Saquon Barkley, J.T. Barrett win Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football

Leading up to the final College Football Playoff ranking, there seemed to be a split with Ohio State and Penn State.

Some argued that Ohio State had the better résumé and deserved to make the final four. Others argued that Penn State should’ve been in for beating the Buckeyes and winning the B1G Championship.

OSU got the nod there, but in the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football voting, it was an even split. J.T. Barrett and Saquon Barkley split the publication’s annual award, which has been handed out to the top B1G player since 1924.

Here’s how the voting shook out:

Players received two points for a first-place vote and one point for a second-place vote (first-second-total).

• T1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State: 4-2-10
• T1. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State: 4-2-10
• 3. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan: 2-4-8
• 4. Curtis Samuel, Ohio State: 3-1-7
• 5. Austin Carr, Northwestern: 1-1-3
• T6. Corey Clement, Wisconsin: 0-1-1
• T6. Malik Hooker, Ohio State: 0-1-1
• T6. Desmond King, Iowa: 0-1-1
• T6. T.J. Watt, Wisconsin: 0-1-1

Barkley edged out Barrett for B1G Offensive Player of the Year, but both players were first-team All-B1G selections. It marked the fourth time in the last five years that the Buckeyes earned at least a share of the award.

The Silver Football was Penn State’s first since 2009 and the fourth Lion to ever win the award.

Barkley and Barrett could both be repeat winners, which was accomplished in 2012 and 2013 by Braxton Miller.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.