Big Ten Preview: Sizing Up the Big One and the Little Ten

The Wolverines were one of the most disappointing teams in college football last year—certainly in the Big Ten—and they still almost won the conference before beating Florida in the Capital One Bowl. This year, however, almost certainly looks like a down season.

The starting quarterback is expected to be a redshirt freshman, the tailback should be fumble-prone Brandon Minor, and the receiving corps is almost totally unknown. What’s more, new head coach Rich Rodriguez insists on running his spread offense with the personnel he has, which looks like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.

The defense shows potential, but is similarly depleted of much of the talent from previous seasons. Michigan’s schedule is forgiving enough for the Wolverines to be competitive in the Big Ten, and plenty of fans will tell you that lesser Michigan teams have knocked off mightier Buckeye teams before, thus ruining their conference and national title hopes.

On the whole, however, this looks like a team headed for San Antonio. Enjoy it while you can, Michigan haters.

5.  Purdue

Joe Tiller’s reign in West Lafayette has brought unparalleled success to a once pitiful and forgotten program. His final season should take the Boilermakers to their 11^th bowl in 12 seasons. There is certainly enough talent on offense to do just that—and maybe just a little more.

Quarterback Curtis Painter will have plenty of options to throw the ball to in seniors Greg Orton, Desmond Tardy, and Brandon Whittington. He can also hand it off to Kory Sheets and Jaycen Taylor.

Where the Boilers desperately need help is on defense, which has steadily declined since they led the conference in total defense in 2003. This, more than anything else, has limited Purdue’s upward mobility in the conference in recent seasons. 

In any case, Purdue will go bowling again, probably the Insight Bowl, and offensive line coach Danny Hope will have big shoes to fill when Tiller steps aside at the end of the year.

6.  Michigan State

Mark Dantonio’s first year experiment to transform the Spartans was a success.  The team went bowling for the first time since 2003, and they even beat rival Penn State, which had bested them consistently in recent seasons.

However, they still lost an awful lot of close games, including another gut-wrenching bout with the Wolverines. The Spartans return a talented quarterback in Brian Hoyer as well as a powerful running back named Javon Ringer.

Questions arise, however, at wide receiver and tight end. The Spartan defense is small, which could hurt them once the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Badgers pay visits. 

If the Spartans can survive a week one trip to Berkeley—and stave off another late-season collapse—maybe Sparty will get a chance to avenge last year’s loss with another trip to the Champs Sports Bowl.

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