2011 Big Ten Legends Division Preview: Huskers and Spartans on Top

Welcome back for the second half of the 2011 Big Ten football preview. Yesterday the Leaders division was untangled (link here), and today we turn to the Legends division.

The Legends division features the new kid on the block, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers come into the Big Ten with a talented team ready to perhaps win a conference championship right away.

The Legends division also features the return of Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa, who seeks to be relevant in the Heisman chase.

Defending champion Michigan State and Iowa will also have their say in this division race, while Minnesota and Michigan begin rebuilding for the future.

Let's jump right into the team previews:

Nebraska Cornhuskers

If the story off the field in 2011 was Ohio State, the story on the field in 2011 will be how Nebraska adjusts to Big Ten play despite having the toughest schedule possible.

Bo Pelini waited a long time to finally get his chance as a head coach, and he has taken the bull by the horns with 29 wins in three seasons.

Nebraska rushed for nearly 250 yards per game a season ago with running backs Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, and quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Martinez was prone to inconsistent play and was challenged mightily for his starting job this spring and fall, yet he kept the starting job as fall practice wound down. Burkhead also returns and will be the primary running back behind a mostly rebuilt offensive line.

Assuming the going will be tougher against Big Ten defensive fronts, Nebraska will need to identify second and third running backs to contribute heavily and take the load off Martinez in the running game. If Martinez is as involved in that side of the offense as 2010, he will be lucky to survive the season uninjured.

Pelini has prided himself on building one of the strongest defenses in the country, and seven returning starters will continue the proud Blackshirts tradition in Big Ten play. Baker Steinkuhler and Jared Crick should be highly disruptive through the middle of offensive lines, in a similar fashion to Ndamakong Suh a few seasons ago.

One potential weakness for Nebraska is special teams, which replaced its returners and both kickers. As mentioned above, the schedule is brutal, with road trips to Wisconsin and Penn State along with a conference home opener against a full-strength Ohio State team in cross-divisional play.

However, if there is any team that can handle that tough schedule, it is these Cornhuskers. Unless those cross-divisional games get the best of Nebraska, the Cornhuskers will be in yet another conference championship game.

Michigan State Spartans

Mark Dantonio led Michigan State to its most successful season in two decades last year, with a shared conference title and an 11-2 finish despite being blown out in their bowl game against Alabama.

Senior quarterback Kirk Cousins is back for one more season at the helm and should improve his 20-10 touchdown-interception ratio from a season ago. Cousins will likely be on the same page with all three of his senior starting receivers, who are led by BJ Cunningham.

Running back Edwin Baker was all-conference last season and has a talented stable of running backs ready to give him spells after he breaks down opposing defenses. The Spartans offense will rely heavily on the offensive line, which must break in three new starters and may take a step backward in production this year.

On the other side of the ball, the defense will be led by the strength of their defensive line, which returns three starters and plugs in sophomore end William Gholston. The line will need to step up because two all-conference performers are lost in the next level of the defense (Greg Jones and Eric Gordon).

Michigan State does pull Wisconsin and Ohio State from the Leaders division, and so does not have a big advantage over Nebraska in the division. If Michigan State can steal a road win against the trio of Ohio State, Iowa, and Nebraska, then the Spartans might find themselves in Indianapolis in December playing for another conference title.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Although Iowa had Wisconsin on the ropes last season, the Hawkeyes could not finish that victory or others against Arizona, Ohio State, and Northwestern.

Thus, a season with much promise ended in a disappointing 4-4 conference record and fourth place in the conference.

Now head coach Kirk Ferentz will have a tough job on his hands, as Iowa returns only nine starters. Junior quarterback James Vandenberg is far removed from his trial by fire two years ago, when the Big Ten title was on the line in Columbus Ohio and Vandenberg led Iowa to within a field goal of an overtime victory.

Now Vandenberg and a group of skill players who did not start last year take the reins of the offense, with the exception of senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt. Running back Marcus Coker ran for 622 yards behind Adam Robinson a season ago, but will now carry the bulk of the load behind a very talented and experienced offensive line.

Expect Iowa to rely heavily on the run to generate offense this season, although Vandenberg can throw if he needs to.

The defense only returns four starters and may struggle to keep the strong front against opposing running games that Hawkeye fans are accustomed to. Broderick Binns will be one bright spot on the line as he finally earns a starting role in his senior season.

Look for improvement from middle linebacker James Morris, who may be the star of the defense the next two seasons.

