The Outland Trophy awards the nation’s top interior lineman, and the award has been garnered by a Big Ten player 3 of the last five years–Iowa’s Robert Gallery won in 2003, while Minnesota’s Greg Eslinger and Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas claimed the honored in 2005 and 2006. They might as well call it the Big Ten interior lineman award Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that every year the Big 10 has a big name in the finals or even a winner of the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, which awards the National Defensive player of the year award. James Laurinaitis, who won the award in 2006 and was a finalist in 2007, returns for another year of contention and should be a shoo-in for another finals. Other than the Ohio State standout, nine other Big 10 players were announced as being considered for the trophy. They are: Illinois’ Vontae Davis, Indiana’s Greg Middleton, Iowa’s Mitch King, Michigan’s Terrance Taylor, Northwestern’s John Gill, Ohio State’s Marcus Freeman and Malcolm Jenkins, Penn State’s Maurice Evans, and Wisconsin’s Matt Shaughnessy. Read the rest of this entry »

In an article by ESPN that was done a few days ago, columnist Mark Schlabach likes the Big 10 to have as many as eight teams in bowl games for the upcoming college football season, and even has Ohio State back in the national championship against Georgia. While the Big 10 typically boasts a strong number of teams every year in the postseason, I personally was surprised to see that many teams named, much less that the conference would be the leader of the pack–well, at least the co-leader (he thinks the SEC will have 8 teams as well). Read the rest of this entry »

Penn State had more of a renaissance than many teams (outside of Illinois) in 2007. After struggling for the last few years overall considering the PSU norm of success, they posted a 9-4 record and enjoyed a bowl victory over a tough Texas A & M team. But after the season was over, the Nittany Lions had to focus on replacing some pretty big shoes in QB Anthony Morelli, LB Dan Connor, and RB Rodney Kinlaw.

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If you watch the Big Ten Network for just random games, or just love to watch the Big Ten in general, the network certainly loves you! However, for those of you that are rock-chalk solid as just watching one team and one team only (and of course the other team that plays), the BTN is putting together 24 hours of highlight for each school in the Big Ten set to start airing next week. It’s a good way to celebrate all of the 2007-08 things that happened to your school’s team in a very condensed way! Read the rest of this entry »

Although Penn State seemed to have a decent offensive day in the second round of the tournament versus Purdue, it was no match for the day that Dan Black had, as he bombed 2 HR and 6 RBI to lead the Boilermakers to a seemingly easy win over the Nittany Lions 15-6. (It kind of helps when you score 9 runs in the first innings, doesn’t it?)

This was a surprise more than likely for Purdue fans, as Penn State normally has a solid pitching staff, proving it in a opening round 6-1 win over Indiana. However, the Boiler bats were rocking from the start, and it was a downward spiral for the Nittany Lions after that. Seven of the nine starters had more than one hit, and Black was never retired, going 4-4. Of course, the sun was also an ally for Purdue, as the Penn State outfielders lost two fly balls in the early going in the blinding light, which aided in Purdue’s huge opening.

The win propels Purdue through the “winner’s” bracket against Michigan. The loss for Penn State puts them in the elimination bracket and they will face the winner of Indiana-Illinois. Maybe Penn State can hope for a dreary day

Women’s volleyball has always had a strong following in the Big Ten, dating back to the early 80s when Illinois really broke onto the national scene normally dominated by California teams. Since that time, the programs throughout the conference have grown in size and stature amongst the masses, and when Penn State joined the Big Ten, not only did they bring one of the most storied football programs, they also brought a great tradition in volleyball (both men’s and women’s). Read the rest of this entry »

For the second time in three years, the Penn State Men’s Volleyball team has made it to the promised land–the NCAA Championship. After defeating seventh-ranked Ohio State (YEY BIG TEN!) in four games out in California, the Nittany Lions now go on to face big and bad Pepperdine in the final. Penn State is now 29-1 on the year, while the Buckeyes close out at 20-8. Read the rest of this entry »

Purdue and Maryland have not met for over 11 years in women’s basketball, but throughout that course of time, both programs have remained strong and in the national spotlights. With the 2008 ACC/Big 10 challenge match ups released today, they will get a chance to see who’s program has come along the most as they square off in one of the marquee matchups of the annual head-to-head competition. Both teams figure to finish in the top three of their conference and preseason wise should be pretty high up there in the national rankings as well, so if you get a chance, don’t miss this game. Read the rest of this entry »

If there’s one player that the Penn State Nittany Lions do not want to see again, it’s Illinois’ Casey McMurray. In the weekend series versus Penn St., the freshman outfielder had at least one hit and one run in every game against the Nittany Lions, including a five-hit night in the series opener and a four-hit day in the series finale. He also doubled twice and drove in three runs in the first game of the series and scored three runs in the final game of the weekend. Read the rest of this entry »