OT: B10 Award Show Tonight. Topic of Best Game of The Year

Submitted by WingsNWolverines on

As you might or might not be aware of BTN is having their Award Show tonight. Breakout performances of the year, best team, best coach blah blah blah but one of the biggest polls is Best Game of the Year. Obviously most of us (at least I hope) will say Notre Dame vs Michigan Under the Lights should win but here's what they have listed on their facebook page for nominations.

- Notre Dame vs Michigan, Football, 9/10/2011
 

- Wisconsin vs Michigan State, Football, 10/22/2011
 

- Wisconsin vs Michigan State, Football, 12/4/2011
 

- Kentucky vs Indiana, Basketball, 12/10/2011
 

- Other 

My personal vote if I had to pick "Other" would be Purdue's amazing OT victory over Ohio State in West Lafayette. Blocking the PTA and holding the tOSU to a field goal to win it in OT and beat tOSU for the 2nd time at home in the past 5 years. One of the many reasons Purdue is my 2nd favorite B10 team.

The State game was a complete fluke. Cousins wasn't aiming for anybody and simply hoping someone would catch it. He makes that throw again and I guarantee you it get's picked off and State loses.

FreddieMercuryHayes

June 18th, 2012 at 5:02 PM ^

Obviously UTL was one of the best games of the year.  But considering it's the B1G awards, I would have to think that a game against an OOC opponent wouldn't win when there were other great (albeit maybe a tad less thrilling) in the B1G this year.  That said, I think the inaugral B1G championship game would win.  Fanstastic game, and the correct outcome.  

The FannMan

June 18th, 2012 at 6:01 PM ^

Let's see - the network created and owned by the Big Ten gets to pick the Big Ten game of the year?  I bet the first confrence title game "wins."  

But isn't the "best game" is an odd award?  It is so subjective.  Everyone has their own definition about what game they enjoyed the most.  How do you tell some their wrong?  At least with players, you have stats to argue about. 

FrankMurphy

June 18th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^

You do realize that if you call MSU's win over Wisconsin a fluke, then our win over ND could be called a fluke? It was only an epic defensive breakdown by ND that allowed Denard to find Gallon wide open without a defender within 10 yards of him.

FrankMurphy

June 18th, 2012 at 5:27 PM ^

Fine, but at least a couple of ND's five turnovers that put us in a position to win were totally unforced.

I don't think the ND win was a fluke, but I don't think MSU's win over Wisconsin was a fluke, either. Barring jaw-dropping officiating errors (of the 1990 Colorado-Missouri variety), It's dicey to call any win a fluke.

HermosaBlue

June 18th, 2012 at 5:44 PM ^

Designed play.  

IIRC, Hemingway was split wide right and ran a post, while Roundtree was slot right and ran a square in.  The 2 of them drew all the coverage away from Gallon, who was sneaking out o the wheel route.

That massive "breakdown" is more properly described as "excellent play call" by Borges.

There are other reasons why Notre Dame giftwrapped the game for us (Hello, Tommy Rees!), but that coverage bust was the result of Borges outthinking ND's DC.

FrankMurphy

June 18th, 2012 at 7:51 PM ^

You're right, but that just proves my point. Coaches design plays that force and exploit errors by the opponent. Teams regularly practice plays for desperation situations. MSU probably ran that hail mary play a few times in practice before the opportunity came up to run it in a game. It's hard to call any win fluky when it results from a situation that the winning team has contemplated and prepared for in advance, no matter how far-fetched it may seem.

Swang on These

June 18th, 2012 at 8:16 PM ^

It's called a "Hail Mary" for a reason. That reason is that you are throwing it up and just hoping for something like a deflection, jump ball, etc to happen. In that regard, Kirk Cousins did everything right, and the play worked as designed.

Not that I like Kirk Cousins, but your argument for why the play wasn't an incredible occurrence is just ignorant.

brandanomano

June 18th, 2012 at 5:15 PM ^

Both of the State/Wisky games were fluky. If things go how they usually do, MSU doesn't win the first game on the last second pass and Isaiah Lewis doesn't run into the punter in the championship game. That being said, I think both of them were amazing games and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them won, but UTL is clearly the winner for any Michigan fan. The rollercoaster of emotions I-and probably all of you-felt during that game is something that won't be replicated anytime soon.

Section 1

June 18th, 2012 at 5:59 PM ^

I even sort of hope that it does.  Because I like any opportunity to publicly run the replay of that final play, in which B.J. Cunningham (#3) shoves the Wisconsin defender Marcus Cromartie (#14) to the ground while the ball is in the air.

It was the most egregious no-call of the year.  Never mind the "Best Game;" if there were an award for the "Worst Call of the Year," that might have been it.

Watch at about 0:50 and at about 1:01 of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHlllTYRthI 

It is a mauling by Cunningham.  Cromartie is in perfect position to be under the ball.  But Cunningham shoves Cromartie to the ground; and in fact Cunningham is so busy pushing Cromartie to get him out of the way, the ball hits Cunningham's face mask/helmet, whereupon it bounces into Keith Nichol's hands.

Section 1

June 18th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^

And becuase Cromartie is on the ground, he is unable to help make the play to stop Nichol from nosing the ball past the plane of the goal line.

It was an amazingly bad no-call.  The more you watch it, the worse it gets.  Cunningham -- who became famous for his ability to get away with offensive interference to jostle for jump-balls -- got away with murder on that play.

Look at how Cunningham raises his hands after shoving Cromartie; the old "I didn't push him!" move.

StateStreet

June 18th, 2012 at 6:18 PM ^

If one of the Wisconsin/MSU games wins, it has to be the first one. I know the second one technically had more on the line since it was the title game, but the first one was far more memorable to me.

However, you have to give Under the Lights the edge, and I'm trying not to be biased (although it's hard, obviously). That game had everything! An epic comeback (we were down 17 in the 3rd quarter!) and 3 touchdowns in the final 1:12, including 2 in the final 30 seconds. The first Wisky/MSU game was exciting and memorable, but Under the Lights was insanity.

michfan6060

June 18th, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^

As a Michigan fan I would vote for the UTL game, but I could see one of the MSU-Wisconsin games winning. They were more fundamentally sound played football games. As much as I loved the UTL game, let's be honest most of the first three quarters of that game were pretty mediocre football.

GoBlogSparty

June 18th, 2012 at 7:20 PM ^

Usually in situations like this, a buzzer beater probably trumps any other game. In this case, a football buzzer beater trumps the basketball buzzer beater.

goblueritzy92

June 18th, 2012 at 7:33 PM ^

How is Trey Burke not a finalist for breakout performer, yet Zeller and Frazier are? I would argue Burke was the breakout performer for all college basketball.

Perkis-Size Me

June 18th, 2012 at 9:28 PM ^

My #1 is obviously Michigan-Notre Dame, but I've got a feeling that Wisconsin-MSU part 1 will win out. The Hail Mary is easily one of top plays, if not the top play of the year.

Kentucky Indiana will probably be 3rd or 4th. It was undoubtedly a great win, but basketball simply doesn't resonate as much as football.

bacon1431

June 19th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^

I think it should be one of the two Wisconsin-MSU games. The other two were non-conference game and don't mean as much (particularly the Kent-IU game).

Now I enjoyed UTL the most of these, but I'm obviously biased.