Iowa does avoid Wisconsin and Ohio State, which means that the schedule is favorable to sticking around with Nebraska and Michigan State until November when both those teams come up on the schedule. If Iowa ends up in the conference championship game, Kirk Ferentz has earned every penny of the highest salary in the conference.

Northwestern Wildcats

Pat Fitzgerald has done the unthinkable at Northwestern, guiding the Wildcats to Rose Bowl appearances as a player and now three straight bowl games as coach.

Fitzgerald may have his best team yet, with 16 starters returning from a team that may have ended up with nine wins had Dan Persa not been out for the final three games.

Persa returns with a gimmicky marketing campaign from Northwestern trying to raise national awareness of his talent for Heisman consideration. Although gimmicks may introduce the nation to Persa, leading the Wildcats into a conference championship game would likely put him in the Heisman ceremony.

Persa threw for 2500 yards in 10 games and rushed for 519 more, nearly leading the team in both categories. Running back Mike Trumpy will be expected to carry more of the rushing load, although expect both the rushing and passing numbers to go up this season.

The defense had its poorest season under Fitzgerald last year, and as a former linebacker, he will want to turn that around immediately.

One of his biggest goals will be plugging in two new starters, David Nwabuisi and Ben Johnson, at linebacker. The defensive front should be much better against the run after surrendering over 180 yards per game a season ago.

As long as the defensive issues can be overcome, Northwestern will be right in the mix for the division title and perhaps even a Heisman Trophy.

Michigan Wolverines

The Rich Rodriguez era was an unmitigated failure in Ann Arbor, even though he was finally beginning to turn the corner and make the offensive-based system work in the Big Ten.

In order for the Wolverines to start another 40-year streak of winning seasons and consistency under Brady Hoke, the focus on recruits and a defensive-minded system will need to shift back to where it was in 2007 and before.

Thus, Michigan returns 16 starters but not for the systems they will be expected to run, so expect a lot of younger players to move into the limelight this season.

Hoke will continue to use all of quarterback Denard Robinson's skills, and Robinson proved he can pass the ball accurately last year. Look for Robinson to thrive with receivers Junior Hemingway and Roy Roundtree returning.

Hoke will also expect more from running backs Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith to take pressure off the legs of Robinson. As long as Robinson adjusts quickly to a more pro-style offense, then the highly effective offensive numbers will continue.

In order to turn around the defense, Hoke will need to teach better football instincts and better tackling as the basics this season.

Michigan will likely struggle to return to a bowl this year, but Hoke will almost certainly have the Wolverines back atop their rivals before too long.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Tim Brewster never quite got the engine going in Minnesota, so now Jerry Kill takes over the Gophers after three successful seasons in Northern Illinois.

Coach Kill will have a rebuilding job on his hands, but does have 15 returning starters if you count quarterback Marqueis Gray, who returns to quarterback after moving to receiver during Adam Weber's tenure.

Gray can make plays both with his feet and his arms, and should test opposing defenses this season.

Kill is known for strong rushing attacks, and he will have a two-headed monster unit with Lamonte Edwards joining Duane Bennett. The key to improving the offense this year will be finding improvement on the offensive line.

The defense will also need to find improved play on the line with three returning starters. All three linebackers also return, and so the Golden Gophers should dramatically reduce the nearly 200 yards per game surrendered on the ground a season ago.

Minnesota may now struggle to keep opposing passing games from knocking them out of games, at least until Kill can train up better replacements in the defensive backfield.

Minnesota will likely be a better team this year, but that will not be enough to get them out of the basement in the new Legends division.

Final Thoughts

Similar to the Leaders division, the Legends division race should be highly competitive and not decided until the last week of the regular season.

Although Nebraska certainly has to be considered the favorite, their cross-division schedule is as brutal as possible and may derail them from winning the division this season.

If Big Red stumbles, then the door may be open for a surprise team like Northwestern or a young team like Iowa to find themselves in Indianapolis in December.

Thanks for reading, and the week will continue tomorrow with a look at week 1 conference power rankings. I hope to see you then.

Projected Standings

1. Nebraska (6-2, 10-2)

2. Northwestern (5-3, 9-3)

3. Michigan State (5-3, 8-4)

4. Iowa (4-4, 7-5)

5. Michigan (2-6, 5-7)

6. Minnesota (1-7, 4-8)

Pre-Season Players of the Year

Offense: Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern

Defense: Jared Crick, DL, Nebraska

Special Teams: Will Hagerup, P, Michigan