Big Ten preseason awards...
The media votes are in for the Big Ten preseason awards and to no surprise, it's all Ohio State. After back-to-back trips to the BCS national championship game, the Buckeyes were tabbed preseason Big Ten favorites. Wisconsin was picked second and Illinois came in third. Unlike other leagues, the Big Ten releases only the top three teams in its preseason media poll.
Ohio State junior running back Beanie Wells was tabbed preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and his teammate, senior linebacker James Laurinaitis, earned preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. It marks the first time a team has swept all three awards since 1996, when Northwestern was the favorite, running back Darnell Autry the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
This year's selections went pretty much as forecasted, though I'm sure the third-place vote between Illinois and Penn State was close.
To recap:
Big Ten preseason media poll
1. Ohio State
2. Wisconsin
3. Illinois
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Chris "Beanie" Wells, Jr., RB, Ohio State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: James Laurinaitis, Sr., LB, Ohio State