Big Ten Football Q&A: Who's the B1G's Dark-Horse National Title Contender?
Michigan's spring game has come and gone, Northwestern and Minnesota will each play their annual exhibitions this weekend and before you know it, we'll officially be in the longest—and least eventful—portion of the college football offseason: summer conditioning.
So while college football is still in the news—at least as much as it can be during spring practice—let's enjoy it with another edition of Big Ten Q&A. This week we'll tackle the conference's national championship dark horse, the best Big Ten sleeper pick in the upcoming NFL draft, the league's most overrated and underrated teams and whether one Big Ten team was more talented than a certain NFL roster was a year ago?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
As always, you can send your questions to me each week on Twitter @BenAxelrod.
Let's get started.
Outside of the Buckeyes and Wolverines, I actually do think there is one other Big Ten team capable of making a national title run in 2016.
But after the way Iowa closed its 2015 campaign, the reality is that I have no idea what to make of the Hawkeyes' prospects in the coming year.
Starting with the negative, Iowa's 45-16 loss to Stanford in January's Rose Bowl left plenty of doubt about the program being on the same level as college football's elite while simultaneously lending credence to the theory that the Hawkeyes' 12-0 regular-season record was more of a matter of happenstance than sustainable progress in the program.
If Iowa looked so overmatched on the national stage, how could it be counted on in a playoff scenario where it would not only be forced to face a team as talented as Stanford, but also one as dominant as Alabama or Clemson?
At the same time, however, the Hawkeyes have a lot working in their favor in 2016.
Most notably, Iowa will return 72 percent of its production on both offense and defense from 2015, according to SBNation's Bill Connelly. That's good for the third-most returning production in all the Big Ten in 2016 and the most of any team in the league to possess a winning record a year ago.
Quarterback C.J. Beathard will be back in Iowa City, as will Thorpe Award-winning cornerback Desmond King. Perhaps most importantly, Wisconsin, arguably Iowa's biggest threat in the Big Ten West, faces a schedule so tough in the coming year that it's tough to imagine the Badgers being in the hunt for the division crown by year's end.
Conversely, the Hawkeyes' schedule is much more manageable, with matchups with Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska all coming inside the friendly confines of Kinnick Stadium. If Iowa can survive that and pull off what would likely be an upset in the conference title game over the representative from the superior Big Ten East, the Hawkeyes could find themselves in the College Football Playoff after missing out on football's final four by just one game a year ago.
From there, anything could happen. But after last season's Rose Bowl, I'm not necessarily holding my breath on an Iowa national title run in 2016.
Here are a few mid-late-round Big Ten prospects to keep an eye on:
Carl Nassib, Penn State
It's rare that a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year with 15.5 sacks in his senior season would fly under the radar. But given his status as a former walk-on and questions as to whether or not he was even the best defensive lineman on the Nittany Lions roster last season, that's exactly where Carl Nassib finds himself at the moment.
While he's currently projected by CBSSports.com as a second- or third-rounder, you can't teach 6'7", 277 pounds. You also don't tally 15.5 sacks by accident—so don't be surprised if Nassib makes an instant impact in his college career.
Aaron Burbridge, Michigan State
After a largely inconsistent career in East Lansing, Aaron Burbridge saved his best for last, catching 85 balls for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns in his senior season. Still, questions about his lack of consistency and injury history haunt him, as he's currently projected as a third-fourth round pick by CBSSports.com.
A former 4-star prospect, Burbridge has the talent and, as last season showed, is more than capable of making an impact when he's on the field. If he can manage to continue to do just that, an NFL team could find itself with a first-round talent in one of the middle rounds.
Nick Vannett, Ohio State
Ohio State's use of its tight ends—or lack thereof—has been a long-running joke in Columbus, and Nick Vannett's production over the course of his college career shows why. Despite his apparent talent, the 6'6", 260-pounder only caught 55 balls for 535 yards and six touchdowns over the course of his four seasons with the Buckeyes.
As a result of his lack of production, Vannett's draft stock has slid, with CBSSports.com currently projecting him to be a third-round pick. But according to Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, he's comparable to at least one former first-rounder, which could make him another potential steal in the upcoming draft.
"@BenAxelrod who will be an underrated team and an overrated team going into the season?
— Larry Tav (@larrytav6) April 7, 2016"
Starting with the overrated, I'm going to go with Wisconsin, although as a whole I really like the Badgers roster and the direction of their program. Despite his disappointing junior campaign, I believe Corey Clement will achieve star status in 2015 and that Bart Houston should fill in seamlessly for Joe Stave at quarterback.
That schedule, however, is too much to ignore.
Even aside from a season opener against LSU, I can't imagine a Big Ten team ever having a tougher start to conference play than Wisconsin has in 2016. Not only are the Badgers' three cross-divisional games this season against the three best teams in the Big Ten East (Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State) but Wisconsin starts its Big Ten slate with those three games, in order.
After that, it doesn't get much easier, with a trip to Iowa City to face the defending Big Ten West champion, Iowa, on October 22. As talented as Wisconsin is, a 2-6 start to the season isn't out of the realm of possibility.
As far as underrated goes, I've already made the case for Nebraska as the potential Big Ten West champ, so let me give you another team from the division to keep an eye on: Minnesota.
Despite last season's 5-7 regular season record, I still like the direction the Golden Gophers are heading, as last year's disappointing results can largely be blamed on the mess that came with former head coach Jerry Kill being forced to step down due to health reasons midseason. As Kill's former defensive coordinator, new Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys can allow the Gophers to maintain continuity while still putting his own updated stamp on the program.
With quarterback Mitch Leidner back for his third season as a starter, Minnesota should have a shot at contending for the division crown this season. In total, the Big Ten West should be a lot better than most people think—even with the Badgers' brutal schedule.
This question was written in jest—I think—and in reference to how often Cleveland Browns fans clamor for their favorite team to pick players from nearby Ohio State.
But given that the Buckeyes could have as many as seven players picked in the first round later this month, there's actually something to explore here.
As early as the Browns preseason last summer, it struck me just how little talent their roster possessed compared to the defending national champion (Ohio State) I was in the midst of covering. It seems that every year it gets asked whether or not a college team could beat an NFL team and each time the answer is a resounding "no."
But as far as whose roster I'd rather have moving forward, I could certainly make a compelling case for the Buckeyes.
Just look at it from a position-by-position breakdown as far as Ohio State's draft-eligible players are concerned:
Would you rather have Robert Griffin III or Cardale Jones? I could argue that's a wash.
Isaiah Crowell or Ezekiel Elliott? I'm definitely taking Elliott.
Brian Hartline, Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel or Mike Thomas, Braxton Miller and Jalin Marshall? Give me the Buckeyes.
Gary Barnidge or Nick Vannett? I'd stick with Barnidge.
Joe Thomas or Taylor Decker? Given age and Decker's status as a likely first-round pick, I'd take him.
Barkevious Mingo, Paul Kruger and Danny Shelton or Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington and Darron Lee? I'd take the Ohio State players.
Joe Haden, Tramon Williams and Justin Gilbert or Eli Apple, Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell? I'd give the Browns the edge, but it's closer than you'd think.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that if the Browns were to flip rosters with the Buckeyes, they actually might be in better shape moving forward than they are now.
Now I guess the real question is whether that says more about the rosters in Cleveland or Columbus at the moment.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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