2009 CFN Big Ten Team Capsules

2009 CFN Big Ten Predictions and Team-by-Team Thumbnail Views

2009 CFN Big Ten Preview

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Team Previews & Predictions
- Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota
- Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Wisconsin

- 2009 CFN Big Ten Preview
- Big Ten Team-by-Team Capsules
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- 2008 CFN Big Ten Preview

1. Ohio State | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 10-2  Conf. Record: 7-1
Best Offensive Player: QB Terrelle Pryor, Soph.
Best Defensive Player: DE Thaddeus Gibson, Jr.

Offense: The OSU offense took a left turn last season when Terrelle Pryor took over the attack with less deep passing and more running, but things should be more balanced this year. Pryor worked hard this offseason to become a more polished passer, and now there should be more long balls and more chances taking after he dinked and dunked with safe passes throughout the second half of last season. While much will be made about the major losses at running back and receiver, there's more than enough speed and talent to step in and produce. There's no power in the running game, but Dan "Boom" Herron and Brandon "Zoom" Saine can fly. The receiving corps might turn out to be a strength with DeVier Posey about to become a superstar and with Dane Sanzenbacher, Ray Small, and incoming freshman Duron Carter all good enough to put up big numbers. The key to the offense should be the line, which wasn't bad for the ground game last year but struggled mightily in pass protection and didn't have a nasty enough attitude. The addition of Michigan transfer Justin Boren at left guard should make a big different for a group that should emerge as the Big Ten's best with a little time.
Defense: It's hard to call the nation's 14th best defense a disappointment, but it wasn't quite the killer it was supposed to be. However, the Buckeyes allowed a mere 13.92 points per game and gave up more than 21 points to two teams, USC and Texas. This year's D loses all the star power at linebacker, and All-America corner Malcolm Jenkins, but it comes back loaded on the defensive front, especially on the ends. Thaddeus Gibson is about to blossom into a superstar pass rusher on one end, while Cameron Heyward has first round draft pick potential on the other side. Three starters return to the secondary led by corner Chimdi Chekwa, who should be the star now that Jenkins is gone. The spotlight will be on the linebacking corps that loses James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, and while there aren't any stars, Austin Spiller and Ross Homan lead a rock-solid group that should be more than fine.

T2. Illinois | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 10-2  Conf. Record: 6-2
Best Offensive Player: WR Arrelious Benn, Jr.
Best Defensive Player: LB Martez Wilson, Jr.

Offense: The offense wasn't consistent and it didn't crank out the points it was supposed to, but it should all come together this year with the Big Ten's best attack. The receiving corps, led by Arrelious Benn and Florida transfer Jarred Fayson, is the best in the league by far, while all the rushing production from last year returns with four quick backs to provide more for the ground game. The line might need a little time, and it needs to be better in pass protection, but it's very big and has a ton of positive upside. Everything works around Juice Williams, who should be in for a special season now that he has grown into a better passer and can be one of the league's better rushing options. This attack should be able to keep up in any sort of a firefight.
Defense: With such a tremendous offense, the defense just has to be decent. The potential is there to be well above-average if all the question marks are answered positively. Tackles Sirod Williams (torn ACL) and Josh Brent (suspended) are big ifs, while end Jerry Brown (academics) and FS Donsay Hardeman (neck) need to be involved. The move of Martez Wilson from outside linebacker to the middle could mean a big change, considering he's the most talented player to be in the defense's highest profile position, and he could blossom into a superstar, while he's flanked by plenty of tremendous athletes. The secondary loses Vontae Davis at corner, but returns several strong players who should quietly form a solid secondary. However, expect a rough year when it comes to pass defense numbers with less of a pass rush and with opposing offenses bombing away to try to keep up in shootouts.

T2. Michigan State | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 10-2  Conf. Record: 6-2
Best Offensive Player: C Joel Nitchman, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: LB Greg Jones, Jr.

Offense: Myth No. 1: Michigan State was a pure running team last year. Javon Ringer ran for 1,637 yards, but the ground game was ninth in the Big Ten and 77th in the nation. Myth No. 2: Michigan State couldn’t throw. Well, it didn’t throw efficiently and there were only 11 touchdown passes, but the passing game cranked out decent yards. Overall, there might not be much in the way of star power and there are some big holes to fill, but it’ll be a better overall attack. This year, despite the loss of Ringer and two all-star offensive linemen (Roland Martin and Jesse Miller), the ground game should be better with a combination of backs ready to take over and a more mobile quarterback, whoever that might be. Kirk Cousins is ready to step in and take over the job, but Oklahoma transfer Keith Nichol has the running skills and the talent to make it a two-quarterback system. The receiving corps has the potential to be jaw-dropping good with all the key parts returning led by Mark Dell, Blair White, and B.J. Cunningham.
Defense: Mark Dantonio’s defenses don’t try to be flashy and they certainly aren’t gimmicky. The D wasn’t a rock last year by any means, but it was decent enough to win with and now it should grow into something special. With eight starters returning, plenty of depth, and a few all-stars to work around, this should be a far better defense than Dantonio has had since arriving in East Lansing. The back seven is loaded with veterans led by all-star LB Greg Jones and his running mate, Eric Gordon. The secondary loses Otis Wiley, but it’s very big, very experienced, and has the potential to be among the best in the Big Ten. The question mark is a defensive front that returns two starters and has a star pass rusher in Trevor Anderson, but it didn’t do enough to get to the quarterback.

