Rambling's Week 3 CFB Picks

Welcome back college football fans, we have another week of college football to preview and enjoy. So far this year I am 39-6 in straight game picks and was 9-10-2 in my first week of picking against the spread (ATS) and a reminder all times are central because I watch them in the central time zone an don't hesitate to leave me feedback in the comments section...
Thursday, September 15th, 2011:
#3 LSU at #25 Mississippi State, 7:00 pm ESPN, this is the more interesting of the two marquee SEC games this week and it should go a long way in confirming our thoughts on the SEC West. I believe that this will be a closer game than many in the college football world believe coming off a bad loss by the Bulldogs at the hands of Auburn. This game will come down to which team can run the ball and stop the run with the most effectiveness. I think LSU wins those battles and walks away with the win. Winner: LSU 24-21 ATS: MSU +3.5
Friday, September 16th, 2011:
#4 Boise State at Toledo, 7:00 pm ESPN, Toledo is coming off a near upset in Columbus and showed the rest of the country what they have but I think that was their best game against a Ohio State team looking a little bit ahead towards this weeks Miami game. I think that Boise should be ready for a fight but that they are the far superior team in this match-up. Winner: Boise 41-24 ATS: Toledo +20
Saturday, September 17th, 2011:
#18 West Virginia at Maryland, 11:00 am ESPNU, an interesting match-up for both sides, Maryland under  Edsall look like they have improved. West Virginia should have the full playbook in hand this week and we should see how well Holgerson has assimilated his new team into his offensive system. I think he puts it together and gets a good road win at Maryland. Winner: West Virginia 31-17 ATS: Pk WVU
#21 Auburn at Clemson, 11:00 am ABC, Auburn has shown great resilience in both of its wins this season and carry some momentum into perennial let down Clemson, last years game was a barn burner and this years game should be no different. Winner: Clemson 28-24 ATS: Clemson -3.5
ULM at #23 TCU, 1:00 pm, This game has all the makings to either be really close or a blowout midway through the third quarter. ULM will challenge for the Sun Belt title and isn't as bad as their name says but I think the talent in Fort Worth is just too superior to overcome. Winner: TCU 35-21 ATS: ULM +28.5
Tennessee at #16 Florida, 2:30 pm CBS, this match-up has been all Florida the last 3-4 years but this year Tennessee has some good skill players and an improving defense under Derek Dooley. Florida has made strides however on offense as well with Brantley picking up Weis' offensive system. This one should be an exciting one in Gainesville. Winner: Florida 28-27 ATS: Tenn +9.5
#15 Michigan State at Notre Dame, 2:30 pm NBC, Notre Dame has caused the heartbreak of Domers across the country in the first two weeks of the season and I don't see week 3 playing out any differently for Brian Kelly's team. These teams are pretty close on talent with MSU having a slight edge development wise however Michigan State hasn't shown the same propensity for shooting themselves in the foot and that could be the edge this week. Winner: Michigan State 24-17 ATS: MSU +5.5
#23 Texas at UCLA, 2:30 pm ABC/ESPN, this was the upset of last year until we realized that Texas was horrible and UCLA wasn't actually trending upwards. This years game should be an entertaining game but I'm not sure that either team has made great strides to take this game by the horns, no pun intended. Winner: Texas 20-17 ATS:UCLA +4
Washington at #11 Nebraska, 2:30 pm ABC/ESPN, they split the season series in two lop-sided games that told us little about either team. With the Huskies traveling east I think Nebraska has the advantage on them and has the experience to beat Washington for the second regular season in a row. Winner: Nebraska 24-10 ATS: Washington +16.5
Northern Illinois vs #7 Wisconsin, 2:30 pm, Soldier Field hosts this years neutral site game in Chicago but I don't think this one will be as close as last years. Wisconsin has a running game that will shread a very weak NIU front seven and should allow this game to be put away early. NIU has a chance to put up some points on a banged up Wisconsin secondary but I don't think it will be enough to bridge the talent gap. Winner: Wisconsin 38-17 ATS: Wisconsin -17
