harrell is completing 71.5 percent of these passes, which is outstanding. Graham Harrell has been nothing short of outstanding this year, what sets him apart from the other candidates is the accuracy after attempting 568 passes, it is out of this world.

Dez Bryant

Finally stepping outside the quarterback realm, there is Dez Bryant who has been nothing short of outstanding this season. His statistics are better to even those of Michael Crabtree, catching 74 passes for a total of 1,313 yards and 18 touchdowns (Crabtree has 93 catches with 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns).

What is amazing about Dez Bryant is his outstanding average, which is 17.7 as a sophomore. Dez Bryant is the most outstanding receiver in college football by far; he is second nationally in receiving yards and touchdowns. This year he has shown why he deserves, more than any receiver, to be in the Heisman race.

Now that the candidates have been set it is time to choose the winner. Yes, all of them hail from the Big XII South. These four, however, based on their on-field performances and their statistics they have shown that they deserve this consideration.

Although Tim Tebow is a fierce competitor and a very talented player, these players have been more outstanding than he. When comparing the statistics of Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell, Sam Bradford has the edge with an insane passer rating and he fully eclipsed Harrell when they played. Therefore, edge: Sam Bradford.

Moving onto Colt McCoy and Dez Bryant, Colt McCoy just dominates Dez Bryant’s statistics because McCoy has the rushing ability outside his throwing ability. Therefore, edge: McCoy.

This is the Heisman race that everyone has been hoping for, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. This is a very close match; both quarterbacks lead their teams and are very, very talented however the edge goes to Bradford because of his 51 total touchdowns. He has shown dominance all season.

Colt McCoy has also shown dominance but not the way Sam Bradford has, and for that he deserves the Heisman Trophy.

The College Football Stock Market, Week 5: Who You Should Buy and Sell

Austin Thomas — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:48:38 -0400

The College Football Stock Market took a hit this weekend as nine ranked teams, some National Title hopefuls, lost, six of them coming to teams that weren't ranked. You might call it the "Black Saturday of College Football." Through all of this you must be wondering who's stock you should buy and who's you should sell well consider me the "College Football Stock Broker", I'll help you sort through it.

Buy

Ball State

Ball State is probably the most underrated team in college football right now. They have tremendous talent on offense, their defense is getting a lot better, but when you can put up over 40 points a game your defense doesn't have to be that stellar.

The great thing about this team is they are consistent, not flip-flopping from game to game, they come to play every game and that has showed as they are going into this weekend undefeated. Another thing is, last week they lost their star receiver, Dante Love, and instead of showing the holes in the offense without him, they came out this weekend and throttled Kent State. With Nate Davis, the quarterback, the helm Ball State can make a lot of noise if this year continues to play out like it has been. You should definitely buy their stock.

The Big XII

Which is stronger, Big XII or SEC? Big XII by far.

The depth in this conference is simply astounding, six of the twelve teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, with Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas in the top five. What really separates this conference from the others is their quarterbacks, but that can be misleading. Daniel, Bradford and Reesing have been the big names so far this season but every team has a solid quarterback that leads the team.

Perhaps the most underrated quarterback of the bunch is Zac Robinson from Oklahoma State who has some of the best skill position talent around him. Another quarterback often overlooked is Iowa State's Austen Arnaud who is a great quarterback, and a very accurate passer.

Overall, the quarterback play in this league is what has them on top and, if they can keep performing like they have been, the Big XII will have at least two quarterbacks in New York at the end of the season. Now is a great time to buy the Big XII stock.

Ole Miss

This weekend they broke a streak of nine, that's right nine, straight SEC losses by beating Florida, in the Swamp.

Houston Nutt has obviously gotten things going in the right direction for the Rebels, especially with the "Wild Rebel" formation with wide receiver Dexter McCluster lining up at quarterback, like Nutt did with McFadden at Arkansas.

They also have a great quarterback in Jevan Snead. If he can cut down his interception to touchdown ratio, right now its at 8-8, this team can create some chaos in the SEC. However the best thing about this team is that over 50 percent of the team is underclassmen, 41 freshman and 25 sophomores compared to 30 juniors and only 19 seniors, this makes the future look very bright in Oxford.

They may not completely change things for you this year, but keep them in your back pocket, they may be a sleeper.

Sell

The Poll System

The poll system that we have today is flawed. It creates too many opportunities for subjectivity among the poll voters. Look at the recent poll and you can see a trend of subjectivity in favor of some teams and the opposite for others.

