B1G Leaders look to be losers next year
The Leaders Division next year looks to be especially weak. Indiana will continue to struggle. Purdue is a bit better, but still no where near a powerhouse. Illinois got clobbered this year in the B1G and will suffer through a coaching change, and Penn State, who knows how they will end up, but unless they pull out a miracle in landing a top notch coaching staff, they look to struggle next year, and possibly for several years, as well. That leaves Wisconsin and Ohio. Wisconsin has 6 senior starters on offense, including QB Wilson and WR Toon, and 5 senior starters on defense. Several of the second stringers are freshman this year. Wisconsin will likely have a steep dropoff next year. That leaves Ohio, who should be a shoe-in for tops in the Leaders Division next year. There certainly looks like there will be an imbalance in power between the two divisions. Minnesota was the weak sister in the Legends Division this year, but they have already made great strides. Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern all look to have decent teams next year, and will possibly be as good or better than every team in the Leaders Division except for Ohio. Michigan will be the best team among the Legends. Looks like the Michigan- Ohio game next year might just get repeated in the championship game as well.
What do you think about next year in the B1G?
November 28th, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
November 29th, 2011 at 12:20 AM ^
That if going into The Game, Michigan and Ohio are going to definitely win their respective devisions, The Game will simply decide the championship.
Probably also apply this rule to the rest of the conference, for sake of fairness.
November 29th, 2011 at 1:38 AM ^
Apply it how? Only affecting the last game of the season? Most teams play divisional opponents in the last game. That rule will never happen because the reason they put Michigan and OSU in opposite divisions was so that there is always a chance of a rematch. Most years, though, one of the teams will have something riding on the line. It's not going to be too often that both are eliminated before the game even occurs.
November 29th, 2011 at 7:29 AM ^
"but what about my moneeeyyy?"
November 29th, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
George C. Scott at the end of The Hustler.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:54 AM ^
No way that ever happens. B1G misses out on a major payday if that occured.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
I don't think you have to worry about a rematch next year. OSU should be facing a bowl ban and be inelgible to compete in the championship game ala USC in the Pac 12 this season.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:15 PM ^
Next year is Michigan's window. No doubt about it. OSU will still be retooling and the rest of the Big Ten looks bad. Top 3 will be Michigan, Ohio, and ....? Nebraska? Iowa maybe as the wildcard?
November 28th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^
I was looking at Ohio's depth chart and it looks depressing for us. They return their entire defensive lineup besides Sweat who didn't play against us and possibly Simon if he goes pro. They do lose 3 starting Oline, Herron, and Posey but Posey didn't play much this year. Herron's backups don't seem great so maybe their offense will struggle but Miller will have another year under his belt. They should be good. Also, MSU returns lots of players, mainly on defense, but will have to replace Cousins and Cunningham. Their offensive line will be better and they still have good RBs so they will be tough. Don't overlook MSU in our division.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:02 AM ^
MSU actually loses their top 3 WR's and their best pass catching TE, along with Cousins, and their O-Line will still be thin.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:02 AM ^
Why is that depressing for us? We return almost our entire lineup on both sides of the ball as well. We lose some key players, but so do they. I'll call it a wash. They will be learning a new system, we will be in our 2nd year. I like our chances as of right now (yeah, I know that means nothing, but I don't see a reason to worry too much).
November 29th, 2011 at 12:03 AM ^
MSU and OSU should both have very, very good defenses (especially if Worthy and/or Simon stick around). The offense will be the real question for both teams.
MSU should be very one-dimensional (losing their SR QB and top 4 targets) - How well will they be able to run the ball with everyone keying on it? And OSU loses Herron, Posey, and three good-to-great O-lineman (leaving them in a similar spot to us, depth-wise) - How smoothly will they transition to Meyer's offense? How will Miller progress if the line takes a significant step backwards?
November 29th, 2011 at 12:29 AM ^
i doubt worthy will stick around, and how is the depth of RB in the draft this year? any chance baker declares?
November 29th, 2011 at 7:22 AM ^
I doubt there is much desire for a guy who averaged 4.0 yards per carry and was dropped to #2 midseason because he couldn't hold onto the football.
November 29th, 2011 at 7:45 AM ^
They return the same defense that we just scored 40 on and you're depressed?
November 29th, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^
I remember one year, we scored 39 on a team; the next year, after we returned most of our offense and they returned most of their defense, we scored 3 points on them. Experience can count.
Henne was injured too, but that doesn't prove my point nearly as well.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
Ohio's offense without Posey this season was pretty anemic. I for one am glad to see him go. Granted Miller looks to be a talent and is bound to improve, but the rest of the Ohio receiving corps and running corps were unimpressive this season. Not sure who is going to step in next year and impress. Don't hit the panic button quite yet.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^
Michigan has a brutal schedule next year and loses some really important guys who don't have proven backups. They're a long, long way from being presumtive favorites in their division.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^
Yeah, it is a stretch this far out. Penn State and Illinois are especially difficult to predict until they get their new coaches. Wisconsin does look to have a tough rebuilding year.
November 29th, 2011 at 1:22 AM ^
ALA and ND will be very tough games but our conference schedule doesn't look any worse than this year. All of our home games are against solid teams that would be much more worrisome on the road. We get MINN and PUR on the road. They both looked improved toward the end but should be the worst two on the sched. The toughest game in div play will be at NEB but all others look imminently winnable. Even if we lose at Ohio theres a good chance we'd win tiebreakers at 6-2 like Wisco this year. I like our sched.
November 29th, 2011 at 3:50 AM ^
TrueBlue and others... Anyone know how Bama's team looks next year? Do they return a lot? Does it even matter? LOL.
