College Football 2006: The Big Ten

The talk of the Big Ten leading up to the regular season has been about one team and one team only - the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Jim Tressel's squad is ranked first in almost every major publication and both the AP and USA Today polls. Even with the loss of nine starters on defense most of the prognosticators feel the Buckeyes are the team to beat.

And while that may or may not be true, Ohio State is loaded on offense and should have enough on defense to capture the Big Ten crown. The Buckeyes have all their major conference competition at home with the exception of Iowa on September 30.

The Hawkeyes and Michigan appear to be the main challengers to Ohio State, but don't forget that Penn State was predicted to be a middle of the pack team in conference and finished 11-1 last season. Anything can happen and usually does in the Big Ten. Here's a look at the 2006 season.

Big Ten Standings:

1. Ohio State - The Buckeyes offense is the best in college football. With Troy Smith (2,282 yards passing, 611 yards rushing) and his Vince Young-like ability at quarterback, Antonio Pittman (1,331 yards, 7 TDs) at tailback and Ted Ginn Jr. (51-803-4) at wide receiver; Ohio State has a triple threat attack that will be almost impossible to stop in 2006. Add to that three starters back on the line and a solid recruiting class and it's easy to see why the pollsters love the Buckeyes this year. On the other side of the ball, things are very different. The defense lost nine starters, including three first round selections in the NFL Draft. Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson anchor a solid defensive line from their tackle slots. The linebackers and secondary need to be rebuilt, but Tressel feels that LB Marcus Freeman will be the next big star at Ohio State and John Kerr brings experience in the middle. If Ohio State can get past Texas on the road September 9 and the defense comes around - the Buckeyes just may be holding the BCS trophy on January 8.

2. Michigan - The Wolverines struggled last season, going 7-5 after losing to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl. Tailback Mike Hart struggled with injuries and a young defense was out-classed most games. Five-loss seasons don't go down easy in Michigan and Lloyd Carr, despite a 102-34 record in 11 seasons, finds himself on the hot seat this year. All indications are that last season was just an aberration. The Wolverines have a solid offense led by QB Chad Henne (2,526 yards, 23 TDs). Hart (662-4) returns healthy and along with Kevin Grady (483-5) make a potent 1-2 backfield punch. Steve Breaston is a breakaway threat at receiver and the o-line, injury riddled in 2006, is back healthy. The defense returns eight starters and with a year of seasoning under their belts, should be much better. DE LeMarr Woodley and DT Alan Branch will lead the Wolverine defense. Look for a nice rebound for Carr and Co. this season.

3. Iowa - The Hawkeyes were a young group in 2006 and it showed at times, en route to a 7-5 mark. The good news for Iowa fans is that eight starters return on offense and seven on defense and with age a maturity come big expectations. The offense is led by a trio of stars including QB Drew Tate (2,828 yards, 22 TDs), RB Albert Young (1,334-8) and TE Scott Chandler (47-552). The offensive line returns three starters with the only rebuilding needed at wide receiver. Herb Grigsby (25 catches) and Calvin Davis appear to be the front runners. The defensive line returns intact and the secondary is solid. The Hawkeyes were hurt at linebacker with the graduation of Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge, but coach Kirk Ferentz is high on OLB Mike Humpal.

4. Northwestern - The Wildcats must try and bounce back after the tragic death of head coach Randy Walker back in July. Former Wildcat All-American LB Pat Fitzgerald takes over as coach and he inherits a team that returns 16 starters from last seasons 7-5 squad. Sophomore tailback Tyrell Sutton (1,474-16) will run behind a line that returns all five starters, including preseason All-America Trevor Rees at center. Leading receiver Shaun Herbert (79-862-6) is back as well. The biggest loss on offense came in the form of QB Brett Basanez, the all-time leading passer in Wildcat history. The QB derby is between C.J. Bacher, Andrew Brewer or Mike Kafka. The Northwestern defense was horrendously bad last season, but with eight starters back and the hard-nosed Fitzgerald looking after this unit, big improvements are expected. If the Cats can find a QB and fix their anemic pass rush, they could be the darkhorse in the Big Ten.