Take for instance USC, who lost to Oregon State on Thursday night. The game wasn't as close as the score proved. Oregon State was in control of that game from start to finish, yet they only drop eight spots putting them at No. 9.

Seeing how far other teams such as Florida and Georgia dropped it is apparent that USC should have fell farther. On the other end Ohio State got jumped by Auburn, after Auburn beat Tennessee by two whole points! How does this make sense?

It is obvious that poll voters are being subjective against Ohio State. While it does make sense why they wouldn't move Ohio State up, they still can't have them get jumped by an Auburn team that beat a very weak Tennessee team by two points.

These are simply a few examples of how the polls have shown subjectivity in the past few years, it is apparent that the AP Poll has become a beauty contest so you should sell them and fast.

USC

This is not the greatest team ever. USC looked mediocre at best on Thursday night against a struggling Oregon State team. Although they didn't play well it is a fact that USC never matches up well with the Beavers and they exploited those mismatches on Thursday night.

USC will most likely run the table, raising their stock, but due to the depth and toughness of both the SEC and of the Big XII, USC will have to hope that everyone and their cousin shows up to play those top tier teams in both of those conferences or them to have a shot at getting back into the title game.

The lack of strength in the Pac-10 is the reason you should sell them, not because they are bad, but because everyone around them is mediocre.

Knowshon Moreno for Heisman:

Up until Saturday night Knowshon was the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and up until Saturday, Georgia had cruised passed easy opponents. Then he hit the Alabama defense. The Tide's defense was like a black hole, sucking up whatever came their way. This wasn't good for Moreno's Heisman candidacy.

A Heisman candidate is supposed to lead the team through the games and win the big games, or show that he did everything in his power to help them win the big games, and Knowshon didn't do that Saturday night against the Crimson Tide.

He ran nine times for a measly 34 yards and one touchdown, compared to his over 100 yard average coming into the game. Knowshon may still be able to win the Heisman, but to do so he must show he can show up to play when his team doesn't, for that you should sell his stock.

Five Teams with the Highest Stock After Week 5:

1. Alabama

2. Penn State

3. Oklahoma

4. BYU

5. Missouri

Five Teams with the Lowest Stock After Week 5:

1. Georgia

2. Florida

3. USC

4. Wisconsin

5. Ohio State

Thanks for reading this week's stock report hope you tune in next week, and check out last week's report.

The College Football Stock Market, Week Four: Who I'm Buying and Selling

Austin Thomas — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:18:35 -0400

Well, it's almost time for the conference schedules to start, so I thought I'd take some time and tell you whose stock I'm buying and selling thus far in the season. Without further ado, I give you a look at the College Football Stock Market according to me.

Stock I'm Buying

UNLV

These guys are really playing well right now. Two weeks ago they went into Arizona State and upset the Sun Devils in a fantastic game. Many say that was ASU looking ahead to Georgia, but UNLV is a good team. This week they had a very underrated Iowa State team at home and put up 400 and some yards on their defense in three quarters.

This team has a great quarterback in Omar Clayton, and the skill positions around him are loaded with talent. The rest of the Mountain West needs to watch out for these Runnin' Rebels.

Georgia

"Their schedule is too tough. They can't run the table." That is all I heard at the beginning of the season—and right now, they look better than USC.

Tell me what you want, but right now Georgia can beat anyone. The way the rest of the SEC is playing, they can easily beat any SEC opponent, although Florida could be the only one that will give them trouble. Last weekend they went across the Mississippi for the first time in about 60 years and proved that they can travel and win. These Dogs are for real!

Miami

The 'Canes showed some promise against Florida and this weekend lit up supposed Big 12 dark horse Texas A&M, 41-23. Against Florida their defense looked outstanding, holding Tebow & Co. to only nine points through three quarters. This week it was their offense, led by quarterback Robert Marve and running back Graig Cooper, that looked amazing.

Miami has recruited very well the past two seasons, and it has shown, much like at Alabama. Miami may not stand out in the ACC this year, but they will be back to their old selves in no time.

The Mountain West Conference

Own up to it, Pac-10: You guys are getting dominated by these guys. The MWC is 5-0 against Pac-10 opponents in 2008. Granted, the Pac-10 isn't very good this year, but the MWC has at least two, maybe three "BCS buster" contenders.

Almost the whole conference is playing well, barring traditional bottom dwellers Wyoming and New Mexico, and for the first time in its 10-year history the MWC has three teams ranked in the Top 25. How many do the Pac-10 and ACC have? This conference is by far the best non-BCS conference out there, top to bottom.

