Big Ten Preview: 5 Best Bets to End Ohio State's Reign

Ohio State has somehow won at least a share of the Big Ten title for six straight years, but that streak looks like it will finally be coming to an end this season.

Most people would agree that it is good for the Big Ten, and for college football in general, that Ohio State is not favored to win the conference.  Nobody wants to see liars and cheaters be successful.

With the Big Ten instituting a championship game, it will be even harder to win the conference, as we won't see shared titles anymore.

There are some great teams in the Big Ten this year and here's a look at the five most likely candidates to win the conference and end Ohio State's streak.

5. Penn State

Penn State had a very disappointing year last year, going 7-6.  The biggest reasons were inconsistent quarterback play and a surprisingly bad defense.

The defense doesn't look to be a problem this year, with plenty of seniors and experience at almost every position.  The quarterback situation hasn't been solved yet, but it certainly shouldn't be as much of a problem as it was last year.

People have to remember that Robert Bolden was only a true freshman last year and some of the mistakes that he made had to be expected.  After getting benched for the second half of last year, most think that he will come back and reclaim the job this year.

If he does win it, Penn State will be fine.  He will be a lot more experienced this year, and the potential that he showed at times last season will carry over consistently this fall.

Regardless, whether it's Bolden or Matt McGloin who wins the job, they will have a great receiver to work with in Derek Moye.  Moye is a senior and will be an experienced veteran this fall, and some people are even calling him the best wideout in the Big Ten.

If whoever wins the quarterback job does struggle, he'll likely be bailed out by Penn State's running game.  Silas Redd will only be a true sophomore this year, but honestly, he will easily be one of the best running backs in the Big Ten this season.

Most defenses aren't familiar with him and this could cause him to have a monster year, as he could take the Big Ten by storm.

As mentioned above, Penn State's defense is loaded with talent and experience, and should be very good.

Putting it all together, Penn State will be a very good team, but not a great one.  The first half of their schedule is extremely easy, and it is a realistic possibility that they start the year 8-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

That may not be enough as their last three games are brutal.  Their final three opponents, in order, are Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin, with the last two games on the road.  Penn State would almost have to be happy winning one of those three.

Because they're in the same division, Penn State would basically have to win the Wisconsin game if they want to win the Leaders Division.  However, Wisconsin will also know the importance of that game and winning in Madison has become incredibly hard for visiting teams these days, so Penn State's chances look slim.

It will be hard for anyone, including Penn State, to steal the Leaders Division crown away from Wisconsin.  If you don't win your division, you're obviously not going to make the Big Ten championship game and therefore have no shot at winning the conference.

This looks to be the case for Penn State.  They are just simply not good enough to overtake Wisconsin, therefore, their chances of winning the conference look slim.

4. Michigan

Michigan's defense obviously won't be great this year, but it will be average and very solid at times.  The offense won't be as efficient as people think because an offense like this is based around a power running back, which Michigan is currently missing.

Mike Cox won't be that guy, Mike Shaw has to prove that he can stay healthy before he can be relied upon and Fitzgerald Toussaint still has a long way to go.  This leaves Stephen Hopkins and Thomas Rawls as the two most likely candidates.

Everybody wants to see how Denard Robinson will do in the pocket, but an even more intriguing thought is how often he will be in the shotgun and how many times a game he will be allowed to run.

Robinson's main receivers have to help him out, as they are all veterans with a ton of experience.  Junior Hemingway and Martavious Odoms are both seniors, while Roy Roundtree will be a redshirt junior.  The concern about this position is who the fourth guy will be.

Somebody other than those three has to step up.  The most likely candidates seem to be Je'Ron Stokes, Jeremy Jackson, Drew Dileo, Kelvin Grady or Jerald Robinson.

The kicking game shouldn't be too much of a problem this year with Matt Wile coming in.

If you look at this team inside and out, the talent is there to compete for a Legends Division title.  Fortunately, the coaching is there as well, as these players will be fundamentally sound, doing all the little things right while playing a different brand of football.

When taking a look at the schedule, there is one game that jumps out at you early, and it is Notre Dame.  This game is absolutely crucial, as it could go a long way to defining Michigan's season.  If Michigan wins that game, there is a great chance that they are 6-0 heading into the Michigan State game on Oct. 15.

If they lose to Notre Dame, it will make the media question their chances against San Diego State and in the night game at Northwestern.

Assuming Michigan beats Notre Dame, they then should go on to win at least eight regular season games.  November will be an extremely tough month for the Wolverines, as both the Iowa and Nebraska games could go a long way in deciding the Legends Division.

Nebraska is the obvious favorite to win the division and it will be hard for anyone to knock them out of that spot.  It doesn't look like Michigan should lose more than three conference games, and with Michigan State's schedule being as brutal as it is, the Wolverines could sneak into the championship game if they beat Iowa and if Nebraska struggles more than expected.

3. Iowa

Absolutely nobody in the media is talking about Iowa this year and that's just the way they like it.  Iowa came into last year ranked ninth in the country, but finished the year 8-5 and unranked.

They started out the first half of last year looking like a Top 10 team and at one point they were 7-2 with their only losses on the road to a good Arizona team and at home to a great Wisconsin team.

Everything fell apart once they were upset by Northwestern.  After that point, it was as if they gave up and didn't care about their season anymore.  

The following week, they blew a late lead to Ohio State at home and the week after that they somehow lost to a horrible Minnesota team.  That terrible finish down the stretch is why the media is not talking about the Hawkeyes this year.

However, they deserve to be talked about.  Even though they lost some great players on defense, they will still be very good as Norm Parker always puts a good defense on the field.

The offense lost a lot of players and won't be as productive as last year, but should still be solid.  James Vandenberg will only be asked to manage, not win, the game in his first year at quarterback. 

