Jul. 24—LAS VEGAS — What happens in Vegas apparently doesn’t stay in Vegas anymore … it is broadcast across the globe.
The Big Ten was back Wednesday at the Mandalay Bay Resort for Round 2 (remember, it’s a boxing town) of its annual media kickoff.
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BTN announcers covered it from opening bell to final whistle. Here’s what got my attention:
Fix the format
Like on Tuesday, six coaches took the stage: Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Northwestern’s David Braun, Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Washington’s Jedd Fisch and Penn State’s James Franklin.
Each session is supposed to last 15 minutes. Fleck, Braun and Fickell basically ran out the clock with long opening statements, leaving time for only one question each.
My simple solution would be no opening statement. Straight to questions. Most of the opening statements now are back-patting and bio reading. Not very helpful for the media.
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The flawed setup did produce a funny line from BTN host Mike Hall, who said it doesn’t say “Qs and As” when it was clear there would be no time for multiple askers. Pity to make the long trip and not have time to get the info you want.
Making coffee nervous
That would be Fleck, who piled a giant word salad into his 15 minutes. Including his usual “Row the Boat.”
Wearing a white suit, the former News-Gazette All-Stater quickly paid homage to the host city.
“Thanks to the Big Ten for having this in Las Vegas, period,” Fleck said. “Viva Las Vegas baby. I actually love this city.”
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He mentioned the chance to “take our players to our favorite restaurant Prime at Bellagio with our favorite waiter Howard.”
Fleck is entering his ninth season in charge of the Gophers. He isn’t going anywhere after turning Minnesota into a consistent winner. He is 6-0 in bowls at the school. Love or hate him — I’m still deciding — he has been effective at a place with a glorious past.
Extreme pressure, like always
Penn State is the preseason pick to win the Big Ten and considered a strong College Football Playoff title contender. Big stuff for a school that last won a national title in 1986.
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No worries for 12th-year coach Franklin.
“Nothing new,” Franklin said.
Besides putting together a talented roster led by quarterback Drew Allar, Franklin hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Ohio State.
“This is the best combined personnel I think we’ve had at Penn State,” Franklin said. “We’re very excited about that.”
Familiar face
The past two seasons, Illinois faced its former defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as the head coach at Purdue. Walters split the two games, winning in 2023 and losing in overtime in 2024.
When Walters was fired by the Boilermakers, it seemed the matchups with Illinois had ended.
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Nope.
Walters is now the defensive coordinator at Washington for Fisch. The Huskies host Illinois on Oct. 25 in Seattle.
Fisch is excited to have Walters on his staff.
“I think he is probably one of, if not the best, defensive coordinators in the country,” Fisch said. “To have him with us, with elite schematics as well as his personality and ability to connect with players is a huge win for the University of Washington.”
Bumming me out
The once-powerful Wisconsin program appears to be in trouble.
Fresh off a 5-7 disaster season, hot-seated Fickell has to contend with one of the most daunting schedules in the country.
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The Badgers meet three CFP teams from 2024: Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana. Plus Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Alabama.
“Like I’ve said to our guys in the past, ‘This isn’t the Big Ten West anymore,’ ” Fickell said. “Everybody knows what they signed up for and everybody knows what they stuck around for. We’ve been able to embrace that.”
Fickell looks stressed. He left a forever job at Cincinnati to take on the high expectations at Wisconsin. So far, it isn’t working.
He is counting on Maryland transfer quarterback Billy Edwards to lead the way.
Settled in
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Doesn’t look like much quarterback controversy at Northwestern. Braun said the job belongs to SMU transfer Preston Stone.
“I’ve been impressed with his football knowledge, his processing, his accuracy, his leadership,” Braun said. “But what I’ve been most impressed with is his ability to quickly build relationships with his teammates. He is someone our team truly rallies around.”
Jack Lausch, who started 10 games in 2024, has left the program to concentrate on baseball.
“Jack made a decision to solely focus on baseball moving forward,” Braun said. “I’m excited for Jack to dive into that endeavor. Jack has a bright, bright future in the game of baseball.”