Stock I'm Selling

West Virginia

Rich Rodriguez should have never left good old Morgantown. The separation has caused both WVU and Michigan to start terribly, but West Virginia was actually supposed to be good.

Three weeks ago West Virginia got absolutely dominated by East Carolina, and then this week they got run all over by Rodney Stewart. Pat White and Co. have shown very little offensive dominance except against Villanova, but they may still win the not so good Big East. For now, though, I'm selling out on them.

South Florida

What is this, hate on the Big East day? Only when their teams aren't performing to their capabilities. This past weekend South Florida beat Florida International 17-9, and they should have lost the game. Two weeks ago, however, South Florida looked great against Kansas.

Flip-flopping like this isn't really showing me that they are good enough to win the Big East. For now I gotta sell the Bulls out.

Penn State

Being the Big Ten fan I am, I do like to see Penn State performing well, but I just can't give them that much credit for defeating "bush league" opponents. Their offense does look good, but their opponents' combined record is 5-10. Those opponents were Coastal Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, and Oregon State.

Right now I just don't see all the hype. However, that will most likely change if they can beat Illinois handily this weekend. I'm not hating on the Kitties here. I am just stating that, while they have looked impressive, it has been against crapshoot opponents, and for that I have to sell their stock.

The Pac-10

Let's face it: This is the worst conference among the BCS six. USC is the only diamond among the coal here, and it's been that way for quite some time. Oregon loses to Boise State, UCLA gets smacked by BYU, and Cal gets stomped by Maryland, a middle of the road ACC team.

More than 50 percent of the conference is at or below .500, and yes, that is worse than the ACC. Don't worry, I checked. Except for USC, there is no Pac-10 team ranked in the AP poll this week, whereas the Mountain West has three.

The Pac 10, as stated earlier, is also winless against the MWC. All these things combined tell me that I gotta sell their stock.

Thanks for reading the abundance of absolute ranting. This is the first of a weekly segment. I know I started it in Week Four, but oh well—better late then never.

Terrelle Pryor: The New Face of the Buckeyes

Austin Thomas — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:30:25 -0400

Saturday night was Todd Boeckman's night to show the world that he deserves respect from everyone outside the Ohio State Buckeyes' fan base, and that he can finally step up and win the big game.

And, once again, he flopped under the lights.

When Chris "Beanie" Wells was ruled out of the game against USC on Saturday, everyone immediately knew that the Buckeyes' chances of competing with USC would come down to the play of Boeckman, and they were right.

The quarterback is the center of the offense, he leads the team on the field and he also leads the team emotionally, and Boeckman showed on Saturday that he is no emotional leader; however, one player stepped up to try and be that leader.

Enter Terrelle Pryor.

The highly touted prospect showed a little of his talents against Youngstown State, but this game was his chance to show the world what he can do against a legitimate defense, and that's what he did with the opportunities he was given. However, his talents also go beyond what he displayed on the field; during the game, he was continually attempting to pump up his teammates, trying to be that emotional leader that they were missing on the field.

On the other hand, Boeckman didn't even rally his offense on the sidelines; in fact, they sat in different spots on the bench. On the other sideline, Mark Sanchez repeatedly talked to his team—when he was on, the offense was on, and that is what an emotional leader does. That just wasn't the case with Boeckman and the Buckeye offense.

This then sparks the question: How can someone emotionally lead a team without talking or even being around them? They can't.

Pryor has proven that he is ready to lead this offense and this team. Although Boeckman is a senior, he crumpled under the pressure, looking more like a freshman than Pryor did.

If the Buckeyes are to once again try and prove that they can win on the big stage, they cannot do it with Boeckman; they must learn to rely on their quarterbacks and not their running backs, and they must use Pryor, because he is the emotional leader that this team needs.

Williams has a career day but Illini go down fighting, 52-42

Austin Thomas — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:16:31 -0400

Well this game was all that it was hyped up to be: an all out offensive battle, 1,081 total yards between both teams along with the 94 combined points, the stars were definitely shining brightly tonight.

Juice Williams completed 26/42 passes with five touchdowns, four of those coming in the second half, and 451 yards through the air. Meanwhile on the other side Heisman candidate Chase Daniel had 323 yards completing 26/43 passes three of those going for touchdowns.

Early on it looked as if the Tiger defense was too much for Juice to handle however after Williams connected with Chris Duvalt for a 26 yard touchdown pass, and then again with Will Judson for a 65 yard touchdown it seemed as if the Illini just had a chance.