T2. Penn State | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 10-2  Conf. Record: 6-2
Best Offensive Player: QB Daryll Clark, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: LB Navorro Bowman, Jr.

Offense: While it might seem like there should be problems with the loss of a starting trio of wide receivers like Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood, and with having to replace three all-star offensive linemen, the offense should be more than fine as long as QB Daryll Clark is healthy. The team's unquestioned leader, Clark has the total command of the offense and he has the weapons around him to be a league MVP if everything breaks the right way. The 1-2 rushing punch of Evan Royster and Stephfon Green will be devastating once Green's broken leg heals up Sophomores Chaz Powell and Derek Moye will be the new star receivers, while the talented tight ends, specifically Andrew Quarless, will be used more. The line needs DeOn'tae Pannell to shine at left tackle so Dennis Landolt can stay on the right side, but there will be plenty of shaking up of the lineup before the right combination is found. Even so, the line should be good with a little bit of time.
Defense: The defense plugged in the gaps and was among the best in America, and now it'll have more work to do. The line loses Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, and Josh Gaines from the outside, but Jared Odrick, one of the nation's best tackles, returns and there's plenty of potential at end. Jack Crawford could be the next pass rushing great. The secondary is shaky with all four starters needing to be replaced, but the safeties should be solid. The jury is still out on the corners. Bringing it all together is a loaded linebacking corps that welcomes back Sean Lee from a knee injury and has a superstar in Navarro Bowman on the outside. The stats will be better than the defense, but once again this will be a great group that will be a brick wall against the mediocre attacks.

T5. Iowa | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 8-4  Conf. Record: 4-4
Best Offensive Player: OT Bryan Bulaga, Jr.
Best Defensive Player: LB Pat Angerer, Sr.

Offense: Lost in the production and the good things that happened last season was that the star of the show, RB Shonn Greene, wasn't even expected to be a sure-thing starter until just before the start of the season, and no one had a clue he'd be a Doak Walker winner. Now that he's gone, the pressure falls on the veteran line to pave the way for quick back Jewel Hampton and to keep QB Ricky Stanzi upright. The receiving corps should be strong with former QB Marvin McNutt becoming a playmaker this spring, and the tight end combination of Tony Moeaki and Allen Reisner will be strong. But it'll all come down to the line that returns four starters and plenty of good reserves, but health has been an issue over the past few seasons and there's a ton of injury concerns on the inside. Fortunately, the Hawkeyes have an NFL pair of tackles in Bryan Bulaga and Kyle Calloway.
Defense: The formula worked last year and it should be more of the same. Don't worry about the pass rush, don't get beaten deep, keep everything in front, and hit, hit, hit. The back seven should be fantastic, possibly the best in the Big Ten, with Pat Angerer leading a loaded linebacking corps and Amari Spievey a rising superstar at corner. The defensive front takes a huge, irreplaceable hit losing tackles Mitch King and Matt Kroul, but there's good size and experience on the outside and a promising, but inexperienced, rotation on the inside. Iowa was terrific last season against the run, finishing fifth in the nation, and it'll be a shock if it's not close to as strong again. While there won't be many plays behind the line and nothing fancy done to generate pressure on the quarterback, it shouldn't affect the overall production.

T5. Wisconsin | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 8-4  Conf. Record: 4-4
Best Offensive Player: RB John Clay, Soph.
Best Defensive Player: LB Jaevery McFadden, Sr.

