Deciding who is playing the part of the heavy in college football is a matter of perspective.
That matter came to a head this week in the wake of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s rant over what he considered unfair and uncalled-for criticism a columnist made of a player.
Gundy’s point was that college athletes are not professionals, and treating them as such is wrong.
“Up to a point, I would agree with that,” said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who had many calling for his ouster a few years ago.
“There’s a lot of [media] competition, so you’re always looking for an angle. Sometimes I think [the media] are unfair to kids, I really do, and to coaches.”
But the issue of treatment of college football players goes beyond Gundy’s tirade. For example, the NCAA this season reversed a previous rules change and restored clock stoppages that in effect increased the number of plays run in a game.
Coaches may have wanted the rules rollback, but not all of them supported the change precisely because of the extra load it places on amateur athletes.
“The number of plays being run [now] is not in the interest of college players,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Looking up
Michigan
Chad Henne is coming back from the leg injury he suffered against Oregon. Ryan Mallett’s performance in the victory over Penn State made the Wolverines 2-0 in his starts vs. 0-2 in Henne’s, but Carr insists he’s not concerned about a quarterback controversy dividing his team.
Michigan State
Wisconsin is a potential statement game, and first-year coach Mark Dantonio is not concerned about the Spartans gearing up too much for a big game. In fact, he embraces it. “I want our players to have opportunities to make a statement,” he said. “We talk about it, [and] we try to get juiced up about it.”
Ohio State
Is the arrest for soliciting a prostitute and subsequent suspension of third-string quarterback Antonio Henton a distraction? Ohio State’s passing game is beginning to hit its stride behind first-string quarterback Todd Boeckman, who is completing two-thirds of his passes. He has 11 touchdown throws against only three interceptions. Minnesota is no match defensively.
Purdue
Given the state of Notre Dame, Purdue’s biggest challenge might be avoiding overconfidence. Coach Joe Tiller will remind his Boilermakers the Irish have won five of their last seven meetings. “It’s good when you have a relatively mature team,” Tiller said of Purdue’s 21 seniors. “They can see where there’s room for improvement.”
Wisconsin
Wisconsin struggled to score on Iowa’s well-regarded defense, and is host to a Michigan State team allowing 15.5 points per game. The Badgers keep winning, but the pollsters aren’t impressed. “You need to be perfect in everything or you’re not being successful,” coach Bret Bielema said.
Direction pending
Illinois
Syracuse’s upset of 18th-ranked Louisville added luster to the Illini’s victory over the Orangemen, which should help their confidence as they await Penn State. “All these things take time,” coach Ron Zook said. “We’re at the point in our program where [players] are feeling more confident.”
Iowa
The Hawkeyes have the No. 2 scoring defense in the Big Ten, and only Wisconsin scored more than 13 points on them through four games. But Iowa scored just 16, 13 and 13 points in its three losses. “We’re hardly an offensive juggernaut right now,” coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Indiana
Illinois was the third straight opponent to put at least 24 points on the Hoosiers, who need to do a better job on defense to stop a disappointing Iowa offense. And Indiana needs to avoid slipping into a hole two weeks before a stretch against Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin. “[Iowa is] a hard team to get big plays on,” coach Bill Lynch said.
Penn State
Losing to Michigan a ninth straight time knocked the Nittany Lions from No. 10 out of The top 20. Illinois played Penn State close last year in State College, leading at halftime and trailing 17-12 late in the fourth quarter. “And they’re a much better team this year,” Paterno said.
Trending down
Minnesota
The Gophers can score, although their offense has self-destructed in all three losses with 14 turnovers. Their defense continues to be the Big Ten’s worst by a wide margin. Coach Tim Brewster, a longtime NFL assistant, had deja vu watching film of the Buckeyes.
“I felt like I was looking at an NFL defense,” he said.
Northwestern
A pounding at Ohio State is followed by a visit from resurgent Michigan and Mike Hart, who conjures up a bad association.
“He reminds me a lot of Tim Biakabutuka,” NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said of the former Wolverines star running back whom he played against. “I hear that name in my dreams. I think he ran for about 200 [yards] on us up there in ’95.”
Notably, Northwestern won that game.
Quotable
“I don’t think about my opponent until the week we play them, and then I think they’re the best team on the planet.” — Purdue coach Joe Tiller, on facing Notre Dame and not knowing the Irish.
Number
13: Consecutive victories for Wisconsin, longest streak in major-college football.
Player of the week
Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois running back. The Illini grabbed a rare conference-opening victory at Indiana because of Mendenhall’s 214 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Coach of the week
Lloyd Carr, Michigan. Carr gets overlooked because of his reserved personality, but somebody had those Wolverines ready the last two weekends for games critical to salvaging the 2007 season.
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jmullin@tribune.com