Arkansas State at #13 Virginia Tech, 3:00 pm, this one has the opportunity to put Hugh Freeze on the map or leave Arkansas State another year behind in the Sun Belt. If they can put up a moderate amount of points on the Hokies you have to walk away excited if you're an Ark State fan. On the flip side, if that happens you have to be worried for another season that your team will come up a hair short of any kind of ultimate promise by seasons end. Winner:Virginia Tech 35-20 ATS: Arkansas State +24 
Central Florida at Florida International, 5:00 pm, the battle for early season non-AQ #2 goes down Saturday evening in Florida. This is a battle between teams that have lofty expectations and aspirations of big things to come in conference play. FIU won't be considered non-AQ #2 by seasons end even if it wins but with a win at home they look to be ahead of where many thought they would be this season. Winner: UCF 21-17 ATS: UCF +5.5
Navy at #10 South Carolina, 5:00 pm ESPN2, this one should be relatively easy compared to last weeks shenanigans based meeting with Georgia. Navy does not have the athletes to compete with South Carolina nor does anyone expect them too. Winner: South Carolina 28-14 ATS: Navy +17
Idaho at #9 Texas A&M, 6:00 pm, with Oklahoma State and Arkansas coming up in the next two weeks I expect a slow start by the Aggies but a win going away against an over-matched Idaho team. This one will show us how well tuned the A&M offense is going into a very tough two week stretch. Winner:Texas A&M 58-16 ATS: A&M -35.5
#22 Arizona State at Illinois, 6:00 pm ESPN2, one of the most underrated games of this college football weekend the Sun Devils come up north to take on the Fighting Illini in Champaign. The best match-up is between Brock Osweiler and Nathan Scheelhaase the quarterbacks for ASU and Illinois respectively. I think the QB that makes the fewest bad decisions will put their team in the win column. The other man who will have something to say will be Vontaze Burfict the stud linebacker for the Sun Devils will certainly be a man to watch again this week. Winner:Arizona State 27-21 ATS: Arizona State Pk
Troy at #14 Arkansas, 6:30 pm, anther sneaky Sun Belt match-up between Sun Belt juggernaut Troy and perennial SEC West #2 Arkansas. Once again I see a good 2.5-3 quarter fight from troy but ultimately Arkansas should walk away in this one. Winner: Arkansas 35-17 ATS:Toy +22.5
North Texas at #2 Alabama, 6:30 pm, the final Tide warm-up before Arkansas and Florida games Alabama won't be tested. Winner: Alabama 48-6 ATS:North Texas +45.5
#17 Ohio State at Miami (FL), 6:30 pm ESPN, Convicts vs. Convicts comes to ESPN Saturday night as the kings of the off-season face off in Miami. Al Golden's team seems to just be treading water right now as a program and that does not bode well for this season and beyond. The Buckeye's on the other hand have a much steadier program at the moment and seem to at least be heading in a slightly positive direction early in the season even with a rough showing against Toledo. Winner: Ohio State 27-21 ATS:Ohio State +2.5
#1 Oklahoma at #5 Florida State, 7:00 pm ABC, the game of the week by any standards comes to us from Tallahassee and should be a barn burner at least into the fourth quarter. Oklahoma has more established talent but I like the direction of the 'Noles which to me should make this a very entertaining ball game. Winner:Oklahoma 38-35 ATS: Push (-3)
Utah at BYU, 8:15 pm ESPN2, the holy war in Provo, UT brings us a match-up of former MWC foes in new positions, Utah Pac-12 and BYU independent, along with two teams that are trending up from collapses last year. BYU has the front seven advantage and both teams are coming off tough losses last week. Winner: Utah 21-17 ATS:+4
#8 Oklahoma State at Tulsa, 9:00 pm, Oklahoma State's offense doesn't seem to have skipped a beat and that is a good thing as the team also gives up a good amount of yards. Tulsa has been beaten around in the first couple of weeks. Too much firepower here but OK State could be looking ahead to A&M. Winner: Oklahoma State 41-20 ATS:Oklahoma State -13.5
#6 Stanford at Arizona, 9:45 pm ESPN, a Pac-12 showdown in the desert as Stanford visits the Wildcats off the heals of a beat-down at the hands of Oklahoma State. Another good QB match-up with Foles versus Luck and that in and of itself is a very good reason just to tune in. Winner: Stanford 38-20 ATS: Stanford  -9.5


