The Big Ten Conference:
East Division:
1. Ohio State: If seems unlikely that a team that has gone 24-2 the past two years would be riding a 2 game losing streak, yet that is exactly where the Bucks are, 0-2 in their last 2 games, as they head into the 2014 season! Last year, OSU had one returning starter on their front 7, Ryan Shazier. This year, they return 6 of their front 7 and OSU’s D-Line may be the best in the country. Joes Bosa & Noah Spence are terrific DE and DT, Adolphus Washington is coupled with the best Defensive Lineman the Bucks have, Michael Bennett! The LB crew is led by Joshua Perry, who will replace Shazier, Curtis Grant will hold down the middle LB position as he did a year ago, & newcomer, Doran Lee has shown the toughness and speed required to play the strong side backer! The secondary is led by CB Doran Grant a terrific player with All American potential; yet this unit is the question mark for the Buckeyes. The secondary struggled mightily against the pass in 2013, somewhat of a surprise as the Bucks let the Big Ten in QB sacks. OSU secondary ranked 112th in the Nation against the the pass, allowing 268 yards per game. They were shockingly ranked 11th of 12 in the Big Ten, ahead of only Indiana! On Offense, QB Braxton Miller gives the Bucks a wealth of experience and consistently got his team of to fast starts. Last year, Ohio State outscored their opponents, 229 to 69 in the 1st quarter. OSU will not be as effective an offense in 2014 as they were in 2013, Carlos Hyde and 4 of the starters on the O-Line have moved onto the next level or graduated. Yet, OSU has the best roster in the Big Ten and while lacking experience, they are busting at the seems with talent!
2. Michigan State: MSU has one regret heading into the 2014 schedule, where are the Irish? The Spartans only blemish in 2013 was a, 17-13, lost in South Bend to the Domers, a rematch would clearly be to liking of the “300”, while the Irish, given the Spartan demeanor, are probably OK with taking a year off from going up to East Lancing! At least, Mark Dantonio had the good sense and class not to accuse ND of “Chick-in-out”, as did his fellow Big Ten coach, Brady Hoke after Notre Dame dropped Michigan from the schedule. MSU has the storied history with ND, not Michigan, as some would like you to believe. Too bad they are not playing, as I would have loved to have had the opportunity to see that game! Michigan State returns 10 starters from a 13-1 team a year ago. On Offense, QB Connor Shaw, who played “lights out” against OSU, 34-24 & Stanford, 24-20 in the Big Ten Championship & the Rose Bowl respectively. RB, Jeremy Langford, who rushed for over 1400 yards and scored 19 TDs and WR, Tony Lippett leads a cast of wide outs, who all seem to have the potential for star power. On the O-Line, LT, Jack Conklin & Center, Jack Allen head a cast that has three others, who had part-time starting experience in 013! Last year the Spartan D ranked in the top three of the four major categories on defense. While they lost 6 players on that side of the ball, defensive coordinator, Pat Narduzzi insists they have the talent to pick up right where they left off in 2013. MSU’s D is led by DEs Shilique Calhoun & Marcus Rush up front, the Spartans feature Taiwan Jones @ MLB, & DBs, Trae Waynes at Corner & Kurtis Drummond @ Free Safety! MSU will challenge OSU for the top spot in the East and the Spartans do get the Bucks @ Spartan Stadium on November 8th! This game will decide who wins the East, at least on paper in early June!
3. Michigan: The Wolverines return 15 starters in a year that Brady Hoke needs to show that he has Michigan on the path to past glory. Hoke went 11-2 and won a BCS Bowl Game in his first season at Michigan, since then, he has been 8-5 and 7-6 last year. Fair or not, 11-2 is what is expected at Michigan and 15-11 will get you shown the door. On offense, Devin Gardner returns at QB, sadly with his 3rd offensive coordinator in three years. Make up your mind Bardy, this time its Doug Nussmeier, the OC @ Alabama in 2013. Gardner passed for over 2900 yards and 21 TDs last season, but he threw to many INT, 11 to be exact! If Gardner falters, sophomore QB Shane Morris is in the wings. At RB, Friz Toussaint will be replaced by a committee of three, Derrick Green, Justice Hayes, & DeVeon Smith. In 2013 they rushed for a combined 393 on 111 carries; clearly, they will need to do better. Especially Green, who was the top running back in his signing class . WR Devin Funchess is a preseason All-Big Ten pick and should be a difference maker for Michigan in 2014! The defense is led by LB’s, Jake Ryan, James Ross, & Desmond Morgan all three started a year ago and may be the Big Ten best unit at this position. Five star recruit, Jabrill Peppers, is expected to start immediately at Safety or CB. This guy has receive more press coverage that the rest of the team combined, some believe Peppers has created more interest & conversation than any other incoming player in Michigan history. This guy should be fun to watch!! The D-Line will be solid as 3 of the 4 starters return, DEs Frank Clark & Brennen Beyer, and DT Willie Henry.
