Jeff Dooley over at ESPN The Magazine ranked the Big Ten as the third best conference in the nation this season behind the SEC and Big 12.
His analysis of the Big Ten this season was clear: Ohio State is the only real deal. It's a tune that Big Ten fans are all too familiar with every season. Sure, OSU is my pick to win the conference. They have 18 starters coming back and this year the Buckeyes smell like the real deal, but, as a whole, is the Big Ten getting the shaft this season? Seems to me that Wisconsin, Penn State and Illinois will all have strong programs this season. Michigan State has a great running back in Javon Ringer. I think 2008 has the potential to be a good year for the Big Ten.
What do you think? Is OSU a sure thing? Will Illinois fall apart without Mendenhall? What excites you or concerns you about Big Ten football this season?
Contrary to what networks like ESPN are saying, Ohio State is not the only team in the Big Ten. In fact, teams like Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, and perhaps Michigan State could all play spoiler to the Buckeyes within the conference. In addition, the trip to USC in week 3 will silence Buckeye fans as far as a national title is concerned. They will not stand a chance against the Trojans in LA due to a bone crushing defense that will hold Beanie Wells and Todd Beckman to less than mediocre statistics. After this, the Buckeyes will lose at least one more game, either to Illinois or Michigan State, leaving them optimistically at 10-2.
As far as the rest of the conference, it should be quite competitive. With the unbelievable running game going up in Madison, the Badgers could win 8 games and finish in the mix. Illinois, if able to find a satifactory replacement for Rashard Mendenhall, should win 9 or 10 games with a dominating defense and be near the top. Penn State and Michigan State are both sleepers, but either of these teams could finish in the mix with 7 or 8 wins for the Nittany Lions and 8 wins for the Spartans. In the end, the Buckeyes will probably win the conference, but considering all the competition they will have to get through in the Big Ten, it will be no easy test.