5. Penn State - The Nittany Lions lost QB Michael Robinson, four starters on the offensive line, three starters on the defensive line and their entire secondary so a dropoff is to be expected. Even so, Penn State has solid players returning and has the talent to go bowling again in 2006. Anthony Morelli takes over the leadership of the offense and is lucky enough to have four talented receivers to throw to. Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Terrell Golden are fast and dangerous. Tony Hunt (1,047-6) and Austin Scott are back at RB, while All-American T Levi Brown will anchor an inexperienced o-line. All-American LB Paul Posluszny will lead a strong linebacking unit that also features Dan Connor and Tim Shaw. Speedy Justin King will be the main cog in the secondary. This team has talent, but the losses will be too much to completely overcome this season.

6. Purdue - Joe Tiller had his first losing season as coach of the Boilermakers after taking his teams to bowl games for eight straight years. With eight starters back on offense, Tiller believes that Purdue will return to its winning ways. Sophomore QB Curtis Painter started the last five games of 2005 and led the Boilermakers to a 3-2 mark. Painter will have two nice targets in Dorien Bryant (80-960-4) and Kyle Ingraham (41-500). The offensive line is back intact and Kory Sheets (571-10) will handle the rushing chores. The defense returns only four starters, but Tiller recruited heavily in the JUCO ranks and he feels that the replacements can do the job.

7. Wisconsin - Barry Alvarez is gone and new coach Bret Bielema takes over the reins of the Badger program that suffered heavy losses on the offensive side of the ball. The good news is John Stocco (2,920 yards, 21 TDs) returns at quarterback and All-America Joe Thomas is back at tackle. Wisconsin must replace both its receivers and top two rushers, but there is talent available. The defense is in a better situation as eight starters are back, including all-conference safety Joe Stellmacher. This team could move much higher in the standings if the newcomers come through on offense.

8. Minnesota - The Golden Gophers were hit hard by graduation on the offensive side of the ball. Center Greg Eslinger, guard Mark Setterstrom and RB Laurence Maroney are off in the NFL and coach Glen Mason must rebuild a unit that relies on the power running game. The good news is senior signal caller Bryan Cupito (2,530 yards, 19 TDs) is back for his third season as a starter. Amir Pinnix (467 yards) will try and be the man to take over for Maroney. Logan Payne (37-529-2), Ernest Wheelwright (37-568-5) and Matt Spaeth (26-333-4) are Cupito's favorite targets. The defense returns eight starters, but needs to improve on its 90th national ranking.

9. Michigan State - All-conference QB Drew Stanton returns to lead a Spartan offense that features seven starters back from last season. Stanton's two favorite targets, Jerramy Scott (49-722-4) and Matt Trannon (40-573-4), are back as well as the solid rushing duo of Javon Ringer (817-5) and Jehuu Caulcrick (478-7). The offensive line must replace three starters. The defense has six starters back, but needs more production from a unit that was ranked 115th in tackles for loss and 105th in sacks.

10. Indiana - The Hoosiers went to a spread offense last year under new head coach Terry Hoeppner with positive results. QB Blake Powers (2,305 yards, 22 TDs) emerged as a sophomore and receivers James Hardy (61-893-10) and Marcus Thigpen (32-432-2) shined as freshman. The production through the air should continue, it's the ground game that's cause for concern. Only two starters return on the line and redshirt freshman Bryan Paxton, is slated to be the starting tailback. The defense returns its entire secondary, but the front seven was decimated with the loss of DE Victor Adeyanju and LB Kyle Killion.

11. Illinois - The Fighting Illini are a disaster and head coach Ron Zook will find it difficult to improve upon last seasons 2-9 mark. Illinois has struggled recently (6-28 the past three seasons) and relief is nowhere in sight. The defense returns nine starters, but they gave up 44 ppg in conference play and were ranked 107th overall and dead last in the nation at stopping the run. The offense returns nine starters and is reason for some optimism. Tim Brasic (1,979 yards, 11 TDs) is back at QB with Pierre Thomas (664-5) and E.B. Halsey (249 yards rushing, 38 receptions, 7 TDs) back to lead the ground game.


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