2013 saw the Big Ten have national
storylines but yet a disappointing season overall. Michigan State won the
conference and represented the B1G in the Rose Bowl. Which they won. Ohio State
was a championship game hopeful until the beating at the hands of the Spartans
in Indianapolis and then lost to Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Overall it was a
pretty meh season for the rest of the conference. Will Michigan State and Ohio
State reprise their 2013 roles in new divisions? Will Wisconsin bounce back
after a mildly disappointing season? Will Michigan, Nebraska or Penn State rise
back to prominence, or is that still looming on the horizon?
Subtractions/Additions
As with the
rest of realignment for the Big Ten there were no subtractions this season, but
the league did add two new members. Maryland brings some modicum of success to
the table but it is the Baltimore and D.C. TV markets that they bring to the
table but there is some optimism for the future. Rutgers for their part had two
seasons of success but it is the roundabout entry into the New York TV market
that brought it to the Big Ten.
Recent History
2013 brought
a surprise champion to the Big Ten. Ohio State carried an undefeated season
into the championship game but it was Michigan State and its stout defense that
carried the day. 2012 with Ohio State on a postseason ban saw second place
Wisconsin trounce Nebraska in the championship game to reach the Rose Bowl
despite three loses in the regular season. 2011’s inaugural Big Ten
Championship Game pitted 10-2 Michigan State against 10-2 Wisconsin meet in a
barn burner of a game that saw Wisconsin earn a berth in their second of three
consecutive Rose Bowls.
Coaching Changes
There was
only one coaching change in the Big Ten this year sparked by the departure of
Bill O’Brien, whose staff handled hefty Big Ten sanctions very well in year two
but miss out on a couple close victories. O’Brien left for the Houston Texans
job this offseason which opened up the job for James Franklin. Franklin rebuilt
a struggling Vanderbilt program and brought them to relevance in a very
difficult SEC West. Franklin and staff have started with a bang free agency
this offseason continuing the level of optimism in Happy Valley.
Team Write-ups (Division, 2013 W-L,
Total Returning Starters, Returning Off (Starters (QB), % yards), Returning Def
(Starters, % yards)) *coach records are career numbers
Ohio
State Buckeyes (East, 12-2, 12, 5 (Y), 50.4%, 7, 54.4%) With
Urban Meyer at the helm the last two seasons Ohio State is 24-2. Both losses coming
in the 2013 season at the hands of top ten opponents Michigan State and
Clemson. 2015 brings another talented team to the field in Columbus and the
thing that was missing from last year’s team, depth and experience on defense,
is much less of a concern in year three under Meyer. Let’s start on the
offensive side of the ball and the most important piece to the overall success
of the Buckeyes, Braxton Miller. Miller made strides in 2014 completing 63.5%
of his passes and averaging over seven yards per attempt. On the ground Miller
picked up 1201 yards at an 8 Y/C pace. If he can keep the accuracy up and
continue to be a big play machine when he breaks the pocket, and regaining his
health he should, at least, challenge for a Heisman in 2014. Miller is the best
running threat returning from last year with Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall
leaving but, but not to fret the roster has three four star backs to replace
those who have departed. Sophomores Donte Wilson and Ezekiel Elliot should be
the top two backs on the depth chart and as both averaged over eight yards a
carry last season they should provide useful replacements for the departed
Carlos Hyde. Wide Receiver has an interesting dichotomy the top three returning
performers are all seniors. Devin Smith and Evan Spencer are wide receivers
with high three star ratings but Smith caught 60% of his targets and Spencer
caught just 51% of his targets. The third senior, TE Jeff Heuerman, aught 72%
of his targets and should be a good pressure outlet for Miller. Smith and
Spencer on the other hand will have competition from seven four star incoming
freshmen or RS freshmen who now populate the roster. Smith should be safe early
on but Spencer was very inconsistent and needs to improve in camp to lock down
his job. Ohio State loses four of five starters on the line but there are
plenty of talented replacement options available for Meyer and staff to find a
combination they like. The defensive line, which might have been the worst
position set on last year’s squad, returns all four starters and six of the
eight players that recorded a tackle in 2013, this should be a strength on the
2013 squad and one of the reasons the forty fifth best defense (F+) should get
much better this year. Ryan Shazier is gone, and with him his 123 tackles from
last year but only one other LB is gone from the 2013 squad and there is great
talent returning to pick up slack left by Shazier’s departure. The secondary
underperformed in 2013 but it was a talent bunch and loses a great talent in
Bradley Roby as well as both starting safeties. This went from a presumed
strength last year to the weakest unit on the defense this year. The good news
is there are a litany of four star talent ready to step up and Meyer’s Florida
teams showed a great ability to reload the secondary and I think the 2014
starts that trend in Ohio State. This should be the class of the Big Ten this
year and the defense should improve by leaps and bounds and take away last
year’s weakness. This team has all the looks of Meyer’s first national
championship contender since arriving in Columbus in 2012. Head Coach: Urban Meyer (128-25)
Since 2012
Michigan
State Spartans (East, 13-1, 11, 7 (Y), 86.9%, 4, 50.7%) Michigan
State started slowly in 2013 especially on offense but after the Purdue game
the Spartans took off and shocked most observers by beating Ohio State in the
Big Ten Championship game and Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The lynchpin last
season was the great defense built by Dantonio and Pat Narduzzi ranked second
in Football Outsiders F+ at 25% better than the average defense. The biggest
difference between the start of the season and what we saw in the B1G Champ and
Rose Bowl was the performance of the offense. Connor Cook is back and may be
the best quarterback in East Lancing in a couple years. Cook’s stat line
doesn’t look all that great but as the year went along he became more
consistent and efficient player. If he can continue to get better and improves
his accuracy this could be a very dangerous play action offense. MSU brings
back the top three running backs from last season are all back but in true
Michigan State fashion Jeremy Langford was number one on the depth chart and
got 292 carries to 67, 38 and 21 respectively to the other returning backs. If
Langford were to go down Nick Hill (SR), Delton Williams (SO) and R.J Shelton
(SO) averaged 5.1, 6.3 and 7.3 yards per carry respectively last year in
limited carries and should be able to shoulder the load if Langford were to get
injured. Last year’s number one receiver Bennie Fowler is gone, but the rest of
the receiving corps returns led by Macgarrett Kings Jr. and Tony Lippett. Both
caught at least 60% of their targets and averaged over 7 yards on each. The
other key piece looks like a breakout from sophomore TE Josiah Pierce, at 6’4
244 and a 73.9% catch rate he should be a great check down option for Cook in
2014. The bad news on the defensive line is that they lost both interior
starters. The good news is that they brought in two four star prospects to help
fill in the middle and they return a bunch of production at DE. They also bring
in stud five star DE Malik McDowell who is talented enough to make an impact
year one. Like backer loses a starter and a very good contributor but Taiwan
Jones returns at the Mike and there is a bunch of talented depth ready to step
up and perform behind what should be a very good front four. Darqueze Dennard
and SS Isaiah Lewis are gone but senior Kurtis Drummond is back after a 70
tackle season and the replacements for Dennard and Lewis produced well in their
time on the field last season. The defense will almost assuredly take a bit of
a dip in 2014 but the offense should be better overall for the season making
this still a very dangerous team and a force to be reckoned with. Head Coach: Mark Dantonio (82-46) Since 2007
Wisconsin
Badgers (West, 9-4, 9, 6 (Y), 41.2%, 3, 50%) 2013
was a bit of a disappointment for in Gary Anderson’s first season. The 2013
squad was said to have been one of Beilema’s best in Madison and the biggest
concern, switching the 4-3 to the 3-4, actually performed very well. 2014’s
team will need to rely on a loaded backfield for both rushing and receiving
production early on and a secondary that could be a strength for the first time
in a couple of years. Stave was good enough last season when the running game
was clicking but when needed to make a play he often made unforgiveable
mistakes. Challenging Joel Stave in fall camp will be Tanner McEvoy the JC
transfer who filled in at safety last year and former Elite 11 quarterback Bart
Houston. McEvoy looks like the most likely to beat out Stave and fits a little
better in the preferred system of Andersen and staff who would like to continue
to add more spread elements to the offense. No matter who starts they are going
to be helped out in a major way by the stable of backs behind them. Melvin
Gordon returns for his junior season after a 1609 yard campaign where he
average 7.8. yards per carry. Behind Gordon is sophomore Corey Clement who in
limited carries rushed for 500 yards and 8.2 yards per carry and should see the
majority of James White’s 221 carries move into his lap and production. Behind
them is RS freshman Austin Ramesh and Freshmen Taiwan Deal, one of which, if
history predicts the future, will show flashes of being the next back up in the
stable to take over the load. This should be one of the best running games in
the country again and Gordon should stand out and make people notice anew come
fall. The Badgers lose their three legitimate receiving threats from last
season. Biggest of all is Jared Abbredaris who was a one man receiving corps
mostly out of necessity last season. Along with Jared, both TE Pederson and RB
White are gone which leaves a lot of room for someone to step up, but whom on
the roster looks ready to take that opportunity. The best guess here is four
star freshman Dareian Watkins who has the talent and size to be a legitimate
target right away and he will certainly have the opportunity to lock down that
position in a very weak position group. The line returns all but one starter
and should be stout once again. Last year’s defensive line did a great job
adjusting and fitting into the 3-4 but but all but two contributors are gone
and there isn’t much experience to fill in the gaps in the two deep. SR nose
guard Warren Herring returns with after a four sac season and DE Konrad
Zagzebski returns with two tackles for loss but that is the extent of the
experience and the Badgers are going to need some great production out of young
players with no snaps under their belts. Every starting LB from last season is
gone and it is going to be a tough act to follow and replace, especially
Borland’s 91.5 tackles. The good news is that Derek Landish and Vince Biegel
look primed to step in to much larger roles, but the other two spots will be
filled with players that haven’t shown much yet as far as upside. A experienced
secondary will need to be the rock of the defense early on as the Badgers
assimilate some very raw talent in the front seven. Sojourn Shelton has the
potential to be one of the best corners in the Big Ten this year and he and
Darius Hillary will need to be very good in coverage if the pressure from the
front isn’t there early on. The Badgers should be good on the back end in 2014
but they front seven needs to gel quickly or this could be a rough year two for
Anderson and company. Head Coach: Gary Anderson (39-35) Since 2013
Nebraska
Cornhuskers (West, 9-4, 11, 5 (Y), 79.2%, 6, 59.4%) Nebraska
is back to where it was under Frank Solich extremely consistent and good team
but can’t break into the elite group nationally. 2014 may be a pivotal year for
Pelini with an alumni and fan base that grows ever restless with four win
seasons. Quarterback is a question mark and Tommy Armstrong’s performances in
2014 don’t help that. With Ron Kellogg and Taylor Martinez gone Armstrong and
his 52% completion percentage is the incumbent, maybe he gets pushed by high
three star redshirt freshman Johnny Stanton but for now Armstrong is expected
to be the starter. Armstrong leaves a lot to be desired but the running backs
should be a stabilizing force on the 2014 squad. Ameer Abdulaah is back and the
senior had a hell of a season. 1690 yards on 281 carries at 6 yards a clip.
