[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 22

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Football just keeps getting closer and closer - LOVE IT!

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
01) Jim Tressel, Ohio State

> DAYS 11-20: The top games of the decade

10) 2000: Purdue 32, Michigan 31
09) 2001: Michigan State 26, Michigan 24
08) 2005: Michigan 27, Penn State 25
07) 2003: Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 34
06) 2004: Northwestern 33, Ohio State 27 (OT)
05) 2008: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6
04) 2009: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24 (OT)
03) 2002: Ohio State 10, Purdue 6
02) 2000: Northwestern 54, Michigan 51
01) 2006: Ohio State 42, Michigan 39

> DAYS 21-30: The top players of the decade

10) Laurence Maroney/Marion Barber, Minnesota

> DAYS 31-40: The top teams of the decade

TOP PLAYERS
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09) Antwaan Randle El, Indiana

Some players are so special, they stand out on mediocre teams and you just have to wonder what woulda coulda been had they been on a powerhouse. I've always considered Barry Sanders the best running back of his era ... I know Emmitt Smith had more yards, but he had an all-world line blocking for him while Barry had to work miracles. Put Barry behind the Cowboys line and he could have broken 3000 yards in a season, I thought.

And it's appropriate to compare Sanders to our ninth player on the countdown, Antwaan Randle El, because he too was stuck on a team way below his talent level, yet he made you watch in anticipation of what he would do next.

Randle El is the best overall athlete on this countdown, having been drafted to play baseball by the Cubs and playing basketball at IU for the legendary Bobby Knight, but he chose football as his main sport. The Hoosiers never made a bowl in his era, but he was a first team All American. He was also the first player to pass for 40 TDs and run for 40 TDs in college football.

The closest the Hoosiers came to breaking through was in that senior year, when they finished 4-4 in league play and tied for fourth place. Randle El's maturation as a quarterback was a big part in the turnaround from a last-place finish the prior year. He cut his interceptions from 14 to 5 and boosted his yards per attempt and completion percentage. He always had the ability to run (topping 1000 yards in the 2000 season), but adding that second dimension to his game made the Hoosiers a threat to win any game. Overall, he scored 40 touchdowns in his final two years at IU.

Randle El filled his senior year with many memorable moments - from a win in the Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue to a win at No. 23 Michigan State and a wild victory over Northwestern where the Hoosiers jumped up 42-0 at halftime (one of the more disappointing NU games I have ever attended). But the high point may have come earlier in the season. After a rough 0-3 start to a season that started with unusual optimism in Bloomington, the Hoosiers headed to Madison to play the Badgers.

The Hoosier offense scored five touchdowns in the first quarter to stun the Camp Randall crowd and go up 32-0. Randle El topped 100 yards rushing and 180 yards passing in Madison that day to earn his first win over Wisconsin, but it was his backfield mate, Levron Williams, who had the big day. Randle El had enough of the defenders focused on him that he was able to spring free his teammate all afternoon as the rest of us watched with our mouths gaping while the Hoosiers scored again and again en route to a 63-32 thumping.

Randle El pulled an "Andre Dawson" and won the Chicago Tribune's Silver Football award that year for Big Ten MVP despite being on a team that was staying home for the holidays - yet there wasn't much controversy over his selection. He was someone who could break free for a score on any play and his senior year he found the balance as a quarterback and leader that made him complete. Unfortunately for IU fans, he never could find much talent in the teammates around him.

Coming Tuesday: Let's hear it for the defense!

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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