Somebody other than Marvin McNutt has to step up at receiver and help Vandenberg out if the Hawkeyes want to have a successful passing attack.  Keenan Davis appears to be the most likely candidate.

The offensive line not only has star Riley Reiff, but other solid players in Markus Zusevics and Nolan MacMillan.

Even though Adam Robinson is gone, running back will still be a huge strength.  Marcus Coker will only be a sophomore, but looks to be an absolute stud.  The offense looks like it will lean on him heavily and it would be a shock if he didn't deliver.

Iowa should have a good team, but nowhere near a great team.  The reason they have such a good shot at winning the Legends Division is because of their schedule.  Their schedule is extremely easy, as they avoid Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois.

They have a tough test early when they have to travel to Penn State, but other than that, there are no tough games until November.  In fact, don't be surprised if Iowa starts the year 7-1.

November is when we'll really learn how good this team is.  They get both Michigan and Michigan State at home to start the month and end the month on the road at Nebraska.

Looking at the schedule as a whole, Iowa has a realistic shot to go 10-2.  Because their schedule sets up so favorably, they have the best shot, other than Nebraska, to win the division.  In fact, the Iowa-Nebraska game on Nov. 25 could very well be for the Legends Division crown.

2. Nebraska

Nebraska had a very good year last year, going 10-4 and playing in the Big 12 championship.  At one point last season, they were 9-1 and were realistic contenders to play in the BCS National Championship.  However, they ended up losing three of their final four games.

Everything they accomplished last year was while they were in the Big 12.  Now they are in the Big Ten and things will be drastically different.  This year, they will face brutal defenses week in and week out and it will wear them down physically.  These kind of defenses were absent in the Big 12 last year, and Nebraska's offense better be ready to adjust.

If not, they could be in trouble.  Their offense was downright awful at times last year, and they can't expect to get away with consistently poor offensive play and win in the Big Ten.  Taylor Martinez cannot play as poorly as he did late in the year last year and expect to be successful.

Honestly, with all the controversy that surrounded Martinez and Bo Pelini, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else is starting at quarterback by the end of the year.  While I think Martinez will have trouble adjusting to Big Ten defenses, I think the opposite can be said for Rex Burkhead.

This kid just looks like a Big Ten running back and will be fine in this conference.  It is a joke that he's not getting more attention from the media, as he is easily one of the top two or three backs in the conference.

It will be interesting to see how Nebraska's defense responds to the physical nature of some of these smash mouth offenses they'll go against.  Yes, their defense is great, but it wouldn't be too surprising to see their run defense struggle at times, just as it did last year.

Almost everybody is expecting Nebraska to win the Legends Division easily and a lot of people are expecting them to win the entire conference.  However, it won't be that easy for them.  They are not going to come into the Big Ten and just cruise to the title game.

Their schedule is brutal, as they have road trips to Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan and have to face Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa at home.  They'll likely lose at least two of those three road games, but there's a very good chance they win the rest of their games.

In fact, that Iowa game on Nov. 25 could be huge for them, as it could possibly be a Big Ten championship play-in game.  Look for Nebraska to win that game and the division, while still having two or three losses on the year.

1. Wisconsin

Wisconsin looks to be the team to finally end Ohio State's streak of Big Ten championships.  A lot of people are picking the Badgers to win the conference this year, and deservedly so.  Last year was a magical year for them, as they were able to play in the Rose Bowl.  This year's team looks to be just as good, if not better.

Scott Tolzien was obviously great for them last year, but Russell Wilson still looks to be an upgrade.  The dimension that he will bring at quarterback will be one that Wisconsin fans haven't seen in a while.

Even though people may be worried about the offensive line with guys such as Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt off to the NFL, this line will be absolutely fine.  There are new names just waiting to make an impact, such as Kevin Zeitler, Peter Konz and Ricky Wagner.  If Josh Oglesby could live up to his potential, he could be a big part of this line as well.

The only worry Wisconsin has on offense are its receivers.  Nick Toon and Jared Abbrederis are the top two guys, but after that there's nothing but question marks.  Somebody else has to emerge.  Tight end looks to be just fine even with the loss of Lance Kendricks, as both Jake Byrne and Jacob Pedersen will play.

Without a doubt, the strength of this offense is the running game.  Wisconsin has the best running back tandem in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the country.  John Clay will barely be missed, as both Montee Ball and James White are already superstars at such a young age.  Amazingly, neither will be a senior this year.

They ran all over Big Ten defenses last year, and there's no reason to think they won't again this year.  Expect freshman Melvin Gordon to see some time as well.

Looking at the defense, Wisconsin probably won't be great, but should be solid.  They arguably have the best safety in the conference in Aaron Henry, and one of the best young linebackers in Chris Borland.  The defensive line looks to be good, with Louis Nzegwu leading the group.

The schedule sets up favorably for Wisconsin.  They open conference play at home against Nebraska, and will likely give the Cornhuskers a rude welcome to the Big Ten.  In late October, they have back-to-back road games against Michigan State and Ohio State.  Those two games could likely define their season.  A split appears to be the most likely outcome.

Other than that, Wisconsin could win every game.  They close out the year with Penn State at home, and that could potentially be a key game.  The week before, Wisconsin travels to Illinois and could lose that game if they're not careful.

Look for Wisconsin to go 11-1 or 10-2 at worst.  Going undefeated is not out of the question.  They seem like almost a lock to win the Leaders Division and play in the Big Ten championship.  Expect them to win that as well, whether it be against Nebraska, Iowa, or Michigan.

Wisconsin is by far the most likely candidate to win the Big Ten this year and finally end Ohio State's string of six straight conference championships.