Rank the Big Ten football teams in 2012
January 5th, 2012 at 3:36 PM ^
I think I agree with these rankings exactly like you have it. I think we lose 1 conf game at either Nebraska or Ohio. Id be really upset and surprised if Michigan is not in the rose bowl next season.
January 5th, 2012 at 3:55 PM ^
And shift everyone up one spot and that's my bet.
January 5th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
I think they will still be top three unless more guys declare for the draft. Now if Narduzzi leaves, then they will be in a lot of trouble.
January 5th, 2012 at 4:07 PM ^
But I still don't think they'll have enough on offense to win a lot of games. They lose their top WR with no real replacements, bar Arnett, have a new QB, after 4 years of the same, and they might lose Baker as well. Not to forget, they lose their top defensive player, with no clear replacement. I'm not convinced that they have the depth or talent to be that competitive next year.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^
There are rumors that if Narduzzi gets the A&M job he is going to take some assistants with him.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:24 PM ^
Who would he take? A&M retained their DL coach. I don't think Harlon Barnett (DBs) would leave State unless he had to. That leaves Tressel (LBs) who I think would be a leading candidate for DC at MSU.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:07 PM ^
Money talks. aTm can shell out a lot more green than Michigan State can. I can easily see Narduzzi taking a number of assistants with him if they all get pay raises. aTm isn't fucking around anymore, they want the best staff they can get, and are willing to shell out for it so they can be respectable on the SEC.
January 5th, 2012 at 9:46 PM ^
Arnett would have to sit out a year... right?
January 5th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^
1. Michigan
2. Michigan
3. Michigan
4. Michigan
5. Michigan
6. Michigan
7. Michigan
8. Michigan
9. Michigan
10. Michigan
11. Michigan
12. everyone else
January 5th, 2012 at 6:28 PM ^
1. Michigan
2-11. Everybody else
12. Michigan JV
97. Indiana
January 6th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^
You forgot Minnesota.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:09 PM ^
If Narduzzi left, I still think their defense would be good this year, but down the line fall off. It's the opposite with Michigan the defense will be decent for a few years and than get to be stellar under Mattison.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:25 PM ^
They have a tough schedule and while the all look like wins I have never seen a lose before the season started.....
January 5th, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^
I think you pretty much nailed it. As long as our Dline isn't bad, we should be #1 in the B10.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:15 PM ^
This is how the rankings WILL be:
1. Michigan
2. Wisconsin
3. Ohio
4. Nebraska
5. Lil Bro
6. Penn State
7. Illinois
8. Purdue
9. Northwestern
10. Iowa
11. Minnesota
12. Indiana
January 5th, 2012 at 5:18 PM ^
I'm not sure about Wisconsin being #2. They just lost their OC, OL, LB and WR coach. They might lose their TE coach as well. They will also be starting a brand new QB, unless they pull off another 1 year transfer.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
monte ball
January 5th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
Is it official that he's coming back? I heard his presser was for later today or something.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
Wisconsin is lucky that he is coming back, but I don't think that is a reason for them to be ranked #2 in the Big Ten.
I have no idea how many starters they lose on their OL, but their play caller and OL coach are gone.
Like I said above, they are going to be breaking in a new QB. How many games do you think Wisconsin would have won without Wilson at QB?
January 5th, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
Not sure why Monte would want to come back. What's he got to play for? He's not going to go to a better bowl than he already went to or be on a bigger college stage then he was this year. What's the point?
January 5th, 2012 at 7:39 PM ^
1. Heisman
2. Rose Bowl win
Both of those are technically within reach, and he will get to prove that he's not just a byproduct of the import from NC State. It will be much harder for Wisconsin to win the conference this year, but if they do, he will get full credit.
Yes, going pro would probably be right if he was profit-maximizing. Not every player is.
January 5th, 2012 at 9:22 PM ^
Monte Ball won't win the Heisman because he's not a Heisman talent. His stats were because of his offensive line, not because he's a superb back like Richardson. That's the reason people had Ball below Richardson, because any decent back could have racked up the numbers like Ball did (not hating on the guy, just the truth).
January 8th, 2012 at 1:47 AM ^
Due to coaching staff and player losses # 1 and #2 are unlikely to happen.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:28 PM ^
...
YES
...
January 5th, 2012 at 5:19 PM ^
1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Wisconsin
4. OSU
5. MSU
6. Penn State
7. Illinois
8. Purdue
9. Northwestern
10. Iowa
11. Minnesota
12. Indiana
January 5th, 2012 at 5:20 PM ^
I expect ohio to be in the 2-4 range. They started to look a little better toward the end of the year and I think they'll be able to do surprisingly well in a weak big ten
January 5th, 2012 at 5:44 PM ^
Agreed. There is still a lot of talent there and Urban Meyer is a very good coach (liar and cheat not withstanding). 6-7 was a complete abberation, even without Posey I expect them to progress with a second-year starter in Miller and a defense that may get even better. They can't win the Big Ten next year, but that won't stop them from having a USC-like year next year.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
I think dantanio would promote from within if Narduzzi leaves (I don't think he will)...and they probably will be fine given that their D is going to being their strongpoint given the talent and experience that is returning.