Abdullah should be the rock the offense is built around especially as Armstrong
grows into his role as starter. Behind Abdullah, Imani Cross and Terrell Newby
both gained over 5.5 yards per carry and limited time and should be plenty good
enough when spelling Ameer and/or if he unfortunately gets hurt. Top gaining
receiver Quincy Enunwa is gone but Kenny Bell is back for his senior year after
a disappointing junior campaign that failed to build off of a breakout
sophomore campaign. If 2014 is going to be a better year through the air
Abdullah cannot be the second best receiver on the team, but sophomore Jordan
Westerkamp looks poised for a breakout after a 80% catch rate as a freshman who
should get a bigger role in the offense. Sophomores Cethan Carter (TE) and
Alonzo Moore (WR) are going to need to step up to give Armstrong some targets
as well as some upperclassmen that have not performed up to snuff so far in
their careers. This should be a very good rushing offense but the passing game
needs playmakers to step up and Armstrong to become more consistent and develop
into, if nothing else, an average quarterback. Four star JUCO transfer Randy
Gregory was a welcome addition in 2013 and he returns after a 52 tackle 9.5
sack campaign that saw him burst on the scene for the Blackshirts, but he’s
going to need help. That should come in the form of four star sophomore Greg
McMullen who got some playing time but didn’t see the field in two games as a
freshmen and didn’t produce much as a two deep player. He should start in 2014.
At DT three players return who played at least 12 games but none of them
recorded 19 tackles last year but they have the talent base to make strides in
greater roles in 2014. If the line makes strides that should only help to free
up a talented and experienced group of LBs who have a nice mix of seniority and
young talent and features the top four returning tacklers from last season.
This group of four returns three four star recruits and 170 tackles and should
be the strength of Pelini’s defense. The secondary is going to need to lean on
the front seven early on, the only returning starter is SS Corey Cooper who had
71.5 tackles last year. He is joined by FS Leroy Alexander and CB Josh Mitchell
who combined for 58 tackles last year and played in all 13 games but depth is
an issue and the loss of eight of the eleven interceptions from last year means
the returning players are going to be relied upon to make plays. Overall this
should be another good Nebraska team and one of the better defenses of the last
couple of years. Head Coach: Bo Pelini (58-24) Since 2008
Iowa
Hawkeyes (West, 8-5, 13, 8 (Y), 89.7%, 5, 43.8%) After
a disappointing couple of years the Hawkeyes returned to a much more familiar
form in 2014. Junior QB Jake Rudock is back at the helm for Iowa. Rudock threw
for just under 2400 yards last season completing 59% of his passes and was
solid but far from extraordinary or game changing. The key for 2014, much like
most Ferentz teams, is the running game and whether AIRBHG
(Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God) will strike down all comers or just a
couple starters. Mark Weisman returns for his senior season and brings a 4.3
yards per carry mark over from last season. Weisman has some explosiveness to
his game but is much better in between the tackles. Backing him up are senior
Damon Bullock and junior Jordan Canzeri. Bullock was solid last year in over
100 carries with at four yards a rush and should be just fine spilling Weisman.
The kickstarter here is Canzeri a 5’9” junior who ripped off 6.5 yards a carry
last season and should add a level of explosiveness to the backfield that has
been missing in recent seasons. There is depth here and that makes them
dangerous if healthy. There is returning talent at wide receiver, the only
player in the top five of receiving yards gone is TE C.J. Fedorowicz but this
group needs to show some explosiveness to offset the eight in the box that will
surely be seen. The most likely to create that unfortunately is junior TE Jake
Duzey who was almost ten yards per reception in 2013 and caught 68% of his
targets. Leading receiver (388 yards) Kevonte Martin-Manley is back but he
needs to do much better than 5.8 yards per target to be a real threat for Iowa.
There is returning experience but nothing to excite you much, but that may not
matter if the running game is as good as it looks to be heading into the fall.
Brandon Scherff returns at LT and should be one of the five best tackles in the
country and a future first round pick and is joined by two returning juniors
but there are holes to fill. Two former four stars should replace the departed
linemen and this should be at worst a solid line group and at best among the
best in the conference and country. The entire front four is back but the pass
rush needs to be much better from a senior laden front in 2014. With six of
seven players returning in 2014 and a couple four star sophomores in the wings
this unit needs to do much better than 12.5 sacks that it created in 2013. The
linebacking corps loses all three starters and will need that added production
up front as new starters assimilate to greater roles. The player to watch from
the group is sophomore Reggie Spearman who could really breakout in his new
role in 2014. The secondary loses two starters but returns six players with
game experience from 2013. Ferentz and company have done a great job in the
secondary over their tenure in Iowa City and there is no reason to suspect a
huge drop off with safety John Lowdermilk and corner Desmond king returning
after stellar 2014s. The defense will need to rely on a talented and experienced
line all year and especially early on but with increased pressure up front this
should be a dangerous and very good Iowa defense. Overall this looks to be a
return to the top of the Big Ten for Ferentzs team and in a weak West they
should challenge Nebraska and Wisconsin for the division title. Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (120-100) Since 1999
Penn
State Nittany Lions (East, 7-5, 15, 7 (Y), 65.8%, 8, 72.2%) Any
preview of the Nittany Lions needs to start with the coaching change. Bill
O’Brien did really good things for the program especially considering the
challenges he faced but the hire of James Franklin was the second home run of a
hire for Penn State. The biggest difference is already noted by the current
staffs recruiting prowess early on and the vibrancy they bring to the program.
Franklin is blessed year one with sophomore QB Christian Hackenberg.
Hackenberg’s freshmen campaign in the Big Ten was pretty impressive, he threw
for 2955 yards and completed 59% percent of his passes but he is going to need
to prove that that wasn’t all due to having a receiver like Allen Robinson (39%
target rate) to rely on. Hackenberg should have help from the running game in
two former four star seniors, Zach Zwinak and Bill Benton along with Akeel
Lynch who broke onto the big stage as a freshman with averaging six yards per
carry. Zwinak and Belton were no slouches at 4.7 and 5.1 respectively and
combined this should be a nice three headed monster for the staff and
Hackenberg to rely on. Targets for Hackenberg are going to be the issue, the
afore mentioned Robinson is gone as well as Brandon Felder who was second on
the team are gone which means some young talent needs to take the next step.
Junior TE Jesse James was a solid target with limited targets and sophomores
Geno Lewis and Richy Anderson showed flashes but need to be much more
consistent catcher to be significant help on the edges and down the field.
Behind them Penn State has four four star pass catchers that were added to the
roster who should at least push the incumbents to improves lest they lose their
jobs. The line has work to do as only two starters return from last year and
those who left included Campbell Trophy winning RG John Urschel. Herb Hand is
one of the best line coaches in the country but he has his hands full with a
group that has no experience outside the two returning starters. The Penn State
defense was a very respectable group that graded out in the top quarter of
college football in 2013 and that defense brings back a lot of talent in the
front four. Top tackler DaQuan Jones is gone but DE C.J Olaniyan and Deion
Barnes are back, along with DT Austin Johnson. Olaniyan is the playmaker of the
group, he had 11 TFL and 5 sacks in 2013 and should be a very good player in
his senior season. Jurnior Anthony Zettel and Some very talented RS freshmen
should fill out the two deep with fairly talented depth in 2014. Mike Hull
returns to anchor the linebacking corps as he moves from OLB to MLB after a 61
tackle 2013 campaign and to highly touted sophomores take over on the outside
in Nyeem Wartman and Brandon bell to lead a two deep that is stocked really
well with exciting young talent to be molded at linebacker U. The front seven
is raw and talented but the key for this year’s defensive squad will be an
experienced secondary’s ability to limit the big plays they couldn’t in 2014.
Jordan Lucas returns after a very solid 2013 in which he recorded 16 ints or
pass breakups, along with safeties Adrian Amos and Ryan Keiser who combined for
73 tackles in 2014. There is experience in the back four but without a much
greater consistency in limiting the big play. All in all I like the defense
which has a lot of young talent especially in the front seven and an offense
that has upside but lacks consistent pass catchers for a very promising young
QB. Year 1 for Franklin has a lot of promise but could be a very volatile year
one as depth will be a concern with the specter of NCAA sanctions still looming
large. Head Coach: James Franklin (24-15) Since New Hire
Michigan
Wolverines (East, 7-6, 15, 7 (Y), 50.3%, 8, 77.8%) Brady
Hoke enters year four and hasn’t been able to replicate the success had with
Rich Rod’s players in year one. 2013 was marred by extremely poor line play
despite the presence of a first round left tackle and an offense that wasn’t
able to produce with any modicum of consistency. The good news for the 2014
Wolverines’ offense is that they made one of, if not the best, offseason
coordinator hires in the country. By bringing in Doug Nussmeier from Alabama
Michigan upgrades from the stagnant Borges offense with one that should utilize
a very talent group of players and use the entirety of the field while still
staying in the pro-style sets that Hoke prefers. Quarterback is up in the air
after a disastrous 2013 and the battle will feature returning starter Devin
Gardner and four star sophomore Shane Morris. This could be a situation where a
new coordinator sees a talented youngster and prefers to start them over a
senior and prepare better for the future. Whoever starts they should have the
full confidence of the staff and they both have the talent to make this an offense
in a better position to click. The good news is that there is a very talented
group of running backs to take the pressure off headlined by five star sophomore
and top tent talent from the 2013 class Derrick Green. The sophomore had run of
the mill numbers in 2013 but I think it more prudent to throw out the numbers
from disastrous 2013 and focus on the promise that the talent group brings to
2014. Add that with Nussmeier’s past success with talented backs at Alabama and
this should be the strength of the offense. The receiving corps needs to be
rebuilt, Devin Funchess and Jehu Chesson are back for their junior and sophomore
seasons and relative success and Jake Butt returns at TE after injuries but
after that it is on a talented but unexperienced group of receivers that represent
a huge unknown. The line returns a bunch of highly touted recruits but after
the disastrous performance last season need to be much better and can’t get
much worse this year. The defense was inexperienced last season but did fairly
well considering the position they were put in by the offense and the line
should be a good launch point for the 2014 team. Five of the top six returning
tackle getters return this year but DE Frank Clark (5 sacks, 12.5 TFL) needs
help if this unit is going to pressure opposing offenses. The other returners
combined for 12.5 TFLs and six sacks and that just isn’t going to cut it. There
are a handful of highly touted youngsters lurking in the depth chart and a
burst of pass rush help could come from this group headlined by Tom Strobel at
DT and Taco Charlton at DE. The Linebacking corps returns 28 starts from last
year and is bolstered by the return of the injured Jake Ryan who should be the
best playmaker of the group. With increased pressure from the front four the
LBs could make a jump this year. The back four needs to replace a couple of
safeties but the group as a whole returns a lot of experience. Corners Raymon
Taylor and Blake Countess need to do a better job of locking down receivers but
much like the linebackers if the front four can improve their ability to create
pressure this unit should continue to improve and coalesce in 2014. The defense
should be the rock of the team again in 2014 and with a bunch of returning
starters take another step forward but the success of the 2014 Wolverines will
depend on the improvement of the offense under Nussmeier. Head Coach: Brady Hoke (73-63)
Since 2011
Maryland
Terrapins (East, 7-6, 17, 8 (Y), 96.3%, 9, 84.1%) Maryland
enters the B1G from the ACC with a talented roster that just hasn’t been able
to stay healthy the last couple of seasons under Randy Edsall. The newcomers
are in a division with Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State so
