Almost all of the Big Ten teams (with the exception of Purdue) will begin their respective seasons on Aug. 30. Like most college football fans, I have enjoyed looking through the various preview magazines, listening to podcasts, and catching glimpses of ESPN's College Football Live.
Among the websites (and magazines) I have truly enjoyed reviewing this summer is collegefootballnews.com. In its preview, Ohio State was chosen as the No. 1 team in the country, predicted to go 12-0.
While I truly hope that the above prediction comes true, I want to pass along how I believe Ohio State will do, as well as the other teams in the Big Ten. (One of the nice things about this blog is everyone will be able to look back to this post and see how well or how poorly I predicted this season.)
1. Ohio State: 11-1 (8-0 in conference play), with a loss at USC on September 13 keeping OSU from the BCS Championship Game. The motivation for Ohio State's vaunted senior class will be to become the first-ever Big Ten Champion three years consecutively. Ohio State winds up in the Rose Bowl. (Again, I hope I am wrong re: USC).
2. Wisconsin: 10-2, with losses at Fresno State on Sept. 13 and at home to Ohio State on Oct. 4 (7-1 in conference play). Camp Randall will be rocking on Oct. 4, but Ohio State pulls out a close one, and that is enough to deny Wisconsin the Big Ten title. Nov. 1 at Michigan State should be a good one. A name to watch out for this year: redshirt freshman running back John Clay.
3. Penn State: 10-2, with losses at Wisconsin on Oct. 11 and at Ohio State on Oct. 25 (6-2 in conference play). With quarterback Darryl Clark running a spread offense similar to what Penn State ran in 2005, I look for the Nittany Lions to be tough offensively. The non-conference schedule sets Penn State up nicely for a good season. This is the year Penn State finally defeats Michigan.
T4. Michigan State: 8-4, with losses at California, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and at Penn State (5-3 in conference play). Michigan State is a team on the rise under the leadership of Coach Mark Dantonio. If Michigan State can defeat California in the opener, I look for Michigan State to be undefeated when Ohio State comes into town on Oct. 18.
T4. Illinois: 8-4, with losses at Missouri, at Penn State, at Wisconsin, and Ohio State (5-3 in conference play). Illinois' young talent will make them competitive in the Big Ten. The loss of running back Rashard Mendenhall to the NFL will put more of a burden on quarterback Juice Williams offensively, but I look for Williams to be able to carry the load. The defense should be solid. Defensive end Martez Wilson will evoke memories of Simeon Rice.
T4 Purdue:
15 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Knute Rockne 10 months ago
OSU will lose their only tough game to USC, and will beat up on their vaunted Division II ("I have a good excuse for scheduling them") and Little Ten opponents. Then they will have the experience--check that, high ranking--to get slammed in a bowl game. When will they act like men and schedule more than one tough match a year? I know--they would rather back their way into a bowl game than fight their way in. OSU has only one true rivalry--Michigan--because that is their only real game. The reason other teams have more than one rivalry is that they have more than one tough game: e.g., Michigan, which can count OSU and ND on that score; the Florida schools, which can count the other 3 (Florida, Florida St. and Miami); Oklahoma, which has Nebraska and Texas, and the list goes on. The Bucks are weak in bowl games for a reason that will, and should, continue.
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Knute: Thanks for your comments. Good luck to whatever team you root for; I can only guess Notre Dame with your sign on.
Thanks again.
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Doug Kraus 10 months ago
Nice comments Knute - you are an idiot. Teams that are in conferences are obligated to play the other teams in their conference. Your team should try it. Sure OSU schedules some cup cakes just like every other team in college football (they even booked a game with a service academy (Navy, next year) in the just like your boys do twice per year. They played Texas the past two years, the next two they play USC, then Miami, then I believe it is two years with Oaklahoma and a game with Cal. How many top teams do they need to schedule out of conference to make you happy.
Lets look at bowl games since Tressel came on board:
2002 Fiesta - beat Miami for NC
2003 Fiesta - beat Kansas State
2004 Alamo - beat Oklahoma State
2005 Fiesta - beat Notre Dame
2006 BCS NC - lost to Florida
2007 BCS NC - lost to LSU
Yes, they only have one true rivaly. Why is that a problem?
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Sue M. 10 months ago
I definitely hope that Ohio State can pull out with a win against USC. It will most definitely be one of the few tough games for Ohio State. If everything is in order and everyone plays well, it will be an interesting game, simple as that!
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Leanna: Thanks for your comments. The USC game will certainly be one of the tough games for Ohio State. I believe the games @ Wisconsin, @ Michigan State, and @ Illinois will be tough as well.
Thanks again.
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Jeff Contizano 10 months ago
I hope Ohio State is crushed by USC personally. Overall your picks are essentially the same as the thousands of other Big ten predictors, Michigan, blah. It will be a good season of football.
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Thanks for your comments.
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Chris Copeland 10 months ago
Wow, it's the exact same article I've read every day this summer. Sometimes I wonder if those intellectual masterminds from college football live don't log on and post their "expert" predictions on here. Please, no more Big Ten prediction articles stating Ohio State will go undefeated in conference. It really isn't necessary.
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Thanks for your comments. I consider your comments somewhat surprising - I haven't seen too many articles giving an actual final record prediction, but I will take your word on it.
Thanks again.
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Sam Wenk 10 months ago
Nice article. When I went to Big Ten Media Days last month, a lot of the coaches said Michigan State is this year's version of what Illinois was last year.
I also like Wisconsin but for some reason I feel they will suffer some type of major upset.
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Thanks for your comments. You may be right regarding Wisconsin - considering last year when they were one of the favorites, you may not be far off. As for Michigan State, they may still be a year away, but I truly believe Coach Dantonio will have them competing for the Big Ten title very soon.
Thanks again.
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Chris Copeland 10 months ago
Damn you Chip!
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
???
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Knute Rockne 10 months ago
Dougie, while "teams that are in conferences are obligated to play the other teams in their conference" OSU could still schedule more than one tough non-conference game a year. They really could! They should be ashamed at playing Division II schools. Maybe their players in turn still take high school courses. You did nothing to rebut the fact that the Bucks are Duckers--their non-conf schedule typically includes only one serious opponent.
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Chip Minnich 10 months ago
Knute: Thanks for your comments. I agree that Ohio State should play a tougher non-conference schedule; I wrote something about that in a recent article. In my ideal situation, Ohio State would play one team like USC, or Virginia Tech, or any of the other good non-conference teams they have scheduled for the next ten plus years. They would also play at least one SEC or Big East team geographically close by, such as Kentucky or West Virginia. And they could play one MAC team as well.
Thanks again for your comments.
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