We're back with some more results from our own version of March Madness, the all-time Big Ten coaches tournament.
Our third game of the first round featured two coaches from the Paul Bunyan's Axe rivalry, though from vastly different eras. Minnesota's Bernie Bierman, the No. 7 seed, squared off against No. 10 Barry Alvarez from Wisconsin.
And we had our first, albeit mild, upset of the tournament, as Alvarez won 62 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Bierman. Alvarez advanced to take on No. 2-seed Bo Schembechler in the next round.
Now on to some of your comments about the matchup. Minnesota fans were much more vocal in their support of Bierman, but it wasn't enough:
David from Florida: Barry all the way! This program was terrible before he made it a powerhouse.
Jeff from St. Paul: I was pretty much expecting it was going to be the case, but seeing Barry Alvarez beat out Bernie Bierman by basically a 2:1 ratio is really sad. I get that most people, outside of football historians or Minnesotans do not understand how important Bierman was to college football overall. I also get that with these types of polls the more recent coach is going to get more votes than the coach from decades ago. But the fact remains that Bierman was one of the most dominant coaches in the history of college football. To achieve five national titles and seven conference championships and lose out to a coach with zero national championships and fewer conference titles makes absolutely zero sense. Coach Alvarez deserves plenty of praise for bringing Wisconsin up a tier in status, but he still was a tier below where Minnesota was with Bierman. We are still the only modern college football program to win three national titles in a row, and it would never have occurred without Coach Bierman.
Craig from Braintree, Mass.: I voted for Bierman because I went to the University of Minnesota and am a homer. However, I think his stats speak for themselves: Five national championships in 10 years. He is the last to have three consecutive champions. He also served his country in WWII. What might he have done if he hadn't served is worth considering.
M. Elm from Chicago: Why is this even a question? Five national championships for one guy vs. zero for the other. Bierman SHOULD win by a landslide. Unless you really believe what wisconSIN is selling: College football was invented in 1993, in Madison, Wis., by Pat Richter, Barry Alvarez and Donna Shalala.