the upside record wise is tempered a bit but this is a talented roster with
depth and experience which should aid them in the upcoming challenge. The
Terrapins return QB C.J. Brown who threw for 2200 yards and complete 59% of his
passes in 2013 but missed a couple games due to injury. Brown was also the
second leading rusher on the team with 736 yards and a robust 6.2 yards per
carry. The running backs aren’t spectacular but Brandon Ross returns for his
junior season after averaging 4.7 yards a carry in 2013 and four star sophomore
Wes Brown returns after missing all of 2013 but showed promise averaging 4.2
yards a carry in his debut campaign in 2012. The biggest improvement in 2014
should be in the passing game however, where former five stars Stefon Diggs and
Deon Long return after season ending injuries midway through 2013. Diggs is the
big play threat averaging 10.5 yards per catch in 2013 and realing in 60
percent of his targets. Long for his part netted 9 yards a completion. Levon
Jacobs led the team in yards last year and average 9 yards a catch as well and
has sure hands. If all stay healthy both at WR and QB this could be one of the
better passing attacks in the conference with both high upside and very good
depth to boot as the only loss was TE Dave Stinebaugh and his 204 yards from
2013. The offense is loaded at receiver, good enough at RB and experienced at
QB which is a nice combination to have in college football. The defensive line
is experienced as well returning the top five performers from last year. The
star of the group is Andre Monroe who had 17 TFls and 9.5 sacks in 2013 and
looks prepped for a stellar senior campaign. If Quinton Jefferson can improve
on his 7.5 TFLs and 3 sacks and the NT tackle production and play stays at a
high enough level this front three could be very good this year. The LB corps
returns three starters and five of it’s top six front last year and is
experienced. Health is the concern year as all three starters missed time in
2013 but this should be a stout group all around. The front seven is going to
be a force to reckon with as they are both deep and talented. The secondary is
deep and if Jeremiah Johnson returns to health after missing last year the
corner duo of he and William Likely should be a very good combination. The top
six on the depth chart are all juniors or seniors and safety Sean Davis had 83
tackles last year and only adds to the run stopping ability of the defense as a
whole. This defense has all the markings of being really good in their
inaugural Big Ten campaign with a great amount of experience this should be a
stout unit. Overall the Terrapins bring back more experience than just about
any FBS team and enough talent that they should be competitive if not upset some
of the top teams in the conference. Head
Coach: Randy Edsall (87-94) Since
2011
Minnesota
Golden Gophers (West, 8-5, 14, 7 (N), 79%, 7, 65.8%) Kill
came to the Gophers in 2011 after the underwhelming, to say the least, Tim
Brewster experiment and returned the Gophers to respectability. 2013 saw the
Gophers surprise and outperform preseason expectations. Questions abound at QB,
Mitch Leidner is the only QB on the roster who played in 2013 as Phillip Nelson
graduated this year after starting last season. Leidner was unspectacular in
his limited time last season and will be pushed in fall camp by RS freshman
Chris Streveler and freshman Dimonic Roden-McKinzy. The two challengers were
more highly touted and with the youth of all three options there is a line of
thought of getting one of them the lead job and looking towards the future at
the position. The good news for whoever starts is that the stable of running
backs has had success already at the level. David Cobb is the incumbent and is
coming off a 1200 yards season in which he provided an impressive 5.1 yards per
carry in 2013. He and junior Rodrick Williams Jr (5.5 yards per carry), should
provide a healthy one two punch that will be an asset to whomever starts in
2014. The bad news for whomever starts at QB is the receiving corps is all
sorts of meh. TE Maxx Williams is the lead returning threat and at 10.4 yards
per reception last season provides a nice check down and seam threat. On the
outside it is much bleaker, sophomores Drew Wolitarsky and Donovahn Jones
return but neither caught over 40% of their targets and Jones was a putrid
29.4%. There isn’t much in line behind them and whoever is QB has a steep
uphill climb with this group to target in 2014. The last bit of good news is
the line is experienced and needs to replace only LT Ed Olson. The front four
returns all but two players from last season’s rotation but the departures are
big. Ra’Shede Hageman was a first round pick and a beast for the Gophers in
2013 and one of its biggest surprises. The star should be Theiren Cockran who
produced 10 TFLs and 7.5 sacks from last season but there will surely be much
more attention paid to him in 2014. The rest of the line will be experienced
but they will need to do a much better job of creating pressure this season to
reduce the drop off. The linebacking corps loses two starters but Damien Wilson
has the makings of a star heading into his senior season. Coming of a 62.5
tackle junior year and 5.5 TFLs make him a rock on which to build the LBs. To help
Wilson junior De’Vondre Campbell should start at WLB after 34 tackles in a
backup role in 2013. The corps lost only two players from the depth chart last
season and should be deep once again. Both safeties return to the back four,
but the star should be Eric Murray. The junior had 48 tackles last year but his
best attribute was 10 pass breakups, which with better luck should turn into
takeaways next season. With help from the front four the secondary should develop
into a very good group and the experience should serve them well. There are a
lot of questions on offense but the running game should be robust. The defense
is experienced but wil be dependent on an increased pass rush and the losses in
the front seven will need to be mended quickly if the unit is to coalesce for
the conference campaign. All in all this should be another solid if
unspectacular team and another step in the right direction. Head Coach: Jerry Kill
(144-94) Since 2011
Northwestern
Wildcats (West, 5-7, 17, 9 (N), 67.3%, 8, 76.2%) Let
me preface this preview by saying I may be way to low on Northwestern ranking
them tenth in the conference but he shortfalls that have hindered them in the
past have a way of affecting my opinions. Kain Colter is gone, but “starter”
Trevor Siemian returns at quarterback. Siemian was very solid and bordered on
good much of the season. He completed 60% of his passes for 2100 yards and
should be good enough to lead the offense in 2014. Senior Treyvon Green
averaged 5.3 yards per carry and should get many of the carries vacated by
Colter and Mike Trumpy (196 carries). The biggest upside of the group of
running backs is Venric Mark who got a fifth season from medical hardship
(broken ankle) and looks to recreate his 2012 season in which he averaged 6
yards per carry and over 1300 yards. If Mark doesn’t return to form sophomore
Stephen Buckley who averaged 5.3 yards per carry in 2013 as a true freshman. The
running game should be good but needs a playmaker to step up. The top three
returning recievers are back and they are three sure handed options but none is
an explosive deep threat. They should be solid options once again but if they
don’t produce more than 9 yards per reception they don’t make much of a threat
over the top and defenses can play eight in the box to stop the rushing threat.
The whole line is back and experienced both from the starters and the two deep.
The defensive line lost two starters from last season, but the biggest loss was
Tyler Scott and his 41 tackles, 10 TFLs and 6 sacks. Returning and the leaders
of the front four in 2014 will be DE Dean Lowry and DT Chance Carter combined
for 12 TFLs and 6.5 sacks. The DEs should have great depth, and four star
sophomores DE Ifeadi Odenigbo and DT Greg Kuhar should factor heavily into the
line rotation and make for a very good front seven. Damien Proby is gone but
the rest of the linebackers are a experienced and should pick up the slack. Led
by seniors Chi Chi Ariguzo and Collin Ellis were good in run support and in the
pass game and the starters should be all seniors with experience. If
unspectacular they should be a solid unit and able to make plays behind an
experienced front seven. The secondary returns the top five playmakers and has
a nice combination youth and experience and combined for 26 passes defensed.
With the returning depth in the front seven this should be a talented and
experienced unit and one of Fitzpatrick’s best defenses. Overall this is solid
unit and potentially very good defense but the success of the team will come
down to the ability of the offense to create big plays on a consistent basis,
which at best is an unknown. Head Coach:
Pat Fitzgerald (2006) Since 55-46
Indiana
Hoosiers (East, 5-7, 18, 8 (Y), 49%, 10, 80%) Indiana
was 5-7 and saw a much improved offense under Kevin Wilson held back by an
atrocious showing on the defensive side of the ball. The offense ranked 16th
in F+ in 2013, while the defense was 106th overall and 117th
in points per game. Both quarterbacks from last year return with similar
profiles but a rather large spilt between in attempts. Nate Sudfeld had 322
attempts to Tre Roberson’s 138, the biggest difference between the two was
Roberson and his .7% sack rate compared to Sudfeld’s 4.5%. They both completed
60% of their passes, Roberson had a slightly better yards/att 8.0 to 7.2 and a
slightly better TD-INT rate but overall they were statistically pretty similar.
Roberson is the better athlete and on 84 carries last year rushed for over 5
yards a carry. The best news for whoever starts or for both if they split snaps
again in 2014 is that Tevin Coleman is back at running back. Coleman’s sophomore
season was mighty impressive, he averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Just think about
that, if you didn’t watch Indiana last year you may want to this year to see
what Coleman does for an encore. The backup for Coleman is D’Angelo Roberts but
the player to watch as we get closer into the season is Anthony Davis, the sophomore
only had 10 rushes last year but he flashed at 6.5 yards per carry and even if
he just spells Coleman every now and then and can keep his yards/carry at 5
rushes he would be a heck of a second option for the Hoosiers. The receiving
corps has to replace its two best receivers in Cody Latimer (now with the
Broncos) and Kofi Hughes (claimed by the Texans). The duo combined for 1800
yards and around 9 yards per catch last season. The good news is two-fold, one
Kevin Wilson and Kevin Johns have this offense working the way they want and
are very good at their jobs and Shane Wynn. Wynn went for 633 yards last season
and averaged just shy of 10 yards a catch with a 70% catch rate, Wynn should
follow nicely in the path paved by Latimer and Hughes and has the chance to be
even better with the clear number one role. The rest of the returning receiving
corps doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence but the staff brought in four
star Dominique Booth who should see some time early on and high three star TE
Jordan Fuchs to supplement. That added with high three star sophomore Kevin
Davis this may be a young and talented receiving corps that has high late
season upside. The line returns nine players with starts and the LT, LG and C
combined have 72 starts combined and should be very good. Overall I have confidence
in the staff, the QB, the line and the RB to be very good again this season and
if youngsters in positions to step up as pass catcher this offense shouldn’t
see too much of a drop off in 2014. The defense is a different story all
together as we noted above. The good news is Wilson brought in Knorr from Wake
Forest who has made a living with bend don’t break and if Indiana can be
average on defense it would be a huge step forward. The line is set up, at
least size wise, for the switch to 3-4. The defensive ends are all undersized,
under 300, and the DTs are 325 lbs. They only use two of the top nine tackle
getters in 2013 but no one had more than 30 tackles. Bobby Richardson and
former four star Zach Shaw should benefit from the switch as they are
undersized rush ends who didn’t get pressure but should be able to occupy
tackles. The best fits are the returning tackles, the top two are both 6’5” 325
and should occupy space in a way that wasn’t really beneficial in the 4-3. The
biggest benefactors might be sophomore DEs David Kenney and Shawn Heffern a
former four star and mid-three star respectively. There is a load of experience
returning at LB as the top seven from last year return. ILBs David Cooper and
T.J. Simmons combined for 143.5 tackles and 9.5 TFLs who need to make plays at
the line to justify the change. On the outside Forisse Hardin and Clyde Newton
will have opportunity but need to learn how to put pressure from the edge and
make more plays in the backfield. Theere is young talent here and next year is
definitely the jump year but year 1 under Knorr will be a true test of coaching
in 2014. Senior CB Tim Bennett had 21 pass defensed 2013 but only 1 INT, that
by itself should normalize and show up with at least a few more takeaways in
2014. The starting back four has experienced 43 returning starts, Michael
Hunter the opposite CB who had 8 passes defensed. The key here may be four star
sophomore Antonio Allen. This secondary needs to make less tackles if this
defense is going to be better and that starts with the play of the front seven.
