2013 Big Ten Preview

The Big Ten is a conference that was one of the toughest conferences to be in. Some argue that it still is. With the SEC running wild down South, many don't believe that the Big Ten is a power conference anymore. But teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers have something to say about that. Granted, the SEC has won the National Championship seven of the last nine times. And the Big Ten hasn't won the National Title since the Buckeyes defeated the Miami Hurricanes in 2002. But the Big Ten have a couple of contenders this year, that very well could find themselves battling for the National Championship this winter.

We all know that Maryland and Rutgers will be joining the Big Ten next season, and with that change in 2014 we will see the Leaders and Legends Division go away for a more common East and West division. We will see Michigan and Ohio State playing in the same division, along side Maryland and Rutgers as well as Indiana, Michigan State and Penn State. They will obviously make up the East Division while the West Division will consist of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin. But we will save the 2014 Big Ten for 2014. Let's see how the Big Ten very well could play out in this final season of the Leaders and Legends Division.
This is a preview and my own predictions for the Big Ten conference in 2013.

Leaders Division

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
After a 12-0 season last season, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes will look to not only recreate the magic of an undefeated season. They will not only look to win a Big Ten Championship. They will look to go on to win the first National Championship that the Big Ten has won since 2002 (when Jim Tressel led the Bucks to an undefeated season and National Championship). Junior quarterback Braxton Miller will lead the Buckeyes on offense. Last year he threw for 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. He also scored a total of 28 touchdowns. Depending on if Carlos Hyde plays for the team this year (he found himself a person of interest in an incident in a bar about a week ago) he will be a reliable back for Miller on offense. Hyde ran for 970 yards last season and 16 touchdowns. Braxton will also have a couple of reliable wide receivers such as senior Philly Brown and Jordan Hall. Junior linebacker Ryan Shazier is coming off of a 115 tackle season and will be a big leader on defense.

2. Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers lost Bret Bielema but gained Gary Andersen as their new head coach. The quarterback spot will either go to junior college transfer Tanner McEvoy or sophomore Joel Stave. The running backs will consist of senior James White and sophomore Melvin Gordon. White rushed for a little over 800 yards last season behind Montee Ball and hit paydirt 12 times. Senior receiver Jared Abbrederis returns after an 837 yard and 5 touchdown season in 2012. All of Wisconsin's defensive stats ranked fifth or higher in the Big Ten. Attacking the QB with blitz packages is what their defense will look to consistently do this year. Their defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was quoted saying, "I'm a big advocate of attacking protections."

3. Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions come back for head coach Bill O'Brien's second season as head coach. O'Brien started the season rocky as Penn State's coach, but came back leading the team to an 8-4 season. O'Brien won the Project CFB Coach of the Year last year. This year he will look to true freshman Christian Hackenberg to lead his team to victory. Tyler Ferguson, a junior college transfer will be Christian's backup just in case. Running back Zach Zwinak lead the team in rushing with 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2012. He will look to have another year like last year if not better. Five wideouts return from last season, led by junior Allen Robinson. Penn State's offensive line is solid. Their defense returns quite a few starters as well. Sophomore defensive end Deion Barnes and senior DaQuan Jones will look to disrupt the pocket while cornerback Adrian Amos and safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong will look to defend the pass.

4. Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana sophomore quarterback Tre Robinson will return this season after suffering a broken leg in the second game of the season last year. Robinson is a dual-threat quarterback who is an impressive QB and will look to prove it on the field. He will have wide receivers Shane Wynn, Cody Latimer and Kofi Hughes as great options. Indiana also has two reliable running backs in Stephen Houston, who rushed for 749 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and Tevin Coleman, who is a full sized back with power. Indiana gave up a ton of points in their last three games last year. And their top two defensive tackles are gone. Linebacker David Cooper and safety Greg Heban are the returning lead tacklers. Also lineback Zack Shaw is moving to defensive end to assist in pass rush.

5. Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois went 2-10 last season without a win in the Big Ten. Senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase returns after a 1,300 passing yard season. He only threw four touchdowns, and threw eight interceptions. He also rushed for four touchdowns. Illinois running back Donovonn Young returns. He rushed for 571 yards and three touchdowns last season and also was the Fighting Illini's leading receiver with 38 receptions, 172 yards and one receiving touchdown. Defense is young, but they welcomed 10 mid-year enrollees including five junior college transfers in an attempt to stack the defense.

6. Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue looks to new head coach Darrell Hazell who is going to get rid of the spread style offense Purdue fans are used to seeing for a pro-style type offense. Senior Rob Henry should be the Boilermaker's quarterback this season. He has the most experience and can make plays with his feet. Hazell has two other options at QB if he needs it. "We've got three capable guys at that position," he said. Running back Hakeem Hunt returns after rushing for 134 yards in the spring game. He had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Ohio State last season. Purdue's defense returns eight starters.

Legends Division

1. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan looks to junior quarterback Devin Gardner to lead the team this year in the post-Denard Robinson era. Offensive coordinator Al Borges will finally get to run his pro-style offense that he had a hard time running with the playmaker Denard Robinson on the field. Behind Gardner is a pool of running backs. Thomas Rawls, Derrick Green and Justice Hayes are just a few names you may see at running back, as well as Fitzgerald Toussaint who suffered a broken leg last season playing against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Gardner will have reliable receivers such as Jeremy Gallon and Drew Dileo to throw to. Michigan suffered a blow on defense when Jake Ryan tore his ACL in practice. He likely will not play in 2013, but that doesn't mean he won't work his butt off trying to return. Michigan will look for Brennen Byer, Jibreel Black, Taco Charlton, Desmond Morgan and Courtney Avery to step up on defense and make plays.

2. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Bo Pelini and the Cornhuskers are coming off of a couple of tough losses in the Big Ten Championship Game and the Capital One Bowl. Nebraska has returning quarterback senior Taylor Martinez who threw for 2,871 yards, 1,000 rushing yards and a total of 23 touchdowns. Behind him is junior running back Ameer Abdullah who is a playmaker himself. He rushed for over 1,000 yards last season and eight touchdowns. Junior receiver Kenny Bell will be Martinez's go-to guy on offense. Bell reeled in 50 receptions last season for 863 yards and eight touchdowns. Nebraska ranked first in the Big Ten for rushing yards per game and also ranked first in the Big Ten for passing defense (fourth Nationally). All their cornerbacks return. However their linebackers are all new, and their defensive line only returns two with experience.

3. Northwestern Wildcats
Pat Fitzgerald has done good things in Northwestern. He will has two quarterbacks this season just like last. Senior Kain Colter, who is a dual-threat quarterback able to make plays returns as well as junior Trevor Siemian. Northwestern has Venric Mark at running back this season, who rushed for 1,366 yards last year. The Wildcats also have three reliable receivers for their QB duo to pass to. Juniors Christian Jones and Tony Jones, as well as senior Rashad Lawrence. Northwestern has all three level of defense. Tyler Scott anchors the d-line. They will also have two linebackers in Damien Proby and Chi Chi Ariguzo who will make plays. Northwestern ranked first in the Big Ten in turnovers. A trend that Pat Fitzgerald will look to continue.

4. Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State has senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell returning under center this season. He will have a trio of wide receivers to toss the ball to. One being senior Bennie Fowler, junior Keith Murphy and sophomore Aaron Burbridge. Michigan State's new running back is freshman Riley Bullough, who is a former linebacker. The Spartan's defense looks to have potential, but they will have to step up and play hard against the big offensive lines from the Big Ten and the playmakers they'll face against Notre Dame.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa will look to quarterback Jake Rudock to lead the offense this year. Rudock threw for over 5,000 yards at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Iowa also has two junior running backs in Mark Weisman and Damen Bullock returns after combining for 1,300 yards last season. The offensive line looks solid and will be able to open holes for the running back duo. Receivers struggled to get yards after catch last season. Junior Kevonte Martin-Manley had 52 receptions but only two touchdowns. Iowa was lowest in the Big Ten for sacks last season. They have to replace cornerback Micah Hyde and looks to do so with sophomore Jordan Lomax. Their defense will struggle against the schedule this season.

6. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota’s quarterback Philip Nelson had his red-shirt taken off in the middle of last season. He threw for over 800 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2012. The Golden Gophers have question marks at wide receivers. Issac Fruechte and Devin Crawford-Tufts look to assist in the passing game. Junior running back Donnell Kirkwood rushed for 926 yards last season. Sophomore running back Rodrick Williams is available too. Minnesota gave up an average of 197.1 rushing yards per game in Big Ten play last season. They will struggle this season as well unfortunately. Minnesota hasn’t won a Big Ten Title in 46 years. It looks as if they’ll at least go one more.

- Matt Lytle
@mattlytle
matt.projectcfb@gmail.com