The college football regular season and conference championships are in the books. What happened that we expected? Didn’t expect? Here’s a wrap up starting with the Big Ten.
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EXPECTED
Ohio State's offense was lethal — Once C.J. Stroud hit his stride, the Buckeyes' offense, especially the passing attack, was nearly unstoppable. Ohio State led the country in total offense and scoring with 551.4 yards and 45.5 points per game. Stroud finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race and was, as I predicted, the conference's Offensive Player of the Year.
Iowa and Wisconsin had great defenses — While both of these Big Ten West contenders struggled offensively, they stayed in the race because of outstanding defenses. The fact that Iowa made the conference title game despite a bottom-10 offense in the country is a testament to that. If you think about it, that’s kind of ridiculous.
Nebraska struggled — We expected the Huskers to have a losing season and they were close in every game, but the bottom line is a 3-9 season. That's pretty awful with two cupcakes on the schedule.
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UNEXPECTED
Indiana falls off - way off — I predicted some regression from the Hoosiers this season, but I couldn't have foreseen a 2-10 finish at the bottom of the East Division. They struggled with injuries, brought back Michael Penix Jr. too quickly and couldn't stop a nosebleed.
Michigan gets over the Ohio State hump — Jim Harbaugh finally got the monkey off his back and beat the Buckeyes to win the East, and eventually the Big Ten title. A lot of credit needs to go to Josh Gattis and the Wolverines' revamped offense led by the rushing attack of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum.
Michigan State is reborn — I had the Spartans falling short of a bowl game yet they were very much in the playoff mix late in the season thanks to the great job by Mel Tucker and his staff and a slew of immediate impact transfers.
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AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State — You could make a case for one of the conference's bevy of great wide receivers or Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker, but Stroud put up some absolutely incredible numbers despite only playing effectively 10 games. He led the conference in every passing category and was the straw that stirred the drink for one of the nation's top offenses.
Defensive Player of the Year: Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan — The Heisman runner-up had one of the best statistical seasons for any Michigan player in school history. His 14 sacks led the conference and were second in the nation, and his impact on the defense as a whole was even more than any single statistic could measure. He's the heart and soul of a Wolverines' team that is headed to the CFB Playoff for the first time in school history.
Freshman of the Year: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State — This is a two-horse race between a pair of truly outstanding true freshman running backs in Henderson and Wisconsin's Braelon Allen, but Henderson takes the honors due to his versatility as an offensive weapon. He was second in the conference in yards from scrimmage and proved to be one of the country's most explosive players.
Transfer of the Year: Kenneth Walker, Michigan State — This was the easiest award to pick. Walker absolutely dominated the season, finishing second in the nation in rushing and finishing sixth in the Heisman voting. He was far and away the best player for Michigan State, which finished a very surprising third in the Big Ten East.
Coach of the Year: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan — As mentioned earlier, Harbaugh finally took down Ohio State en route to winning the conference and finishing No. 2 in the CFB Playoff rankings, earning a date with Georgia in the Orange Bowl. He started the season on the hot seat, and finished it with zero doubts about his future at the school.
NFL Draft Stock Up (Offense): Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa — There are many candidates here but I’m going to go with Linderbaum. He was center No. 1 heading into the season but now he’s a projected top 10 pick in some mocks. He had an exceptional year.
NFL Stock Up (Defense): Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan — It can be no one other than Hutchinson, who went from a late first-rounder to possibly the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