This year has limited upside record-wise because they are playing in the East
but if the defense improves this team will take another step forward for Kevin
Wilson and company. Head Coach: Kevin WIlson (10-26) Since 2011
Illinois
Fighting Illini (West, 4-8, 16, 6 (N), 52%, 10, 78.5%) With
Nathan Scheelhaase gone after an “eight” year career as the starter for
Illinois and the battle is still going on. For my purpose here I am going to assume
Wes Lunt the Oklahoma State transfer will start and I think he’s the best
quarterback on the roster. Lunt will battle in fall practice with Reilly O’Toole
and fellow four star sophomore Aaron Bailey. Lunt as a true freshman completed
62% completion percentages and a .8% sack rate that would be a step, if not up,
laterally in year one. The running backs should be above average in 2014. Josh
Ferguson returns for his junior season after averaging 5.5 yards/carry as a sophomore
and should see more carries this coming season. There isn’t much else behind
Ferguson but senior Donovonn Young and his 4 yards/carry should be a good
enough stop gap when he is called upon. The bad news is the three top receivers
are gone, the “good” news is that Ferguson had the second best output last
year. As. A. Running. Back. The tight ends should be adequate here with a
couple of seniors who were sure handed on limited attempts but there is not all
that much waiting in the wings at receiver in a pass first offense. The line is
experienced but needs to continue to grow from a spectacularly average 2013.
The defense was bad, like Illinois bad but returns a bunch and there is nowhere
to go but up. The line loses only two player but both were starters but those
two starters where the only legitimate sack producers on the line (6 sacks
combined). Austin Teitsma is the lone returning bright spot from last season,
with 34.5 tackles and 5.5 TFLs from the one technique. Who’s going to step up?
There isn’t a player who showed flashes and the only redeeming quality is that
there is a lot of youth in the two deep but that really doesn’t help this season.
The LBs lose their stud Jonathan Brown, with 90.5 tackles, 15 TFLs and 5 sacks.
The best returner is MLB Mason Monheim with 69.5 tackles and 6.5 TFLs should
have a very good junior season. The rest has some potential and youth but like
the the line no one who jumps off the depth chart. A horrible secondary returns
everyone and much like the defense as a whole has nowhere to go but up. Star (position)
back Earnest Thomas III had 79 tackles and 7 pass breakups, a couple of which
should turn into turnover attempts but again, why should we expect much growth
over last season? There is youth and a lot of experience but where is the
upside outside of Ferguson and Lunt on offense. Head Coach: Tim Beckman (27-34)
Since 2012
Rutgers
Scarlet Knights (East, 6-7, 16, 9 (Y), 76.3%, 7, 73.3%) Rutgers
took another step back in Kyle Flood’s second season. Falling well below
average on offense and stay there on defense. Gary Nova is back once again, but
that leaves little room for optimism. Nova only completed 54.5% percent of his
pass attempts in 2013 in which both his completion percentage and sack rate
regressed. Entering his senior year he needs to right the ship or replaced by
younger players to build towards the future. The top three running backs from
last year return and the best of them is junior Paul James who rushed for 5.6
yards per carry. Backing up James are sophomore Justin Goodwin and Sayon
Huggins. Goodwin is the better of the two backs with 4.7 yards per carry and
solid job of getting it done with good blocking. Huggins for his part is a
senior who will just be the back that spells if the two in front tire but won’t
screw the pooch in limited time. There is talent in the receiving corps but the
production just doesn’t match up, whether due to QB play or underperformance by
the receivers (probably both) this group is in a big development year. Four
star junior Leonte Carroo, high three star sophomores Rutann Pette and Carlton
Agudosi are all young and back but none has catch rates that are close to good
or portend future success. The peripheral players (TEs/RBs) might be the best
part of the passing offense. Junior tight end Tyler Kroft is back with a 62%
catch rate and 8.3 yards per catch. And the backs were sure handed if not used
all that often. The defensive line loses two starters but returns three of the
top four tacklers from last year. They do lose 5.5 sacs from Marcus Thompson but
if the line is to improve they need to be much better against the run. The
lynch pin will be former five star junior Darius Hamilton who had 34 tackles,
11.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks from DT. If he can continue to put pressure from
the middle the rest of the line should be able to build off of it… but the
emphasis is should. Djwany Mera needs to build upon a good sophomore campaign
with 2.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs but needs to do it more consistently to pick up the
slack left on the edges. The good news is all three starting linebackers are
back, the better news is Steve Longa is a sophomore after a 87 tackle, 7.5 TFLs
and 3 sack freshman campaign, but the question still remains if the line can
keep enough pressure off to let the linebackers make plays. Longa will be the
best player in the front seven in 2014 but the most important may be the
utilization of Quanzell Lambert whose freshman showed flashes of burst off the
edge with 4.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. If Lambert can be utilized in a creative and
effective way the front seven as a whole should be considerably better. The bad
news was the 2013 secondary was shaky, the good news is it was populated by a
good number of talented freshmen that now have a great amount of experience.
The secondary will be a nice combination of seniority and sophomores who played
and the younger members are mostly of a talented pedigree. I believe the back
seven will be much better in 2014 with a very heavy and healthy influx of
sophomores but the front four is iffy and needs some players who are trending
in the right direction to continue to grow if they are going to stand up in run
defense. Overall the offense doesn’t have much going for it but the defense
should improve some, especially against the pass but year 1 in the B1G is going
to rocky for Kyle Flood and company. Head
Coach: Kyle Flood (15-11) Since 2012
Editors Note: The Purdue preview you will read next was written by my good friend Andy Kriha, proprietor of the blog EveryNameisTakenAlreadyHolyFuck and unfortunately for him a Purdue fan.
Purdue
Boilermakers (West, 1-11, 13, 8 (Y), 87.6%, 5, 63.3%) Being a Purdue fan in 2013 was a bit like being partially eaten alive by a rabid hobo and then thrown into a vat of boric acid. But this is 2014 and we're undefeated for at least the next five and a half weeks. That's not the only reaon Purdue fans have to be optimistic. Reason number two is sophomore head coach Darrell Hazell who is most definitely not Danny Hope. Hazell's failure to blame the fans for his team's inability to produce means the pitch forks and torches won't come out this season if Purdue doesn't return to the prestigious Heart of Dallas Bowl. Ah, Dallas, where dreams are made. Now let's get on to a team preview. Early in the season, much ballyhooed freshman quarterback Danny Etling doused his reshirt in vodka and hit it with a flamethrower resulting in the lone bright spot for 2013. Etling threw 10 touchdown passes to his own team compared to just 7 total completed passes to opponents, not all of which went for touchdowns. Expect the eaddition of freshman David Blough to push Etling to new heights. with a full season to play expect a TD/INT line in the neighborhood of 15/5. Unless of course he tears an ACL. One stat I failed to mention above was Etling's 31 sacks. Purdue's offensive line sucked harder than a sorority girl who got experimental surgery to replace her lungs with vacuum pumps. To remedy that situation, Hazell brought in a pair of JUCO transfers to anchor the line. That can lead to nothing but success. Ind addition to Etling, they'll be blocking for Purdue's deeep and talented rnnning back core. Purdue returns their top two rushers, Thunder and Lightning, also known as Brandon Cottom and Akeem Hunt. Also in the fold is former wide receiver Raheem Mostert and freshman David Yancey (no idea if he's realted to receiving phenom DeAngelo Yancey.) Which brings us to the receiving core. DeAngelo Yancey and BJ Knauf can be Purdue's Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker if Knauf can manage to go the entire season without shoplifting from Kohl's. Odds of Knauf not shoplifting: 37:1. The success of this offense is going to come down to that JUCO offfensive line. Id doesn't need to be a steel curtain, a linen curtain will get the Boilermakers to a 3 win season, but swiss cheese could send us right back to 1-11. The big question on Purdue's defense will be the secondary. The team's best player from a year ago, Ricardo Allen, is now in the NFL. Starting safety/former quarterback Rob Henry also had a brief NFL career on the Raider's 90 man roster. The linebacking core features a pair on to an illustrious career on defense and Gelen Robinson is the son of Purdue basketball legend Glen Robinson. The defenses success might hinge on the play of DE Ryan Russell. Russell could be an All-American or he could be a complete non-factor, it's really up to him. If he finally lives up to his potential, he could put some pressure on the opposing quarterback and take some pressure off of his defensive backs. We're a long ways away from the days when Carson Wiggs was the best player on Purdue's team. Paul Griggs, despite the rhyming last name, is certainly no Wiggs. Don't expect points to come in groups of 3 this year. Gone also is superstar punter Cody Webster. I don't know who his replacement is, but he's probably not as good. The silver lining is that we shouldn't be punting quite as much as last year with our improved offense. As we all know, I'm a ray of fucking sunshine, so I'm going to be a bit more optimistic than the typical "expert". Purdue grabs the 3 nonconference games they're favored in. Notre Dame finally gets hit by their tendency to play down to Purdue's level. And last but not least, Purdue picks up one upset conference victory for the glorioius 5-7 season we've all been dreaming of. Head Coach: Darrell Hazell (17-21)
Since 2013
2014 Predicted Standings
East: 1) Ohio State 2) Michigan State 3) Maryland
4) Penn State 5) Michigan 6) Indiana 7) Rutgers
Ohio State
and Michigan State are the class of the Big Ten right now, especially with
Wisconsin replacing their entire defense. Ohio State is the best team, but
needs to sure up a line that lost a lot from last year’s unit. If Connor Cook
continues to make the improvements started last season, the game itself and the
race for the division title will be one of the best in the country. Maryland
will surprise year one but health has a way of making a shaky team look much
better. Rutgers for their part won’t add much year one and may be a couple years
out. And lastly Michigan will be a disappointment once again and Hoke will find
himself firmly on the hot seat at the end of the season. This should be a
better Big Ten with much greater depth than the last year but lacks the amount
of elite teams that reside in the Pac-12 and SEC.
2013 saw the Big Ten have national
storylines but yet a disappointing season overall. Michigan State won the
conference and represented the B1G in the Rose Bowl. Which they won. Ohio State
was a championship game hopeful until the beating at the hands of the Spartans
in Indianapolis and then lost to Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Overall it was a
pretty meh season for the rest of the conference. Will Michigan State and Ohio
State reprise their 2013 roles in new divisions? Will Wisconsin bounce back
after a mildly disappointing season? Will Michigan, Nebraska or Penn State rise
back to prominence, or is that still looming on the horizon?
Subtractions/Additions
As with the
rest of realignment for the Big Ten there were no subtractions this season, but
the league did add two new members. Maryland brings some modicum of success to
the table but it is the Baltimore and D.C. TV markets that they bring to the
table but there is some optimism for the future. Rutgers for their part had two
seasons of success but it is the roundabout entry into the New York TV market
that brought it to the Big Ten.
Recent History
2013 brought
a surprise champion to the Big Ten. Ohio State carried an undefeated season
into the championship game but it was Michigan State and its stout defense that
carried the day. 2012 with Ohio State on a postseason ban saw second place
Wisconsin trounce Nebraska in the championship game to reach the Rose Bowl
despite three loses in the regular season. 2011’s inaugural Big Ten
Championship Game pitted 10-2 Michigan State against 10-2 Wisconsin meet in a
barn burner of a game that saw Wisconsin earn a berth in their second of three
consecutive Rose Bowls.
Coaching Changes
There was
only one coaching change in the Big Ten this year sparked by the departure of
Bill O’Brien, whose staff handled hefty Big Ten sanctions very well in year two
but miss out on a couple close victories. O’Brien left for the Houston Texans
job this offseason which opened up the job for James Franklin. Franklin rebuilt
a struggling Vanderbilt program and brought them to relevance in a very
difficult SEC West. Franklin and staff have started with a bang free agency
this offseason continuing the level of optimism in Happy Valley.
