Big Ten Preview and Interview With Brad Gilliam

With the college football season rapidly approaching, Gatorsfirst.com is presenting a different take on the 2009 season every day for the entire month of August.

We call it our ''Full Month of College Football Previews.''

As part of the project, we are having fellow bloggers and other college football personalities from around the SEC and the rest of the nation give us their take on the current state of college football.

This approach will allow us to bring you a much more in-depth look at the 2009 season than we could possibly provide on our own.

The next in this series is the Big Ten conference preview, by Brad Gilliam. Brad is a current Penn State journalism student, so we turned to him for his take on Penn State and the Big Ten.

You can find the articles he writes for Bleacher Report here.

Check out the interview below.

Projected Conference Finish

1. Penn State 11-1 (7-1)
2. Ohio State 10-2 (7-1)
3. Michigan State 9-3 (6-2)
4. Iowa 9-3 (5-3)
5. Illinois 9-3 (5-3)
6. Northwestern 8-4 (5-3)
7. Wisconsin 8-4 (4-4)
8. Michigan 7-6 (2-6)
9. Minnesota 4-8 (1-7)
10. Purdue 2-10 (1-7)
11. Indiana 2-10 (0-8)

Top 5 Breakout Players

1. Brandon Minor, RB, UM
2. Dan Herron, RB, OSU
3. Mike Kafka, QB, Northwestern
4. Jewel Hampton, RB, Iowa
5. Graham Zug, WR, PSU

Player Superlatives

Player of the Year: Daryll Clark, QB, PSU

Offensive POTY: Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois

Defensive POTY: Navarro Bowman, LB, PSU

Overrated POTY: Terrelle Pryor, QB, OSU

Underrated POTY: Ricki Stanzi, QB, Iowa

Big Ten Bowl Projections

Rose Bowl: PSU v. USC

Fiesta Bowl: OSU v. Oklahoma

Capitol One: MSU v. Ole Miss

Outback Bowl: Iowa v. Georgia

Alamo Bowl: Illinois v. Kansas

Champs Sports Bowl: Northwestern v. Georgia Tech

Insight Bowl: Wisconsin v. Missouri

Motor City Bowl: Michigan v. Central Michigan

And now, on to the interview.

Gatorsfirst (G1): How did you become a fan of your team?

Brad Gilliam (BG): I became a fan of Penn State when I first visited the campus. I was in awe the entire visit. After that first visit, I knew it was where I wanted to be.

(G1): Describe the gameday atmosphere.

(BG): State College, Penn., is unbelievable during the fall.

Thousands of fans tailgate around Beaver Stadium leading up to game time. PSU has the best student section in the nation. You can’t beat those “White-Out” games.

It’s a very festive atmosphere and I always have a good time.

(G1): Give me some thoughts on your coaching staff. Are you satisfied? How is recruiting?

(BG): The coaching staff has been doing a good job, but it could be better on and off the field.

All of the arrests are making the school look bad. Recruiting hasn’t been the greatest this decade, but it looks promising for 2010.

(G1): Who is a player we might not know from your team that you are excited about this season? Why?

(BG): We know how great QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster are, but I think Graham Zug will be a major factor this year at wide receiver.

Last season he had a decent amount of playing time behind Jordan Norwood, Derrick Williams, and Deon Butler.

Now that they are gone, Zug has to step in and be Clark’s primary target. In the Ohio State game, Zug caught a big 49-yard pass early in the game.

(G1): What do you think about conference title games? Would it be a good idea to add to 12?

(BG): Conference title games are great.

It’s a nice build-up to the bowl season. Unfortunately, the Big Ten doesn’t have one.

The idea of a 12th team is fantastic because the conference will not have to wait until the holiday season for a football game. This also will give teams one last shot to sway the voters for higher bowl bids.

I’m not a fan of ending early because while the other conferences are still playing and making their cases, the Big Ten is sitting home.

(G1): How much did you like the bowl system pre-BCS? As a fan, how much do you concentrate on 'National Championships'? Has this changed in the last decade or so?

(BG): I’m young so I don’t remember the old system, haha. But I aim at a national championship.

Since I saw my favorite team, the New York Giants, defeat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, I started aiming towards championships.

The NC is always the ultimate goal. I didn’t follow college football 10 years ago, but I believe that was their goal. Today, there is more pressure to succeed and a smaller margin for error because the spotlight is brighter and fans want immediate success.

(G1): What sort of changes, if any should be made to the BCS system? Does this opinion put you in-line or out-of-line with other fans of your team and conference?

(BG): I really want a playoff system and I’m sure PSU and other Big Ten fans agree.

A team that has an 11-1 record in one of the major BCS conference should be allowed to compete for a national title. It would be great to see national powers duke it out in January.

(G1): Are the polls a good idea in the first place? Should they play a role in determining a "National Champion?"

(BG): The polls should not determine who plays in the national championship and the champion.

I really was not happy with having co-champions in the 2003 season with USC and LSU.

There should be only one champion.

If there was a playoff system, I wouldn’t mind them doing the rankings throughout the season. Since there is no playoff system, I think it’s a bad idea. Too many biased voters.

(G1): How much should non-BCS teams be included in the BCS- and other high payout- bowls? How much do you watch these teams?

(BG): If they go undefeated in the regular season, then I’m all for it.

The non-major BCS conferences are 3-1 since 2004. I would watch because teams like Boise State and Utah can go up against the powerhouse teams and win.

I love when the underdog is victorious.

You can view the original interview here: http://gatorsfirst.com/index.php/florida-gators-sports-news/college-football/big-ten-preview-2009.html