Big Ten Football: Midseason All-Big Ten Offense
For most Big Ten teams, the season is half over.
And as in so many things, to the victors go the spoils. In effect, as you will notice at the end of the season when the official awards are handed out, the teams with the best records will tend to have the players with the most hardware.
That said, I do not claim to have watched even 25 percent of the Big Ten games thus far. In effect, it is difficult for me to judge anything except based on what little I have seen, what I've read from the many reputable blogs out there, and the statistics that are at my disposal.
However, to tell the truth, at the end of the year, I'm pretty sure that's what the Big Ten—both the coaches and the sportswriters—does as well.
Regardless, there are some surprises on this list; some players that seemed to come out of nowhere. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of football left to be played, and therefore, plenty of opportunity for the usual suspects to rise back to the top.
Quarterback
1 of 5
First Team: OK, Denard Robinson is not superhuman. In fact, against a decent defense he looked downright ordinary at times.
However, that does not diminish the impact he has had up to this point in the season, nor does it mean he will not be a major force as the season moves forward.
At this point, he is still on a pace to eclipse 1,900 yards rushing and over 2,000 yards passing. He is still responsible for just under 70 percent of his team's offense, and, regardless of their schedule up to this point, the Wolverines are a very respectable 5-1.
Moreover, they are very much in a position to control their own destiny within the Big Ten.
It is true that now that the level of defensive competition seems to have gotten better, it is indeed unlikely that Robinson will continue to get over 9 YPC. On the other hand, as he has proven, any team that treats his presence on the field lightly, does so at their own peril.
Second Team: Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa is another player whose team lost its first game of the season this weekend.
However, it would be hard to blame Persa for the loss. The junior quarterback completed over 70 percent of his passes for a quarterback rating of 135.7. He also had one rushing touchdown.
Currently, he is second in the conference—after Robinson—in total offense with 326.3 YPG.
In all probability, if not for the quarterbacks in Ann Arbor and Columbus, there would be quite a bit more attention lavished on the signal caller from Evanston.
Running Back
2 of 5
First Team: Junior Mikel Leshoure might be carrying his coaches' job security on his back.
Going into the season, with a true freshman quarterback and a young receiving corps, it was evident that the rushing game would have to carry the Illini offense.
As last year's Illini team was second in the conference in rushing, it was probably fair to expect decent results, but I don't think too many expected Leshoure to do quite as much as he's done.
Right now, he is 11th in the country in YPG, and second in the conference. Along with that, he has three rushing touchdowns and five receptions for 43 yards.
Meanwhile, Michigan State got one more in a handful of surprises in sophomore Edwin Baker.
Last season, Baker struggled with injuries that limited his production. However, this season, sharing carries with true freshman Le'Veon Bell, Baker has busted out with over 113 YPG, to go along with six touchdowns and over seven YPC.
That is good enough for third in the conference, and remember, he is sharing carries.
Second Team: Junior John Clay is not having the season some hoped he would have. Yet, it is a testament to Clay and the Wisconsin offense that despite less-than-stellar play, Clay has averaged over 100 YPG.
Right now, he is second in the conference in total yards rushing, third in the conference in YPG, and tied for first in the conference in rushing touchdowns. It's hard to imagine what his numbers would look like if he were running on two healthy ankles.
Four hours southwest of Madison, Iowa running back Adam Robinson still seems to be the Little Engine That Could.
He was not highly regarded coming out of high school, he does not have top-line speed, and he is not 230 pounds. He just manages to keep the chains moving.
He is currently fifth in the Big Ten in YPG, as well as third in yards from scrimmage per game.
Wide Receiver
3 of 5
First team: Not surprisingly, the graduation of NU's top two receivers last season has opened the door for another ball catcher. It is also not surprising that, that ball catcher is junior Jeremy Ebert, who spent much of last year injured.
What is slightly surprising is just how successful Ebert has been. After six games, Ebert leads the conference in yards and YPG, is tied for the conference lead in receptions, is fourth in YPC, and is tied for second most receiving touchdowns.
The wideout with the most receiving touchdowns comes from—once again, not surprisingly—Ohio State. On the other hand, what is somewhat surprising is that it is Dane Sanzenbacher and not his more highly regarded cohort in the Buckeye receiving corps, DeVier Posey.
Sanzenbacher not only has seven touchdown grabs, he also has the fourth most YPG, the second most yards, and is tied for the fourth most receptions.
Second Team: Meanwhile, the best receiving corps in the conference probably resides in, of all places, Bloomington.
Currently, juniors Tandon Doss and Demarlo Belcher are second and third in the conference in YPG.
Moreover, Belcher leads the conference with seven RPG, while Doss, who missed the first game of the season due to injury, is second with six.
On top of that, Belcher is tied for the league lead in receptions with 35.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Tight End
4 of 5
First Team: Right now, there is not a more complete tight end in the Big Ten than Lance Kendricks, and, in my opinion, it's not even close. He leads the Badgers in receptions, yards, touchdowns, and YAC.
He is also eighth in the conference in receptions, third in yards, tied for eighth in touchdowns, and tied for ninth in RPG.
To put that in context, Kendricks, the tight end, has accumulated more yards than any receiver in the conference, other than Jeremy Ebert and Dane Sanzenbacher.
Moreover, Wisconsin, the second best rushing team in the conference, usually runs John Clay and James White right up the strong side, following Kendricks' lead blocks.
Second Team: Drake Dunsmore had a bit of a coming-out party in 2010's Outback Bowl. In that game, he had nine receptions for 120 yards, and one unbelievable touchdown catch during which he ran through seemingly Auburn's entire defense.
Coming into this season, he was expected to take on a bigger role in the offense, and he has not disappointed.
He is currently second in both receptions and touchdowns on the pass-happy Cats, and he is third on the team in receiving yards.
Offensive Line
5 of 5
As offensive linemen don't really accumulate any stats, the only way to judge them is by looking at the stats of the entire offense, and actually viewing the lineman's entire body of work.
I am not going to lie, and say that I've watched the majority of all possible Big Ten action this year. In fact, even saying I've watched 20 percent of it would be a stretch.
Nevertheless, the truth is the Big Ten generally picks its All-Big Ten offensive linemen based on three criteria: Said lineman's reputation, how said lineman did the previous season, and how the offense of which the lineman was a part, fared.
I'm going to choose these mid-year All-Big Ten linemen by pretty much the same criteria, though I will also consider what I've seen. I will also probably give more credit as regards how their respective offenses have fared than their previous reputation.
First Team: Riley Reiff (Iowa), Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin), Stephen Schilling (Michigan), Joel Foreman (Michigan State), Mike Brewster (Ohio State)
Second Team: Justin Boren (Ohio State), John Moffitt (Wisconsin), Dave Molk (Michigan), Bryant Browning (Ohio State), John Stipek (Michigan State).
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