Enjoy another great weekend of college football and I'll see those of you who follow the NFL on Friday.

Pre-Draft NFL Positionals and Team Needs

The NFL Draft is in one week and as I've done the past couple years will put out a Mock Draft but I thought today I would talk about players I like, dislike and ain't quite sure on. So here we go... First of my top 32 players overall:

1: Patrick Peterson CB LSU
2: A.J. Green WR Georgia
3: Von Miller OLB Texas A&M
4: Nick Fairley DT Auburn
5: Marcell Dareus DT Alabama
6: Robert Quinn DE/OLB UNC
7: Da'Quan Bowers DE/OLB Clemson
8: Marvin Austin DT UNC
9: Aldon Smith DE/OLB Missouri
10: Julio Jones WR Alabama
11: Mark Ingram RB Alabama
12: J.J. Watt DE Wisconsin
13: Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue
14: Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska
15: Cameron Jordan DE/OLB California
16: Akeem Ayers UCLA
17: Stephen Paea DT Oregon State
18: Tyron Smith OT USC
19: Jimmy Smith CB Colorado
20: Corey Liuget DT Illinois
21: Anthony Castonzo OT Boston College
22: Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin
23: Martez Wilson ILB Illinois
24: Aaron Williams CB Texas
25: Stefen Wisniewski OL Penn State
26: Phil Taylor DT Baylor
27: Mike Pouncey OG Florida
28: Brandon Harris CB Miami (FL)
29: Sam Acho OLB Texas
30: Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa
31: Cameron Heyward DE
32: Justin Houston DE/OLB Georgia

Now naturally there is some players that create debate, I assume most people have Gabbert and Newton which I understand but I just don't think that either is truly worthy of a 1st round pick. Last year I was adamant that Tebow was a 3rd to 4th round pick and I think that Newton is a better pure passer so I see him as a 2nd round pick but he will go 1st round. Gabbert on the other hand looks like a pocket passer should but he has accuracy issues and I have doubts about his transition. I see Gabbert having a Clausen type season this year rather than a Bradford type season. I've loaded the lower part of the top 32 with DE/OLB types but its a talented group toward s the top and I think the demand is second to only QB this year especially in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Now with our prospect list up I think it's important to identify some players I like in each position group:

Quarterback
As is the case with most drafts we start with the QBs this years group is deep overall but shallow at the top with a sure fire overall prospects, that being said here's my top 10....
Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton, Jake Locker, Greg McElroy, Ricky Stanzi, Christian Ponder, Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick..... This group has been creating a lot of hubub so lets skip Newton, Gabbert and Mallett and focus on Dalton, Locker, McElroy and Ponder. I feel the same way about Dalton as a I do McElroy they are both proven winners with slightly above average arms but both are cerebral players who will grasp the playbook early and step right into an open west coast QB job and compete to start. The downside however is the lack of upside if you draft them, I would still take these if I'm running a true west coast offense because they take care of the ball and play smart football. Now I know that I have Ponder and Locker much much lower than most other people but after looking into Ponders numbers I didn't like what I saw and I just don't understand the love affair with a player who was hurt in 2010 and underwhelmed us all in 2009. I may just not get Ponder and that's alright but I think he need a very good situation I could see him settling well into Minnesota, Seattle or San Francisco but if I were San Fran I'd go with Mr. Dalton. Lastly Jake Locker last years almost consensus #1 before he came back has always stumped me, I get that he has been on bad teams and he's tough as nails but he makes bad decisions with the football, his body and the intangibles everyone talks about to me don't show up anymore brightly than Dalton/McElroy. Locker is my 2011 NFL Draft Tebow I slightly see the appeal and he'll go 40 picks higher than I would take him but I would feel good if I took him in the 12 to 40 range most people think he will be taken in.

After QB I think Defensive Tackle intrigues me the most...
After the 43DE/34OLB group this is the deepest group on the field, however this group is much more top heavy than is that other group, I see two splits of players here...
TIER 1: Nick Fairley, Marcel Dareus, Marvin Austin, Stephen Paea, Corey Liuget, Phil Taylor
TIER 2: Drake Nevis, Muhammad Wilkerson, Jerome Powe and Sione Fua
I really like Fairley over Dareus not by much but while watching Fairley this year I saw a Warren Sapp type player in Fairley disruption from a what will be a 3 technique DT, quick burst, strong hands and overall disruption. Now Dareus is no slouch either who can forget his performance against Texas in the 2009 Nat. Championship game but I just don't get that same level of butterflies when I watch Dareus as I do with Fairley. Now for those other guys rounding out Tier 1, Austin missed the 2010 campaign because of NCAA troubles  but he has everything scouts drool over with very good hands, burst and quickness; Paea was a standout in his time at Oregon State and although he's more likely a NT in a 34 he's has a high motor and can be a force in the middle for some team in the NFL, Liuget will make a team like New England or San Diego very happy by filling a need at 34DE which is a similar position in skills necessary as DT in a 43 where he excelled this past year at Illinois. Taylor is the ? of this group reportedly some teams are worried about what the physical from the combine showed about his feet but he made many big plays in the Big 12 this year and helped to carry on the recent tradition of Big 12 teams producing elite NFL D-Linemen.
Here are the rest of my positional rankings, I didn't break them down because there wasn't as much intrigue with these groups as I thought there was with the DTs and QBs:

CBs		Pos.  Rank	Overall Rank
P. Peterson	CB	1	1
Amukamara	CB	2	14
J. Smith	CB	3	19
A. Williams	CB	4	24
B. Harris	CB	5	28
D. House	CB	6	48
Dowling	CB	7	50
B. Burton	CB	8	79
C. Brown	CB	9	81
J. Patrick	CB	10	74
Wright	CB	11	89
Chekwa	CB	12	95
Van Dyke	CB	13	116
Marsh	CB	14	115
WRs
Green	WR	1	2
J. Jones	WR	2	10
T. Young	WR	3	43
T. Smith	WR	4	44
Baldwin	WR	5	45
Hankerson	WR	6	49
G. Little	WR	7	65
Pettis	WR	8	64
V. Brown	WR	9	82
Kerley	WR	10	102
Jernigan	WR	11	103
Gates	WR	12	105
Doss	WR	13	107
DE/OLBs
V. Miller	DE/OLB	1	3
Quinn	DE/OLB	2	6
Bowers	DE/OLB	3	7
A. Smith	DE/OLB	4	9
Watt	DE/OLB	5	12
Kerrigan	DE/OLB	6	13
Ayers	OLB	7	16
Jordan	DE/OLB	8	15
Acho	DE/OLB	9	29
Clayborn	DE/OLB	10	30
Heyward	DE	11	31
Houston	DE/OLB	12	32
Ballard	DE/OLB	13	33
Reed	DE/OLB	14	34
Sheard	DE/OLB	15	35
Bailey	DE	16	77
Romeus	DE	18	83
Foster	OLB	19	84
Carter	OLB	20	99
Moch	OLB	21	100
RBs
Ingram	RB	1	11
LeShoure	RB	2	38
M. Fannin	RB	3	39
Hunter	RB	4	73
R Williams	RB	5	72
D. Murray	RB	6	86
D. Thomas	RB	7	87
B. Powell	RB	8	109
Todman	RB	9	104
D. Evans	RB	10	111
J. Rodger	RB	11	112
Vereen	RB	12	114
OT's
T.Smith	LT	1	18
Castonzo	LT	2	21
Carimi	OT	2	22
Sherrod	OT	4	42
Solder	LT	5	41
Pinkston	LT	6	63
M. Cannon	RT	7	66
M. Gilbert	OT	8	67
Ijalana	OT	9	51
J. Carpenter	OT	10	68
C. Hairston	OT	11	70
ILBs
M. Wilson	ILB	1	23
Wright	ILB	2	47
Sturdivant	ILB	3	57
Herzlich	ILB	4	58
Matthews	ILB	5	69
C. McCarthy	ILB	6	92
Irving	ILB	7	93
Sheppard	ILB	8	94
C. White	ILB	9	113
OG/OC
Wisniewski	OG/OC	1	25
Pouncey	OG/OC	2	27
Hudson	OG/OC	3	55
Watkins	OG/OC	4	59
Kirkpatrick	OG/OC	5	60
Moffitt	OG/OC	6	101
Fusco	OG/OC	7	88
S's
McDaniel	S	1	53
R. Moore	S	2	52
Sash	S	3	78
Black	S	4	85
D. Williams	S	5	117
TE's
K. Rudolph	TE	1	56
Kendricks	TE	2	80
D. Williams	TE	3	90
V. Green	TE	4	91
Stocker	TE	5	110
Housler	TE	6	118
FBs
Marecic	FB	1	71
Hynoski	FB	2	119

