Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State the best?
By Stan Sutton and Doug Wilson,
H-T Sports Writers
CHICAGO — Media representatives at the Big Ten Football Media Day Thursday picked Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State to finish at the top of the league this season.
The Wolverines, who return seven starters on offense and eight on defense, were the first choice of writers and broadcasters. Michigan posted an 8-4 record in 2001, losing its regular-season finale to Ohio State and then falling to Tennessee 45-17 in the Citrus Bowl.
"I'd have to question your intelligence," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr told media members.
Ohio State's second-year coach Jim Tressel has five starters back on offense and six on defense, the latter unit including two-time All-America strong safety Mike Doss. Like several Big Ten teams, the Buckeyes are untested at quarterback with the loss of Steve Bellisari.
Ohio State lost to South Carolina 31-28 in the Outback Bowl to conclude a 7-5 season. Michigan State won seven games last year, including a 44-35 shootout over Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. However, the Spartans lost three of their final four regular-season games.
Conference officials announced only the top three times in the media voting. Illinois is the defending champ, having gone 10-2 last season but losing quarterback Kurt Kittneer and runnning back Rocky Harvey.
"Not too many people in this room picked us to be champions," Illini coach Ron Turner said. "Two years ago I don't think too many people picked Northwestern."
Michigan has won or shared the the Big Ten crown in three of the past five years. The Wolverines led the conference in defense in 2001.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Media members named Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Ohio State's Doss the Defensive Player of the Year.
"Rogers broke every single-season receiving record at his school as a sophomore and his 1,470 yards marked the second-highest total in Big Teen History. He also set school marks in receptions (67), touchdown catches (14) and 100-yard receiving games (six). In the bowl victory Rogers caught 10 passes for 270 yards.
Doss had 87 tackles, including 10 for losses, and was a semi-finalists for the Thorpe Award.
WIDE OPEN: Illinois coach Ron Turner, whose team won the 2001 Big 10 title, spoke about how wide open the championship has become in recent years — nine of conference's 11 schools winning or sharing a title since 1990. The two schools without titles in the past dozen years are Indiana and Minnesota.
OOPS! News of the IU football head coaching change may not have yet filtered its way entirely through Boilermaker country. In the 2002 Purdue football media guide, Cam Cameron is listed as the IU coach who will participate in the Big Ten's weekly telephone conferences for media. The Purdue guide does, however, have a separate page about Indiana's team featuring Gerry DiNardo's name and photo.
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