[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 10

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

One-fourth of the way through already - the football season will be here in no time! As always, share your comments, questions and suggestions ...

FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL
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> DAYS 1-10: The top coaches of the decade

10) Glen Mason, Minnesota
09) Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
08) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
07) Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin
06) Randy Walker, Northwestern
05) Lloyd Carr, Michigan
04) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
03) Joe Tiller, Purdue
02) Joe Paterno, Penn State

> DAYS 11-20: The top games of the decade
> DAYS 21-30: The top players of the decade
> DAYS 31-40: The top teams of the decade

TOP COACHES
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1) Jim Tressel, Ohio State

(94-21 overall, 59-13 in league games, 6 Big Ten titles, 1 national championship)

Was there ever a question that Mr. Sweatervest would be on top of this list? The 2000s were dominated by one coach on the sidelines in the Big Ten - Jim Tressel.

During the John Cooper years, Ohio State was known as an NFL football factory with shelves stocked with first round talent that rivaled any school across the nation. But the Bucks never really became a team and reached their full potential. The rest of the fans in the Big Ten feared what would happen if the Buckeyes ever got themselves a top-notch coach. 

During the 2000s, we saw that those fears were well founded. Jim Tressel quickly came in and won a national title in 2002 and has owned the league ever since. In 2006, he had the best team in the nation but lost the title game. The following year, the Buckeyes were back in the top game at the end of a reloading year, losing to LSU in New Orleans. And they capped off a decade of Big Ten dominance with their first Rose Bowl title since 1997.

The bar was raised so high so soon following the title in 2002 that some might be tempted to see the decade as a disappointment for Ohio State. The back-to-back title game defeats saddled them with an unfair reputation. But the numbers are staggering. 

* 10 or more wins in 7 of his 9 seasons
* 7 B(C)S bowl games
* 6 Big Ten championships
* 1 National Championship
* And despite the common wisdom blathered about on ESPN, he's 5-4 in bowl games and 4-3 in B(C)S bowls.

It's still pretty easy to hate Ohio State, but tough to dislike Tressel. He's always calm on the sidelines, shows no cockiness and has even cleaned up the image of the program. He's also a heck of a football coach. No doubt Tressel is the coach of the decade for the league and it’s hard to argue against his record nationally as well. As long as he’s on the sidelines in Columbus, Ohio State is the team to beat.

Coming Thursday: We move from the easiest coundown of the 40 days to the toughest - the best games.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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