Me?? I just wonder who in the F%&* has been drinking my beer.....
Since the arrival of Urban Meyer at Ohio State the B1G football season has been a bunch of games, played early on Saturday, that got the "meh" ESPN/ABC announce teams, or who were hidden in obscurity on the B1G Network.
The good news for fans of most B1G schools was that you got your misery out of the way early, and could move forward to enjoying the rest of your Saturday when some of the more interesting games aired. For fans of Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin however there were always those late-window games where you played one another and the whole college football world tuned in.
Now, with the formal announcement of the ESPN/FOX 50/50 deal you're still probably going to see most of your games early on Saturdays, just on a different channel.
As far as the standings go this year promises more of the same, except that I'm breaking with the "experts" on one very important (to me) team.
| Conference Standings: | |||||||||
| East | W | L | West | W | L | ||||
| Ohio State | 12 | 0 | Wisconsin | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Michigan State | 10 | 2 | Purdue | 8 | 4 | ||||
| Penn State | 10 | 2 | Minnesota | 8 | 4 | ||||
| Michigan | 7 | 5 | Iowa | 8 | 4 | ||||
| Indiana | 5 | 7 | Northwestern | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Maryland | 3 | 9 | Nebraska | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Rutgers | 2 | 10 | Illinois | 2 | 10 | ||||
| Won division | Won division | ||||||||
| Conference Championship: | Ohio State over Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Bowl Teams: | 10 | ||||||||
| CFP: | Ohio State | ||||||||
| Big 6: | Michigan State | ||||||||
| Big 6 2: | None | ||||||||
| Others: | Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Penn State | |||||||||
| Michigan State | |||||||||
| Purdue | |||||||||
| Minnesota | |||||||||
| Iowa | |||||||||
| Northwestern | |||||||||
| Nebraska | |||||||||
| Most Underrated: | Minnesota | ||||||||
| Most Overrated: | Michigan | ||||||||
| Coaches on Hot Seat: | Lovie Smith, Chris Ash, DJ Durkin | ||||||||
Yes, I have Ohio State winning again, and I have 3 10-2 teams and 3 teams going 8-4. I also have Michigan going 7-5, which might seem like a surprise to some of you (given my Michigan fandom) but I'll explain why in a minute.
I also have Ohio State in the CFP, and Michigan State getting the Rose Bowl nod. Here's my thoughts on the teams......
1. Ohio State - There will be a year when one of the schools rises up and takes down the Ohio State to the CFP juggernaut but it won't be this one. Urban Meyer is too good a coach, and the talent gap is much too wide. At quarterback there is a slight question, but both answers are pretty good in the form of named pre-season starter Dwayne Haskins and presumptive eventual starter Tate Martell. Everywhere else the Buckeyes are loaded, and deep. Yes, they lost a LOT to graduation but they just keep bringing in superior talent. This is a team that's going to be hard to beat this year and the only chance I see someone of having a chance to do so is TCU, in week 3. I don't think the Horned Frogs get there though.
2. Wisconsin - I give the Badgers a slight edge over Penn State and Michigan State because they play in the weaker West. The Badgers are the class of this. They're experienced at Quarterback in one Alex Hornibrook, and their offensive line might be the best in the B1G. They'll run the ball and Hornibrook with throw it to a talented set of receivers who are poised to give B1G defenses fits. Speaking of defense, the Badgers are strong with only one question mark. They will need to rebuild their defensive backfield which lost a lot to graduation and the NFL. They have a defensive coordinator though who's shown an ability to accomplish this in the past.
3. Michigan State - Mark Dantonio doesn't ask QB Brian Lewerke to do much, he places most of the offense in the lands of L.J. Scott. And it works. Lewerke was average last year but should be better this year and that should put no small amount of fear into opposing defenses. Speaking of, Sparty is always good on defense and this year should be no different. Michigan State did have a minor controversy on their hands with the racist words of LB John Reshke. But Dantonio handled that beautifully and it should be no issue by opening kick off.
4. Penn State - Saquon Barkley is gone, so head coach James Franklin is going to have to rely on quarterback Trace McSorely to spark his offense. Given the past the Nittany Lions should be OK. At RB I'm expecting the Lions to try and replace some of Barkley's production with a three-headed running back monster. Journey Brown, Nick Eury and Miles Sanders should split carries, but watch out for Freshman RB Ricky Slade. He's a scat back with game changing speed. Penn State will be solid, if not spectacular on defense, and they enjoy one of the best home-field advantages in the league. All in all this points to another good year for them.
