ESPN's Mid-season All B1G team

[iowajerms]

Offense

QB: Connor Cook, Michigan State
RB: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
RB: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
RB: Tevin Coleman, Indiana
WR: Tony Lippett, Michigan State
WR: DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State
OT: Brandon Scherff, Iowa
OT: Jack Conklin, Michigan State
C: Jack Allen, Michigan State
G: Zac Epping, Minnesota
G: Pat Elflein, Ohio State

Defense

DE: Joey Bosa, Ohio State
DE: Marcus Rush, Michigan State
DT: Anthony Zettel, Penn State
DT: Carl Davis, Iowa
LB: Mike Hull, Penn State
LB: Damien Wilson, Minnesota
LB: Derek Landisch, Wisconsin
CB: Desmond King, Iowa
CB: Eric Murray, Minnesota
S: Frankie Williams, Purdue
S: Michael Caputo, Wisconsin

Special teams

PK: Brad Craddock, Maryland
P: Justin DuVernois, Illinois
KR: Stefon Diggs, Maryland
PR: De'Mornay Pierson-El, Nebraska

Thoughts:

The first thing you probably notice is an unconventional offense featuring three running backs and no tight ends. Sure, it's a little bit of a cheat, but how do you leave any of those three tailbacks off? Coleman, Gordon and Abdullah rank 1, 2 and 4 nationally in rushing yards. Though there are some excellent tight ends in the league -- Minnesota's Maxx Williams and Penn State's Jesse James come to mind -- we would rather reward the outstanding tailbacks. Heck, we probably could have gone four or five deep at that position, given how loaded it is right now. ... The toughest call came at cornerback, where you might be surprised by our choices. We love King's shutdown ability for the Hawkeyes, and Murray gets the slight nod over teammate Briean Boddy-Calhoun for the Gophers' excellent secondary. Michigan State's Trae Waynes might be the best player at the position in the league, but he has given up some big plays this season. Same goes for Maryland's Will Likely, who has been explosive at times and torched (see: West Virginia and Ohio State) at others. It's only midseason, remember; these choices could change by the end of the season. ... Speaking of surprised, the steady Rush makes the team over more heralded position mate Shilique Calhoun. It's a close call, but Rush has been consistently terrific so far this season. ... Some pretty fresh names at linebacker, especially after so many stars at the position departed after last season. Michigan's Jake Ryan just missed there. ... Two freshmen made the team in Hamilton and Pierson-El. Ohio State's J.T. Barrett is also pushing Cook for No. 1 status at quarterback.

The breakdown by team:

Michigan State: 5
Iowa: 3
Minnesota: 3
Penn State: 3
Wisconsin: 3
Maryland: 2
Nebraska: 2
Ohio State: 2
Illinois: 1
Indiana: 1
Purdue: 1
Michigan: 0
Northwestern: 0
Rutgers: 0

ESPN's midseason All-Big Ten team - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

 

[iowajerms]

Roundtable: Missing from the midseason All-Big Ten team - ESPN

Coming up with the midseason All-Big Ten team wasn't an easy exercise. There were only 26 available spots on our squad, and there are obviously more than 26 solid players in the conference. So, naturally, we had to make some tough calls -- and some players were left off the list.

As a result, each of us decided to highlight one deserving player who didn't make the team. Maybe he was just overshadowed by better players, maybe he was injured or maybe his inconsistency gave us pause. So here are our honorable mentions, the players who were close to making the cut and could very well make our end-of-season All-Big Ten team:

Brian Bennett: Michigan State CB Trae Waynes

Cornerback was the toughest position to decipher, and a lot of deserving players didn't make it. Waynes is asked to do a lot as Michigan State's boundary corner. He's often left alone on an island against the other teams' top weapons. That's a job he usually does very well, though there have been some breakdowns this season, notably against Oregon. The No Fly Zone is allowing more visitors than in the past, as the Spartans rank just eighth in the Big Ten in pass defense. But Waynes also had a game-clinching interception against Nebraska. So it was a tough call leaving him off, though I suspect he may work his way back at the end of the season

Austin Ward: Minnesota TE Maxx Williams

Lack of separation between Ameer Abdullah, Tevin Coleman and Melvin Gordon made it easy to just load up the All-Big Ten backfield and ditch a traditional offensive lineup. But getting rid of a spot for tight ends unfortunately left Williams out of the picture, and yet another talented tailback in Minnesota’s David Cobb would be among the first to talk about the value of having a big, physical presence blocking at that position to help out a rushing attack. As limited as the passing game may be for the Gophers, Williams has also been an asset there with 12 catches and three touchdowns. Assuming a more familiar-looking roster is settled on at the end of the season, expect to see Williams on it.

Adam Rittenberg: Rutgers WR Leonte Carroo

The Big Ten once again lacks depth at wide receiver, but Carroo has been a major bright spot for Rutgers' transformed passing attack. Carroo carried over his touchdowns trend from 2013 and is tied for second in the league this season with five scoring grabs while ranking third in receiving yards (91.3 per game). Although Penn State's DaeSean Hamilton had a better start, Carroo seems to be surging after a three-touchdown performance Sept. 27 against Tulane. Of his 29 catches this season, 21 have gone for either first downs or touchdowns. He also blocked a punt against Penn State and is a big reason why quarterback Gary Nova stretches the field so well. You can definitely make a case for Carroo over Hamilton on the team.