Team Write-ups (Division, 2013 W-L, Total Returning Starters, Returning Off (Starters (QB), % yards), Returning Def (Starters, % yards)) *coach records are career numbers
Ohio
State Buckeyes (East, 12-2, 12, 5 (Y), 50.4%, 7, 54.4%) With
Urban Meyer at the helm the last two seasons Ohio State is 24-2. Both losses coming
in the 2013 season at the hands of top ten opponents Michigan State and
Clemson. 2015 brings another talented team to the field in Columbus and the
thing that was missing from last year’s team, depth and experience on defense,
is much less of a concern in year three under Meyer. Let’s start on the
offensive side of the ball and the most important piece to the overall success
of the Buckeyes, Braxton Miller. Miller made strides in 2014 completing 63.5%
of his passes and averaging over seven yards per attempt. On the ground Miller
picked up 1201 yards at an 8 Y/C pace. If he can keep the accuracy up and
continue to be a big play machine when he breaks the pocket, and regaining his
health he should, at least, challenge for a Heisman in 2014. Miller is the best
running threat returning from last year with Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall
leaving but, but not to fret the roster has three four star backs to replace
those who have departed. Sophomores Donte Wilson and Ezekiel Elliot should be
the top two backs on the depth chart and as both averaged over eight yards a
carry last season they should provide useful replacements for the departed
Carlos Hyde. Wide Receiver has an interesting dichotomy the top three returning
performers are all seniors. Devin Smith and Evan Spencer are wide receivers
with high three star ratings but Smith caught 60% of his targets and Spencer
caught just 51% of his targets. The third senior, TE Jeff Heuerman, aught 72%
of his targets and should be a good pressure outlet for Miller. Smith and
Spencer on the other hand will have competition from seven four star incoming
freshmen or RS freshmen who now populate the roster. Smith should be safe early
on but Spencer was very inconsistent and needs to improve in camp to lock down
his job. Ohio State loses four of five starters on the line but there are
plenty of talented replacement options available for Meyer and staff to find a
combination they like. The defensive line, which might have been the worst
position set on last year’s squad, returns all four starters and six of the
eight players that recorded a tackle in 2013, this should be a strength on the
2013 squad and one of the reasons the forty fifth best defense (F+) should get
much better this year. Ryan Shazier is gone, and with him his 123 tackles from
last year but only one other LB is gone from the 2013 squad and there is great
talent returning to pick up slack left by Shazier’s departure. The secondary
underperformed in 2013 but it was a talent bunch and loses a great talent in
Bradley Roby as well as both starting safeties. This went from a presumed
strength last year to the weakest unit on the defense this year. The good news
is there are a litany of four star talent ready to step up and Meyer’s Florida
teams showed a great ability to reload the secondary and I think the 2014
starts that trend in Ohio State. This should be the class of the Big Ten this
year and the defense should improve by leaps and bounds and take away last
year’s weakness. This team has all the looks of Meyer’s first national
championship contender since arriving in Columbus in 2012. Head Coach: Urban Meyer (128-25)
Since 2012
Michigan
State Spartans (East, 13-1, 11, 7 (Y), 86.9%, 4, 50.7%) Michigan
State started slowly in 2013 especially on offense but after the Purdue game
the Spartans took off and shocked most observers by beating Ohio State in the
Big Ten Championship game and Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The lynchpin last
season was the great defense built by Dantonio and Pat Narduzzi ranked second
in Football Outsiders F+ at 25% better than the average defense. The biggest
difference between the start of the season and what we saw in the B1G Champ and
Rose Bowl was the performance of the offense. Connor Cook is back and may be
the best quarterback in East Lancing in a couple years. Cook’s stat line
doesn’t look all that great but as the year went along he became more
consistent and efficient player. If he can continue to get better and improves
his accuracy this could be a very dangerous play action offense. MSU brings
back the top three running backs from last season are all back but in true
Michigan State fashion Jeremy Langford was number one on the depth chart and
got 292 carries to 67, 38 and 21 respectively to the other returning backs. If
Langford were to go down Nick Hill (SR), Delton Williams (SO) and R.J Shelton
(SO) averaged 5.1, 6.3 and 7.3 yards per carry respectively last year in
limited carries and should be able to shoulder the load if Langford were to get
injured. Last year’s number one receiver Bennie Fowler is gone, but the rest of
the receiving corps returns led by Macgarrett Kings Jr. and Tony Lippett. Both
caught at least 60% of their targets and averaged over 7 yards on each. The
other key piece looks like a breakout from sophomore TE Josiah Pierce, at 6’4
244 and a 73.9% catch rate he should be a great check down option for Cook in
2014. The bad news on the defensive line is that they lost both interior
starters. The good news is that they brought in two four star prospects to help
fill in the middle and they return a bunch of production at DE. They also bring
in stud five star DE Malik McDowell who is talented enough to make an impact
year one. Like backer loses a starter and a very good contributor but Taiwan
Jones returns at the Mike and there is a bunch of talented depth ready to step
up and perform behind what should be a very good front four. Darqueze Dennard
and SS Isaiah Lewis are gone but senior Kurtis Drummond is back after a 70
tackle season and the replacements for Dennard and Lewis produced well in their
time on the field last season. The defense will almost assuredly take a bit of
a dip in 2014 but the offense should be better overall for the season making
this still a very dangerous team and a force to be reckoned with. Head Coach: Mark Dantonio (82-46) Since 2007
Wisconsin
Badgers (West, 9-4, 9, 6 (Y), 41.2%, 3, 50%) 2013
was a bit of a disappointment for in Gary Anderson’s first season. The 2013
squad was said to have been one of Beilema’s best in Madison and the biggest
concern, switching the 4-3 to the 3-4, actually performed very well. 2014’s
team will need to rely on a loaded backfield for both rushing and receiving
production early on and a secondary that could be a strength for the first time
in a couple of years. Stave was good enough last season when the running game
was clicking but when needed to make a play he often made unforgiveable
mistakes. Challenging Joel Stave in fall camp will be Tanner McEvoy the JC
transfer who filled in at safety last year and former Elite 11 quarterback Bart
Houston. McEvoy looks like the most likely to beat out Stave and fits a little
better in the preferred system of Andersen and staff who would like to continue
to add more spread elements to the offense. No matter who starts they are going
to be helped out in a major way by the stable of backs behind them. Melvin
Gordon returns for his junior season after a 1609 yard campaign where he
average 7.8. yards per carry. Behind Gordon is sophomore Corey Clement who in
limited carries rushed for 500 yards and 8.2 yards per carry and should see the
majority of James White’s 221 carries move into his lap and production. Behind
them is RS freshman Austin Ramesh and Freshmen Taiwan Deal, one of which, if
history predicts the future, will show flashes of being the next back up in the
stable to take over the load. This should be one of the best running games in
the country again and Gordon should stand out and make people notice anew come
fall. The Badgers lose their three legitimate receiving threats from last
season. Biggest of all is Jared Abbredaris who was a one man receiving corps
mostly out of necessity last season. Along with Jared, both TE Pederson and RB
White are gone which leaves a lot of room for someone to step up, but whom on
the roster looks ready to take that opportunity. The best guess here is four
star freshman Dareian Watkins who has the talent and size to be a legitimate
target right away and he will certainly have the opportunity to lock down that
position in a very weak position group. The line returns all but one starter
and should be stout once again. Last year’s defensive line did a great job
adjusting and fitting into the 3-4 but but all but two contributors are gone
and there isn’t much experience to fill in the gaps in the two deep. SR nose
guard Warren Herring returns with after a four sac season and DE Konrad
Zagzebski returns with two tackles for loss but that is the extent of the
experience and the Badgers are going to need some great production out of young
players with no snaps under their belts. Every starting LB from last season is
gone and it is going to be a tough act to follow and replace, especially
Borland’s 91.5 tackles. The good news is that Derek Landish and Vince Biegel
look primed to step in to much larger roles, but the other two spots will be
filled with players that haven’t shown much yet as far as upside. A experienced
secondary will need to be the rock of the defense early on as the Badgers
assimilate some very raw talent in the front seven. Sojourn Shelton has the
potential to be one of the best corners in the Big Ten this year and he and
Darius Hillary will need to be very good in coverage if the pressure from the
front isn’t there early on. The Badgers should be good on the back end in 2014
but they front seven needs to gel quickly or this could be a rough year two for
Anderson and company. Head Coach: Gary Anderson (39-35) Since 2013
Nebraska
Cornhuskers (West, 9-4, 11, 5 (Y), 79.2%, 6, 59.4%) Nebraska
is back to where it was under Frank Solich extremely consistent and good team
but can’t break into the elite group nationally. 2014 may be a pivotal year for
Pelini with an alumni and fan base that grows ever restless with four win
seasons. Quarterback is a question mark and Tommy Armstrong’s performances in
2014 don’t help that. With Ron Kellogg and Taylor Martinez gone Armstrong and
his 52% completion percentage is the incumbent, maybe he gets pushed by high
three star redshirt freshman Johnny Stanton but for now Armstrong is expected
to be the starter. Armstrong leaves a lot to be desired but the running backs
should be a stabilizing force on the 2014 squad. Ameer Abdulaah is back and the
senior had a hell of a season. 1690 yards on 281 carries at 6 yards a clip.
Abdullah should be the rock the offense is built around especially as Armstrong
grows into his role as starter. Behind Abdullah, Imani Cross and Terrell Newby
both gained over 5.5 yards per carry and limited time and should be plenty good
enough when spelling Ameer and/or if he unfortunately gets hurt. Top gaining
receiver Quincy Enunwa is gone but Kenny Bell is back for his senior year after
a disappointing junior campaign that failed to build off of a breakout
sophomore campaign. If 2014 is going to be a better year through the air
Abdullah cannot be the second best receiver on the team, but sophomore Jordan
Westerkamp looks poised for a breakout after a 80% catch rate as a freshman who
should get a bigger role in the offense. Sophomores Cethan Carter (TE) and
Alonzo Moore (WR) are going to need to step up to give Armstrong some targets
as well as some upperclassmen that have not performed up to snuff so far in
their careers. This should be a very good rushing offense but the passing game
needs playmakers to step up and Armstrong to become more consistent and develop
into, if nothing else, an average quarterback. Four star JUCO transfer Randy
Gregory was a welcome addition in 2013 and he returns after a 52 tackle 9.5
sack campaign that saw him burst on the scene for the Blackshirts, but he’s
going to need help. That should come in the form of four star sophomore Greg
McMullen who got some playing time but didn’t see the field in two games as a
freshmen and didn’t produce much as a two deep player. He should start in 2014.
At DT three players return who played at least 12 games but none of them
recorded 19 tackles last year but they have the talent base to make strides in
greater roles in 2014. If the line makes strides that should only help to free
up a talented and experienced group of LBs who have a nice mix of seniority and
young talent and features the top four returning tacklers from last season.