Offense: As always, the Badgers will have one of the nation’s best running games thanks to John Clay and Zach Brown running behind the typical big, beefy line. Now there needs to be some semblance of consistency in a passing game that struggled through lousy quarterback play and little from the wide receivers last season. Dustin Sherer has the quarterback experience after starting throughout the second half of last year, but Curt Phillips has the mobility and the talent. The tight ends, led by Garrett Graham, will be the stars of the passing game, and now it’ll be up to wide receivers David Gilreath, Isaac Anderson and Nick Toon to do more. The starting five on the line will be fantastic, but it’ll be a disaster if the backups have to step in early on.
Defense: The final numbers turned out to be better than the actual production. There wasn’t much of a pass rush, the defense almost never came up clutch (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State), and tackling when things started to go south (Iowa, Penn State. Florida State) were all major issues for a coaching staff and a program that lives off a tough image. However, while last year’s star-studded defense of veterans severely underachieved, the opposite could end up being true this year with a no-name bunch that could turn out to be terrific. The linebacking corps will be the strength with Jaevery McFadden moving from the inside out and Culmer St. Jean stepping up in the middle to form a strong tandem to get excited about. The secondary is full of veterans and options, helped by the return of Aaron Henry after missing all of last year healing up his torn ACL. The line doesn’t have anyone who’ll scare offenses on paper, outside of end O’Brien Schofield, but the coaching staff is high on the tackles that could end up being a big surprise.

T7. Michigan | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 6-6  Conf. Record: 3-5
Best Offensive Player: RB Brandon Minor, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: DE Brandon Graham, Sr.

Offense: Everyone knew the pieces weren’t in place, but that didn’t stop the screaming and yelling over an offense that ranked dead last in the Big Ten in yards, passing, passing efficiency, and scoring. It all comes down to the quarterback situation with true freshman Tate Forcier being asked to walk in and star from the word go. Others will be in the mix, like veteran Nick Sheridan and true freshman Denard Robinson, but it’s not a stretch to call Forcier one of the Big Ten’s most important players. Everything else should be better with a deep stable of good, big, fast running backs, led by Brandon Minor, a veteran receiving corps that has flopped in terms of playing up to the prep-hype, but should be fine, and a line that returns seven players that saw key starts last year. The spread isn’t going to blow up quite yet, but there will be games, unlike last year, when everything clicks. If nothing else, this won’t be the Big Ten’s worst attack again.
Defense: The defense was a major disaster considering it had the talent and the experience to be among the best in the Big Ten. In comes Greg Robinson, the former Syracuse head man and defensive coordinator at Texas, and he has one job and one job alone going into the season: get his team to tackle. This wasn’t necessarily a soft defense, but it missed too many stops and didn’t do nearly enough to come up with the big play. The two big problems are on the defensive line, with so few live bodies that the defense will have to switch at times to a 3-4. The bigger problem is at corner where there’s no depth behind Donovan Warren and Boubacar Cissoko. Brandon Graham is a pass rushing terror for the line to work around, and Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton are fantastic linebackers leading a rising corps. The real strength will be at safety where some superstar prospects will combine with some established playmakers. That means veteran safety Stevie Brown can be part linebacker and part safety in the new system.

T7. Minnesota | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 6-6  Conf. Record: 3-5
Best Offensive Player: WR Eric Decker, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: LB Lee Campbell, Sr.

Offense: Gone is the spread and in comes the power. New offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch wants to line up and bang the ball with the hopes of improving the Big Ten’s worst rushing attack, and he has the line to do it. With the addition of Notre Dame transfer Matt Carufel at guard and 375-pound JUCO transfer Jeff Wills at tackle, the line got a whole lot beefier and a whole lot better overnight. There’s a quick group of young backs, led by DeLeon Eskridge, who should finally be able to show what they can do with a hole to run through. While the running game will get the early focus, the offense will work around the combination of QB Adam Weber and WR Eric Decker. Decker is an All-America candidate who leads a very promising, and very big receiving corps, while Weber, as good as he has been carrying the team over the last two years, might have to share the quarterback spotlight with MarQueis Gray, a superstar-in-waiting.
Defense: Ted Roof got his defense to hit, and hit, and hit some more. While things fell apart over the second half of last year, the defense was far better at tackling than it was in 2007 and was great at forcing turnovers. Now Roof is gone, taking over the Auburn defense, and in comes veteran defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove to keep the Gopher defense aggressive while sticking with the basics. There won’t be many creative blitzes or funky schemes, hoping that the overall experience and the upgrade in athleticism will be enough. The pass rush might be better, even with the loss of Willie VanDeSteeg, with Cedric McKinley a promising playmaker at one end and with two good tackles in Garrett Brown and Eric Small to collapse the pocket. Lee Campbell and Simoni Lawrence are good veteran linebackers, but the real stars might be a year away with Keanon Cooper, Spencer Reeves, and Sam Maresh, all backups, certain to be major playmakers in the near future. The secondary is solid but unspectacular with Wisconsin transfer Kim Royston playing a key role at safety and Traye Simmons emerging as one of the Big Ten’s better corners.

T7. Northwestern | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 7-5  Conf. Record: 3-5
Best Offensive Player: QB Mike Kafka, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: DE Corey Wootton, Jr.

