Big Ten at Ten 7.31.12: Best. Rivalry. Ever.

With football quickly(ish) approaching, I am probably more excited than ever about the prospect of year two in the B1G. So far, for me, the best part of the new conference has been the beauty that is the rivalry. Whether it is between low quality teams who hate each other or The Game, the football is always intense and the barbs traded before hand are at such a high quality of hate, I fear for the day that Nebraska feels comfortable enough to have a rival. Still, why am I bringing this up on July 31, 2012? What does it have to do with anything? Well, if there is one rivalry that is not waiting for football, it's the latest Michigan-Ohio State contest that both teams would love to lose - The Race for the Most Citations!

Now look, I know that Bri'onte Dunn was not actually arrested yesterday, but getting cited for four misdemeanors isn't exactly a good thing. Just for the record, those charges are not actually inclusive of running a red light, for which he was apparently pulled over. No, the charges are: 1) Possession of Marijuana, 2) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, 3) Not wearing a Seat Belt (really officer? Of all the things you're going to go off on, that gets added to the citation?) and 4) A Tail Light Violation. While none of these collectively is an arrestable offense, and let's be honest, a lot of college kids have less than 200 grams of marijuana, a pipe, and don't wear their seatbelt in a car with a tail light out, but when you are a football player on scholarship, this probably isn't a good idea.

So if you're all keeping track at home, that is 5 arrests for Urban's Buckeyes which just pulls them ahead of Hoke's Wolverines who are stuck at four. While neither team is going to make a run at the Fulmer Cup title, something the SEC will win again as well, it's always fun to watch a great rivalry. Links are below, but let's just put one of those fancy polls up because it's always fun to take jabs at Urban and Hoke.

Team Links:

• Urban Meyer describes the Illini in one word: Toughness.
• IlliniHQ thinks that the Illinois should actually be good, but also asks you to call him nuts...
• One Foot Down gives us their Hot Pepper Hot Seats for College Coaches with Danny Hope, Kirk Ferentz, and Kevin Wilson all making the list in varying degrees.
• BHGP gives five things to watch on offense during fall practice for the Hakweyes.
• James Ferentz is really blossoming into a leader for Iowa.
• A primer from the Spartan website on the MSU Offense.
• Michigan State sees value in the 'intense rivalry' with Wisconsin.
• Brady Hoke makes it clear he is not going after Penn State players and that's not a bad thing.
• MnB continues its weekly Recruiting Roundup.
• Fans will be able to watch the Alabama-Michigan game at the Big House.
• An interview with OC Matt Limegrover on making the Gopher offense better.
• Mocking the Draft with some info on the Gophers in light of their NFL talent...
• SBNation puts Nebraska 23rd in their Top 25 countdown. Great videos!
• LGHL previews the Cornhuskers and again says Taylor Martinez is regressing.
• Corn Nation attempts to explain why Bo Pelini doesn't want his players reading Corn Nation.
• Lake the Posts says Northwestern's defense needs to learn from its mistakes.
• Lost Lettermen thinks OSU is incredibly overrated.
• Breaking down the Depth Chart going into Fall Camp for the Buckeyes.
• Fans turn out to support the Penn State football team.
• It's looking like Silas Redd is leaning towards USC... Also, do you all realize Kiffin has to take away someone else's scholarship to make this work? I hate Lane Kiffin.
• Purdue has a nice pickup in 3 star RB Keyante Green.
• So Purdue is trying to amp up support for the Boilers by rolling out a community contest that basically amounts to homecoming at your local high school. The real news of this link is that nugget at the bottom. Purdue is projecting a $1.6 MM operating deficit!!!
• The Wisconsin WR core looks for someone to step up this year.
• The WWL does a schedule breakdown for the Badgers.

Conference Links:

• Let the Preseason Lists Begin... CBS has their All B1G here.
• And here is CBS with their All-American list.
• It's time for the B1G to, "Put up or shut up." (This article made me laugh because it was a very bitter sounding article and I'm not 100% sure the paper is legitimate)
• Big Ten Defensive Line Rankings via the WWL.
• Athlon Sports highlights 10 stories for the B1G. Surprisingly, Illinois and Indiana aren't really part of those stories...

Finally, in a non-B1G related link. I want to make sure everyone is following the Red Bull Stratos project. First off, I love Red Bull because they sink a lot of their marketing and profits into crazy stuff like this, Flugtag, the Art of Flight, and other ridiculous sporting ventures that are way cooler than they have any business being. But with NASA going into hibernation, it's really cool to see something awesome like a guy breaking the sound barrier in a space suit. I don't know why I think it's so awesome, but it is. I wish Red Bull would sponsor me.

Felix Baumgartner's Test Jump - Red Bull Stratos (via redbull)