USA today/coaches poll
Ahh, preseason polls, just another sign the long winter is almost over.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm
WIS #10
NEB #11
OSU #16
MSU #17
ND #18
PSU #25
August 4th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^
Number of those six to end the season in the Top 25
The number is set at 3.5
August 4th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
I'll take the Over.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
OSU/MSU/PSU out.
Based on the QB carousel at PSU, I will be the starting QB before the end of the season.
But in all seriousness, PSU is way overrated. MSU might be slightly overrated. I can see them having a decent season.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
I'll take the under. Wisconsin and Nebraska might be the only survivors, although ND might have a shot to stay in there.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
Under.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
If it is just of those 6 in the Big Ten, I would probably take the under with 3 teams making it. I think if we include the entire Big Ten, we will probably see a fourth or fifth team sneak in (hopefully Michigan), simply because unless there are a lot of non-conference losses, someone has to win the conference games.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
5, all except PSU
August 4th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^
I'll take the over with Wisky, Nebraska, OSU and ND.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^
MSU, ND, PSU out.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^
I'd say over, but only barely with 4. MSU and PSU will be gone; OSU should be able to stick around with that defense, but probably toward the bottom of the top 25.
Over
August 4th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^
It's always interesting how worthless preseason polls are, yet how much they can mean at the end of the day.
If Michigan can finish the year in the 15-20 range I will be one happy camper.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^
I would say 3. Nebraska, Wisconsin and ND
August 4th, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
WIS goes 12-2
Neb goes 10-4
OSU goes 9-4
MSU goes 9-4
ND goes 8-5
PSU goes 8-5
UM goes 8-5
Ill take over.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
ND will be better than 8-5. That's what they were last year in the first year of the system.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
1. OSU hasn't recieved any sanctions, so I have to assume they will play 13 games...although I hope they only play 12 for the next few years.
2. We have to assume that ND's record will be worse than preseason predictions and hype. They are ALWAYS overrated. With games at Standford, Michigan and Pitt, and at least 5 others that coud go either way, I think 8-5 is a safe bet.
Come on, man, it's Pitt
ND didn't win in 2008 or 2009, and 2010 was an abomination. That said, yes, Pitt has had trouble beating Kelly and are transitioning into a new system without a star receiver or QB (but a very, very good RB).
Interesting to see if Graham can take Pitt up a level though. The Big East looks wide open this year, as ever.
WVU sadly has an easier transition than Pitt and is getting a lot of love. I think it's going to come down to Sunseri turning out to be a good QB or a bad one. I was really disappointed last year, hopefully with a new coaching staff and another year he'll be better. If he gets it together though, the defense still seems likely to be very good and I could see them going into the Backyard Brawl with a BCS game on the line.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:25 PM ^
If the NCAA imposes sanctions (bowl ban), would it hit this year? Personally, I'm hoping that the Buckeyes only play 12 games this season (even if it costs the BT a little bowl money).
August 4th, 2011 at 12:29 PM ^
I think it was said somewhere that any bowl bans would not take effect until next season.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
I am going to sell high on MSU. They lost their AA LB, have some holes on the offense and in the secondary, and won't have the string of luck they had last year. I still figure they are a bowl team, but a 7-6, 8-5 bowl team, not a 9-4/10-3 type.
As for Nebraska, I think they'll struggle a bit to get to 10 wins. They have a tough early schedule (Washington played them tough last year), and then they start off the B1G season with Wiscy and OSU. They also have to go to PSU and UM, with rival Iowa waiting at the end. Going 10-3 means that everything goes right, and moving to a new conference with new opponents probably means they'll be surprised once or twice. 8-5/9-4 seems more likely.
ND might be good, but we won't know until the season starts. Their QB situation sounds less than ideal, and for all the talent they have there it still hasn't gelled completely. Throw in some rough karma and who knows.
OSU will probably over-perform a bit because even without Pryor, that defense is still scary. They might trip up in the early part of the year (I'm sure MSU will crow about a win if they get one), but it should be a decent team at the end. And while I hate them, they can play with a chip on their shoulder the whole year. That might mean a game or two.
see 9 wins on MSU's schedule. At ND, at Nebraska, at OSU, at Northwestern, at Iowa, with Wisky and UM seeking revenge. I am not saying this because I hate Michigan State with the passion that I do, but objectively, after the Alabama game, I believe that Michigan State is going to be the singular most overrated team in the country, IN THE COUNTRY. If they go 7-5 and get to Gator/Insight (ish) territory I think they will have done well.
I will go ahead and say it, I think State was lucky last year. I think ND was a little flukish, I think Wisconsin shit the bed, I think they got lucky that Denard lost his head for a moment and James Rogers got hurt. I think they got lucky that Purdue fell asleep at the wheel.
I think their linebackers are a coin toss, I still think their defensive secondary is weak, i think Cousins is way to mistake prone for a QB with is experience. Their receivers are stong but lack explosiveness. State will come back to earth this year with a resounding thud.
There, I feel a lot better.
