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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Coaches defend Buckeyes, conference
October 31, 2007
By Brian Hedger Post-Tribune staff writer
There are plenty who scoff at Ohio State's position atop the BCS rankings, but at least one group of coaches are Buckeyes believers -- Big Ten coaches.
During Tuesday's weekly teleconference, Big Ten coaches talked up Ohio State and did some scoffing of their own -- at those who say the Big Ten is a weak conference. Illinois' Ron Zook, who coached Florida in the SEC before coming to Champaign, is especially tired of hearing the rhetoric.
"Yeah, it does," he said, when asked if the Big Ten slams bother him. "I can speak as a coach who's been in the Southeastern Conference and now the Big Ten Conference, and this is a very, very competitive conference. You'd better have it strapped up every week, because there are a few teams in this conference who can play with any team in the country."
Much of the Buckeye bashing, Zook said, stems from last year's BCS National Championship game -- in which Ohio State was routed by Florida. Many point to that game and say the Buckeyes were outclassed in speed. Zook disagrees.
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