TEAM NEEDS
AFC (Needs in Order of most to least)
Patriots: OFF (OG, RB, OT, WR), DEF(DE34, OLB34, S)
Jets: OFF (OT, OG), DEF (NT, OLB34, DB)
Ravens: OFF (OT, OC, WR), DEF (OLB34, ILB, CB(2))
Dolphins: OFF (RB, QB, WR), DEF (OLB34, DE34, CB)
Jaguars: OFF (OG, WR, QB), DEF (DE43(2), DT43, CB)
Bills: OFF (OT, OG, TE), DEF (OLB34, DE34, ILB)
Steeler: OFF (OT, OG), DEF (CB(2), OLB34, DT34)
Browns: OFF (WR, TE), DEF (CB, S, DE)
Bengals: OFF (WR, QB, RB), DEF (LB, DT)
Colts: OFF (OT, OG, WR, RB), DEF (S, CB, DE)
Titans: OFF (QB, WR), DEF (DT, DE, CB, S)
Cheifs: OFF (WR, OT, RB(late)), DEF (CB, S, DT34)
Texans: OFF (none), DEF (CB, DE, S, DT)
Broncos: OFF (RB, OG), DEF (DE43, OLB43, S, CB)
Chargers: OFF (WR), DEF (OLB34, DE34, CB)
Raiders: OFF (WR, OT, OG), DEF (OLB, DE, CB)
NFC
Giants: OFF (OG, OT), DEF (DE43, ILB43, CB)
Eagles: OFF (OT, OG), DEF (LB, CB, DE)
Redskins: OFF (WR, QB, RB), DEF (OLB34, CB, S)
Panthers: OFF (WR, OT, QB), DEF (DT, DE)
Buccaneers: OFF (OT, TE, RB), DEF (DE, OLB, CB, S)
Falcons: OFF (OT, TE, OG), DEF (DE43, DT43, CB)
Lions: OFF (OT, OG, RB), DEF (DE43, OLB43, S, CB)
Bears: OFF (OT, OG, WR), DEF (ILB, S, DT43)
Packers: OFF (OT, OG, RB), DEF (OLB34, DE34, CB)
Saints: OFF (OT, RB), DEF (DE43, DT43, CB)
Rams: OFF (WR, OG, RB), DEF (DE43, S, CB)
Vikings: OFF (QB, OT, OG, RB), DEF (DE43, CB)
Cowboys: OFF (OT, OG, QB), DEF (OLB34, CB, S)
Cardinals: OFF (QB, OG), DEF (OLB, DE, CB)
Seahawks: OFF (QB, RB, OT, OG), DEF (OLB, S, CB)
49ers: OFF (QB, WR, RB), DEF (CB, DT34, DE34)

Let me know if your team has different needs than what I listed

2011 Big Ten Football

The 2011 Big Ten football will be one of the more exciting races for the conference title in recent memory. Not only do we have Nebraska joining the league, but Ohio State is a team in turmoil with key senior suspensions early in the season and Tressel's NCAA troubles. With these influences, along with the new divisional set up, the race for the 2011 Big Ten championship has some interesting story lines and teams. Lets start in the Leaders Division by looking at 2010 Regular Season records, Post-Season performances, returning starters(offense, defense and special teamss (punter & kicker)) and any notable coaching changes:
Illinois (4-4, 6-6), 38-14 Texas Bowl Win over Baylor, Returning starters 6 (incl. QB) Off., 6 Def. and 1 ST 
Indiana (1-7, 5-7), no post-season, 6 (no QB) Off., 7 Def. and 2 ST, Kevin Wilson Oklahoma
Ohio State (7-1,11-1), 31-26 Sugar Bowl win over #8 Arkansas, Returning starters 8 (QB) Off., 4 Def. and 1 ST, Jim Tressel is suspended for the first 5 games of the year and maybe more pending NCAA sanctions
Penn Sate (4-4, 7-5), 24-37 Outback Bowl loss to Florida, 7 (QB) Off., 8 Def. and 1 ST
Purdue (2-6, 4-8), no post-season, 7 (QB) Off., 9 Def. and 2 ST
Wisconsin (7-1, 11-1), 19-21 Rose Bowl loss to TCU, 4 (no QB) Off., 6 Def. and 2 ST, With Doeren DC gone Wisconsin promoted it's DC from within with Chris Ash running defense, also worth noting is the departure of John Settle RB who has done wonders with Wisconsin running backs.

Breakdown
It will be interesting to see how Ohio State responds to off the field troubles and the play of some youngsters for those returning starters who have been suspended (Pryor QB, Herron RB, Posey WR, Adams OT and Thomas DE a non-starter) along with the suspension of coach Tressel will tell us a lot about the make up of a team that must replace most of its defense. For what seems like the 3rd time in 3 years we see a lot returning for coach Danny Hope's team but as always health lingers over this team. With that being said I think the team that wins the Big Ten Leaders division will be Penn State Joe has 15 of 22 returning starters and the added caveat of two QB's who started last year should provided more confidence in the offensive huddle. The biggest offensive loss is Wisniewski at guard with 2 returning tackles and a returning guard the offensive line should be solid and Silas Redd showed flashes last year of being a feature back to help whichever QB starts. Ohio State will challenge for the division because of the talent pool but with NCAA sanctions looming over the coach and program off-field distractions and a slow start will hinder this teams chances for success this season. The team I believe will underwhelm will be Wisconsin I don't think they slump to the 7-6 level of a couple years ago but losing the entire left side of the offensive line with two NFL O-line prospects is going to hurt added to the loss of Tolzien will hinder what this team will do. The saving grace for the Badgers will be that the Defense should be healthy and will have playmakers in the back 7 of the defense that will help keep them in games. Lastly it must be noted that Indiana should look better they picked up a very good young coach in Wilson who will continue the recent tradition of high flying offenses at Indiana, however, they will struggle to gain any footing this year in the division.

Now on to the Legends division: 
Iowa (4-4, 7-5) 27-24 Insight Bowl win against Missouri, 5 (no QB) Off., 4 Def. and 1 ST
Michigan (3-5, 7-5) 14-52 Gator Bowl loss against Mississippi State, 9 (QB) Off., 9 Def. and 2 ST, Brady Hoke SDSU HC has come in and brought Mattison DC back to Ann Arbor
Michigan State (7-1, 11-1) 7-49 Capital One Bowl loss to #16 Alabama, 6 (QB) Off., 6 Def. and 1 ST, Treadwell OC leaves and MSU promotes OL coach Dan Roushar to OC
Minnesota (2-6, 3-9), no postseason, 5 (no QB) Off., 9 Def. and 1 ST, Jerry Kill HC NIU
Nebraska (Big 12 last yr) (6-2, 10-3), 7-19 Holiday Bowl loss to Washington, 5 (QB) Off., 7 Def. and 0 ST, Lost OC promoted RB coach Tim Beck to OC
Northwestern (3-5, 7-5), 38-45 TicketCity Bowl loss to Texas Tech, 9 (QB) Off., 7 Def. and 1 ST

Breakdown
The Legends division has two new coaching staffs, one new team and could be anywhere from a 5 horse race for the division title or a run away success for 1 of 3 teams. I think you have 3 tiers of teams in this division, Front-runners: Nebraska and MSU, Wild Cards: Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa, and Underwhelming: Minnesota who is a year or two away. I think Nebraska is the best team in the division with a stand out defense anchored by Jared Crick and a very good stable of linebackers, and offense that has the ability to be very explosive. Michigan State is coming off its best year of the Dantonio era the loss of Treadwell will hurt but you know this team will be solid Michigan is the divisions team that could finish anywhere from 1st to 5th in the standings, they return a bunch of starters on defense but have huge strides to make after an abysmally sloppy season in 2010 from a fundamentals stand point I love the addition of Mattison to Hoke's staff and think that this defense should improve enough to make great strides in the over all team performance. Northwestern's problems haven't changed in the past 5 years plenty of offense but will we see any semblance of a defense out of Coach Fitzpatrick's team this season. Iowa's O-Line should be better this year but inexperience in the backfield at RB & QB will leave explosion to be desired all season; not to mention they have some huge holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Ferentz has his work cut out for him this year in Iowa City and should be an interesting study in coaching. Minnesota is inconsistent, with some veterans who played on an all time stinker last year on defense along with a QB who started at WR last year, I believe Kill was the right man from the job as he has built programs at all levels in his career but I think the lack of overall ability and the fragile state of the program will doom his inaugural campaign. I think that Nebraska wins the Legends division in it's first year as a Big Ten program which will be a story line to watch nationally.

End of Year Standings
Leaders
Penn State
Ohio State
Illinois
Wisconsin
Purdue
Indiana
Legends
Nebraska
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Iowa
Minnesota


Championship Game
Penn State over Nebraska in Indianapolis to close out a wonderful and competitive season for the newly reformed Big Ten.

Note: Returning Starter stats were taken from PhilSteele.com and 2010 records from ESPN.com