Gilmore sees potential with Illini D-line

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
On their way to winning a Big East championship last fall, Cincinnati's defensive linemen came up with a motto, which lingers with their former coach. 
"Get sacks, get stacks," Keith Gilmore recalls. "Guys thought that third down was the money down, and we prided ourselves on rushing the quarterback in those situations. And…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Illinois moves Fresno State game to Dec. 5

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Head coach Ron Zook sort of let this slip out during Tuesday's news conference, but Illinois' home contest against Fresno State has officially been moved from Nov. 21 to Dec. 5. 
The Illini will wrap up Big Ten play Nov. 14 against Northwestern and then have an open date Nov. 21 before visiting defending Big East champ Cincinnati. The…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Big Ten mailbag: Debating Penn State’s place

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
The Friday mailbag comes a day early, as I'll be taking most of Friday off and you guys sent in some real good e-mails. Keep 'em coming.
A popular issue this week seemed to be Penn State and whether the Lions would be better suited in the Big East than the Big Ten. This is a fascinating topic and one that will be discussed more on the blog in the…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Tranghese wanted Penn State in Big East

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Missed this one from the other day, but outgoing Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese had some interesting comments about the league's pursuit of Penn State in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times' Pete Thamel.
Tranghese called the Big East's failure to land Penn State the league's "one major mistake." …
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

SEC Had Best College Football Attendance in 2008

In 2008, the Southeastern Conference led the nation again in home attendance.  Conference schools attracted more than 900,000 fans and averaged 75,816 at each game.

The rest of the BCS conferences finished in the following order: Big Ten (70,514), Big 12 (61,993), Pac-10 (56,632), ACC (52,806), and the Big East (42,994).  The Mountain West Conference’s average home attendance was just…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

Illinois AD didn’t want tough closing stretch

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Illinois finalized its 2009 schedule last week by agreeing to a home-and-home series with Big East Champ Cincinnati, which begins Nov. 28 at Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium. 
Adding a solid BCS opponent to the slate should excite fans accustomed to the mostly gun-shy Big Ten, but Illinois now will face a potentially daunting nonconference lineup…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

DeLucia’s Two Homers Power Buckeye’s Win Over Bearcats

Courtesy:  OhioStateBuckeyes.com

TAMPA, Fla. – Led by two home runs and four runs batted in from junior third baseman Brian DeLucia, Ohio State defeated Cincinnati, 6-5, Sunday at Red McEwen Field to complete play in the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge with a 3-0 record. UC drops to 0-3 with losses to Purdue, Michigan and the Buckeyes.

Click here to read more => http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=3676292

Story By Buckeye Legends

Early schedule snapshot: Wisconsin

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

The schedule snapshots finish up with Wisconsin, which will end the regular season later than any other Big Ten team. 

NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Sept. 5 Northern Illinois

Sept. 12 Fresno State

Sept. 19 Wofford

Dec. 5 at Hawaii

My take: Wisconsin's decision to move back its series with Virginia Tech took something away from a nonconference slate that still features a few challenges. The Badgers' win at Fresno State last year lost some luster after the Bulldogs struggled down the stretch, but Pat Hill's squad is usually solid and a Wisconsin victory this fall should mean more. Northern Illinois is on the rise under head coach Jerry Kill and will provide Wisconsin's new starting quarterback with a decent opening test. Hawaii is always tough at home, as Big East champ Cincinnati found out last year, and Wisconsin will need to put up points to beat the Warriors in Honolulu. 

BIG TEN SCHEDULE

Sept. 26 Michigan State

Oct. 3 at Minnesota

Oct. 10 at Ohio State

Oct. 17 Iowa

Oct. 24 Open

Oct. 31 Purdue

Nov. 7 at Indiana

Nov. 14 Michigan

Nov. 21 at Northwestern

Byes: Penn State, Illinois

My take: The Badgers are the only team with a bye in the middle of the Big Ten schedule — Illinois likely will have one before league play opens — and it comes at a good time. The opening stretch is brutal with trips to rival Minnesota and Ohio State bookended by tough home contests against Michigan State and Iowa. Wisconsin can do some damage during the second half of the conference slate, but it needs to avoid another slow start after dropping its first four league games in 2008. Road games at Northwestern and Hawaii could go a long way toward determining Wisconsin's postseason fate or bowl destination.   

Go to Source

Penn State wins Lambert Meadowlands Trophy

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Penn State is the best team in the East, a distinction that reflects the program's recent progress but doesn't mean what it used to. 

The Nittany Lions won their 27th Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, presented by the ECAC to the top football team in the Eastern United States. Penn State beat out Big East champion Cincinnati for its 23rd Meadowlands Trophy under head coach Joe Paterno. 

Penn State also was named ECAC Team of the Year for the 12th time. 

Though the power balance in college football clearly has shifted to the South and Southeast, Penn State's ability to win two Big Ten titles in the last four years establishes it as the top program in the Northeast.

Go to Source

Illini to hire Cincinnati’s Gilmore as D-line coach

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

After failing to land Penn State recruiting whiz Larry Johnson, Illinois head coach Ron Zook has found another top assistant for his defensive line vacancy. 

As my colleague Brian Bennett reported, Zook will hire Cincinnati defensive line coach Keith Gilmore for the same position at Illinois. Gilmore replaces Tom Sims, who was fired last month. 

Gilmore has a good track record under Brian Kelly at both Central Michigan and Cincinnati, where former tight end Connor Barwin emerged as a star this season, tying for the Big East lead in sacks (11). Cincinnati led the Big East in team sacks with 38 this fall. 

So this appears to be a solid hire for Illinois.

The more interesting development might be what happens between Zook and co-defensive coordinators Curt Mallory and Dan Disch. Zook had offered the defensive coordinator position to Johnson, who turned down a sizable pay raise to remain at Penn State. Whether Zook downgrades Mallory's and/or Disch's responsibilities remains to be seen after the Illini strugged on the defensive side of the ball. 

Go to Source

Next Page »