For regular season records, I have :
Wisconsin 10-2 (2nd in Leaders)
Nebraska 10-2 (1st in Legends)
Ohio State 10-2 (1st in Leaders)
Michigan State 8-4 (2nd in Legends)
Notre Dame 9-3
Penn State 8-4 (3rd in Leaders)
Michigan 8-4 (4th in Legends)
August 4th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^
Michigan sneaking in at #34 with 19 votes.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
...point. The full list of B1G (plus ND) rankings:
- WIS #10
- NEB #11
- OSU #16
- MSU #17
- ND #18
- PSU #25
- IOWA #30
- NU #31
- U-M #34
- ILL NR
- IU NR
- MINN NR
- PUR NR
August 4th, 2011 at 11:52 AM ^
We're #34, which is about as high as I've seen us projected. I also think I would slot Wisconsin up a notch or 2, and replace Penn St. with Arizona St. Otherwise, pretty solid.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^
http://www.presnapread.com/no-35-northwestern/
He's through the Top 30 and we haven't been profiled yet. I like the detail these reviews go into, whether their predictive powers will be better than any others remains to be seen.
Northwestern has a poor OL, a defense that allowed 519 yards on the ground vs. Illinois (we only allowed 315!), and a QB coming off a torn achilles. They look to be weaker up front and have new LBs, with a better secondary. I'm not quite as worried as I was before.
Hmm... a few M snippets:
... but the Wildcats won’t push Nebraska or Michigan for the Legends division if the defensive front, especially along the interior, doesn’t begin carry its weight.
... Nebraska’s just too good, and Michigan now has the focus along the sidelines to accompany its high talent level.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
I just want to shut all the spartys and fuckeyes up after this year.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
Not only was it posted three times, but "Fuckeyes" is extremely lame. No better than Ohio fans calling us scUM.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^
At least he didn't cleverly suggest that we should "buck" them
August 4th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
I just want to shut all the spartys and fuckeyes up after this year.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
I just want to shut all the spartys and fuckeyes up after this year.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
One more time!
August 4th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
for THREE years!
August 4th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
Not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6...
August 4th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
Different O but Ole Miss was going to be good with Missolli (sp?) and it didn't work out. I know the job of a Wisconsin QB is to hand the ball off and throw 4 passes and 4 P/A passes a game but I can't help to think of the chemistry of the team. I have a feeling UW might be a little off this year.
I agree. People underestimate how good Tolzien was last year - he might not have had a cannon, but he was extremely accurate when asked to throw downfield. And he had been in the system for years and knew what to do, didn't try to run around or throw into double coverage, or kill drives with dumb plays. From what I remember about Wilson from last year, he was a very good QB but one who was asked to be a hero at times for NC State. At Wiscy, he just needs to be competent and not try anything crazy, and that might be hard for a guy who had to play cowboy for 3 years. He won't Pryor/Favre away games, but he might cost Wiscy a game or two if he tries to move outside of the typical Wiscy offense.
August 4th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
Nebraska gets a lot of love for a team only returning 12 total starters next year, who has to prep for a team they've never played almost every single week this year.
Offense | Defense | Special Teams | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Michigan | 9* | 9 | 2 | 20 |
Purdue | 7* | 9 | 2 | 18 |
Northwestern | 9* | 7 | 1 | 17 |
Penn State | 7* | 8 | 1 | 16 |
Indiana | 6 | 7 | 2 | 15 |
Minnesota | 5 | 9 | 1 | 15 |
Illinois | 6* | 6 | 1 | 13 |
Michigan State | 6* | 6 | 1 | 13 |
Ohio State | 8* | 4 | 1 | 13 |
Nebraska | 5* | 7 | 0 | 12 |
Wisconsin | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
Iowa | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
* Designates returning starter at quarterback
August 4th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
This must have been before TP had "Coming to Jesus" meeting with OSU and decided to go to the NF..I mean UFL.
Good find chunk.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
Iowa is going to be SO bad this year. I'm glad that's one of our away games.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^
Along those same lines, I've been shocked that Iowa is getting ANY love. They were 7-5 last year, and they lost 14(!!) starters, including a bunch of their best defenders and their 8-year starting quarterback.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:25 PM ^
Isn't it funny how some players seem like they're around forever? I swear Clayborn played at Iowa for a decade.
August 4th, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
I'd imagine that Nebraska can recruit well and consistently enough to maintain a relatively stable, uh, stable of players in the wing. The returning starters thing is probably a factor but I don't think it's a big one.
The prep thing is interesting to consider.
Sparty has some good returning players but I didn't realize they had so few in total numbers.
That plus the fact that (I think) they play tOSU, ND, Nebraska, Iowa and NW on the road, and Wisconsi (at home) leads me to believe they will have more than 3 losses by the end of the year. Also, we can beat them. They could easily lose all 7 of the games I just mentioned.
So factor that into your over under!
I also thought they were projected a little high. I know last seasons record doesnt necessarily affect these rankings that much, but they did lose 3 of there last 4 games at the end of the season. My bet is they will struggle more than people think this year.