Conference Rankings

3. Big 10


The Big10 gets a real bad rap. Maybe its justified,maybe it isnt, but its there. The Big10 has sent more teams to the BCS than any other conference. While I expect the Big10 to be down from the past couple of years, they stillhave enough talent and good teams to grab the 3 spot.

Ohio State and Penn State are da creme de la creme. Expect the conference title to come down to a November 7 game in Happy Valley. Both teams are suffering from some losses; Ohio State losing Wells, Laurinitis, Jenkins, Freeman, and Penn State losing Williams and Evans, but be sure that both teams will and have reloaded. Look for more on these teams in the weeks to come.

The 3-7 spots in the Big10 are really up for grabs. Iowa seems to be the biggest enigma. ON one hand, they finished strong and beat Penn State and South Carolina. On the other hand, they lost to Illinois, Northwestern and Pittsburgh. Consistency will be necessary for Iowa this year, who is loaded on defense. Amari Spievey anchors the secondary, and all the linebackers return. Iowa must go to Happy Valley and Columbus, and gets a visit from Arizona.

Michigan State may end up being the most dangerous team that no one wants to play in November. They have eight returning starters on defense. They were a few missed red zone opportunities from upsetting Georgia in the Capital One Bowl. Losing Ringer of course is damaging, but if MSU can survive early season trips to South Bend and Madison, the schedule sets up nicely; they dont play Ohio State and have Penn State in East Lansing.

Right underneath the picture of Iowa next to enigma in the dictionary would be a picture of Illinois. 2 years ago, Rose Bowl, last year, 5-7, loss to W. Michigan. They should have the best offense in the big10 with JuiceWilliams, Arrelious Benn, Michael Hoomanawanui (O-O-ama-nah-wow-e), and a stable of capable Running Backs. The defense is worrysome. Martez Wilson has not lived up to expectations,and is being moved to MLB this year. Corey Liuget at DT lives up to his name. The secondary was already spotty, and now must deal with the loss of Vontae Davis to the NFL. They should be favored against Mizzou for the first time, but open their big10 schedule with Ohio State, Penn State,and Michigan State. Winning any of those would be a bonus for them. The schedule doesnt end with Northwestern though, as they travel to Cincinnati and then host Fresno State. 6-7 wins isnt out of the question.

The hoosier state willnot be kind for football fans this year. Purdue will start year 1 of the Danny Hope era. The only hope they have is that they dont play Penn State,and have Michigan State and Ohio State in West Lafayette. They also host Notre Dame and travel to Eugene. Indiana has an easy non conference schedule, but will still need to pull some upsets along the way to earn a 2nd bowl bid in 3 years.

Last years biggest surprise, Northwestern, should be solid again. Mike Kafka replaces CJ Bacher at QB, but he already has some experience replacing Bacher as he stepped in last year. He is a threat to run the ball, and must make plays for the offense. The defense is the realstrength of this team. They return eight starters including DE Corey Wootton. Sophomore Jordan Mabin is an emerging star. NW plays Towson,E. Michigan, Miami (OH) at home, has Penn State at home, and avoids Ohio State this year. Another 9 win season would not be a shock.

Minnesota surged strongly to start the season,then faded down the stretch. This included an embarassing 55-0 lossto Iowa, and a loss to Kansas. Luckily they scheduled South Dakota State for a mid november match to avoid losing 5 straight again. IN all seriousness though, the combination of Weber and WR Deckard should be ample enough for the Gophers to win some games. They must travel to Columbus and Happy Valley. CB Traye Simmons leads a defense that hopes to improve. The Gophers open up their new stadium this year, an outdoors venue. All bets are off in November in Minneapolis. Look for Minnesota to return to a bowl game, but not a big one.

Wisconsin also showed signs of deteriorating down the stretch, and expect this trend to continue in 2009. They had to go to overtime to beat Cal Poly. Bielema could be on the hot seat as his wins total has decreased every season since 2006. Gone are PJ Hill and Travis Beckum. As always though with Wisconsin, and every other team, their success hinges on the play of their offensive line. They lost 3/5 starters, and need players to step in immediately.

Which leaves us michigan. Bitch Rodriguez, I mean Rich-Rod, complained the whole way to a 3-9 season. So the good news is, I guess, Michiganwill be better? Before I get in trouble for that comment, think of the behavior of RichRod. He comes into the winningest program of all time. The team lost some talent, but again, is the winningest program of all time and still more talented than the likes of say, Toledo. He then proceeds to complain that they didnt have his players or guys that fit his system (a real vote of confidence to the guys that were playing), and lost games to teams that were less talented, like, TOledo. DO you really need a high tech, super system, and 9 all americans to beat Toledo?
I guess according to RichRod, the season hinges on Freshamn QB Tate Forcier. I dont know if he will fit his system well enough or not. Luckily they scheduluedsome heavyweights like W. Michigan, E. Michigan, and Delaware State to give them half the wins they need to make a bowl. All units must improve, and all mostlikely will.

Final predictions:

1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
4. Iowa
5. Northwestern
6. Illinois
7. Minnesota
8. Wisconsin
9. Michigan
10. Indiana
11. Purdue