Josh Moyer: Nebraska DE Randy Gregory

Gregory is one of the best players the Big Ten has to offer, but an injury in the opener put a damper on his odds for the midseason team. He played in just the first series against Florida Atlantic, missed the next game and finished with just three tackles against Fresno State when he wasn't yet 100 percent. Even when you take all that into account, he's still among the conference leaders in sacks (4.5). That speaks to his ability; he makes the kind of plays that opposing quarterbacks don't forget. He's only had two great games so far, but there's plenty of season left. It would surprise absolutely no one if he made our end-of-season All-Big Ten team.

Mitch Sherman: Iowa DT Louis Trinca-Pasat

Much of the attention on the interior of Iowa’s defensive line is directed at Carl Davis. And rightfully so; Davis is a handful. But fellow tackle Trinca-Pasat has benefited more than anyone -- enough to earn consideration over Davis for a spot on the midseason team. Trinca-Pasat leads Big Ten linemen with 39 tackles, and his 5.5 tackles for loss rank 16th in the league. A third-year starter, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior had a huge game in the early nailbiter against Northern Iowa, and he has generally created a way to impact every game alongside Davis, forming one of the Big Ten’s best interior duos.

Dan Murphy: Michigan State CB Trae Waynes

The Spartans ask so much more of their cornerbacks than most teams that's it not entirely fair to judge them on the same criteria as their peers. Waynes is constantly on his own in coverage, which means his minor slip-ups are magnified. He's broken up three passes this season and intercepted two others, including a game-clinching pick in the final minute against Nebraska. For as much as he allows his teammates to do on defense, he probably deserves a closer look.

 

[ericd7633]

Zero for Michigan

 

[iowajerms]

I love how almighty Randy Gregory is on that 2nd list.

 

[BucksFanInGA]

Unusual seeing so few Buckeye names on that list, that said, I can't really disagree with any of them...

 

[Wamu]

My biased selection (so far) is...


QB- JT Barrett over Connor Cook


JT has played 5 games this year & CC has played 6...JT has more passing yards, rushing yards, passing TD, total TD's & fewer int's. **3 of JT's 5 picks were against VT, his 2nd career start.

 

[Wamu]

Zero for Michigan

 

[BucksFanInGA]

My biased selection (so far) is...


QB- JT Barrett over Connor Cook


JT has played 5 games this year & CC has played 6...JT has more passing yards, rushing yards, passing TD, total TD's & fewer int's. **3 of JT's 5 picks were against VT, his 2nd career start.

Meh, it's basically a push at this point, but MSU has played better competition than tOSU by a long shot (games @Oregon and vs. Nebraska)

 

[Wamu]

Meh, it's basically a push at this point, but MSU has played better competition than tOSU by a long shot (games @Oregon and vs. Nebraska)

Agreed & of course the Spartans are the defending conference champs. But then again I did say my biased selection. Just a damn good thing nobody from meeeechegan made the list...I would have been pissed!

 

[BucksFanInGA]

Agreed & of course the Spartans are the defending conference champs. But then again I did say my biased selection. Just a damn good thing nobody from meeeechegan made the list...I would have been pissed!

Yup, Barrett has done really well since the Tech game... I'm interested to see how we do against a defensive line with a pulse this weekend... Rutgers leads the nation in sacks IIRC...

 

[WhiteMamba]

Connor Cook = NFL starter

 

[Wamu]

Yup, Barrett has done really well since the Tech game... I'm interested to see how we do against a defensive line with a pulse this weekend... Rutgers leads the nation in sacks IIRC...

Damn didn't realize that about the Rutger's D. I still think the Buckeye will get the W though. I'm gonna be very interested in the game @ PSU next week. It's one thing to play in The Shoe & have 100,000+ cheering for you. Hope JT doesn't get too rattled w/ 100,000+ Nittany Lion fans yelling @ him.

 

[Wamu]

Connor Cook = NFL starter

MSU has had a run of former QB's getting PT this year...Hoyer, Cousins & Stanton.

 

[ericd7633]

MSU has had a run of former QB's getting PT this year...Hoyer, Cousins & Stanton.

Foles too before he transferred to UofA.

 

[Wamu]

Foles too before he transferred to UofA.

Foles was @ MSU? I didn't know that.

 

[Innermind]

Connor Cook = NFL starter

Yup, Spartan QB's are NFL caliber, whereas Buckeye QB's are Arena Football League third string bench warmers who eventually become WR's & DB's for AFL teams like the LA KISS' Kenny Guiton.

 

[BigRedMoe]

I love how almighty Randy Gregory is on that 2nd list.

So your happy he got injured? You sick bastard!

 

[podsox]

Nick VanHoose oh NW has been the best defensive back I've seen this yr in the big10

 

[WABLTY]

Foles was @ MSU? I didn't know that.

If he was it was for 1 season. I thought he was actually a decommit. He'd originally been an ASU commit, but for whatever reason the incoming Erickson staff wasn't in love with him and more or less set him adrift. "Your offer is still good, but..." Then he committed to MSU and I thought swapped to Arizona in the same cycle, but maybe he went to MSU for a year.

 

[BucksFanInGA]

Yup, Spartan QB's are NFL caliber, whereas Buckeye QB's are Arena Football League third string bench warmers who eventually become WR's & DB's for AFL teams like the LA KISS' Kenny Guiton.

I don't really care what they do after they graduate other than Cousins fucking up my fantasy league... 5 picks was it two weeks ago?