Wednesdays during the season will be Big Ten Wednesdays on this Blog. It will feature a quick rundown of all eleven teams, plus our new friend Nebraska. To start off Big Ten Wednesdays, a conference preview. But first, a few news items.
First, by the time you read this, it may be old news, but the Big Ten is expected to announce its division alignment today according to the Chicago Tribune. All of the sources suggest that the fans will not be happy about splitting OSU and Michigan. This is a pretty divisive issue, but like anything, everyone will get used to it. Delaney and the ADs are taking a lesson from their new colleagues at Nebraska, who just lived through fifteen years of what a geographical split can provide. I believe that they will do what is best for the conference.
Tina Akouris writes a nice article about Jeremy Ebert and his playing with a chip on his shoulder. Despite playing in all 13 games last year, Ebert was apparently injured for most of them (a surprise to me) and evidently only caught 21 passes all season (seemed like more). Either way, Ebert has always shown a great deal of athleticism and should be a major player in the passing game.
Finally, in NU’s official notes publication for the Vanderbilt game Fitz finally releases the two-deep for this week. Again, I was shocked to see that on a team that returns 13 starters, only five seniors are starting (watch out in 2011!). No real surprises, but a few items of note:
• As mentioned yesterday, Fields, Simmons, Schmidt are listed as co-starters. But everything that Fitz mentioned in the Big Ten coaches teleconference yesterday suggests that Arby will be given every chance to be the feature back if healthy.
• True Frosh Venric Mark is listed as a backup WR and co-starter with Hunter Bates at punt return. He is the only first-year player on the two deep, so congrats for your hard work Venric and we look forward to seeing you play.
• As expected, Brandon Williams is the punter.
• Junior Bryce McNaul is listed as the starting right outside linebacker, beating out Ben Johnson for the job. Johnson will surely see a lot of playing time.
• Jared Carpenter won the safety job opposite Brian Peters. David Arnold will presumably challenge for this job once he is healthy.
• Arnold and injured LB Roderick Goodlow are not listed, as expected.
Now for the Big Ten Preview
There is no doubt that the Big Ten is perceived as stronger and deeper, at least on a national level. The Big Ten performance in 2010 Bowl games seems to have told the world that the Big Ten is “back.” I am not going to get into the discussion as to whether the Conference is “back” or whether it was ever “gone.” But I will agree that this conference goes pretty deep this year. Let us begin at the top.
OHIO STATE: Until further notice, OSU is still the 800 pound gorilla in the Big Ten. It returns 15 starters from a team that went 11-2 and won the Rose Bowl. Tyrell Pryor continues to make strides as a passing quarterback. The defense will be solid as always. The Buckeyes have eight home games, but play on the road against Wisconsin and Iowa, which will be the only speed bumps on the way to a national title game. Predicted Finish: 1st, BCS Bowl
IOWA: Iowa lived on the edge all of last season. It had a number of come-from-behind and last-second victories, and two crushing defeats. It returns a stellar defense from a team that also went 11-2 last season with a BCS Bowl win against Georgia Tech. Iowa also comes back with stalwart quarterback Ricky Stanzi. The Hawkeyes had to play Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State all on the road last year, going 3-1. It gets all four at home in 2010. Predicted Finish: T-2nd, BCS Bowl
WISCONSIN: The Badgers are a very strong, balanced team. But it is not quite at the level of the big two, yet. Coach Bielema has this program moving in the right direction and comes to the table in 2010 with the best running back and the best quarterback in the conference. Wisconsin will have its chances to beat Ohio State and Iowa, but may not have the defense to win both. It needs to be careful not to be knocked off by a lesser team with a strong offense. Predicted Finish: T-2nd, Capital One Bowl
MICHIGAN STATE: The Spartans took another step away from the John L. Smith era last season, as they remained in contention for a Big Ten title into early November. A slow start prevented them from a better bowl game; and an unfortunate campus event prevented them from succeeding at the Alamo Bowl. Michigan State brings many nice pieces to both sides of the ball. It avoids Ohio State, but plays at Iowa and Penn State. Predicted Finish: T-4th, Outback Bowl
PENN STATE: This appears to be Joe Paterno’s swan song season. And maybe the Lions can scare up something special. But there are big questions at the quarterback position. Also, trips to Alabama, Iowa, and Ohio State will all be major challenges. This team could start 3-2 and needs to be careful not to fall into a downward spiral that would taint JoPa’s last season. Predicted Finish: T-4th, Gator Bowl
NORTHWESTERN: It you read this blog, you do not need any more information on NU. The Cats are deep, but young and needs to knock off at least one, maybe two, of the above four opponents if it wants to play on New Years Day. Predicted Finish: T-6th, Insight Bowl
PURDUE: Purdue went 4-4 in the conference last season, but was not bowl eligible because of the 1-3 conference record. It can start the season with a bang if it can ruin Brian Kelly’s debut in South Bend on Saturday. Expect a typical Purdue team, pass heavy, but a surprisingly good running game, and inconsistent defense. Purdue is generally known for high scoring games, and we should expect more of the same. Predicted Finish: T-6th, Texas Bowl
MICHIGAN: Michigan is really the wild card in this whole picture. It seems like they have the talent, and they have a coach that has proven success. But they do not seem to work very well together. I think that Michigan will continue to struggle, including, potentially, starting 0-2 with losses to Connecticut and Notre Dame. Rich Rodriguez is probably coaching for his job. Predicted Finish: T-8th, Dallas Football Classic
INDIANA: As mentioned before, I am not drinking the Indiana Kool Aid that many others are. Coach Lynch has this program going in the right direction, but it is not there yet. The Hoosiers will likely see much of the same that they saw last season, with some gutsy, but in the end, losing performances. This is a program on the rise, but it still has not risen above the horizon. Predicted Finish: T-8th, No Bowl
MINNESOTA: Minnesota is the only team in the Big Ten that I see taking a major step backwards this year. It may not even get past Middle Tennessee tomorrow night. If Coach Brewster is not careful, this could be a nightmare season for the Gophers. Adam Weber needs to bounce back to his 2008 form. Predicted Finish: 10th, No Bowl
ILLINOIS: Ron Zook has a mess on his hands. This is a program in disarray. The team is too young to compete, but the alumni base is too spoiled from the successful seasons Illinois sees every six years. The game against Southern Illinois could prevent this team from going 0-12. Predicted Finish: 11th, No Bowl
NEBRASKA: The storybook ending to Nebraska’s long stay as a member of a heartland conference, quite frankly, probably will not happen. Nebraska is the best team in the Big 12 North, but still is not quite up to par with Texas or Oklahoma. Of course, once it gets to the Big 12 Title game, anything can happen. Nebraska will have a nice successful season, but will fall short of anything spectacular. Predicted Finish: 1st in Big 12 North, Cotton Bowl
Week One Pick’em
Ohio State over Marshall
MTSU over Minnesota
Indiana over Towson
MSU over WMU
PSU over Youngstown State
Iowa over Eastern Illinois
Missouri over Illinois
Connecticut over Michigan
Notre Dame over Purdue
Northwestern over Vanderbilt
Wisconsin over UNLV
Nebraska over Western Kentucky
Go Cats!
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