Spring Preview 2009
The 20 Big Questions ...
No. 15
By
Pete
Fiutak
With spring ball underway,
here are the 20 Big Questions to start off the offseason,
beginning with the top non-conference games.
15. Just how much does
the Big Ten really suck?
The conference has been a
punching bag when it comes to national perception, and rightly
so. Unfortunately for Big Ten fans, it might be a case of things
getting worse before they get better.
The main issue
starts at the top with Ohio State losing big game after big
game. When the lead dog doesn’t represent itself well out of
conference, it reflects poorly on the rest of the league. On the
one hand, the 2008 Buckeyes might have underachieved considering
it was a more experienced, arguably more talented team that went
to the two straight national title games (there were at least
ten starters who’ll end up on an NFL roster next season).
However, it’s not like there have been any truly embarrassing
losses.
It’s not right to rip on any team for losing a
national championship, and OSU got unfairly dumped on for losing
to Florida and LSU. Okay, fine, so the Buckeyes were hardly
prepared mentally or physically for the 2007 BCS Championship,
but that was just one of a slew of high-end losses.
How’s this for a fun stat? The last time Ohio State lost to a
team that didn’t go to the BCS was November 13th of
2004. Think about that for a moment … W had just been reelected.
After that loss to Purdue, the program has gone 45-8 with all
eight coming against teams that ended up on the big stage. While
that proves Jim Tressel knows how to get his team up for the
midrange games week after week, there’s a failure when it comes
to the spotlight moments. It all trickles down from there.
Penn State was a killer last year, but the program always
needs a year or two to rev it back up to a BCS-caliber level
after winning big with senior-laden teams. Even so, this will
still be another good Nittany Lion team with just enough talent
returning to challenge for the Big Ten title.
Michigan State has a growing national rep, but it hasn’t earned
it by beating anyone major. And then there’s … uh … um …
uh-oh.
Michigan being awful is a huge PR hit for the
conference. Wisconsin was supposed to be a major player in the
BCS race last year, but poor quarterback play and a mystifying
lack of tackling ended all of that. Iowa had a strong season and
came on late, and now another good year is a must to prove that
it wasn’t a mirage. Illinois didn’t go bowling last year and has
to show it wasn’t a one-year wonder, Northwestern is fine, but
nothing special, and Minnesota went into the tank over the
second half of the season. And then there’s Purdue and Indiana
trying to rebuild.
The Big Ten still has the big
name, the big spotlight, the network and plenty of high-profile
games, but to prove that the conference doesn’t stink it has to
come up with something impressive to show otherwise. That comes
with non-conference wins, and that’s the problem. Just take a
look at the big out-of-conference losses last year (along with
the good wins) …
Illinois – Last year:
Lost to Missouri and Western Michigan
Indiana –
Last year: Lost to
Ball State and Central Michigan
Iowa –
Last year: Lost to
Pitt, beat Iowa State and South Carolina
Michigan –
Last year: Lost to
Utah, Notre Dame, and Toledo
Michigan State –
Last year: Lost to
California and Georgia, beat Notre Dame
Minnesota –
Last year: Lost to
Kansas
Northwestern –
Last year: Lost to Missouri, beat Syracuse and Duke (fine,
so these are reaches).
Ohio State –
Last year: Lost to USC
and Texas
Penn State –
Last year: Lost to USC, beat Oregon State and Syracuse
Wisconsin – Last year:
Lost to Florida State, beat Fresno State
That doesn’t
even take into account all the close calls against vastly
inferior teams (like Wisconsin needing three missed extra points
to beat Cal Poly and Ohio State surviving against Ohio). That
means the league had 16 key losses against non-conference teams
while the best wins were Penn State’s home blasting of Oregon
State and Iowa’s bowl win over a mediocre South Carolina …
zzzzzzzz.
Going into this season, there doesn’t appear
to be any hope of an appreciable boost across the board. Ohio
State will be worse, Penn State won’t be better, and while
Michigan State is on the rise, it’s got some reloading to do. In
other words, Big Ten fans, keep a low profile and wait for the
cycle to eventually swing back the league’s way.
The Top 5 Players Who
Need A Big Spring
1. Tate Forcier, QB Michigan
2.
Dustin Sherer, QB Wisconsin
3. Jewel Hampton, RB Iowa
4.
Chaz Powell, WR Penn State
5. Dan Herron, RB Ohio State
The Top 5 Position
Concerns/Battles
1. Michigan quarterback
2. Penn State
receivers
3.
Ohio State offensive line
4. Michigan State quarterback
5.
Purdue quarterback
The 5 Biggest Big Ten
Spring Storylines
1. Michigan’s offensive backfield. Will
the talent be there to match the system and style?
2. The
Ohio State talent factory … can the program simply replace all
the key starters at running back, receiver, on the offensive
line and in the defensive back seven?
3. Can Penn State
repeat? The receiver and the offensive line will have the
spotlight on.
4. Wisconsin looking to recapture the tough
image. After last year’s disaster, head coach Bret Bielema needs
his team to come into the season rolling.
5. Can Michigan
State take the next step despite needing to come up with major
replacements in the offensive backfield?
The Spring Big Ten Team
Rankings
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
State
4. Iowa
5. Wisconsin
6. Illinois
7. Minnesota
8. Michigan
9. Northwestern
10. Purdue
11. Indiana
The Pre-Spring Call
For Player Of The Year
1. Daryll Clark, QB Penn State
2. Terrelle Pryor, QB Ohio State
3. Juice Williams, QB
Illinois
4. Navarro Bowman, LB Penn State
5. Greg Jones,
LB Michigan State
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