This group of four returns three four star recruits and 170 tackles and should
be the strength of Pelini’s defense. The secondary is going to need to lean on
the front seven early on, the only returning starter is SS Corey Cooper who had
71.5 tackles last year. He is joined by FS Leroy Alexander and CB Josh Mitchell
who combined for 58 tackles last year and played in all 13 games but depth is
an issue and the loss of eight of the eleven interceptions from last year means
the returning players are going to be relied upon to make plays. Overall this
should be another good Nebraska team and one of the better defenses of the last
couple of years. Head Coach: Bo Pelini (58-24) Since 2008
Iowa
Hawkeyes (West, 8-5, 13, 8 (Y), 89.7%, 5, 43.8%) After
a disappointing couple of years the Hawkeyes returned to a much more familiar
form in 2014. Junior QB Jake Rudock is back at the helm for Iowa. Rudock threw
for just under 2400 yards last season completing 59% of his passes and was
solid but far from extraordinary or game changing. The key for 2014, much like
most Ferentz teams, is the running game and whether AIRBHG
(Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God) will strike down all comers or just a
couple starters. Mark Weisman returns for his senior season and brings a 4.3
yards per carry mark over from last season. Weisman has some explosiveness to
his game but is much better in between the tackles. Backing him up are senior
Damon Bullock and junior Jordan Canzeri. Bullock was solid last year in over
100 carries with at four yards a rush and should be just fine spilling Weisman.
The kickstarter here is Canzeri a 5’9” junior who ripped off 6.5 yards a carry
last season and should add a level of explosiveness to the backfield that has
been missing in recent seasons. There is depth here and that makes them
dangerous if healthy. There is returning talent at wide receiver, the only
player in the top five of receiving yards gone is TE C.J. Fedorowicz but this
group needs to show some explosiveness to offset the eight in the box that will
surely be seen. The most likely to create that unfortunately is junior TE Jake
Duzey who was almost ten yards per reception in 2013 and caught 68% of his
targets. Leading receiver (388 yards) Kevonte Martin-Manley is back but he
needs to do much better than 5.8 yards per target to be a real threat for Iowa.
There is returning experience but nothing to excite you much, but that may not
matter if the running game is as good as it looks to be heading into the fall.
Brandon Scherff returns at LT and should be one of the five best tackles in the
country and a future first round pick and is joined by two returning juniors
but there are holes to fill. Two former four stars should replace the departed
linemen and this should be at worst a solid line group and at best among the
best in the conference and country. The entire front four is back but the pass
rush needs to be much better from a senior laden front in 2014. With six of
seven players returning in 2014 and a couple four star sophomores in the wings
this unit needs to do much better than 12.5 sacks that it created in 2013. The
linebacking corps loses all three starters and will need that added production
up front as new starters assimilate to greater roles. The player to watch from
the group is sophomore Reggie Spearman who could really breakout in his new
role in 2014. The secondary loses two starters but returns six players with
game experience from 2013. Ferentz and company have done a great job in the
secondary over their tenure in Iowa City and there is no reason to suspect a
huge drop off with safety John Lowdermilk and corner Desmond king returning
after stellar 2014s. The defense will need to rely on a talented and experienced
line all year and especially early on but with increased pressure up front this
should be a dangerous and very good Iowa defense. Overall this looks to be a
return to the top of the Big Ten for Ferentzs team and in a weak West they
should challenge Nebraska and Wisconsin for the division title. Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (120-100) Since 1999
Penn
State Nittany Lions (East, 7-5, 15, 7 (Y), 65.8%, 8, 72.2%) Any
preview of the Nittany Lions needs to start with the coaching change. Bill
O’Brien did really good things for the program especially considering the
challenges he faced but the hire of James Franklin was the second home run of a
hire for Penn State. The biggest difference is already noted by the current
staffs recruiting prowess early on and the vibrancy they bring to the program.
Franklin is blessed year one with sophomore QB Christian Hackenberg.
Hackenberg’s freshmen campaign in the Big Ten was pretty impressive, he threw
for 2955 yards and completed 59% percent of his passes but he is going to need
to prove that that wasn’t all due to having a receiver like Allen Robinson (39%
target rate) to rely on. Hackenberg should have help from the running game in
two former four star seniors, Zach Zwinak and Bill Benton along with Akeel
Lynch who broke onto the big stage as a freshman with averaging six yards per
carry. Zwinak and Belton were no slouches at 4.7 and 5.1 respectively and
combined this should be a nice three headed monster for the staff and
Hackenberg to rely on. Targets for Hackenberg are going to be the issue, the
afore mentioned Robinson is gone as well as Brandon Felder who was second on
the team are gone which means some young talent needs to take the next step.
Junior TE Jesse James was a solid target with limited targets and sophomores
Geno Lewis and Richy Anderson showed flashes but need to be much more
consistent catcher to be significant help on the edges and down the field.
Behind them Penn State has four four star pass catchers that were added to the
roster who should at least push the incumbents to improves lest they lose their
jobs. The line has work to do as only two starters return from last year and
those who left included Campbell Trophy winning RG John Urschel. Herb Hand is
one of the best line coaches in the country but he has his hands full with a
group that has no experience outside the two returning starters. The Penn State
defense was a very respectable group that graded out in the top quarter of
college football in 2013 and that defense brings back a lot of talent in the
front four. Top tackler DaQuan Jones is gone but DE C.J Olaniyan and Deion
Barnes are back, along with DT Austin Johnson. Olaniyan is the playmaker of the
group, he had 11 TFL and 5 sacks in 2013 and should be a very good player in
his senior season. Jurnior Anthony Zettel and Some very talented RS freshmen
should fill out the two deep with fairly talented depth in 2014. Mike Hull
returns to anchor the linebacking corps as he moves from OLB to MLB after a 61
tackle 2013 campaign and to highly touted sophomores take over on the outside
in Nyeem Wartman and Brandon bell to lead a two deep that is stocked really
well with exciting young talent to be molded at linebacker U. The front seven
is raw and talented but the key for this year’s defensive squad will be an
experienced secondary’s ability to limit the big plays they couldn’t in 2014.
Jordan Lucas returns after a very solid 2013 in which he recorded 16 ints or
pass breakups, along with safeties Adrian Amos and Ryan Keiser who combined for
73 tackles in 2014. There is experience in the back four but without a much
greater consistency in limiting the big play. All in all I like the defense
which has a lot of young talent especially in the front seven and an offense
that has upside but lacks consistent pass catchers for a very promising young
QB. Year 1 for Franklin has a lot of promise but could be a very volatile year
one as depth will be a concern with the specter of NCAA sanctions still looming
large. Head Coach: James Franklin (24-15) Since New Hire
Michigan
Wolverines (East, 7-6, 15, 7 (Y), 50.3%, 8, 77.8%) Brady
Hoke enters year four and hasn’t been able to replicate the success had with
Rich Rod’s players in year one. 2013 was marred by extremely poor line play
despite the presence of a first round left tackle and an offense that wasn’t
able to produce with any modicum of consistency. The good news for the 2014
Wolverines’ offense is that they made one of, if not the best, offseason
coordinator hires in the country. By bringing in Doug Nussmeier from Alabama
Michigan upgrades from the stagnant Borges offense with one that should utilize
a very talent group of players and use the entirety of the field while still
staying in the pro-style sets that Hoke prefers. Quarterback is up in the air
after a disastrous 2013 and the battle will feature returning starter Devin
Gardner and four star sophomore Shane Morris. This could be a situation where a
new coordinator sees a talented youngster and prefers to start them over a
senior and prepare better for the future. Whoever starts they should have the
full confidence of the staff and they both have the talent to make this an offense
in a better position to click. The good news is that there is a very talented
group of running backs to take the pressure off headlined by five star sophomore
and top tent talent from the 2013 class Derrick Green. The sophomore had run of
the mill numbers in 2013 but I think it more prudent to throw out the numbers
from disastrous 2013 and focus on the promise that the talent group brings to
2014. Add that with Nussmeier’s past success with talented backs at Alabama and
this should be the strength of the offense. The receiving corps needs to be
rebuilt, Devin Funchess and Jehu Chesson are back for their junior and sophomore
seasons and relative success and Jake Butt returns at TE after injuries but
after that it is on a talented but unexperienced group of receivers that represent
a huge unknown. The line returns a bunch of highly touted recruits but after
the disastrous performance last season need to be much better and can’t get
much worse this year. The defense was inexperienced last season but did fairly
well considering the position they were put in by the offense and the line
should be a good launch point for the 2014 team. Five of the top six returning
tackle getters return this year but DE Frank Clark (5 sacks, 12.5 TFL) needs
help if this unit is going to pressure opposing offenses. The other returners
combined for 12.5 TFLs and six sacks and that just isn’t going to cut it. There
are a handful of highly touted youngsters lurking in the depth chart and a
burst of pass rush help could come from this group headlined by Tom Strobel at
DT and Taco Charlton at DE. The Linebacking corps returns 28 starts from last
year and is bolstered by the return of the injured Jake Ryan who should be the
best playmaker of the group. With increased pressure from the front four the
LBs could make a jump this year. The back four needs to replace a couple of
safeties but the group as a whole returns a lot of experience. Corners Raymon
Taylor and Blake Countess need to do a better job of locking down receivers but
much like the linebackers if the front four can improve their ability to create
pressure this unit should continue to improve and coalesce in 2014. The defense
should be the rock of the team again in 2014 and with a bunch of returning
starters take another step forward but the success of the 2014 Wolverines will
depend on the improvement of the offense under Nussmeier. Head Coach: Brady Hoke (73-63)
Since 2011
Maryland
Terrapins (East, 7-6, 17, 8 (Y), 96.3%, 9, 84.1%) Maryland
enters the B1G from the ACC with a talented roster that just hasn’t been able
to stay healthy the last couple of seasons under Randy Edsall. The newcomers
are in a division with Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State so
the upside record wise is tempered a bit but this is a talented roster with
depth and experience which should aid them in the upcoming challenge. The
Terrapins return QB C.J. Brown who threw for 2200 yards and complete 59% of his
passes in 2013 but missed a couple games due to injury. Brown was also the
second leading rusher on the team with 736 yards and a robust 6.2 yards per
carry. The running backs aren’t spectacular but Brandon Ross returns for his
junior season after averaging 4.7 yards a carry in 2013 and four star sophomore
Wes Brown returns after missing all of 2013 but showed promise averaging 4.2
yards a carry in his debut campaign in 2012. The biggest improvement in 2014
should be in the passing game however, where former five stars Stefon Diggs and
Deon Long return after season ending injuries midway through 2013. Diggs is the
big play threat averaging 10.5 yards per catch in 2013 and realing in 60
percent of his targets. Long for his part netted 9 yards a completion. Levon
Jacobs led the team in yards last year and average 9 yards a catch as well and
has sure hands. If all stay healthy both at WR and QB this could be one of the
better passing attacks in the conference with both high upside and very good
depth to boot as the only loss was TE Dave Stinebaugh and his 204 yards from
2013. The offense is loaded at receiver, good enough at RB and experienced at
QB which is a nice combination to have in college football. The defensive line
is experienced as well returning the top five performers from last year. The
star of the group is Andre Monroe who had 17 TFls and 9.5 sacks in 2013 and
looks prepped for a stellar senior campaign. If Quinton Jefferson can improve
on his 7.5 TFLs and 3 sacks and the NT tackle production and play stays at a
high enough level this front three could be very good this year. The LB corps
returns three starters and five of it’s top six front last year and is
experienced. Health is the concern year as all three starters missed time in
2013 but this should be a stout group all around. The front seven is going to
