2009 Big Ten Football Discussion

[BB73]

A brief look at each team in the Big Ten.

cfn

Ohio State Buckeyes

CFN Preseason Prediction: 12-0 Final Record: 10-3

Why to get excited: If you?re going to play USC, especially this year, do it early. While the Buckeyes have some reloading to do, USC has to do more work and has to be ready for the date in Columbus on September 12th. If OSU can somehow pull that one off, it should be smooth sailing in a weak Big Ten until early November with a trip to Penn State. By then, the defense, that returns seven starters, should be solid, while Terrelle Pryor and the offense should be good enough to win with.

 

[morbitzerker]

[FONT=&quot]Why to get excited: Everyone but QB Steven Threet, who’s transferring, is back on offense. While that might not seem like a positive considering the woeful, last-in-the-Big-Ten season, for a team trying to figure out the new coaching staff and the system, having a year under the belt means there won’t be a ton of turnover early on. The recruiting class wasn’t remotely as good as Ohio State’s, but it was good enough to be excited for the near future.[/FONT]

Oh the woe's for scUM.
This is something to be excited about?

 

[BB73]

While that might not seem like a positive considering the woeful, last-in-the-Big-Ten season,

To be fair, TSUN wasn't last in the Big Ten, they tied for 9th with Purdue at 2-6. Indiana was last at 1-7.

[Bucky Katt, DBA Fungo Suiggly] Just like Basketball! [/Bucky Katt, DBA Fungo Squiggly]

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

To be fair, TSUN wasn't last in the Big Ten, they tied for 9th with Purdue at 2-6. Indiana was last at 1-7.

I think the article was referring to the offense...

 

[buckeyesin07]

I think that cfn article is way overestimating UM's success this fall, as they have UM's projected record as 7-5.

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Buckeyes win 5th straight, back to out-right this year.

 

[Buckeneye]

As long as we get USC, State Penn and scUM, I'll be a happy guy.

 

[itownbuckeye]

I think that cfn article is way overestimating UM's success this fall, as they have UM's projected record as 7-5.

That was the projected record for 2008. It is right next to the final record so you can compare their prediction with the actual results.

 

[OrangeRoughy]

*ventures outside the Zook/Recruiting thread for the first time to begin his "Penn State will suck next year" campaign*

and it's off to Pasadena (for Penn State) for the second year in a row...

AYFKM?

Nine returning starters. 9. Less than 10. Nine. I read Rittenberg's ESPN blog saying things like "The Big Ten's best offensive backfield and the league's best linebacking corps gives Penn State a chance to surpass Ohio State this fall" and I'm all "um, Adam, that's pretty much ALL they have back."

All three starting receivers are gone. All four secondary members are gone. Both defensive ends are off to the NFL. NINE All-Big 10 players are gone.

And it's not like they've recruited well enough to just reload like you guys do. They were a senior-laden team that overachieved in 2008. And now they'll be a sophomore laden team with sophomores from recruiting classes ranked in the 20s. I'm just not seeing it.

 

[cincibuck]

*ventures outside the Zook/Recruiting thread for the first time to begin his "Penn State will suck next year" campaign*

and it's off to Pasadena (for Penn State) for the second year in a row...

AYFKM?.

Well, they consistently produce linemen and a decent defense. They play Iowa at home. They'll have an experienced QB and RB, their o-line will once more be better than OSU's and the Buckeyes have not played well in Happy Valley, even when they've been heavy favorites. It's not an unreasonable assumption.

 

[sflbuck]

*ventures outside the Zook/Recruiting thread for the first time to begin his "Penn State will suck next year" campaign*

I am with you on this one OR. It's not just that they lost starters, its the fact that the starters that they lost combine in such a way that the remaining units will be even weaker.

On defense, they lose their entire secondary and although some of the expected replacements have talent (Wallace as an example) none were able to replace anyone in a 2008 secondary that was very average. (Anyone that wants to agrue that should rewatch the Rose Bowl). One way to protect a young secondary is with an agressive Pass Rush. Except they have also lost their two best edge rushers.

On offense, they lose all three starters at WR and with these positions they don't even look to have really otstanding replacements. So they focus on the run with Royster and a athletic Clark. Except they also lose 3 of 5 on the OL including their best player there in Shipley.

They do get us in HV at night and this year it later the usual so they have time to find some answer, but right we should be better and they may lose a game or two earlier in the year.

 

[BB73]

Another headline begging for outraged responses.

cfn.scout.coml

17. Just how much does the Big Ten really suck?

The conference has been a punching bag when it comes to national perception, and rightly so. Unfortunately for Big Ten fans, it might be a case of things getting worse before they get better.

The main issue starts at the top with Ohio State losing big game after big game. When the lead dog doesn't represent itself well out of conference, it reflects poorly on the rest of the league. On the one hand, the 2008 Buckeyes might have underachieved considering it was a more experienced, arguably more talented team that went to the two straight national title games (there were at least ten starters who?ll end up on an NFL roster next season). However, it's not like there have been any truly embarrassing losses.

It's not right to rip on any team for losing a national championship, and OSU got unfairly dumped on for losing to Florida and LSU. Okay, fine, so the Buckeyes were hardly prepared mentally or physically for the 2007 BCS Championship, but that was just one of a slew of high-end losses.