Offense: Under offensive coordinator, Mick McCall, the Wildcats tried to hurry things up to get the top playmakers in space. The results were mixed. The attack was fine, but was nothing special. Now it'll have to undergo a fundamental change based on personnel with C.J. Bacher gone, and running quarterback Mike Kafka under center. Kafka can throw, but he's not the best of passers and will make most of his big plays with his legs. While the receiving corps isn't starting from scratch, it needs several unproven players to produce after the loss of the top three targets, Ross Lane, Eric Peterman and Rasheed Ward. Tyrell Sutton is gone, but Stephen Simmons, Alex Daniel, and Jeravin Matthews are three very quick, very good looking backs who should keep the running game going behind the team's strength, the line. Four starters return up front with versatility, depth, and athleticism on the very good line.
Defense: If everyone can get and stay healthy on the line, this will be the defense the program has been working toward ever since Pat Fitzgerald became the head coach. Second year defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz wanted to attack from the word go, and he wasn't kidding as Northwestern was second in the Big Ten in sacks and third in tackles for loss. It helped to have a future NFL defensive end in Corey Wootton to utilize, and while he has All-America potential, he has to get back healthy from a knee injury suffered in the bowl game. If he's not 100%, the rest of the line could be a problem, at least compared to the rest of the defense. The secondary should be fantastic with all four starters returning to a good group that prevented the big play and was great against the run. Safeties Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith will be All-Big Ten performers, while corner Sherrick McManis is a shut-down veteran to count on. The linebacking corps could use some seasoning, but it's quick, tough, and should get better and better as the season goes on.

T10. Indiana | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 4-8  Conf. Record: 1-7
Best Offensive Player: OT Rodger Saffold, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: DT Jammie Kirlew, Sr.

Offense: The IU spread offense has tried to change things up a bit over the last few seasons, and now it’ll incorporate more power running while relying a bit less on the passing game. With a huge, veteran offensive line that struggles in pass protection but can bowl over defenses, that’s a plus. The young receiving corps could grow into something special with several very big, very promising prospects waiting to break out, and now there’s a new playmaker in the mix. QB Kellen Lewis was going to move over to receiver, and he would’ve been used in a variety of ways, but he was kicked off the team. Now team has to hope for Ben Chappell to step up and become a steady passer and leader. The running backs should be fine, but they could be excellent is last year’s super-recruit, Darius Willis, lives up to the hype.
Defense: It’s time for the defense to finally do something right after finishing 107th in the nation in total defense, 105th in pass defense and 91st in run D. With experience, depth, size and athleticism, it all should be there for there to be some semblance of production in some way, shape, or form. Led by Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton on the ends the pass rush will be among the best in the country. The linebacking corps is solid around Matt Mayberry in the middle, but Will Patterson has to come back healthy from a wrist injury. The secondary has depth and potential, but the corners are so suspect that leading receiver Ray Fisher is moving over to play one spot and both starting safeties, Nick Polk and Austin Thomas, are coming off of ACL injuries.

T10. Purdue | Offense | Defense | Depth Chart
Predicted Record: 3-9  Conf. Record: 1-7
Best Offensive Player: RB Jaycen Taylor, Sr.
Best Defensive Player: DE Ryan Kerrigan, Sr.

Offense: The offense isn't going to change a whole lot in the transition, but it needs time and it needs to hope for some big surprises in key spots. With Curtis Painter gone and Justin Siller booted, Joey Elliott gets the first look at quarterback, but he's being pushed hard by strong-armed redshirt freshman Caleb TerBush. The line is full of veteran players that need to get and stay healthy to be able to pave the way for Jaycen Taylor, who returns from a knee injury, and a promising stable of backs. The receiving corps is the team's greenest area and has to hope for the big, speedy prospect to turn into big, speedy producers. Expect an overreliance on the ground game early until the passing attack figures out what it's doing, but it'll all go kaput if the line can't find the right combination.
Defense: It might take a little bit of time, but the defense has the potential to be special with a slew of very young, very athletic prospects with several options for the coaching staff to play around with. New defensive coordinator Donn Landholm won't change all that much from the Brock Spack era with one notable exception: turnovers. Landholm's defenses are very active and they make a big deal out of trying to take the ball away. Step one will be to get more of a pass rush, and that shouldn't be an issue with Ryan Kerrigan about to become a superstar on one end and with good interior pass rushing prospects in Mike Neal and rising star Kawann Short. The secondary might be the strength of the team with three returning starters led by safety Torri Williams and corner David Pender. The linebacking corps is young but promising with nine good options to work with. There's a nice combination of speed and size all along the front seven, but there has to be more production against the run.