[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day Four ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

The coach countdown continues as we start to get to some of the heavy hitters ...

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

10) Glen Mason, Minnesota
09) Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
08) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

> 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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7) Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin

(48-29 overall, 24-24 in league games)

There was no doubt that Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez was the Big Ten coach of the 1990s, winning three league titles and three Rose Bowls while waking a sleeping giant in Madison and building a top-notch program. Coach Alvarez didn’t experience quite as much success in the 2000s, but he still had a pretty good half decade.

By the time 2000 hit, the Badgers were coming off consecutive Rose Bowl wins and top 5 poll finishes and seemed ready to usher in a new era atop the league. It didn’t quite work that way, as a lofty perch early in 2000 came to a crash with a scandal and OT loss to Northwestern. The next year, the Badgers sat home for bowl season for the first time since 1995. But Barry didn't want to leave the program in a lurch and started working his way back to go out with a bang.

The Badgers returned to relevance with a 9-3 record and third place finish in 2004, followed by a 10-3 campaign and Citrus Bowl victory to send the coach out in style. Alvarez is certainly among the top five league coaches in the “Big Televen” era, but if you go by just the past decade, he comes up a bit short of the top five.

Coming Friday: The first of our final six coaches, all of who won league titles in the decade.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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