2011 Big Ten Football Preview: Legends & Leaders (still Dumb Names)

The Big Ten, which hasn’t actually been 10 teams for a number of years, expanded to 12 this year with the addition of Nebraska to its conference.

But did the Big Ten finally change their name now that they have 12 teams? Hell no.

Not only are they still calling themselves the Big Ten, but conference commish Jim Delaney picked the most ridiculed division names in the history of college football.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Big Ten’s Legends and Leaders.

The jokes practically write themselves.

But seriously, Legends and Leaders? What in the hell was Delaney thinking?

Or, more precisely, what was Delaney and the supposed hot-shot consulting firm thinking?

My guess is the consulting firm floated it by him as a total joke, thinking, "Let’s see how he reacts to this bit of BS."

In June, Nebraska joined the Big Ten, and to me, it felt like they always should have been a member of this conference. Plus, in order to compete with the SEC (and to a lesser extent the ACC, as well as deprive the Big 12) and other conferences, the Big Ten decided they needed to hold a championship game.

According to Delaney, the divisions were created by taking into consideration three basic (on record) requirements: competitive equality, maintaining rivalries and logical geographical boundaries.

An off-record requirement—which, can be explained away in the official considerations, but let’s be REAL—Michigan and Ohio State could not be in the same division.

As it was decreed by His Holiness Jim Delaney, each team will play five games against the other teams in their division, with at least one definite inter-divisional game. He hopes to add a ninth conference game by 2017.

Starting this season, the Big Ten divisions are:

Legends: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern

Leaders: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin

(I will spare the Tressel jokes for the moment.)

Of course, the Big Ten (or 12) is not the only NCAA conference to experience expansion (or contraction) during this offseason.The Pac-10 is now the Pac-12, the Big 12 is now, ironically, the Big 10,—though still, in a bit of kismet, calling themselves the Big 12—and the Mountain West and WAC have made changes as well.

Whew. Have you digested all of that?  Now let’s get to the team previews, eh?

This originally appeared on Gridiron Goddess.

LEGENDS: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Alright, let’s get down to it.

We’ll start with the bottom of the division since that team is my alma mater’s first game of the season.

Democracy in action people.

The Golden Gophers went 3-9 overall last season and 2-6 in the Big Ten, although they ended their season on an upswing with a two-game winning streak against Iowa and Illinois.

This was largely due to QB Adam Weber, who threw for 389 yards, two TDs and had zero interceptions in those two games. 

But he is not the Golden Gophers' QB this season. Weber was drafted by the Denver Broncos where he is a rookie behind Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow (though recently he seems to have passed Tebow).

Still, Weber's plight is better than his alma mater’s this season, as they will be lining up MarQueis Gray under center. Gray has completed a total of eight passes in his career.

Yes, this will go well. 

Defensively, the squad returning is no great asset either, allowing 33 points per game last season. New Golden Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys has what looks like an insurmountable climb ahead of him to get this defense in shape.

With a three-win 2010 season, one would be tempted to think there is nowhere to go but up for the beleaguered Golden Gophers. However, it would not be shocking if this team won just one game this year; in fact, a zero-win season is entirely possible.  

It’s going to get worse before it gets better for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers face USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Sept. 3.

LEGENDS: Iowa Hawkeyes

It wasn’t THAT long ago that Iowa was hovering near and in the top 10 teams in the nation.

That will not be the case this year, as graduation and attrition have decimated this team. 

In 2010, the Hawkeyes went 8-5, (4-4 in the Big Ten) losing their last three regular-season games against Northwestern, Ohio State and Minnesota. This was after getting off to a 5-1 start and sparking hope in the hearts of the Iowa faithful. Iowa averaged 20.6 points per game over its last five games of 2010.

This year, the Hawkeyes face a rebuilding year after losing star QB Ricky Stanzi, as well as six other offensive starters. Tailback Adam Robinson, tight end Allen Resiner, wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and fullback Brett Morse are all gone.

The good news is most of the offensive line is back, giving Iowa's new QB a chance to find his footing, but expect this offense to struggle in finding its identity this year. The news is not much better on the defensive side of the ball with the Hawkeyes returning just five players.

LEGENDS: Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines find themselves once again breaking in a new coach with Rich Rodriguez all but run out of Ann Arbor and former San Diego State coach Brady Hoke welcomed into the Big House.

With a 7-6 record (3-5 in the Big Ten) in 2010, it is hard to believe this was a season that was considered a success—in comparison to 2008 and 2009, that is. It took years for the Michigan program to integrate Rodriguez’s showy spread offense, and now, just as his recruits are fully stocking the team, he’s out. 

You just can’t go in to Michigan, go 15-22 in three seasons and expect to keep your job.

Hoke is also a devotee of the spread offense, though his version operates on a pass-first principle. And while the transition to yet another new style of offense should not be as long or as rocky as it was under Rodriguez, it’s not going to be a picnic either. 