5a. Purdue - Wait, what? Purdue? Ranked #5(ish)? Yup. The Boilermakers feature a Senior-laden offense which includes QB David Blaugh, RB Markell Jones and most of the offensive line. The one question in that unit is RS/So LT Grant Hermanns, who also has a RS/FR backup. They had better hope one comes through. They have a young, but talented group of receivers and about a Million tight-ends. Defense is where the questions come in, on a unit with no Sr's but a ton of young, fast, talent they could turn out to be a pretty good group.
5b - Minnesota - After Wisconsin in the West it's really anyone's guess as to who's going to take 2nd in the division. I give Minnesota a chance because this is PJ Fleck's 2nd year running the program and he has his fee wet now and some talent to work with. Quarterback Morgan Tanner is a RS/Frehsman who can sling the ball around, and he's going to be throwing it to a young, but talented group of wideouts. Regardless of that, they're going to rely on two SR RB's to get tough yards in the persons of Rodney Smith and Mohamed Ibrahim. Offensively they should be fine. Defensively they have an upperclassman heavy unit that performed fairly well last year, and should be even better this year with another off-season to adjust to Fleck's defense. I have the Gophers as the most underrated team in the B1G this year.
6. Michigan - I'm going to do a full write up on Michigan at a later date. For now let's just say that I'm not as confident as some. I'll address my feelings on Harbaugh then as well.
7. Northwestern - I've seen Northwestern projected as high as 8 wins and as low as 5. I think they do qualify for bowl eligibility but I don't think they're going to seriously challenge for the B1G West division. Coach Pat Fitzgerald has a ton of upperclassmen on offense, but no real playmakers to speak of. I think he's going to find himself speed challenged on defense as well. That said, this is a well coached team that usually surprises people positively rather than disappoints so I think their ceiling is higher than their floor. We'll find out a LOT about this team out of the gate when they travel to play what I think is a pretty good Purdue team.
8. Nebraska - First year head coach, and former Husker QB, Scott Frost has some raw talent to work with on offense, Quarterback Adrian Martinez should find throwing the ball to Stanley Morgan Jr. a lot of fun and Jr Transfer running back Greg Bell should be a work horse for them, but I think they are going to struggle on defense this year, especially at the beginning, as they adjust to Frost's 3-4 system and different mind-set. They have a lot of upperclassmen on that side of the ball however so I expect them to figure it out pretty quickly and end up the season just getting into a bowl game and providing Frost with some additional practices to prep for next year, where I expect them to take a HUGE step forward.
9. Indiana - Last year's Indiana team went 5-7 and I see the same thing for them this year. They lost 13 starters from that team and they're going to have to rely on a bevvy of younger players to step up, especially on the offensive side of the ball. New coach Tom Allen has his work cut out for him in a school that frequently finds itself turning its attention to College Basketball sooner rather than later. I don't foresee much of a change this year. That said, Quarterback Peyton Ramsey showed promise last year and if he's able to elevate his game, and take the reins full time, they might just have enough offense to outplay this prediction. But they're going to have to improve mightily on offense. They are helped with an easier schedule. The game to watch is the Purdue game. If they can win that......
10. Maryland - Ugly uniforms aside, there is no team that has been more disappointing over the last three years than the Terrapins. They have what appears to be a talented quarterback in RS SO Tyrell Pigrome, but head coach DJ Durkin appears to be dead-set on starting RS FR Kasim Hill. SR Ty Johnson is a capable RB and WR D.J Turner has shown some game-breaking ability. But Maryland continues to lose. On defense linebacker is a mess. They're hoping that graduate transfer (Illinois) Tre Johnson can shore up the MIKE position but everywhere else they're lacking in speed, size and athleticism. Durkin is on the hot seat this year as he needs to start transforming his pre-hiring hype to wins. I don' think he does it here.
11a. Rutgers - If nothing else, the Scarlet Knights should lose in a more exciting manner this year as head coach Chris Ash has switched from a plodding, pitch happy, behind the line offense to a chuck and duck, fast pace scheme designed to hide talent deficiencies. RB Jonathan Hillman is a graduate transfer from Boston College which should prove adequate, but I have questions as to whether RS/SR QB Giovanni Rescigno has the passing ability to consistently get the ball to a trio of Sophomore receivers. The defense features a lot of returning pieces that weren't all that good last year and the young guys are going to need to stop in to save Ash's job.
