Big Ten College Football Preview 2011

[Freddy Wills]

Are you excited for the 2011 season? I know I am we crushed the books down the stretch last season and look forward to getting off to a fast start at the end of August. For now we will break down all the major conferences starting with the Big Ten with pre season predictions below.

#1 - Wisconsin
Wisconsin lost John Clay, Gabe Carimi, QB Scott Tolzien, and the heart of the defense in defensive end J.J. Watt, but we feel this team will be the favorites in this conference. Wisconsin looks like they’ll have Russell Wilson starting at QB. Wilson will transfer from NC State and has one year of eligibility left so he can play right away. He is a dual threat QB who has 76 TD passes to just 26 INT’s in three years at NC State. He also had 17 rushing TD’s and should really give the Badgers something they haven’t had in years one of the league’s best QB’s. The running game will still be solid behind another strong offensive line with the rotation of Montee Ball and James White. They will also enjoy the Big Ten’s best WR in Nick Toon, the son of NFL great Al Toon.

#2 Nebraska
Nebraska joins the Big Ten and we may see some adjustments early on but their style of play will fit right in with the conference. The defense was and still is the staple of this team with 7 starters returning including Jared Crick, and LB Lavonte David who is an All- Big Ten selection already. The offense should have enough punch with Taylor Martinez returning. He passed for 1631 yards and rushed for 965 as freshmen with a total of 22 TD’s. He can only get better in year #2.



#3 Penn State
Penn State is just loaded with experience and returners and that is what they’ll benefit from. Another season under Joe Pa and we can only assume another trip to a bowl game. QB Matt McGloin returns along with a solid receiving corp led by WR Derek Moye. They did lose two players up fron in Klopacz and Wisniewski as well as tailback Evan Royster, but their defense returns led by corner D’Anton Lynn.

#4 Michigan
We saw a lot of flash from last year’s Wolverines and we think it will be back yet again. New coach could mean a slow start, but the defense could not get any worse than it was a year ago. Denard Robinson chose to stay and he leads a team that will return ten starters. They will be very similar to last year’s team. They’ll put up a lot of points, but as soon as they face a real defense that has a pass rush they’ll struggle. We look forward to picking our spots fading and backing Michigan in 2011.

#5 Ohio State
Even with Terrelle Pryor leaving the team and a new coach in as Tressel departed. Bauswerman would be the key at QB and for the 2011 season. 7 new players need to step in on defense. The secondary might struggle big time early, but Ohio State is still Ohio State and they recruit superior athletes. I still feel like they will be heading to another bowl in 2011 despite all the suspensions and drama that has surrounded this team.

#6 Illinois
Illinois surprisingly dominated Baylor in their bowl game and lost their three best players to the NFL. Running Back Mikel Leshoure is gone which will really hurt the running game along with two defense players in Corey Liuget and LB Martez Wilson. Nathan Scheelhaase returns at QB and that’s key for any team when you get your starting QB back for another year.

#7 Michigan State
2010 was one of the best seasons ever for the Spartans despite their big loss to Alabama in the bowl game. Again we talk about a QB returning in Kirk Cousins and you know the offense is going to be there despite losing six starters. 5 players also need to be replaced on defense, but the defensive front might bet the bets in the Big Ten and in a run first conference that’s what makes us excited for Michigan State which could win some ugly games in 2011.

#8 Iowa
Iowa had sky-high expectations a year ago and ended up being a huge disappointment. Now they are in a rebuilding year as they lost huge parts of their defense including and starters on the offensive line. The receiving corps will be a major issue and the running game will struggle a first s again the defense will be doing some heavy lifting. Good news is the off field controversy did not have much of an impact on recruiting. Defensive line was the concentration along with the offensive line as they grabbed the #2 ranked guard in Jordan Walsh. A team concentrating on recruiting both offensive and defensive lines has me excited for what is to come

#9 Purdue
Purdue has had some rough luck in past years with offensive players getting hurt, but they do get experience in2 011 with QB Rob Henry returning and the offensive line gets 4 starters back so we could see Purdue really make a push in their division. Defensively they lost their heart and soul in All-American pass rusher Ryan Kerrigan, but nine starters are back including the entire secondary which was not that good anyway. We have a lot of questions for Purdue in 2011 and are excited to see where their season goes early. Stay tuned for more and previews to the 2011 season!

#10 Northwestern
A healthy Dan Persa would have us moving Northwestern way up this board. He was ultra efficient with a 159 rating before tearing his achilles vs. Iowa at the end of last year as he had an amazing 73.5 completion percentage to go along with 15 TD and 4 interceptions. Nine starters are back on offense including 4 up front, but Persa remains a huge question mark. The defense returns 7 starters. This team lacks toughness at times and the loss of linebackers Quentin Davie and Nate Williams is going to be a major challenge early on.

#11 Minnesota
New head coach Jerry Kill has a tough test ahead of him. Kill will not have the talent he wants to run the offense the way he needs to win games. MarQueis Gray could be a diamond in the rough, but there a lot of questions and usually that spells trouble in a defensive conference like the Big Ten. There are nine returning starters on defense and that is promising as the entire front 7 returns, but I don’t think this team can stop any decent passing team.