November the month to figure out Big Ten teams
Some college sports fans live for March and its accompanying Madness.
Others prefer September, when they can start flexing their tailgating muscles again.
Chris Kearney's official month of glory, for all intents and purposes, started with the Big Ten's 11 a.m. kickoffs Saturday and won't run out until he casts his final ballot on Dec. 2.
"November's the best," Kearney said. "No doubt about it. I'm just a huge Big Ten fan. That's why I just love what I do."
What does Kearney do?
When he's not fulfilling his duties as vice president of sales for Edward Hines Lumber Co., the Buffalo Grove resident (and 1986 Naperville North High School graduate) lives his hobby as a member of the Team Selection Committee for the Capital One and Champs Sports Bowls.
That's right.
The Purdue alum spends his Saturdays -- and his own money -- traveling around watching Big Ten teams play. That enables him to help make the best possible matchups for the Florida Citrus Bowl committee's pair of games in Orlando, Fla.
The Capital One Bowl, which is played in the time slot immediately preceding the Rose Bowl, matches the best non-BCS Big Ten team with the best non-BCS school from the SEC.
The Champs Sports Bowl, in the second year of its affiliation with the Big Ten, selects the fourth-best non-BCS Big Ten team to face the third-best non-BCS school from the ACC.
The latter bowl might be the most likely destination for Illinois' first postseason trip since 2001, but the Illini (7-3) will face stiff competition for the bid from the likes of Purdue (7-3), Indiana (6-4) and even Iowa (5-5).
Kearney and the roughly 80 other committee members have a long list of criteria to keep in mind when they vote. Only one ranks above the rest:
"We look first and foremost at overall wins with Big Ten teams," Kearney said. "That's also the same with the SEC and ACC, though the ACC requires us to look at just conference wins first."
What does that mean?
First, let's project the Big Ten's final standings as if the favorites (as judged by the current BCS rankings) win every game during the regular season's final two weeks:
Ohio State, 12-0, 8-0; Michigan, 9-3, 7-1; Penn State, 9-3, 5-3; Purdue, 9-3, 5-3; Illinois, 8-4, 5-3; Wisconsin, 8-4, 4-4; Iowa, 7-5, 4-4; Indiana, 7-5, 3-5; Northwestern, 5-7, 2-6; Michigan State, 5-7, 1-7; Minnesota, 1-11, 0-8.
Presuming Ohio State would be the conference's only BCS representative, then all 9- and 8-win teams would be on the ballot for the Capital One Bowl.
The Citrus Bowl committee doesn't have a history of picking a team with fewer wins. Since the Big Ten started sending its runner-up to Orlando in 1992, the committee has always selected the school with more wins. But when there's a tie, the committee must weigh seven other criteria that all carry roughly the same importance (see accompanying chart).
Presuming the Champ Sports Bowl will come down to the 8- and 7-win teams, who does Kearney handicap as the favorite?
He'll never tell. Since he's just one of 80-odd committee members and doesn't want to offer a misleading impression, Kearney prefers to focus on the positives at all the schools.
"Illinois set an attendance record (since broken) when it played here in 1990 against Virginia," Kearney said. "Illinois has a history of traveling very well to Orlando. Illinois traveled very well to New Orleans several years ago.
"It's been a long time since Indiana has been in a bowl (1993). Everything I hear from Indiana is there is so much pent-up demand for a trip anywhere.
"Iowa travels exceptionally well regardless of the bowl game. This could be the third straight year (in Orlando) for Wisconsin."
What might break this logjam?
"The way teams finish the season are critically important," Kearney said.
Criteria breakdown
The Florida Citrus Bowl committee looks at overall record as its primary criteria when selecting its teams for the Capital One and Champs Sports Bowl. Then there are seven secondary criteria, per local committee member Chris Kearney, as they try to ascertain who'll help to sell out the 65,438-seat Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando:
• Conference record
• Record against top Big Ten foes and good nonconference competition
• Head-to-head results against other teams on the ballot
• Strong finish vs. weak finish
• How the fan base travels
• Most recent appearance in Orlando
• Length of time since last bowl game (starved fans tend to be more willing to travel to feed their postseason appetite).
Jim Thorpe Award
Notre Dame fifth-year senior safety Tom Zbikowski and Illinois sophomore cornerback Vontae Davis earned spots on the Jim Thorpe Award's semifinalists list. Davis, the lone sophomore on the 12-man list, joins Ohio State junior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins as the lone Big Ten representatives. Davis leads the Big Ten with 4 interceptions in 6 conference games. Zbikowski, a Buffalo Grove High School graduate, made the semifinal cut for the second year in a row. He ranks as Notre Dame's fourth-leading tackler (61 stops) and has 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception.