Off Tackle Empire, for Big Ten coverage

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"Jerry Sandusky was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, accusations that shattered the Happy Valley image of Penn State football and led to the firing of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky, a 68-year-old retired defensive coach who was once Paterno's heir apparent, was found guilty of 45 of 48 counts." Now the son of a bitch can rot in hell.

Please join us in welcoming a new contributor to The Rivalry, Esq.: Paterno Ave. Mr. Paterno received his undergraduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 2006 and his J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law in 2009. He is currently clerking for a Superior Court Judge in northern New Jersey. Not surprisingly, Paterno is a Penn State aficionado, and will serve as our resident Nittany Lion authority. Welcome to the smoking room.

And we close our countdown with the game that birthed the SECSPEED myth, the 2007 National Title matchup between Florida and Ohio State. With some assistance from Sam of WWAHT and Year2, Team Speed Kills aptly breaks down the pre-game hype and the fallout from Florida's dismantling of the highly favored Buckeyes. Here is the final list of all the games... #1 -- Florida v Ohio State, 2007 BCS Title Game #2 -- Michigan v Alabama, 2000 Orange Bowl #3 -- LSU v Illinois, 2002 Sugar Bowl #4 -- Michigan v Florida, 2008 Capital One Bowl #5 -- South Carolina v Ohio State, 2002 Outback Bowl #6 -- Iowa v LSU, 2005 Capital One Bowl #7 -- Georgia v Purdue, 2000 Outback Bowl #8 -- Michigan State v Florida, 2000 Citrus Bowl #9 -- Florida v Iowa, 2006 Outback Bowl #10 -- Wisconsin v Arkansas, 2007 Capital One Bowl

Ah, the Lombardi Award... "Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage." And the Big 10 Nominees are... LB Navarro Bowman, PSU LB Greg Jones, MSU DT Jared Odrick, PSU DE Corey Wootton, NW Who was left out? Bryan Bulaga, the Iowa tackle who spent 2008 driving defenders 10 yards off the ball, really hasn't garnered enough attention nationally, but his performance last year shouldn't be ignored. Brandon Graham, the incredibly talented defensive end from Michigan who was 7th in the nation for sacks, didn't make it either, even with his SI Honorable Mention status and 2nd team All Big 10 accolades. Some Points of Interest about the Lombardi Award The Ohio State Buckeye's feature the most Lombardi winners with 6 recipients since the award's inception in 1970. This is also a defensive lineman/LB dominated award. The last offensive lineman to win the Lombardi was the legendary Orlando Pace, who win twice in a row in 1995 and 1996. Some famous players to receive the Lombardi: Lee Roy Selmon, Hugh Green, Chris Spielman, Warren Sapp.