11b. Illinois - I think it's safe to say that the Lovie Smith experiment is going down in flames. The prognosis for Illini football is poor, and getting worse. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Thomas is being thrown into the fire behind an offensive line full of new faces that might get him knocked out by week 4. My question is who is he going to throw the ball to? Appalachian State Graduate Transfer Shaedon Meadors was OK at App St, but will he be able to get open against Power 5 DB's? Running back Mike Epstein played in 5 games last year and averaged 347 yards rushing with 3 touchdowns. Meh. Defensively this team has more questions than answers. It's going to be a long year in Champagne and one that I think ultimately ends with Lovie Smith, glorious beard and all, being shown the door.
As I said, I'll have more on Michigan later.
Next Up however is my look at the Big XII, coming early next week.
6. Michigan - I'm going to do a full write up on Michigan at a later date. For now let's just say that I'm not as confident as some. I'll address my feelings on Harbaugh then as well.
7. Northwestern - I've seen Northwestern projected as high as 8 wins and as low as 5. I think they do qualify for bowl eligibility but I don't think they're going to seriously challenge for the B1G West division. Coach Pat Fitzgerald has a ton of upperclassmen on offense, but no real playmakers to speak of. I think he's going to find himself speed challenged on defense as well. That said, this is a well coached team that usually surprises people positively rather than disappoints so I think their ceiling is higher than their floor. We'll find out a LOT about this team out of the gate when they travel to play what I think is a pretty good Purdue team.
8. Nebraska - First year head coach, and former Husker QB, Scott Frost has some raw talent to work with on offense, Quarterback Adrian Martinez should find throwing the ball to Stanley Morgan Jr. a lot of fun and Jr Transfer running back Greg Bell should be a work horse for them, but I think they are going to struggle on defense this year, especially at the beginning, as they adjust to Frost's 3-4 system and different mind-set. They have a lot of upperclassmen on that side of the ball however so I expect them to figure it out pretty quickly and end up the season just getting into a bowl game and providing Frost with some additional practices to prep for next year, where I expect them to take a HUGE step forward.
9. Indiana - Last year's Indiana team went 5-7 and I see the same thing for them this year. They lost 13 starters from that team and they're going to have to rely on a bevvy of younger players to step up, especially on the offensive side of the ball. New coach Tom Allen has his work cut out for him in a school that frequently finds itself turning its attention to College Basketball sooner rather than later. I don't foresee much of a change this year. That said, Quarterback Peyton Ramsey showed promise last year and if he's able to elevate his game, and take the reins full time, they might just have enough offense to outplay this prediction. But they're going to have to improve mightily on offense. They are helped with an easier schedule. The game to watch is the Purdue game. If they can win that......
10. Maryland - Ugly uniforms aside, there is no team that has been more disappointing over the last three years than the Terrapins. They have what appears to be a talented quarterback in RS SO Tyrell Pigrome, but head coach DJ Durkin appears to be dead-set on starting RS FR Kasim Hill. SR Ty Johnson is a capable RB and WR D.J Turner has shown some game-breaking ability. But Maryland continues to lose. On defense linebacker is a mess. They're hoping that graduate transfer (Illinois) Tre Johnson can shore up the MIKE position but everywhere else they're lacking in speed, size and athleticism. Durkin is on the hot seat this year as he needs to start transforming his pre-hiring hype to wins. I don' think he does it here.
11a. Rutgers - If nothing else, the Scarlet Knights should lose in a more exciting manner this year as head coach Chris Ash has switched from a plodding, pitch happy, behind the line offense to a chuck and duck, fast pace scheme designed to hide talent deficiencies. RB Jonathan Hillman is a graduate transfer from Boston College which should prove adequate, but I have questions as to whether RS/SR QB Giovanni Rescigno has the passing ability to consistently get the ball to a trio of Sophomore receivers. The defense features a lot of returning pieces that weren't all that good last year and the young guys are going to need to stop in to save Ash's job.
11b. Illinois - I think it's safe to say that the Lovie Smith experiment is going down in flames. The prognosis for Illini football is poor, and getting worse. Sophomore quarterback Cameron Thomas is being thrown into the fire behind an offensive line full of new faces that might get him knocked out by week 4. My question is who is he going to throw the ball to? Appalachian State Graduate Transfer Shaedon Meadors was OK at App St, but will he be able to get open against Power 5 DB's? Running back Mike Epstein played in 5 games last year and averaged 347 yards rushing with 3 touchdowns. Meh. Defensively this team has more questions than answers. It's going to be a long year in Champagne and one that I think ultimately ends with Lovie Smith, glorious beard and all, being shown the door.
As I said, I'll have more on Michigan later.
Next Up however is my look at the Big XII, coming early next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment