College Football 2011: Is the Pac-12 or Big Ten Stronger, Top to Bottom?
As the 2011 college football season approaches, both the Big 10 and the newly minted Pac-12 have new teams joining their ranks.
Who got the better deal out of realignment? Which conference will be strongest across the board next season?
Read on for a look at how both conferences might shake out, and who comes out on top.
BCS Bowl Teams: Big Ten
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Ohio State will be facing the much-publicized suspension of five starters (including QB Terrelle Pryor, pictured) to open the season, but a favorable schedule during that stretch—plus their usual deep talent pool—should keep them in conference-title contention regardless.
Wisconsin graduated a lot of talent on both lines, but returns enough explosiveness on offense (RBs Montee Ball and James White, WR Nick Toon) to stay atop the standings again.
BCS Bowl Teams: Pac-12
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Oregon is a preseason favorite to win it all, thanks to the return of Heisman runner-up LaMichael James (pictured) at RB and Darron Thomas at QB to run the Ducks’ high-voltage offense.
Stanford graduated large chunks of the supporting cast and lost head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, but as long as Heisman-favorite QB Andrew Luck is on campus, the Cardinal will be one of the country’s best teams.
Top 25 Teams: Big Ten
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Michigan State should rebound from its disastrous Capital One Bowl, with QB Kirk Cousins and RB Edwin Baker back on offense.
Highlight-reel QB Taylor Martinez (pictured) returns to lead Nebraska into its first Big 10 campaign, though inexperience around him could hurt the offense.
Penn State has some questions at QB, but talented RB Silas Redd and a loaded receiving corps should take some of the pressure off.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Top 25 Teams: Pac-12
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Arizona State returns senior QB Steven Threet (pictured) and his offense wholesale, adding a year of experience to a group that was already scoring almost 33 points a game.
USC, still banned from the postseason in the aftermath of the Reggie Bush scandal, isn’t being picked for the Top 25 in the preseason, but could fight their way into it.
QB Matt Barkley returns with a year of experience, and a terrific recruiting class (especially at WR) will be key.
Middle of the Pack: Big Ten
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Michigan could be a dangerous sleeper team, with an extraordinary 18 combined starters on offense and defense returning. QB Denard Robinson (pictured) will put points on the board, so if the defense improves, watch out.
Northwestern brings back QB Dan Persa and most of the offense. A favorable schedule (no Buckeyes or Badgers, Michigan State and Penn State at home) will boost the Wildcats’ chances.
Iowa will be rebuilding after graduating or suspending almost all of their skill players and several key defenders. QB Ricky Stanzi will be especially tough to replace.
Middle of the Pack: Pac-12
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Utah, ranked for much of last year, will be a popular sleeper pick. An immensely favorable schedule (no Oregon, no Stanford) should help offset the loss of six defensive starters.
Arizona and UCLA both return lots of talent (like Wildcat QB Nick Foles, pictured) at the skill positions, but between them must replace nine starters on the offensive line.
Oregon State will have QB Ryan Katz in his second year as starter and WR James Rodgers back, but they’ll need to score a lot of points to cover for a defense that’s replacing seven starters.
Also-Rans: Big Ten
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Illinois will struggle to repeat last season’s impressive performance with four starters gone from the front seven and without NFL-bound RB Mikel Leshoure.
QB Nathan Scheelhaase (pictured) will keep them from falling too far, though.
Minnesota got a decent schedule draw (no Ohio State, Iowa and Illinois at home), but they must replace QB Adam Weber and five other starters on offense.
Purdue has nine starters back on defense, but without sack machine Ryan Kerrigan, that may not be enough.
Also-Rans: Pac-12
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Colorado has a ton of experience (including nine returning starters on offense), but the returnees weren’t all that effective in Big 12 play a season ago, and the schedule (Oregon, at Stanford, at Arizona State) is daunting.
Cal and Washington both bring in impressive recruiting classes and return some talented skill players (like Huskies RB Chris Polk, pictured), but both must replace their starting QBs.
Cellar-Dwellers: Big Ten
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The Hoosiers have a nasty schedule, with Ohio State and Michigan State on the road, plus another trip to Camp Randall Stadium, where the Badgers beat them by 63 last year.
With QB Ben Chappell (pictured) and WR Tandon Doss gone, it looks like another long season in Bloomington.
Cellar-Dwellers: Pac-12
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Off-the-field problems (two arrests in the last month) will likely compound the Cougars’ on-field struggles.
Even if leading rusher James Montgomery (pictured) gets the extra year of eligibility he’s applied for, he may wind up suspended after a drug possession arrest—and he only ran for 478 yards anyway.
The Verdict: Pac-12
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The Big Ten has more surefire ranked teams, but the Pac-12's lower tiers have a lot more firepower than their midwestern counterparts.
And, the Pac-12 has a serious advantage at the top, with Oregon's and Stanford's returning stars outshining Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Even with the addition of Nebraska, the Big Ten loses out this time around to the Pac-10 and its high-octane QBs.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