How's this for a fun stat? The last time Ohio State lost to a team that didn't go to the BCS was November 13th of 2004. Think about that for a moment - W had just been reelected. After that loss to Purdue, the program has gone 45-8 with all eight coming against teams that ended up on the big stage. While that proves Jim Tressel knows how to get his team up for the midrange games week after week, there's a failure when it comes to the spotlight moments. It all trickles down from there.

...

The 5 Biggest Big Ten Spring Storylines
1. Michigan?s offensive backfield. Will the talent be there to match the system and style?
2. The Ohio State talent factory - can the program simply replace all the key starters at running back, receiver, on the offensive line and in the defensive back seven?
3. Can Penn State repeat? The receiver and the offensive line will have the spotlight on.
4. Wisconsin looking to recapture the tough image. After last year's disaster, head coach Bret Bielema needs his team to come into the season rolling.
5. Can Michigan State take the next step despite needing to come up with major replacements in the offensive backfield?

The Spring Big Ten Team Rankings
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
4. Iowa
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
7. Minnesota
8. Michigan
9. Northwestern
10. Purdue
11. Indiana

The Pre-Spring Call For Player Of The Year
1. Daryll Clark, QB Penn State
2. Terrelle Pryor, QB Ohio State
3. Juice Williams, QB Illinois
4. Navarro Bowman, LB Penn State
5. Greg Jones, LB Michigan State

 

[matcar]

Well, they consistently produce linemen and a decent defense. They play Iowa at home. They'll have an experienced QB and RB, their o-line will once more be better than OSU's and the Buckeyes have not played well in Happy Valley, even when they've been heavy favorites. It's not an unreasonable assumption.

I think it's pretty unreasonable. PSU rose up, as they are prone to do twice every ten years and now they'll go back to mediocrity. They lost a lot and have done little to replace talent as their recruiting has been....lackluster. I expect 2 teams to be ahead of PSU at the end of 2009.

 

[BB73]

A capsule look at each team heading into the spring.

CFN

The Big Ten might have problems, but there are several emerging superstars to watch like Wisconsin's John Clay, MSU's Greg Jones, and Illinois WR Arrelious Benn. Just as spring ball gets underway, here are the big questions, the most important positions and more for each Big Ten team in the CFN Spring Preview.

Ohio State Begins: March 30 Game: April 25

The early spring buzz ... There might be major turnover to deal with on both sides of the ball, and there might not be a recognizable returning starter on defense, but help is on the way. Even with the struggles in big games over the last few seasons, elite recruits are still flocking to Columbus in droves. If Ohio State wasn't the big dog of the Big Ten before, it has all but assured itself of being the one to beat for the next few years with yet another tremendous recruiting class. The big haul of new four and five-star talents means this spring could be more spirited than normal. Last year was about fine tuning with all the veterans returning from the team that lost to LSU in the 2008 BCS Championship game. This year is about filling holes, and there will be several players coming in this summer with a realistic goal of being in the mix when Navy comes to town on September 5th.

The big spring question is ... How will Terrelle Pryor advance and improve? Kept under wraps when it came to the passing game last year, Pryor will have to show early on that he can do more to push the ball down the field, and he'll have to show he can do it without Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline to work with. Pryor has been doing his part to work on his mechanics and his consistency, and he should be doing a lot more when he hits the practice field.

The most important position to watch is ... Offensive tackle. The pass protection was miserable last season as defenses teed off when Todd Boeckman was in the game and was able to get to Pryor on a regular basis. Even though Alex Boone had a rough year, he's still an NFL talent who'll be missed. Bryant Browning was a starter on the right side, but J.B. Shugarts, Josh Kerr and Mike Adams are big blockers with upside. Whoever gets the starting job will have to give Pryor more time.

Spring attitude... USC on September 12. USC on September 12. USC on September 12. The Trojans have to do even more rebuilding than the Buckeyes do and they're not likely to be fully jelled when they come to Columbus early in the season. If Ohio State is ever going to shake the recently earned tag of not being able to win the big one, it has to hold serve on its own turf against the Pac 10's superpower. Outside of a road trip to Penn State in early November, Ohio State will be the favorite in every other game, so if it can pull off the win over the Trojans, a 9-0 start is almost a lock before dealing with the Nittany Lions.

Cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

CBS.Dodd

...

The Big Ten is considering changing its tiebreaker from its current rule that has its roots back in the mid-1970s. After head-to-head, a tie goes to a team playing the fewest I-AA opponents. If that doesn't break the tie, the team most recently in a BCS bowl is out.

In May, Big Ten ADs will consider changing the rule so that the BCS bid goes to the highest-ranked team if the tie cannot be broken with head-to-head competition. (The Big Ten does not play a true round-robin schedule.) This is not quite the Big 12 tiebreaker, which only comes into play if there are three or more teams tied in a division. Plus, the Big 12 had to go to about its fifth option to separate Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. This would be the second Big Ten tiebreaker.

Another big difference: The Big 12 tiebreaker only breaks a tie to get into the conference title game. The Big Ten tiebreaker would decide the conference's automatic qualifier in a BCS bowl.