4. Penn State: The only reason that PSU is 4th and not 3rd is because their game with Michigan is in Ann Arbor. James Franklin, now the head coach at PSU, won in the SEC at Vanderbilt, let me say again, Franklin won 9 games in each of the past two seasons in the SEC at Vandy! Say What!? His teams beat the likes of Georgia, Florida, Missouri, & Tennessee. Now @ Penn State, his access to facilities, recruitment of players, and national recognition to/for his program has just grown exponentially. Yet right now, while Penn State has really good players, they simply don’t have enough of them! The NCAA had to make a decision last fall, let the Lions fall into football oblivion or give them some relief on the number of scholarships they could offer. That determination, to reduce scholarships penalties, by the NCAA meant that PSU will recover, if they would have denied Penn State’s request for reduction of penalty, the Nittany Lions would not have been able to field a FBS team in 2015. Penn State has only 3 starters back on offense, QB Christian Hackenberg, LT Donovan Smith, & TE Jesse James. Hackenberg added 15 pounds of muscle in the off season, his measurables are now 6’4” & 234 pounds. In 2013 as a true freshman, he broke 11 schools records, passing for 2,955 & 20 TDs!. Franklin has to find a way with limited resources to build around this guy. Oh yeah, he’s done that at vanderbilt! On defense, the Loins return 6 starters, led by LB Mike Hull, CB Jordan Lucas, SS Adrian Amos! PSU enters the 2014 campaign with one hand tied behind their back do to lack of numbers. Still Franklin & Hackenberg may find a way, using their free hand, to stand you up and drop kick you right out of the stadium!
5. Maryland: The Terrapins return the second most starters of any Big Ten Team at 16, 7 on offense & 9 on defense. Randy Edsall has two of the most explosive players in the Big Ten, both receivers, Stefon Diggs & Deon Long. If these guys get in space, its lights out, as they both can fly! At RB Wes Brown returns from suspension while Brandon Ross, who rushed for 776 yards last year will create depth at running back. QB C.J. Brown is a true duel threat, he became the first player in Maryland history to pass for over 2,000 yards while rushing for more than 500. One could not help but notice that while Maryland returned 9 starters on defense, they went unrecognized by preseason All Big Ten selections. On paper, this unit looks really good at all three levels; D-Line (NT Darius Kilgo, DEs Andre Monroe & Quinton Jefferson) LB ( Cole Farrand & I.A. Goree), & DB (CBs Jeremiah Johnson & William Likely). If Maryland stays healthy, they could be the biggest surprise in all of college football in 2014!
6. Indiana: Its time for kevin Wilson to get the Hoosiers to a bowl game and with the most starters of any Big Ten team, 17, it’s really now or never for Wilson. This comment seems unfair, as it is a fact, that Wilson’s program has gotten better in each of his three years; 1-11 in 2011, 4-8 in 2012, & 5-7 last year. Still, he has to find his way to a bowl game in year 4 (to do so; IU must win 6 games) or there may not be a year five! The key is the defense, in 2013, they gave up 35 or more points 10 times. This give new meaning to putting pressure on you offense. Yet, the truth is … the O responded, scoring 35 or more points in 8 of their 12 games. In 2014, the non-conference schedule includes Indiana State, @ Bowling Green (MAC Champ), @ Missouri & North Texas. IU must win three of these games (four NC wins would get them to a bowl game … in my opinion… but Missouri may be to talented) and then find a way against 3 of their 8 Big Ten Opponents. I believe Indiana is better than Purdue & Rutgers, but after that comes Maryland, @ Iowa, MSU, @ Michigan, PSU, & @ OSU. So where do the Hoosiers get that 6th win? Indiana will be fun to watch this season, by the numbers it’s 17 starters trying to get 6 wins in 2014 and earn their first bowl game since 2007!
7. Rutgers: Kyle Flood’s team has a solid number of returning starters, 14, from the 2013 team, 9 on offense & 5 on defense. The Scarlet Knights QB, Gary Nova was wildly inconsistent last year 18 TDs & 14 INT. This ratio will not win games and Nova, who lost his job last year for the final three games may not be the starter in the fall. If redshirt freshmen, Chris Laviano continues to develop, he may be the guy in Piscataway. TE Tyler Kroft will be on of the best players at that position in the Big Ten in 2014 while LG Caleb Johnson will play on Sunday’s! The Defense will feature LB Steve Longa as it adjust from play in the AAC to the much tougher brand of Big Ten Football. It is likely that Rutgers will be a better team in 2014 than they were in 2013, it is also likely, do to the tougher competition, that they will not make a bowl game for the first time since 2010 and for only the second time since the 20o4 season!
Up Next Big Ten West Division
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