Brian Bennett, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

B1G sweeps Doak, has other finalists

We've been saying it's the Year of the Running Back in the Big Ten, and the Doak Walker Award obviously agrees.

While the award should have included Minnesota's David Cobb as a semifinalist, at least it got the next round of voting right. All three finalists for the trophy that goes to the nation's top running back are from the Big Ten: Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Indiana's Tevin Coleman and Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah.

It's a richly deserved recognition for all three guys, and it's great to see Coleman get his due despite playing on a 3-8 team. It will be a major surprise if Gordon doesn't bring home the trophy next month.

Several other major college football awards announced their finalists Tuesday night. Gordon is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award --which goes to the nation's top player -- along with Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Mississippi State's Dak Prescott.

Here are other finalists from the league:

Bednarik Award (top defensive player)

Ohio State DE Joey Bosa

Outland Trophy (top lineman)

Iowa OT Brandon Scherff

John Mackey Award (top tight end)

Minnesota's Maxx Williams

Lou Groza Award (top placekicker)

Maryland's Brad Craddock

The one mild surprise out of the night's announcements was that Ohio State's J.T. Barrett wasn't a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award (top QB). Mariota, Prescott and TCU's Trevone Boykin edged him out.

Congratulations to all the awards finalists. Winners will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 11 in Orlando.

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