be a force to reckon with as they are both deep and talented. The secondary is
deep and if Jeremiah Johnson returns to health after missing last year the
corner duo of he and William Likely should be a very good combination. The top
six on the depth chart are all juniors or seniors and safety Sean Davis had 83
tackles last year and only adds to the run stopping ability of the defense as a
whole. This defense has all the markings of being really good in their
inaugural Big Ten campaign with a great amount of experience this should be a
stout unit. Overall the Terrapins bring back more experience than just about
any FBS team and enough talent that they should be competitive if not upset some
of the top teams in the conference. Head
Coach: Randy Edsall (87-94) Since
2011
Minnesota
Golden Gophers (West, 8-5, 14, 7 (N), 79%, 7, 65.8%) Kill
came to the Gophers in 2011 after the underwhelming, to say the least, Tim
Brewster experiment and returned the Gophers to respectability. 2013 saw the
Gophers surprise and outperform preseason expectations. Questions abound at QB,
Mitch Leidner is the only QB on the roster who played in 2013 as Phillip Nelson
graduated this year after starting last season. Leidner was unspectacular in
his limited time last season and will be pushed in fall camp by RS freshman
Chris Streveler and freshman Dimonic Roden-McKinzy. The two challengers were
more highly touted and with the youth of all three options there is a line of
thought of getting one of them the lead job and looking towards the future at
the position. The good news for whoever starts is that the stable of running
backs has had success already at the level. David Cobb is the incumbent and is
coming off a 1200 yards season in which he provided an impressive 5.1 yards per
carry in 2013. He and junior Rodrick Williams Jr (5.5 yards per carry), should
provide a healthy one two punch that will be an asset to whomever starts in
2014. The bad news for whomever starts at QB is the receiving corps is all
sorts of meh. TE Maxx Williams is the lead returning threat and at 10.4 yards
per reception last season provides a nice check down and seam threat. On the
outside it is much bleaker, sophomores Drew Wolitarsky and Donovahn Jones
return but neither caught over 40% of their targets and Jones was a putrid
29.4%. There isn’t much in line behind them and whoever is QB has a steep
uphill climb with this group to target in 2014. The last bit of good news is
the line is experienced and needs to replace only LT Ed Olson. The front four
returns all but two players from last season’s rotation but the departures are
big. Ra’Shede Hageman was a first round pick and a beast for the Gophers in
2013 and one of its biggest surprises. The star should be Theiren Cockran who
produced 10 TFLs and 7.5 sacks from last season but there will surely be much
more attention paid to him in 2014. The rest of the line will be experienced
but they will need to do a much better job of creating pressure this season to
reduce the drop off. The linebacking corps loses two starters but Damien Wilson
has the makings of a star heading into his senior season. Coming of a 62.5
tackle junior year and 5.5 TFLs make him a rock on which to build the LBs. To help
Wilson junior De’Vondre Campbell should start at WLB after 34 tackles in a
backup role in 2013. The corps lost only two players from the depth chart last
season and should be deep once again. Both safeties return to the back four,
but the star should be Eric Murray. The junior had 48 tackles last year but his
best attribute was 10 pass breakups, which with better luck should turn into
takeaways next season. With help from the front four the secondary should develop
into a very good group and the experience should serve them well. There are a
lot of questions on offense but the running game should be robust. The defense
is experienced but wil be dependent on an increased pass rush and the losses in
the front seven will need to be mended quickly if the unit is to coalesce for
the conference campaign. All in all this should be another solid if
unspectacular team and another step in the right direction. Head Coach: Jerry Kill
(144-94) Since 2011
Northwestern
Wildcats (West, 5-7, 17, 9 (N), 67.3%, 8, 76.2%) Let
me preface this preview by saying I may be way to low on Northwestern ranking
them tenth in the conference but he shortfalls that have hindered them in the
past have a way of affecting my opinions. Kain Colter is gone, but “starter”
Trevor Siemian returns at quarterback. Siemian was very solid and bordered on
good much of the season. He completed 60% of his passes for 2100 yards and
should be good enough to lead the offense in 2014. Senior Treyvon Green
averaged 5.3 yards per carry and should get many of the carries vacated by
Colter and Mike Trumpy (196 carries). The biggest upside of the group of
running backs is Venric Mark who got a fifth season from medical hardship
(broken ankle) and looks to recreate his 2012 season in which he averaged 6
yards per carry and over 1300 yards. If Mark doesn’t return to form sophomore
Stephen Buckley who averaged 5.3 yards per carry in 2013 as a true freshman. The
running game should be good but needs a playmaker to step up. The top three
returning recievers are back and they are three sure handed options but none is
an explosive deep threat. They should be solid options once again but if they
don’t produce more than 9 yards per reception they don’t make much of a threat
over the top and defenses can play eight in the box to stop the rushing threat.
The whole line is back and experienced both from the starters and the two deep.
The defensive line lost two starters from last season, but the biggest loss was
Tyler Scott and his 41 tackles, 10 TFLs and 6 sacks. Returning and the leaders
of the front four in 2014 will be DE Dean Lowry and DT Chance Carter combined
for 12 TFLs and 6.5 sacks. The DEs should have great depth, and four star
sophomores DE Ifeadi Odenigbo and DT Greg Kuhar should factor heavily into the
line rotation and make for a very good front seven. Damien Proby is gone but
the rest of the linebackers are a experienced and should pick up the slack. Led
by seniors Chi Chi Ariguzo and Collin Ellis were good in run support and in the
pass game and the starters should be all seniors with experience. If
unspectacular they should be a solid unit and able to make plays behind an
experienced front seven. The secondary returns the top five playmakers and has
a nice combination youth and experience and combined for 26 passes defensed.
With the returning depth in the front seven this should be a talented and
experienced unit and one of Fitzpatrick’s best defenses. Overall this is solid
unit and potentially very good defense but the success of the team will come
down to the ability of the offense to create big plays on a consistent basis,
which at best is an unknown. Head Coach:
Pat Fitzgerald (2006) Since 55-46
Indiana
Hoosiers (East, 5-7, 18, 8 (Y), 49%, 10, 80%) Indiana
was 5-7 and saw a much improved offense under Kevin Wilson held back by an
atrocious showing on the defensive side of the ball. The offense ranked 16th
in F+ in 2013, while the defense was 106th overall and 117th
in points per game. Both quarterbacks from last year return with similar
profiles but a rather large spilt between in attempts. Nate Sudfeld had 322
attempts to Tre Roberson’s 138, the biggest difference between the two was
Roberson and his .7% sack rate compared to Sudfeld’s 4.5%. They both completed
60% of their passes, Roberson had a slightly better yards/att 8.0 to 7.2 and a
slightly better TD-INT rate but overall they were statistically pretty similar.
Roberson is the better athlete and on 84 carries last year rushed for over 5
yards a carry. The best news for whoever starts or for both if they split snaps
again in 2014 is that Tevin Coleman is back at running back. Coleman’s sophomore
season was mighty impressive, he averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Just think about
that, if you didn’t watch Indiana last year you may want to this year to see
what Coleman does for an encore. The backup for Coleman is D’Angelo Roberts but
the player to watch as we get closer into the season is Anthony Davis, the sophomore
only had 10 rushes last year but he flashed at 6.5 yards per carry and even if
he just spells Coleman every now and then and can keep his yards/carry at 5
rushes he would be a heck of a second option for the Hoosiers. The receiving
corps has to replace its two best receivers in Cody Latimer (now with the
Broncos) and Kofi Hughes (claimed by the Texans). The duo combined for 1800
yards and around 9 yards per catch last season. The good news is two-fold, one
Kevin Wilson and Kevin Johns have this offense working the way they want and
are very good at their jobs and Shane Wynn. Wynn went for 633 yards last season
and averaged just shy of 10 yards a catch with a 70% catch rate, Wynn should
follow nicely in the path paved by Latimer and Hughes and has the chance to be
even better with the clear number one role. The rest of the returning receiving
corps doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence but the staff brought in four
star Dominique Booth who should see some time early on and high three star TE
Jordan Fuchs to supplement. That added with high three star sophomore Kevin
Davis this may be a young and talented receiving corps that has high late
season upside. The line returns nine players with starts and the LT, LG and C
combined have 72 starts combined and should be very good. Overall I have confidence
in the staff, the QB, the line and the RB to be very good again this season and
if youngsters in positions to step up as pass catcher this offense shouldn’t
see too much of a drop off in 2014. The defense is a different story all
together as we noted above. The good news is Wilson brought in Knorr from Wake
Forest who has made a living with bend don’t break and if Indiana can be
average on defense it would be a huge step forward. The line is set up, at
least size wise, for the switch to 3-4. The defensive ends are all undersized,
under 300, and the DTs are 325 lbs. They only use two of the top nine tackle
getters in 2013 but no one had more than 30 tackles. Bobby Richardson and
former four star Zach Shaw should benefit from the switch as they are
undersized rush ends who didn’t get pressure but should be able to occupy
tackles. The best fits are the returning tackles, the top two are both 6’5” 325
and should occupy space in a way that wasn’t really beneficial in the 4-3. The
biggest benefactors might be sophomore DEs David Kenney and Shawn Heffern a
former four star and mid-three star respectively. There is a load of experience
returning at LB as the top seven from last year return. ILBs David Cooper and
T.J. Simmons combined for 143.5 tackles and 9.5 TFLs who need to make plays at
the line to justify the change. On the outside Forisse Hardin and Clyde Newton
will have opportunity but need to learn how to put pressure from the edge and
make more plays in the backfield. Theere is young talent here and next year is
definitely the jump year but year 1 under Knorr will be a true test of coaching
in 2014. Senior CB Tim Bennett had 21 pass defensed 2013 but only 1 INT, that
by itself should normalize and show up with at least a few more takeaways in
2014. The starting back four has experienced 43 returning starts, Michael
Hunter the opposite CB who had 8 passes defensed. The key here may be four star
sophomore Antonio Allen. This secondary needs to make less tackles if this
defense is going to be better and that starts with the play of the front seven.
This year has limited upside record-wise because they are playing in the East
but if the defense improves this team will take another step forward for Kevin
Wilson and company. Head Coach: Kevin WIlson (10-26) Since 2011
Illinois
Fighting Illini (West, 4-8, 16, 6 (N), 52%, 10, 78.5%) With
Nathan Scheelhaase gone after an “eight” year career as the starter for
Illinois and the battle is still going on. For my purpose here I am going to assume
Wes Lunt the Oklahoma State transfer will start and I think he’s the best
quarterback on the roster. Lunt will battle in fall practice with Reilly O’Toole
and fellow four star sophomore Aaron Bailey. Lunt as a true freshman completed
62% completion percentages and a .8% sack rate that would be a step, if not up,
laterally in year one. The running backs should be above average in 2014. Josh
Ferguson returns for his junior season after averaging 5.5 yards/carry as a sophomore
and should see more carries this coming season. There isn’t much else behind
Ferguson but senior Donovonn Young and his 4 yards/carry should be a good
enough stop gap when he is called upon. The bad news is the three top receivers
are gone, the “good” news is that Ferguson had the second best output last
year. As. A. Running. Back. The tight ends should be adequate here with a
couple of seniors who were sure handed on limited attempts but there is not all
that much waiting in the wings at receiver in a pass first offense. The line is
experienced but needs to continue to grow from a spectacularly average 2013.
The defense was bad, like Illinois bad but returns a bunch and there is nowhere
to go but up. The line loses only two player but both were starters but those
two starters where the only legitimate sack producers on the line (6 sacks
combined). Austin Teitsma is the lone returning bright spot from last season,
with 34.5 tackles and 5.5 TFLs from the one technique. Who’s going to step up?
There isn’t a player who showed flashes and the only redeeming quality is that
there is a lot of youth in the two deep but that really doesn’t help this season.
The LBs lose their stud Jonathan Brown, with 90.5 tackles, 15 TFLs and 5 sacks.
