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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> comparing teams with similar records and similar resumes, [the committee] should look at strength of schedule as well as winning conference champi- onships.' I'll leave it to each individual to see whether or not you believe they have. Clearly, Alabama and Clemson have sep- arated themselves, and they have de- served everything that they've earned in the last couple years. But I'm not sure that the strength of schedule or the confer- ence championship have been adequately rewarded, in my personal view." From a historical perspective, the Big Ten's two-year absence from the CFP might not seem all that alarming. A?er all, the league has won only three national championships since 1969. But the play- o> has become one of the ways in which the Power Five conferences compare themselves. As such, it's become another measure of the SEC's dominance. Of the 20 playo> berths in the =ve CFP tourna- ments that have taken place so far, six have been claimed by the SEC, =ve by the ACC, three by the Big 12, three by the Big Ten, two by the Pac-12 and one by an in- dependent (Notre Dame). "With the four-team playo>s, it's ironic that we've doubled the access but I think more than doubled the feeling of exclu- sion when you're not in," Delany said. "But we try not to let that de=ne us. If there were an eight-team playo>, we probably would have had eight or nine teams in it over the last =ve years. So we're built to compete for champi- onships, and I think there will continue to be discussions around expansion. It's got to be sensitively done. We have student- athlete issues, we have bowl issues, we have =nancial issues, but I know that those conversations have begun and they'll be ongoing, I think, over the next couple of years." One issue that isn't on the table, Delany said, is a reversion to an eight-game Big Ten conference schedule. "We're not going to change," he said. "There may be pressure to change, but I think that's short-selling our fans, our players, our TV partners, and I'm hoping that the committee catches up with the intent of the founders." ■ JOE BACHIE LB MICHIGAN STATE Bachie has made 26 consecutive starts heading into his senior season and leads all active Michigan State players with 214 career tackles. Two years ago, he became the =rst sophomore since 2004 to win team MVP honors, and he didn't disappoint as a jun- ior, leading the Spartans with 102 tackles and winning =rst-team All-Big Ten hon- ors. This summer, he was named a preseason All-Ameri- can by Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele and Street & Smith's. A.J. EPENESA DE IOWA Epenesa didn't start a single game last season, but he might have been the most dominant member of a front seven that was loaded with playmakers. The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder led the Big Ten in sacks with 10.5, was fourth in tackles for loss with 16.5 and was tied for second in forced fumbles with four, winning =rst-team All-Big Ten honors in the process. PADDY FISHER LB NORTHWESTERN Fisher has topped 100 tackles each of the past two seasons. He =nished with 116 as a sophomore last year and led the Big Ten with =ve forced fumbles. The 6-4, 241-pounder from Katy, Texas, was a third-team All-American for last year's West Divi- sion champs, as well as a =rst-team All-Big Ten choice. JORDAN FULLER Saf. OHIO STATE Fuller is the Buckeyes' tackling leader among active players with 162 stops in his =rst three seasons, 125 of which were solo tackles. He's won All-Big Ten honors the past two years, claiming third-team recognition as a sophomore and second-team honors last year. He's also a =rst-team Academic All-American with a 3.8 GPA. YETUR GROSS-MATOS DE PENN STATE Gross-Matos was a revelation for the Nittany Lions as a true sophomore. Tapped to =ll the vacancy that opened up when Ryan Buchholz was forced to give up football last summer, he =nished with 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks. His average of 1.5 TFL per game was second in the Big Ten and 12th na- tionally. LAVERT HILL CB MICHIGAN Hill finished with only 14 tackles and one inter- B I G T E N ' S B E S T B Y M A T T H E R B TOP 10 DEFENSIVE PLAYERS MICAH PARSONS Steve Manuel

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