COLLEGE FOOTBALL | BIG TEN NOTES
CHICAGO | Indiana head coach Bill Lynch said IU's seniors have made plans to honor the memory of coach Terry Hoeppner, who died six weeks ago after battling brain cancer for 18 months.
While Lynch wouldn't divulge what the seniors came up with, he said what the group has decided to do is "very appropriate and it's very Hep."
Lynch said the Hoosiers will have something on their helmets and uniform in memory of their coach.
The Hoosiers' rallying cry, as Hep would say, is to 'Play 13' -- earn the school's first bowl bid since 1993.
A different point of view: When an out-of-control defender crashed into Penn State coach Joe Paterno's knee last season, the venerable leader was forced to move off the sidelines and up into the press box.
It turned out Paterno liked the view from above. In fact, he admitted at Tuesday's Big Ten media day that he's given serious consideration to continuing the practice in 2007, even though the injured knee feels fine.
"You see so much more (in the press box)," Paterno said. "You're a cheerleader most of the time on the sidelines."
There's one other reason he'd like to return to high-level perch.
"I sat down, had a nice time, got a cup of coffee -- I felt like a newspaper guy," Paterno joked. "I sat on my rear end and watched television."
Speed versus speed: When Florida defeated Ohio State last January in the Fiesta Bowl to win the national title, a popular theory was that the Gators triumphed because of superior speed.
But according to Illinois coach Ron Zook, who coached in Gainesville before arriving in Champaign in 2005, the perception of Southeastern Conference teams being faster than those in the Big Ten is misguided.
"In my mind, there's not any difference," Zook said. "We have every bit the speed they have in the South. There's no question in my mind this league can compete with anyone in the country (in that regard)."
Still a young man: Coaching at his alma mater is something Northwestern boss Pat Fitzgerald treasures, even though his ascension to the post resulted from the unexpected death of Randy Walker last summer.
The 32-year-old Fitzgerald was asked at Big Ten media day if he could picture himself lasting as long as Joe Paterno, the 80-year-old patriarch of Penn State football.
"I'm going to have to win a lot more than four games to be there as long as JoePa," Fitzgerald joked. "I'm going gray at 32. I'll be a white rat in a few years."
Preseason hardware: Michigan was selected by the media as the league's preseason favorite in voting conducted prior to media day.
Wisconsin was tabbed second, while Ohio State, which won the conference's outright title last season and shared the title with Penn State in 2005, was third.
Michigan running back Mike Hart was chosen as the league's preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Buckeyes linebacker James Laurinaitis earned preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Times Sports Writesr John O'Malley and Al Hamnik also contributed to this report.
