MGoCombs

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.

RONick

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.

sheepdog

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.

justingoblue

August 4th, 2011 at 2:25 PM ^

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.

bronxblue

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.

ijohnb

August 4th, 2011 at 1:21 PM ^

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.

Maize_in_Spartyland

August 4th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^

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)

cadmus2166

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.

Bodogblog

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.

GunnersApe

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.

bronxblue

August 4th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

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.

chunkums

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 

Lampuki22

August 4th, 2011 at 1:13 PM ^

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!

 

 

 

 

Logan88

August 4th, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^

I am very much in wait-and-see mode re: Nebraska. They MIGHT be really good, but they have played against some really awful competition the past couple of years in the Big 12 North (Kansas, Kansas St, Colorado and Iowa St), usually one meh/bad team in the Big 12 South along with 3 or 4 cupcakes in the non-conference schedule (Washington was their "tough" non-con opponent last year!).

Nebraska has had a very easy road to 10 wins the past few years and I think they might be in for a bit of a rude awakening in their first year in the B1G.

Having said all that, at this point, I still think they will come away with a win at Michigan. I reserve the right to change my prediction after seeing how NU adjusts to the B1G.