By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
NEW YORK -- It's amazing what we like to describe as "controversial."
Is it a surprise pick that Big Ten writers picked Ohio State to win the league? And that those same writers gave preseason offensive player of the year honors to OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor? Both are slight surprises I think, but hardly controversial, as some bloggers are suggesting today.
+ YOUR THOUGHTS: Surprised at preseason picks?
+ ALSO: Big Ten Preview
Pryor had a good freshman season. He'll be a better passer in 2009 and will likely transition well from coddled young star to offensive leader. The athletic tools are already in place, and he showed good poise as a rookie last year. That trend will continue and he'll be the best player on what many think will be the best team in the league. It's not any crazier than a wideout from the fourth- or fifth-best team in the league (Arrelious Benn, Illinois) or a decent quarterback who lacks superstar potential -- Penn State's Darryl Clark -- being named.
I laugh when rich, old, white men in suits like to say their sport is for the fans. We all know it's really for the networks, but what are for the fans are silly preseason teams. They mean nothing. What means far more is what happens in the postseason, and I'm pretty sure if you check Google, you just be able to find, oh, maybe one or two or a million online jabs at the Big Ten's postseason track record in recent years.
For each team, a college season often shakes out as a reflection of how well your quarterback plays and how well your team performs on the road. If the slight advantage in the first category goes to Ohio State over Penn State, I think the same-sized cushion goes to the Nittany Lions in the second category, and for just one reason: Ohio State plays at Penn State in November.
We saw it in 2005 when the evenly matched Nittany Lions and Buckeyes played a tough game that Penn State won largely because of its home-field advantage. Both teams finished 7-1 in the conference, but PSU got the league's BCS bid and defeated Florida State in the Orange Bowl. I think Penn State wins the league because Ohio State has to visit Happy Valley this year. It's as simple as that.