For Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, it’s the third rail, not to be touched.
Given the chance to pick a favorite between quarterback Braxton Miller and tailback Carlos Hyde for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Meyer took a pass.
“Very good question,” he said, “but you’re not going to get an answer out of me.”
Miller on Tuesday took down that Big Ten award for the second straight season.
Meyer’s fellow Big Ten coaches have the final word on selecting the league’s best overall player. That distinction goes to the winner of the Tribune Silver Football, an award that predates the Heisman Trophy.
The votes have been cast, and the finalists are Miller, Hyde and Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland. The winner will be revealed Dec. 12.
Miller won the Silver Football last year, as a sophomore. The last back-to-back winner was Indiana’s Anthony Thompson, in 1988-89.
Hyde made a late surge to earn the acclaim of Big Ten coaches, who get a first- and second-place vote and cannot select a player on their team.
Suspended for Ohio State’s first three games after a bar incident over the summer, he still racked up 1,290 rushing yards, including a 246-yard mauling of Illinois and a 226-yard tally at Michigan last Saturday.
Borland is the do-everything linebacker for Wisconsin who was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year after finishing third in tackles per game (9.3) and tying the Big Ten’s all-time record for forced fumbles, with 14.
The last defensive player to win the Silver Football was Michigan’s Brandon Graham, who shared the award with Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark in 2009.
Miller missed nearly three early-season games with a knee injury, but it hardly mattered. He had a three-week stretch – against Iowa, Penn State and Purdue – of nearly flawless passing performances, and he is even more feared as a runner.
His rushing totals the last three games – 481 yards, six scores.
A big-time performance against Michigan State on Saturday in the Big Ten championship game would put him in the running for the Heisman. Not to win – Florida State’s Jameis Winston likely has it locked up – but certainly a shot to finish second.
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What makes this group of finalists even more impressive is the list of those that did not make the cut – stud tailbacks Melvin Gordon and James White from Wisconsin and Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 1,568 yards and 6.2 per carry.
And how about Allen Robinson? Penn State’s star receiver caught seven or more passes in all but one Big Ten game, posting huge yardage numbers against Indiana (173), Ohio State (173), Illinois (165) and Wisconsin (122).
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
Braxton MillerOhio State QB
*Statistics: 138-for-210, 1,759 passing yards, 21 TDs, 5 INTs; 132 carries for 891 yards, 8 TDs.
Case for: Big Ten’s most dangerous player can turn a sack into a touchdown with a single juke.
Case against: After missing time because of a knee injury, he ranks just ninth in the conference in passing yards.
Carlos HydeOhio State RB
*Statistics: 165 carries for 1,290 yards and 14 TDs; 13 receptions for 107 yards and 2 TDs.
Case for: Has been the Big Ten’s most productive tailback since October.
Case against: Three-game season-opening suspension raised eyebrows and limited yardage.
Chris BorlandWisconsin LB
Statistics: 102 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, 1 forced fumble (14 career).
Case for: Textbook tackler and ferocious pass rusher for the Big Ten’s No. 2 defense (behind Michigan State).
Case against: Statistics are hardly eye-popping, and the Badgers lost their season finale to Penn State.
*Entering Saturday