The Michigan faithful need to be prepared for another couple of years of mediocrity. Ten starters are back on offense, including QB Denard Robinson who started to show signs of greatness last season. He passed for 2,570 yards in 2010 and rushed for 1,702 yards, making him the very FIRST player in the entire history of the NCAA to rack up more than 1,500 yards each in passing and rushing.  

If Robinson has a weak spot—and every QB does (see: Tebow, Tim when he can’t run the offense from the shotgun)—it is in passing efficiency. Robinson has been more accurate when he does not have to rely on the passing game, which was not a problem under Rich Rod, but could be under Hoke. This season will show the world just what kind of an athlete Robinson is.

Defensively, things are…interesting.

On the one hand, eight starters return.

On the other hand, those eight starters were part of a squad that allowed 35 points per game last season. I am sure that is some sort of record at Michigan.

Greg Mattison, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, takes over the Michigan defense in the hopes that he can restore it to the type of squad the Michigan faithful are used to seeing.

LEGENDS: Northwestern Wildcats

This team is a bit schizophrenic. Northwestern went 7-6 last season (3-5 in the Big Ten) after getting off to a 5-0 start and exciting Wildcats fans across the country.

This isn’t a program that traditionally wins, at least consistently; as the 2010 season wore on, Northwestern won just two of their last seven games.

But that is the end of the bad news as far as this team goes.

Pat Fitzgerald’s ‘Cats return nine starters on offense, including QB Dan Persa who passed for 2,581 yards and 15 touchdowns, while rushing for 519 yards and nine TDs in 2010. 2011 marks Persa’s senior season, and he’s also getting his favorite receiver, Jeremy Ebert, back. Ebert had 62 catches for 953 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Defensively, this squad allowed 29 PPG last year and return seven starters. They should be improved, but Northwestern wouldn’t be Northwestern without a few nail-biters due to the defense’s inability to stop the ball.

LEGENDS: Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans had an amazing regular season in 2010, going 11-1 in the regular season before falling to Alabama in the Capital One Bowl.

This season should be another exciting one for Spartan fans. QB Kirk Cousins is back, as is the Michigan State trio of running backs who ran for a combined 2,000 yards last season.

Receiver Mark Dell, tight end Charlie Gantt and three offensive linemen are gone. On defense, six starters are gone. 

That said, look for the Spartans to make a BCS bowl run, which would be beloved coach Mark Dantonio’s very first trip to a BCS bowl.

LEGENDS: Nebraska Cornhuskers

The new kid on the block is going to win their division. 

The fact is, after a few down years, the Cornhuskers are coming off their first back-to-back 10-win seasons in a decade (10-2 overall in 2010). 

And make no mistake, they will be looking to make a big impression in their new conference. 

Sophomore QB Taylor Martinez is the perfect Big Ten smash-mouth style quarterback. Martinez passed for 1,631 yards, along with 965 yards of rushing and 22 touchdowns last season. He is going to light the Big Ten defenses on fire.  

The offense is missing some key players from last year’s squad, but while the new O-line gets its footing, the scary Nebraska D will be holding its new conference foes to low scores. 

Teams will have an enormously difficult time running the ball on the Nebraska D-line, which returns star tackle Jared Crick. 

Coach Bo Pelini has brought a winning attitude back to the Cornhuskers, and they will take their swagger right to the heart of the Big Ten’s Legends division on their way to a possible BCS bowl appearance.

The Leaders Division

The members of the oddly-named Leaders division have to be breathing sighs of relief at Ohio State’s predicament.

With Tressel and Pryor gone, the Buckeyes are expected to be a shadow of their former Big Ten-dominating self this season. Sanctions are coming in the form of recent news that the NCAA is STILL investigating the goings on in Columbus. This saga is far from over.

Let’s take a look at these so-called "Leaders," from worst to first:

LEADERS: Indiana Hoosiers

 Indiana is a basketball school.

What? You wanted more?

What more is there to say?

The gridiron Hoosiers went 5-7 in 2010 (1-7 in the Big Ten), and that can be considered a wildly-successful season for this program. 

This is a program, for context, that has gone to nine bowl games—in 120 seasons. Last season’s 5-7 is probably as good as it is going to get for this program for a number of years.

Indiana’s starting QB and star receiver are gone (Ben Chappell and Tandon Doss, respectively).

The Hoosiers, after a brief moment of mediocrity, will return to being the Big Ten’s punching bag, which is good news for Minnesota fans. They aren’t alone down there in the cellar.

LEADERS: Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers, coming off a 4-8 season (2-6 in the Big Ten), have a lot of questions to answer with just three weeks to go until the 2011 season kicks off. 

For one thing, who is their quarterback?

Coach Danny Hope has not indicated whether Robert Marve, last season’s starter who went down with a season-ending knee injury in week 4, or Rob Henry (who took over) will get the starting job. Hope has made some ominous statements to the press that may indicate he’s thinking about rotating the two. 

