[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 29

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Almost at the end of the third countdown - time is flying!

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
09) Antwaan Randle El, Indiana
08) Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin
07) Dallas Clark, Iowa
06) Troy Smith, Ohio State
05) Damien Anderson, Northwestern
04) Braylon Edwards, Michigan
03) Chris Gamble, Ohio State

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

TOP PLAYERS
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02) Larry Johnson, Penn State

Joe Paterno is used to getting the short straw from the polls in his career, with his two official national titles only being the beginning of his seasons that came up short in the final rankings. But apparently some of his bad luck rubbed off on his players in 2002, because it's a bit puzzling why Larry Johnson didn't get more respect for his season.

Looking back now, the choice of Carson Palmer for the Heisman that year seems like a good choice, though Johnson also had flashes of brilliance in his roller coaster NFL career ... but at the time, his win was a bit of a surprise and seemed based more on the last game vs. Notre Dame than anything else. Even more stunning perhaps for Johnson was that he wasn't even the top vote getter that year from the Big Ten, as Iowa's Brad Banks (who always seemed to me to be more of a facilitator than a game changing QB) snagged both the Silver Football award and was Heisman runner-up.

So what did Johnson do in 2002 that was so great? For starters, he topped 2000 yards that season - no small feat. Add to that how he did it on fewer carries than any other member of the club to that point and had an astounding 8.0 yards-per-carry average during the regular season and the lack of respect is shocking. Ricky Williams and Ron Dayne ran away with the Heisman while flirting with 2000 yards in the years before Johnson, but the only people who seemed to notice the PSU back were the voters for the Maxwell Award, who split from the Heisman to name Johnson as the nation's top player.

His detractors would note that Johnson's biggest games came against the lower tier teams on the schedule and not against Ohio State or Michigan - but as the mighty Miami offense can tell you, it was tough to get yards on the Buckeyes in 2002. Sure, it wasn't against OSU, but breaking the school rushing record three times in five weeks (the final with 327 yards against Indiana) is pretty impressive. And remember that he had 279 yards in the first half alone in the finale against Michigan State before JoePa sat the starters, so it could have been a fourth record day. And remember, this is Penn State, with a history of big-name running backs - Johnson had come out of a split backfield at the start of the year to come pretty far in one year.

Johnson hurt his case a bit with a subpar performance in the bowl game against Auburn and was selected at the end of the first round by the Chiefs. He rivaled LaDanian Tomlinson for the best back in the league around the middle of the decade, but has struggled since a 2007 injury with recovery and other personal issues.

You certainly wouldn't take Carson Palmer's Heisman away looking back, but it's still pretty puzzling to see how a running back from a major university got so little respect for such outstanding numbers that season.

Coming Tuesday: Good as gold

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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