The best returner is MLB Mason Monheim with 69.5 tackles and 6.5 TFLs should
have a very good junior season. The rest has some potential and youth but like
the the line no one who jumps off the depth chart. A horrible secondary returns
everyone and much like the defense as a whole has nowhere to go but up. Star (position)
back Earnest Thomas III had 79 tackles and 7 pass breakups, a couple of which
should turn into turnover attempts but again, why should we expect much growth
over last season? There is youth and a lot of experience but where is the
upside outside of Ferguson and Lunt on offense. Head Coach: Tim Beckman (27-34)
Since 2012
Rutgers
Scarlet Knights (East, 6-7, 16, 9 (Y), 76.3%, 7, 73.3%) Rutgers
took another step back in Kyle Flood’s second season. Falling well below
average on offense and stay there on defense. Gary Nova is back once again, but
that leaves little room for optimism. Nova only completed 54.5% percent of his
pass attempts in 2013 in which both his completion percentage and sack rate
regressed. Entering his senior year he needs to right the ship or replaced by
younger players to build towards the future. The top three running backs from
last year return and the best of them is junior Paul James who rushed for 5.6
yards per carry. Backing up James are sophomore Justin Goodwin and Sayon
Huggins. Goodwin is the better of the two backs with 4.7 yards per carry and
solid job of getting it done with good blocking. Huggins for his part is a
senior who will just be the back that spells if the two in front tire but won’t
screw the pooch in limited time. There is talent in the receiving corps but the
production just doesn’t match up, whether due to QB play or underperformance by
the receivers (probably both) this group is in a big development year. Four
star junior Leonte Carroo, high three star sophomores Rutann Pette and Carlton
Agudosi are all young and back but none has catch rates that are close to good
or portend future success. The peripheral players (TEs/RBs) might be the best
part of the passing offense. Junior tight end Tyler Kroft is back with a 62%
catch rate and 8.3 yards per catch. And the backs were sure handed if not used
all that often. The defensive line loses two starters but returns three of the
top four tacklers from last year. They do lose 5.5 sacs from Marcus Thompson but
if the line is to improve they need to be much better against the run. The
lynch pin will be former five star junior Darius Hamilton who had 34 tackles,
11.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks from DT. If he can continue to put pressure from
the middle the rest of the line should be able to build off of it… but the
emphasis is should. Djwany Mera needs to build upon a good sophomore campaign
with 2.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs but needs to do it more consistently to pick up the
slack left on the edges. The good news is all three starting linebackers are
back, the better news is Steve Longa is a sophomore after a 87 tackle, 7.5 TFLs
and 3 sack freshman campaign, but the question still remains if the line can
keep enough pressure off to let the linebackers make plays. Longa will be the
best player in the front seven in 2014 but the most important may be the
utilization of Quanzell Lambert whose freshman showed flashes of burst off the
edge with 4.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. If Lambert can be utilized in a creative and
effective way the front seven as a whole should be considerably better. The bad
news was the 2013 secondary was shaky, the good news is it was populated by a
good number of talented freshmen that now have a great amount of experience.
The secondary will be a nice combination of seniority and sophomores who played
and the younger members are mostly of a talented pedigree. I believe the back
seven will be much better in 2014 with a very heavy and healthy influx of
sophomores but the front four is iffy and needs some players who are trending
in the right direction to continue to grow if they are going to stand up in run
defense. Overall the offense doesn’t have much going for it but the defense
should improve some, especially against the pass but year 1 in the B1G is going
to rocky for Kyle Flood and company. Head
Coach: Kyle Flood (15-11) Since 2012
Editors Note: The Purdue preview you will read next was written by my good friend Andy Kriha, proprietor of the blog EveryNameisTakenAlreadyHolyFuck and unfortunately for him a Purdue fan.
Purdue Boilermakers (West, 1-11, 13, 8 (Y), 87.6%, 5, 63.3%) Being a Purdue fan in 2013 was a bit like being partially eaten alive by a rabid hobo and then thrown into a vat of boric acid. But this is 2014 and we're undefeated for at least the next five and a half weeks. That's not the only reaon Purdue fans have to be optimistic. Reason number two is sophomore head coach Darrell Hazell who is most definitely not Danny Hope. Hazell's failure to blame the fans for his team's inability to produce means the pitch forks and torches won't come out this season if Purdue doesn't return to the prestigious Heart of Dallas Bowl. Ah, Dallas, where dreams are made. Now let's get on to a team preview. Early in the season, much ballyhooed freshman quarterback Danny Etling doused his reshirt in vodka and hit it with a flamethrower resulting in the lone bright spot for 2013. Etling threw 10 touchdown passes to his own team compared to just 7 total completed passes to opponents, not all of which went for touchdowns. Expect the eaddition of freshman David Blough to push Etling to new heights. with a full season to play expect a TD/INT line in the neighborhood of 15/5. Unless of course he tears an ACL. One stat I failed to mention above was Etling's 31 sacks. Purdue's offensive line sucked harder than a sorority girl who got experimental surgery to replace her lungs with vacuum pumps. To remedy that situation, Hazell brought in a pair of JUCO transfers to anchor the line. That can lead to nothing but success. Ind addition to Etling, they'll be blocking for Purdue's deeep and talented rnnning back core. Purdue returns their top two rushers, Thunder and Lightning, also known as Brandon Cottom and Akeem Hunt. Also in the fold is former wide receiver Raheem Mostert and freshman David Yancey (no idea if he's realted to receiving phenom DeAngelo Yancey.) Which brings us to the receiving core. DeAngelo Yancey and BJ Knauf can be Purdue's Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker if Knauf can manage to go the entire season without shoplifting from Kohl's. Odds of Knauf not shoplifting: 37:1. The success of this offense is going to come down to that JUCO offfensive line. Id doesn't need to be a steel curtain, a linen curtain will get the Boilermakers to a 3 win season, but swiss cheese could send us right back to 1-11. The big question on Purdue's defense will be the secondary. The team's best player from a year ago, Ricardo Allen, is now in the NFL. Starting safety/former quarterback Rob Henry also had a brief NFL career on the Raider's 90 man roster. The linebacking core features a pair on to an illustrious career on defense and Gelen Robinson is the son of Purdue basketball legend Glen Robinson. The defenses success might hinge on the play of DE Ryan Russell. Russell could be an All-American or he could be a complete non-factor, it's really up to him. If he finally lives up to his potential, he could put some pressure on the opposing quarterback and take some pressure off of his defensive backs. We're a long ways away from the days when Carson Wiggs was the best player on Purdue's team. Paul Griggs, despite the rhyming last name, is certainly no Wiggs. Don't expect points to come in groups of 3 this year. Gone also is superstar punter Cody Webster. I don't know who his replacement is, but he's probably not as good. The silver lining is that we shouldn't be punting quite as much as last year with our improved offense. As we all know, I'm a ray of fucking sunshine, so I'm going to be a bit more optimistic than the typical "expert". Purdue grabs the 3 nonconference games they're favored in. Notre Dame finally gets hit by their tendency to play down to Purdue's level. And last but not least, Purdue picks up one upset conference victory for the glorioius 5-7 season we've all been dreaming of. Head Coach: Darrell Hazell (17-21) Since 2013
Purdue Boilermakers (West, 1-11, 13, 8 (Y), 87.6%, 5, 63.3%) Being a Purdue fan in 2013 was a bit like being partially eaten alive by a rabid hobo and then thrown into a vat of boric acid. But this is 2014 and we're undefeated for at least the next five and a half weeks. That's not the only reaon Purdue fans have to be optimistic. Reason number two is sophomore head coach Darrell Hazell who is most definitely not Danny Hope. Hazell's failure to blame the fans for his team's inability to produce means the pitch forks and torches won't come out this season if Purdue doesn't return to the prestigious Heart of Dallas Bowl. Ah, Dallas, where dreams are made. Now let's get on to a team preview. Early in the season, much ballyhooed freshman quarterback Danny Etling doused his reshirt in vodka and hit it with a flamethrower resulting in the lone bright spot for 2013. Etling threw 10 touchdown passes to his own team compared to just 7 total completed passes to opponents, not all of which went for touchdowns. Expect the eaddition of freshman David Blough to push Etling to new heights. with a full season to play expect a TD/INT line in the neighborhood of 15/5. Unless of course he tears an ACL. One stat I failed to mention above was Etling's 31 sacks. Purdue's offensive line sucked harder than a sorority girl who got experimental surgery to replace her lungs with vacuum pumps. To remedy that situation, Hazell brought in a pair of JUCO transfers to anchor the line. That can lead to nothing but success. Ind addition to Etling, they'll be blocking for Purdue's deeep and talented rnnning back core. Purdue returns their top two rushers, Thunder and Lightning, also known as Brandon Cottom and Akeem Hunt. Also in the fold is former wide receiver Raheem Mostert and freshman David Yancey (no idea if he's realted to receiving phenom DeAngelo Yancey.) Which brings us to the receiving core. DeAngelo Yancey and BJ Knauf can be Purdue's Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker if Knauf can manage to go the entire season without shoplifting from Kohl's. Odds of Knauf not shoplifting: 37:1. The success of this offense is going to come down to that JUCO offfensive line. Id doesn't need to be a steel curtain, a linen curtain will get the Boilermakers to a 3 win season, but swiss cheese could send us right back to 1-11. The big question on Purdue's defense will be the secondary. The team's best player from a year ago, Ricardo Allen, is now in the NFL. Starting safety/former quarterback Rob Henry also had a brief NFL career on the Raider's 90 man roster. The linebacking core features a pair on to an illustrious career on defense and Gelen Robinson is the son of Purdue basketball legend Glen Robinson. The defenses success might hinge on the play of DE Ryan Russell. Russell could be an All-American or he could be a complete non-factor, it's really up to him. If he finally lives up to his potential, he could put some pressure on the opposing quarterback and take some pressure off of his defensive backs. We're a long ways away from the days when Carson Wiggs was the best player on Purdue's team. Paul Griggs, despite the rhyming last name, is certainly no Wiggs. Don't expect points to come in groups of 3 this year. Gone also is superstar punter Cody Webster. I don't know who his replacement is, but he's probably not as good. The silver lining is that we shouldn't be punting quite as much as last year with our improved offense. As we all know, I'm a ray of fucking sunshine, so I'm going to be a bit more optimistic than the typical "expert". Purdue grabs the 3 nonconference games they're favored in. Notre Dame finally gets hit by their tendency to play down to Purdue's level. And last but not least, Purdue picks up one upset conference victory for the glorioius 5-7 season we've all been dreaming of. Head Coach: Darrell Hazell (17-21) Since 2013
2014 Predicted Standings
East: 1) Ohio State 2) Michigan State 3) Maryland
4) Penn State 5) Michigan 6) Indiana 7) Rutgers
West: 1) Wisconsin 2) Nebraska 3) Iowa 4)
Minnesota 5) Northwestern 6) Illinois 7) Purdue
Ohio State
and Michigan State are the class of the Big Ten right now, especially with
Wisconsin replacing their entire defense. Ohio State is the best team, but
needs to sure up a line that lost a lot from last year’s unit. If Connor Cook
continues to make the improvements started last season, the game itself and the
race for the division title will be one of the best in the country. Maryland
will surprise year one but health has a way of making a shaky team look much
better. Rutgers for their part won’t add much year one and may be a couple years
out. And lastly Michigan will be a disappointment once again and Hoke will find
himself firmly on the hot seat at the end of the season. This should be a
better Big Ten with much greater depth than the last year but lacks the amount
of elite teams that reside in the Pac-12 and SEC.