Which? NO.

When has that EVER worked?

Jeff Tedford tried it, and crashed and burned. Dennis Erickson tried it and saw extreme mediocrity in results. And Cal and ASU are better teams than Purdue is.

The good news is 16 starters return to the Boilermakers this season, including the entire secondary.  This is a five or six-win team, at best.

LEADERS: Illinois Fighting Illini

Coach Ron Zook is 18-30 in five seasons at Illinois. This could be his final stand if the Fighting Illini don’t produce results. 

One thing is clear: Fans and Illinios’ athletic director expect better than 7-6 records (4-4 in the Big Ten), and Zook has been mediocre for pretty much his entire tenure in Champaign. That is the fact.

But what is also a fact is that the Illini made tremendous strides on offense last season and return nine players from that squad. They return five defensive starters, and they have a lot of raw talent.

The problem is in converting that raw talent into an actual winning record and major bowl appearance. This has been Zook’s stumbling block at Illinois. As a result, there’s no telling whether this team is going to sink or swim until play is underway. 

This could be a very potent and dangerous team—or it could continue to flounder in mediocrity. 

One thing is for sure: If the Fighting Illini face another season of mediocrity, Ron Zook better start polishing up his resume, and Mike Leach should look into moving to the Midwest. Leach could take the awesome athletes Zook has recruited and turn this into a contender—a LEADER, if you will—in the Big Ten’s Leaders division.

It will be interesting to see what happens in 2011 in Champaign.

LEADERS: Ohio State Buckeyes

This is tough. It’s neck-and-neck between Ohio State and Penn State for third place. Only the chaos the Buckeyes have experienced in this offseason and the ongoing NCAA scrutiny have me ranking them below the Nittany Lions.  

Without Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor, and with those four tats-for-memorabilia starters suspended for the first five games, this team is in chaos.

However, they are still Ohio State—which means not only are they talented, but they also have a cupcake non-conference schedule. They should be able to get past Akron, Toledo and new Pac-12 member Colorado with ease.

They face Miami (who has their own issues) with perhaps a true freshman starting under center in Braxton Miller. And there is no way this team is winning all three of the following games: Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

After going 12-1 in 2010 (11-1 in the Big Ten), this looks to be a 9-4 or 10-3 (if they beat Miami or Michigan State) team this season, at best.

What the NCAA finds from its second investigation, we will know in time, and those results will give us a glimpse into the next 4-5 seasons of Buckeye football, if not more. Lack of institutional control and repeat offender violations could decimate this program.

LEADERS: Penn State Nittany Lions

Despite the No. 2 spot in this division, I am not all that sure this Nittany Lions squad is going to be all that great.  

Last year was a surprising 7-6 (4-4 Big Ten) season where Joe Paterno’s team went 0-4 against ranked teams. Not only did they lose to the ranked teams they played, they did so by an average score of 29-11.

The boys from Happy Valley come into the 2011 season with sophomore QB Rob Bolden and three receivers who, last season, had a combined 113 catches, 1,700 yards and 10 TDs.

The defense looks fierce, with the entire D-line and secondary returning. There will not be a lot of scoring on this Nittany Lions team—and that is why I elevated them to second over Ohio State. Defense wins games, and this is going to be one solid defense.

Penn State’s schedule is pretty forgiving, with Indiana State, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Indiana and Iowa for five of their first six games. 

The sixth? The Crimson Tide of Alabama comes to State College.

Oh well, you can’t win them all.

LEADERS: Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers had a hell of a season in 2010, going 11-2 (7-1 in the Big Ten) overall, with one of the most exciting games of the year at Camp Randall—the Badgers vs. Arizona State. Wisconsin won 20-19 in a thrilling game that came down to the final moments. The Badgers also beat Ohio State at Camp Randall, where they are 43-4 since 2004. 

There are eight home games in Madison this season.

Although the Badgers lost QB Scott Tolzien to graduation, and RB John Clay, All-American O-linemen Gabe Carimi and John Moffit to the NFL draft, this should not prove to be a stumbling block for Wisconsin. Their stellar running game, a signature of this program, is intact with James White returning. White rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns last year—in his freshman season. 

The tranfsfer of North Carolina State QB Russell Wilson, who has been named the starter, gives Wisconsin the kind of options at QB that will complement their run-first mentality well. Wilson is a playmaker who led the ACC in passing yards per game (277.8) and overall offense (313.9).

Wisconsin has a pretty easy schedule, with UNLV, Oregon State, South Dakota, Nebraska and Indiana at home at Camp Randall for five of their first six games in 2011. Their sixth game versus Northern Illinois is at Soldier Field.  

Realistically, the Badgers could have a championship run and undefeated season. The trick will come in the latter half of the season versus Michigan State. Penn State and Ohio State could present themselves as spoilers, especially if the Badgers don’t stay healthy, but I fully expect this to be an 11-1 regular season for the team from Madison.