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Preseason watch list season is in full swing, and the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back, is next on the list. Only four Big Ten players made the 35-man watch list released Friday. Here they are: Michigan State CB Johnny...

The best Big Ten defenses often boast standout tandems, as we've seen in recent years. In 2008, Ohio State had linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. In 2009, Iowa had defensive end Adrian Clayborn and linebacker Pat Angerer,...

You'd have to be pretty naive to think memorabilia sales at Ohio State were tied to Terrelle Pryor and his crew. This has been a problem for years, not only at Ohio State but at other big-time programs around the country. You can buy championship ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- I had a chance to watch about 30 minutes of Ohio State's full-pads workout indoors Tuesday. Despite the limited media viewing period, there was a lot to observe in an extremely physical Buckeyes practice. Kenny Guiton stood out ...

Ohio State senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa and Iowa junior safety Tyler Sash are among the 10 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back. Chekwa is tied for the Big Ten lead with three interceptions and tied f...

The secondary isn't the Big Ten's strongest position group entering the season, although things could be different come November. Several outstanding defensive backs depart the league, but three Big Ten players have been named to the preseason wat...

Ohio State opened spring drills Thursday, and for the Buckeyes' defense, it's business as usual. Though the defense loses six starters, it remains one of the nation's elite units, thanks in large part to coordinator Jim Heacock. Ohio State has ranked...

About a month after Iowa cemented a strong Big Ten bowl performance at Miami's Sun Life Stadium, the Big Ten once again stood out on the same field in a huge game. Former Big Ten players had major roles for the New Orleans Saints in a 31-17 win ag...

It's Super Bowl week, and here in Chicago, we're celebrating the hiring of Mike Martz as Bears offensive coordinator after a month-long search. Hope Jay Cutler has a life insurance policy. OK, moving on to less depressing topics, like the Big Ten ...

It's no secret that the Big Ten is typically a defense-oriented league, a theme that starts at the top and trickles down. Penn State's sports information department took a look at defensive statistics from 2004 to 2009 and found that only two team...

I hope you enjoyed the decade recap series. We had a lot of fun researching and putting it together. Not surprisingly, my top players list generated a ton of feedback -- mostly negative, but that's cool -- from the Big Ten faithful. Because there ...

This is supposed to be a big night for the Big Ten. While the Heisman Trophy presentation doesn't take place until Saturday (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET), nine of college football's top individual honors get passed out tonight during the Home Depot ESPNU Coll...

Ohio State won the Big Ten this year, which is nothing new. The Buckeyes have won or shared six league championships since 2002, cementing themselves as the team of the decade in the Big Ten. But in some ways, this year's title run might be the mo...

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg Iowa sophomore safety Tyler Sash has been the Big Ten's top playmaker on defense this season, and he's starting to get some national recognition. Sash was among the 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award,...

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg No James Laurinaitis? No Malcolm Jenkins? No problem for Ohio State's defense, which is showing that it reloads better than any single unit in the Big Ten year in and year out. The Buckeyes bullied USC's herald...

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg The most significant number during Ohio State's preseason wasn't 2 (Terrelle Pryor's jersey), 3 (consecutive BCS bowl losses), 4 (consecutive Big Ten titles) or 5 (consecutive wins against Michigan). It was ...