I have no clue how to rank the BIG 10 because I dont know about the MSU coaching situation, how our D-line comes together, how Nebraska replaces its 3 best D players, how Wisco's new QB replaces Wilson, and how B. Miller progresses under Meyer. But I do think that Michigan/MSU/Wisconsin/Nebraska/OSU are in the top tier for sure.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
Nebraska loses a lot of talent as well off a team that frankly wasn't very good as well this year.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^
I think only 10 seniors on the entire 2-deep, look how small our recruiting class is.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:24 PM ^
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Nebraska
(All very rough from here down)
Penn State
Iowa
Illinois
Purdue
Northwestern
Minnesota
Indiana
January 5th, 2012 at 5:26 PM ^
Montee Ball returning means that it is probably a three team race between Michigan MSU and Wisconsin.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:27 PM ^
Wisco has a big hole at QB to fill and will lose a good # of defensive playmakers.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:28 PM ^
For some reason I think MSU is going to have another great defense regardless of Narduzzi leaving. They got enough talent over the last 3/4 years to keep up a high level of play and it will take a few years of Hoke and Meyer dominating recruiting to bring them back to natural levels. That being said I expect Michigan to win the division, beat MSU and Ohio and play in the rose bowl.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:36 PM ^
Dantonio will try and take some ohio coaches that aren't retained by the new rock star coach on their rock star staff..........
Next season, lets wait till after spring to get a clearer picture. Wisconsin breeds top olineman and servicable statue qb's so with Montey Ball back they will be better then many may think, it's the defense that needs an infusion of speed in the back 7 that I do not see happening but may still be good enough to win the bigten
Pennst, lets see what happens there cause the only thing holding pennst back from the bigten title was a qb, so lets see how things end up in happy valley with the new coach and if they can get a competent qb coach and an offense that throws the ball beyond the 1st down marker....
Ohio, I think this season is another disaster under the rockstar, namely because they lose their top offensive talent save the qb and the defense is a disaster as well right now.....
Michigan, our team replaces Molk, vanbergen and Martin, koger, hemmingway and roundtree...so settling out the center position, a deepthreat wr, a te any te, and dline has to settle out.... I think some positions just get better next yr with 2nd yr players and fr, ie lber and safety..... So lets see how it all plays out!
January 5th, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
I think he has one more year left, but maybe someone else can confirm this?
January 5th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
Yeah, Tree was only a jr this year.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:51 PM ^
I thought he had 1 more year?
January 5th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
'Tree is a RS senior next year. He'll be back.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:36 PM ^
I don't see how MSU will be one of the better teams next year. They lose Cousins, Cunningham, Martin, Linthicum, Nichol and now Worthy is going into the draft.....there are probably a couple of other starting linemen that I'm not familiar with as well.
That's a lot of quality 1st string talent that I don't see getting replaced easily.
I've seen the Spartans on tv a lot this year and don't ever remember seeing even a glimpse of a backup QB, that can't be good for them next year..............they'll be middle of the pack at best.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:52 PM ^
They should have a good running game, and their defense will be pretty good. Pretty common recipe for success, at least 9-10 wins. The times they will struggle is when they fall behind. I think their backup was decently rated and has 2-3 years in college already.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^
Main positions of concern: WR and TE.
Maxwell at QB will have some learning curves but will benefit from a running game that rounded into shape as the year progressed. He'll be a step down from Cousins but I doubt he'll be a below-average B1G QB.
On defense, I'm worried about whomever replaces Robinson and Adams (if he goes). The DL is young but relatively deep. DL will be downgraded to "major concern" if A.R. White doesn't stay healthy next year.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:45 PM ^
What round is Adams projected? I'm not trying to flame, but I don't think he will be an early round draft pick. Is there some other reason why he might declare for the draft?
January 5th, 2012 at 8:37 PM ^
No worries. I don't think Adams got his draft grade yet, but I'd be surprised if he was projected anywhere above 6-7. He's a big risk to go undrafted, which is a shame because I think he's a talented cover guy. Give him another year to get stronger and he'd be a much higher pick.
As mentioned above, the rumor is that he has a kid and is looking to get out ASAP.
January 5th, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
They should be pretty good next year. The passing game has to start over from scratch, but they should have a better running game with a more stable OL situation than they had going into this year. The defense will miss Worthy but otherwise is mostly intact and their LBs should be excellent.
January 6th, 2012 at 2:24 AM ^
to have a better running game next season with a passing game starting from scratch regardless if there is improved oline play esp if passing game can't get it going.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:45 PM ^
this is probably accurate, but i reserve my judgment on michigan until after the bama game. itll be a great measuring stick for where were at, and if we can compete with them, um's a top 2 B1G team. beat bama, and i say theres no reason we won't go to the rose bowl.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:50 PM ^
I basically think there will be three tiers...
Michigan and Nebraska at the top.
Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, PSU, and MSU.
Everyone else.
How ever it shakes out beyond that I wouldn't even want to guess.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^
You have Nebraska at the top? Ehhh I'm not so sure about them. Their defense never lives up to expectations now that Suh is gone, Martinez sucks, and I'm convinced Pelini is just not the right type of coach to take Nebraska to the next level. He believes he shouldn't have to go out and actively recruit kids. They should want to come to Nebraska automatically. Right now, their 2012 class consists of about 10 kids. That's pathetic for a program of their stature, with a month away from NSD.
Leaders Division is entirely up for grabs, but I think the MSU game will determine who goes to the Rose Bowl, and that they'll be just fine even though Cousins, Worthy and Cunningham are leaving.