3 Dark-Horse Candidates to Win the Big Ten Title in 2012

The Big Ten Conference division titles belonged to the preseason favorites in 2011.

The Wisconsin Badgers were loaded offensively with Montee Ball in the backfield and North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson at quarterback as they steamrolled their way to a Leaders Division crown.

In the Legends Division, the Michigan State Spartans toyed with opposing offenses with monsters like Jerel Worthy and William Gholston on their defensive line. The Spartans held opponents to 18.7 points per game last year and their offense was not flashy, but extremely efficient with three-time captain Kirk Cousins under center.

Surprise teams like Michigan and Illinois emerged unscathed from the pack early in the season, but suffered critical losses that took them out of contention for a division championship down the stretch.

This season, Michigan will not be sneaking up on anyone after posting 11 wins in 2011 under first-year head coach Brady Hoke. The Wolverines and Spartans have been the talk of the Legends Division so far this offseason, and the two are the runaway favorites to line up against whoever emerges from the Leaders Division in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 1.

With Ohio State being ineligible for postseason play in Urban Meyer's first season in Columbus, the clear-cut favorite to take the Leaders Division is once again Wisconsin. Ball is back and the Badgers will once again be led by a transfer quarterback from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Who will be the teams in the race for the two division titles that people aren't talking about this season, though? Are there any teams quietly waiting in the wings to surprise the Big Ten favorites in 2012? Read on to find out. 

Iowa Hawkeyes

The last two seasons have been very mediocre for the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have posted an overall record of 16-11 and an 8-8 mark in Big Ten play since 2010. 

Iowa's main problem in 2011 was consistency. The Hawkeyes were able to beat nationally ranked Michigan and storm back from 27-10 fourth quarter deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Panthers, but were unable to beat lowly Minnesota and in-state rival Iowa State away from home.

Last season's leading rusher, Marcus Coker, is gone and his replacement Jordan Canzeri is recovering from a torn ACL, which means there will be more pressure on senior quarterback James Vandenberg than there was at the beginning of the 2011 campaign.

Vandenberg's top target and Iowa's all-time leading receiver Marvin McNutt is gone; however Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley both return and racked up over 1,000 yards receiving and seven touchdowns between the two of them last season.

Six starters return on defense for the Hawkeyes, and the unit is headlined by Micah Hyde, Tanner Miller and B.J. Lowery all returning in the secondary. 

The defensive line loses three starters and the linebacking corps was subpar last season for Iowa, but if their secondary can lock-down opposing receivers for much of the season, the Hawkeyes will be in fine shape.

The schedule also sets up well for Iowa in the stacked Legends Division. The Hawkeyes get Penn State, Purdue and Nebraska at home and should be able to notch road wins against Northwestern and Indiana. Iowa will have to travel to both Michigan and Michigan State, but if they find a way to win one of those games and get some help, there is no reason why the Hawkeyes can't make it to Indianapolis at the end of the 2012 season.

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State Nittany Lions stormed out to an 8-1 overall record due to a weak schedule early on in the regular season, but were exposed at the end of the season and lost three of their last four games to Nebraska, Wisconsin and Houston in lackluster fashion.

Silas Redd carried the load offensively for Penn State last season with 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. The same production will be expected of Redd in 2012 given that this will be his second season as Penn State's top running back and the fact that the Nittany Lions passing attack is shaping up to be just as abysmal and inept as it was in 2011. 

With that being said, there are probably several readers wondering how a team could contend for a conference crown with one of the worst passing offenses in the country. The answer: Penn State's defense is that good.

Although the Nittany Lions will be short on depth and replacing four starters in their secondary, they will have a stout defensive line led by C.J. Olaniyan and a solid group of linebackers led by one of the Big Ten's best in Michael Mauti.

The Nittany Lions boasted the nation's No. 5 ranked scoring defense last season and did not have Mauti for much of the year due to a torn ACL. 

The schedule also sets up extremely well for Penn State in 2012. The Nittany Lions get Ohio State and Wisconsin at home in addition to not having to play Legends Division heavyweights Michigan or Michigan State.

Penn State would be considered one of the favorites to win the conference if they could get some production out of their quarterbacks, which will also be a necessity if they hope to topple Wisconsin and earn a spot in this year's Big Ten Championship Game. 

Purdue Boilermakers

Danny Hope is now entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, and it seems like no one else in the Big Ten has had to deal with more injuries to key players in as short a period of time as Hope has in West Lafayette.

At long last Hope's Boilermakers remained healthy for much of the 2011 season and went from Big Ten cellar-dweller to a third place finish in the Leaders Division and talks of being a legitimate contender for the division crown this season with Ohio State unable to play in the postseason for 2012.

With Kawann Short and Bruce Gaston leading Purdue's defense and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks, the Boilermakers should not be taken lightly by anyone in the Big Ten this season.

Robert Marve is back for one last go-round at quarterback and the Boilermakers will likely get backup signal-callers Caleb TerBush and Rob Henry on the field plenty of times during their 2012 campaign as well.

Senior running back Akeem Shavers is primed for a huge season after a 22-carry, 142-yard breakout performance in Purdue's season-ending victory over Western Michigan in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl last December.

Overall, Purdue returns 19 starters, and although they have tough road games against Ohio State and Iowa, the Boilermakers also have the luxury of facing Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State at Ross Ade Stadium.

If the Boilermakers can put together a consistent effort throughout the entire Big Ten slate, they should be a contender to represent the Leaders Division in the Big Ten Championship Game.