By Adam Kiefaber
The Big Ten coaches answered a few of the same questions this Tuesday afternoon.
Actually currently, the process is still on going and we have just entered hour number two in what is a three-hour broadcast.
The questions are ranging from the Big Ten Network, new kickoff rule, adding a 12th team and preseason expectations.
Ohio State Jim Tressel just got off the podium just minutes before this post.
The Big Ten Network has been drawing attention to itself all summer. Around two weeks ago I wrote Big Ten Network Still Causing Big Headache. That piece breaks down the Big Ten Network situation. In brief, OSU fans will have to find an alternative way to watch the opening game against Youngstown State and the second week’s contest against Akron.
Tressel- On Big Ten Network- “Oh gosh, our people want to have access to our ballgames … when it (Big Ten Network) gets rolling I think they (the OSU fans) will be excited about it. Knowing our fans they’ll find a way to see it.”
Tressel and suspiciously every other Big Ten coach mentioned how everyone thought ESPN wasn’t going to work. Look at ESPN now. It seems as though Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who is also the creator the Big Ten Network, has everyone saying the same things. So now we know that we will never know any of the Big Ten coach’s true opinions on the matter.
Another popular question was the new rule that changes the kickoff. Last year, the NCAA changed the clock rule on kickoffs. That was when a receiving team downed the ball, the clock would begin immediately causing problems among the teams and the fans. This year that rule is done away with, this time they say the game will be sped up by kicking off from the 30-yard line instead of the 35-yard line.
Tressel on new kickoff rule “It is interesting. Over the last 3 or 4 years, 70% of our kickoffs have been touchbacks. And most of those (kicks) would have been touchbacks from the 30. You put it back further and the guy (kicker) thinks he has to kill it. In the spring it seems as though none our kicks were reaching the endzone. Anytime you change the norm you will see a change, kind of wish they would have changed it last year, with #7 (Ted Ginn Jr.) back there.”
I really don’t understand the thinking. How will that it will speed up the game? 
Purdue head coach Joe Tiller was furious about the new rule, while every other coach gave generic answers. Tiller did his best Dennis Green (’If you want to crown em’, then crown em’), “The most violent part of the game, is the kickoff!”. He referred to how the league is trying to make the game more rough. He said he was for making the game more exciting, but he has to look out for the players well being.
In many preseason polls, the Buckeyes are not topping the list in the Big Ten. My two favorite sources (Phil Steele and Sporting News) have the Buckeyes ranked third and fourth in the preseason Big Ten standings. Phil Steele has the Buckeyes behind Michigan and Penn State. Sporting News has OSU behind Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State. One media member asked Tressel what he thought about being ranked third in the Big Ten.
Tressel on being picked third in preseason poll. “I think it shows great respected for our program, we lost a bunch of guys and we still get picked at that level.”
Tressel also expressed that he thought that Big Ten will be much tougher this year.
Also, another topic was brought up. It is a fan favorite among OSU fans. This past January, every fan had to tell themselves a reason for losing the National Championship. The best one we could come up with, was that we had too long of a break in between our last game and the BCS title game.
Tressel on the long break before the National Championship- “We had 44 days for a bowl game one year and 43 days to prepare for a championship game a couple years ago. Nothing was said about that being a disadvantage. And then, this one being 50 or so, it really isn’t a reason why we lost.”
(the quotes were taken live off ESPNU and haven’t been updated by the press or by the buckeyes official website)