Thanks.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:18 AM ^
looks like they will be losing seniors at WR, C, TE, NT, LB(2), CB, and S.
and Richardson has another year of eligibility, but I believe he is expected to go pro.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:21 AM ^
those are starting Seniors.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:17 PM ^
Ohio returns like everybody on D, so they'll be good assuming Fickell is going to be DC. Who knows about their O? Should be decent, but will probably be
November 28th, 2011 at 11:22 PM ^
If Miller develops like Denard did, the sky's the limit for their offense. However, they lose Brewster (all-conference level center), Shugarts (5* player), and Adams (5* player) up front. They also lose Herron and Posey to graduation--which were their two best offensive players.
There are a ton of questions there and really no answers yet. The only thing we know is that the guys stepping in were highly rated recruits.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:32 AM ^
he's their best DL.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:17 PM ^
Michigan State should be losing some key players too. The Legends should be between Michigan and Nebraska, but we'll see how Michigan responds to losing Molk, Martin, and Van Bergen.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:18 PM ^
What the hell is the Leaders Division?
November 28th, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
Forgive him, he's thinking of the Hayes division. Or was it East division.....or West.....I don't even know anymore.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:27 PM ^
I dont know anymore my whole brain is crying!!!
November 28th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
East. The one we should be in with Ohio State.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:00 AM ^
Ah yes, but we are the champions of the West!
November 28th, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
November 28th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
msu is bringing back 10/11 starters on defense next year.
I hate to admit it but msu will be a solid team next year as well.
I hope Hoke and Team 133 drops 50 on those bums.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^
Well they lose one DB I believe, and I have to think Worthy is going pro. They also lose Pickleman who is a solid contributor. But they do get Thomas as a RS FR, but who knows where he's going to play. The D will be solid, but what about the O. Lose cousins, all their WR, and beat lineman. The run game wasn't good this year. They could be Penn State-ish this year: beat most teams, but can't keep up with the upper echelon.
November 29th, 2011 at 1:02 AM ^
I do think their backup, Maxwell, is better than any QB on PSU, but they lose a lot of their receptions from this year. They have some young players at WR and some depth at TE, but losing the best O-lineman off of a weak O-line doesn't bode well for a team that will surely try to get back to running the ball.
But their defense should be legit. I'm still not sure Worthy is leaving. Their is a ton of depth for DTs in this years draft it seems, and some scouts have already questioned his motor and (wait for it) pad level. I think it would actually be in his best interest to stick around, even if I want to see him gone.
All in all, OSU and MSU should both have really good defenses. You can never count teams like that out. Granted, a lack of O will lose you some games, but it also gives you a chance to win some games you have no business being in. Neb should be better, Iowa could be about equivalent. I think it is a little homerish to put Michigan as the run away favorite this early, even if that would be awesome to assume.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^
Our DL will not be as dominate as this yr due to lost of Martin and RVB. There's one reason our D might struggle next yr
November 29th, 2011 at 1:02 AM ^
That is an insult to bums everywhere.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
Dropping 50 is a nice thought, but I'll settle for just 7, as long as MSU only gets 6.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:31 PM ^
We are going to have four tough road games in 2012 - Bama, ND, Nebraska, & OSU.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^
Michigan does have a tough schedule next year. They could lose both to Alabama and ND, but those are both games that they could win. Even if they lost both that doesn't effect their B1G chances and making it to the Rose Bowl. Bama doesn't really count as a road game beacuse it's at a neutral site. Therefore, the toughest road games are @ ND, Nebraska and Ohio. I think they have a very realistic shot at going 10-2 again next year.
November 29th, 2011 at 1:36 AM ^
November 29th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
ND might mark Michigan as an automatic loss. But yea there are a lot tough road games to watch.
November 28th, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^
Has anyone put thought into a UM/Ohio conference championship and back-to-back games? I was always focused on Michigan improving. Now that they seem to be making headway I thought about it a little more. Can you imagine playing Ohio again in a few days? It's crazy. Leaders. Legends. Potential back to back OSU games... This isn't your Pappy's Big Ten. This is some strange mutant conference.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:16 AM ^
Let's assume, for chaos' sake, that they get a one-year bowl ban. I imagine they'd be the 2011 USC of the 2012 B1G East - but then who's their UCLA? The battle for 2nd in the East would be the battle for Indy. In that case, I think you've got to imagine Wiscy just based on their track record, you've got to see an improving Purdue as a team with a chance to finally make a move, and Penn State is still probably the most talented team in the B1G East - despite the coaching change.
I've got Penn State being an 8-win B1G East champ, with Ohio running through the division but not being eligible for Indy or a bowl game.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:37 AM ^
Remember when we split into divisions by "competitive parity" and rivalries rather than geography? How's that working out?
November 29th, 2011 at 1:04 AM ^
Is ND going to be any good next year?
November 29th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
They return Rees an a ton of their backs on O (with the obvious departure of Floyd), but they're losing most of their O-line and have losses all over their defensive 2-deep. I think they'll look like the last few years - looking okay, hovering in the back of the top 25, getting better as the year progresses, but I don't think they get over the hump next year. I think it'll be 2013 before they sniff a BCS game.
November 29th, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^
nice recruiting classes the last two years, those guys should start filtering on the field next season.
November 29th, 2011 at 7:27 AM ^
I didn't watch much of Stanford/ND but the box score shows that Hendrix got a lot of play in that game. Was it performance or injured related? I ask because on College Football Final Lou Holtz was going apeshit about how awesome Hendrix played, making it sound like he was going to be the guy from here on out.