However the Illini’s hopes were dashed after Sean Weatherspoon ripped the ball from Illinois running back Daniel Dufrene’s hands and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Although this goes down as a loss for the Illini, head coach Ron Zook should be very proud of the Illini because they never gave up, literally playing to the whistle. However their defense looked very fatigued and exhausted after only the first half, if Ron Zook is looking to challenge for Big Ten supremacy he will need to fix that, fast.

As for the Tigers, this win skyrockets their confidence and proved to America that last year wasn’t a fluke, they are here to stay. They also showed tonight that they deserved the schools highest preseason rating in history.

Bad news for the Tigers though, after an outstanding 99 yard kick-return that sparked them to score 21 unanswered points, Jeremy Maclin was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury, he later returned on crutches, x-rays were negative.

Tonight proved that last year’s biggest underdog stories weren’t just one year wonders, they will be here for many seasons to come. Hopefully this game will become another of the many storied rivalries in college football.

Will the Third Time Be the Charm for Ohio State?

Austin Thomas — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:27:16 -0400

There is excitement in the air in Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes get ready for the season opener against Youngstown State, but fans are already looking down the road towards Miami. Ohio State returns 19—that’s right, 19—starters from last year’s title game appearance, and they are picked by many to get to the title game again this year.

The one thing that separates Ohio State from the other schools is the experience they have on both sides of the ball, mainly on offense, with Heisman candidate Chris “Beanie” Wells leading the 10 starters back on offense.

All of these starters returning is a very good thing for sixth-year senior Todd Boeckman, who is the starting quarterback this year. However, Boeckman’s job may be in some trouble, as freshman phenomenon Terrelle Pryor has done amazing things at summer practice. When asked if he would feel comfortable putting Pryor in a game, Jim Tressel responded:"Oh absolutely."

With the offense taken care of, there aren’t many questions on defense either. Butkus Award winner James Laurinaitis returns with a defense that is every bit as good as last year’s stellar performers on that side of the ball. Ohio State is very well taken care of on this side of the ball.

Ohio State’s true test will be their schedule. The past two years, everyone has blamed their two straight national championship losses on their schedule, but this year is different with all three of their toughest games coming on the road: at USC, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Overall, Ohio State will most likely go undefeated this year, and with super freshman Terrelle Pryor now in the mix for quarterback, they can end their drought in the National Championship category.

Can Terrelle Pryor and Rich Rodriguez Spark a Big Ten Transformation?

Austin Thomas — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:04:24 -0400

When you look at the offenses of the Big Ten, what do you see? Nothing like the spread offense of West Virginia or the option based Flexbone that Navy runs—it’s all Power I formations with two tight ends.

This may be why the public thinks the Big Ten is in a slump. As we have seen in recent years, National Championship contenders need some sort of dual-threat quarterback with an option attack that can spread out the defense. The Big Ten seemed to be lacking in this category in past years.

However, it may have just gotten the life shocked back into it by Terrelle Pryor and Rich Rodriguez.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past four months, then you wouldn’t know who Terrelle Pryor is, but he may be the perfect thing to cure Ohio State’s two-year National Championship drought. With returning quarterback Todd Boeckman and Heisman hopeful Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes may very well have one of the most potent offenses in the country.

Throw dual-threat prospect Pryor into the mix along with what looks to be an even better defense than last year, and all this National Championship recipe needs is a win on Sep. 13 at USC for the Buckeyes to be smelling redemption come January.

Ohio State’s lack of ability to spread the field could be causing this title drought. However, they now have the talent required to change that. Head coach Jim Tressel has said that he will be using Pryor in formations like Florida did with Tim Tebow in 2006. This could prove very useful not only in catching the defense off guard, but also in lightening the load that Beanie will most definitely be carrying.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Michigan and Rich Rodriguez. After losing many starters from last year, it’s safe to say the Wolverines will not be contending for a National Championship, especially after undergoing a coaching change that will change the face of not only Michigan football, but hopefully Big Ten football as well.

For those of you that watched Rodriguez coach West Virginia, you know that he runs a spread offense in which you need an option threat quarterback. After not getting Pryor, Rodriguez has a seemingly unknown quarterback in Georgia Tech transfer Steven Threet.

Rodriguez is in the rebuilding stage. However, this new spread offense could begin a transformation in the Big Ten. If Tressel’s formations with Pryor work, we could be seeing a variation of the spread at Ohio State, and Rodriguez is most definitely bringing his spread offense.

Could this mark a new era in the Big Ten—one where it is once again the perennial powerhouse conference that it was?

For us college football fans, we’ll just have to wait and hope that the Big Ten can once again restore its place in the college football world.