Jackson's Top Five Big Ten Quarterbacks

I can honestly say that coming up with this list was actually a little tougher than I anticipated. The Big Ten has a few quarterbacks who are solid at their position and can not only make a play, but lead their team to victory.

1. Braxton Miller, OSU

2. Devin Gardner, MICH

3. Taylor Martinez, NEB

4. Kain Colter, NU

5. Tre Roberson, IND

I honestly think that there are quite a few ways you could rank the top five quarterbacks in the Big Ten. In my opinion I wouldn't be surprised to see anyone put Braxton Miller, Devin Gardner or Taylor Martinez as the number one QB, and honestly, I wouldn't argue with them. Miller and Martinez are proven to be solid QBs, and Devin Gardner proved he has great abilities at the position as well.

Kain Colter has been an impressive QB at Northwestern, and although Northwestern had a tough schedule this year, I could see him making a difference in a few games.

I have had high hopes for Tre Roberson the past couple of years. He was the first true freshman to start at QB for the Hoosiers. Unfortunately last season in Indiana's game vs UMass, Roberson broke his leg. Indiana fans will be looking for him to make a big difference in their offense this season.

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

jackson.projectcfb@gmail.com

Capital One Bowl: #7 Georgia Bulldogs vs #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers Preview

On January 1st the #7 ranked Georgia Bulldogs match up against the #16 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. Georgia’s previous meeting with a Big Ten opponent resulted in a 33-30 loss in last year’s Outback Bowl against Michigan St. This year Georgia goes up against a completely different team lead by the dual threat quarterback in Taylor Martinez.

In past years, Taylor Martinez was heavily criticized on his throwing ability, it was rumored that in the
off season he flew to California to work with a quarterback guru. It must have worked because the first
two games of the 2012 season Martinez threw for over 300 yards. Flashes of Martinez’s old throwing habits started to show once entering Big Ten play. Martinez threw for less than 150 yards and had a completion rate below 50% against some of the better defenses in Big Ten including Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, and of course Michigan.

The Georgia defense lead by USC transfer Jarvis Jones will be eager to prove the rumors false. Georgia’s secondary is one of the best in the nation, only allowing two teams to pass for more than 250 yards. It seems as if they will be able to handle the passing attack from Nebraska; but unfortunately for Georgia, Martinez is a dual threat quarterback – meaning he can hurt you with his feet as well. In the 2012 season Georgia hasn’t encountered quarterback like Martinez. The closest comparison Georgia has seen is from their in-state rival Georgia Tech, whose offense consists of mainly options and involving very little throwing.

Even though Georgia’s defense has yet to see a quarterback like Martinez, their defense is ranked 17th overall in the nation. The Bulldog defense has the upper hand and in order for Nebraska to assert an offensive presence they must establish the run. The most important player for Cornhuskers in this game is not Martinez, instead it’s Ameer Abdullah. Nebraska is ranked 8th in the nation in rushing, and Ameer is the main contributor with 1089 yards in the season. If Ameer is able to effectively move the ball, then it will force the Georgia defense to cheat the safety into the box, allowing for other players like Kenny Bell and Quincy Enunwa to make some key plays in the passing game.

The Nebraska defense will have their hand full with Aaron Murray and the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia’s offense is ranked 19th in the nation and scores on average 37.2 points in a game. Luckily for Nebraska, their pass defense isn’t their weak spot. Only three teams have passed for over 200 yards. The problem with the Cornhusker defense is they cannot stop anybody from running the ball. In the 2012 season the defense gave up over 200 yards in 9 out of the 12 teams they played. Wisconsin truly exposed the soft spot in Nebraska’s defense by rushing for an astonishing 524 yards in the Big Ten Championship game. If I was the coach I would not even bring receivers on the field. Instead I’d beef up on extra lineman and pound the ball every play. The simple key to success for the Georgia Bulldog offense can be summed up in three words – Run the Ball.

- Troy Woolfolk

@twoolf29

Big Ten Championship: #12 Nebraska vs Wisconsin Preview

In its 2^nd ever championship game, the Big Ten conference hosts the #12 Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Wisconsin Badgers in a rematch on neutral turf at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. On September 29^th both teams opened their in-conference play against each other at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. At this point in the season both teams were 3-1. Though the Badgers led the Huskers 27-10 all the way into the 3^rd quarter, Nebraska came back in a big way in the 4^th to a 30-27 victory. Nebraska went on to finish 7-1 in conference play, Wisconsin ended up 4-4.

Taylor Martinez looks to lead Nebraska to the B1G Title.

Nebraska is coming off a 6-game winning streak to finish off the regular season, including their last win at Iowa. The Huskers cinched that win in the 2^nd half after senior running back, Rex Burkhead, who had been out with a left knee sprain, started the 3^rd quarter, scored the go-ahead touchdown and finished the game with 69 yards in 16 carries. Coach Pelini has said that Burkhead will be good to go in the starting line up of the game this Saturday. Even without Burkhead, the Huskers boasted the most powerful running game in the Big Ten with players like Ameer Abdullah and his 1000+ rushing yards. 

That being said, the Huskers’ will be without their starting Center as well as their starting defensive tackle. The Huskers offense is really going to have to make up for that loss on the defense and an inexperienced Center, but that shouldn’t be as big of a concern with a strong, well-rounded quarterback in Taylor Martinez. 

As far as quarterbacks’ go for Wisconsin, they’ll be starting a not as experienced Curt Phillips, the Badgers 3^rd quarterback of the season due to injuries. Phillips has started the past 3 games. The Badgers offense does catch a break getting back All-Big Ten wide receiver Jared Abbrederis AND the Badgers still have 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist, Montee Ball. The senior running back has accumulated over 1,500 yards rushing and scored 39 touchdowns this season, scoring his 79^th career touchdown in last week’s loss to Penn State to set an NCAA record. Ball will be a MAJOR KEY to the Badgers having a chance at a victory. 

Montee Ball plans on adding onto his NCAA record
of rushing TDs in a career this Saturday.

Wisconsin also has a lot to prove coming into this game considering that if Ohio State and/or Penn State had been eligible for post-season play the Badgers wouldn’t have had a chance at representing the Leaders division. The Cornhuskers are also playing for their 3^rd conference title in a row, which would be the longest streak in their school history. Not to mention the fact that the Badgers lost to the Huskers already this season at Nebraska’s homecoming game, which makes me wonder whether that outcome may have been different if the game had been played in Wisconsin.

Based on statistic alone, Nebraska seems to be pretty comfortably stronger than the Badgers even considering injuries. But with Wisconsin in the same situation as last years conference championship game, losing to Michigan State in the regular season 37-31 and then beating them 42-39, and their 3^rd conference title in a row on the line, I could definitely see Wisconsin coming out with a win. Though based on my picks last week it seems I have a thing for picking underdogs - mainly because I do really believe home turf advantage is one of THE biggest factors. So I guess we’ll see how that works out for me statistically…

Kick-off is set for 8:17pm ET and will be shown on FOX.

- Kelsey Billings

@kelseybillings