CFB: Big Ten Conference Preview
The Big Ten Conference combined for a 30-8 record during nonconference play, with eight teams yet to suffer a loss.
The conference has five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 following week three, including three teams in the top 10; No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 8 Michigan State.
This is going to be a great season for the Big Ten Conference.
Ohio State: During non-conference play, the No. 2 Buckeyes outscored opponents 170-37, including a 45-24 win at No. 14 Oklahoma. Ohio State features J.T. Barrett at quarterback who is third on ESPN's Heisman Watch.
Barrett completed 70% of his passes and accounted for four touchdowns against the Sooners, as long as he plays his game, the Buckeyes are in good shape.
Although losing a few huge pieces on defense to the draft this past year - Joey Bosa, Eli Apple, and Darron Lee - Ohio State’s defense has stepped up to recover two fumbles and nine interceptions throughout the first three games.
It is possible for the Buckeyes to run the table, but I think the toughness of the Big Ten will get to them at some point.
Key Games:
@ Wisconsin
vs Nebraska
@ Michigan State
vs Michigan
Prediction: Ohio State finishes the regular season 11-1.
Michigan: Even after a dominant bowl game to end 2015 and a strong start to the 2016 campaign, people seem to still have their doubts about the Wolverines, and rightfully so.
Jim Harbaugh and No. 4 Michigan is yet to prove themselves against any true opponent. Although they outscored their opponents 159-45 in the first three games of the season, the Wolverines struggled for most of the first half against Colorado.
Michigan gave up 21 points in the first quarter, two touchdowns and a scoop-and-score, trailing 14-0 and 21-7. Eventually, Michigan’s top-tier defense started to kick it into gear.
Jabrill Peppers, the defense’s catalyst, began to make big plays, giving the Wolverines enough momentum to take a halftime lead and go on to win 45-28.
Watch out for Peppers on all three sides of the ball, Jake Butt at tight end, and Wilton Speight at quarterback. Those three players are the key to Michigan having a successful season.
Key Games:
vs Wisconsin
@ Michigan State
@ Iowa
@ Ohio State
Prediction: Michigan finishes the regular season 11-1.
Michigan State: Despite having a lot closer of a margin of victory in non conference play (64-41), the Spartans are ranked No. 8.
Even with struggling against Furman in week one, MSU rolls into conference play after a huge road win at No. 18 Notre Dame.
The Spartans may have more doubters that anyone in the conference for only beating FCS foe Furman, 28-13, but Michigan State returns LJ Scott from last seasons College Football Playoff team.
Scott is averaging 101.5 yards on 21 touches per game this season. Outside of the running back position, there were many question marks coming into the season after losing senior quarterback Connor Cook, but Tyler O’Connor seems to be filling the position nicely so far.
O’Connor is averaging 215.0 passing yards per game, while completing 72% of his passes. Michigan State will start a difficult conference schedule this upcoming week against No. 11 Wisconsin.
Key Games:
vs Wisconsin
vs Michigan
vs Ohio State
Prediction: Michigan State finishes the regular season 9-3.
Wisconsin: In a defensive battle, Wisconsin fought off No. 5 LSU in week one. Now the Badgers are No. 11 after outscoring opponents 93-41 in non conference play. Wisconsin reached as high as No. 9 in the rankings before squeaking by unranked Georgia State, 23-17.
With their offense struggling against a weak Panthers team, the Badgers will need senior quarterback Bart Houston to step up big time going into East Lansing this weekend.
Houston has two passing touchdowns and two interceptions on the year, and that kind of sub par performance will not be enough to take down No. 8 Michigan State on the road.
Look for Houston to find his groove down the stretch along with senior running back and wide receiver, Corey Clement and Robert Wheelwright, respectively.
Key Games:
@ Michigan State
@ Michigan
vs Ohio State
vs Nebraska
Prediction: Wisconsin finishes the regular season 8-4.
Nebraska: In the opening two games of the season, the No. 20 Cornhuskers cruised by Fresno State and Wyoming, outscoring them 95-27. In the following week, Nebraska battled against No. 22 Oregon and sent the Ducks home sour with a three point loss. By opening the season 3-0 and taking down a ranked Oregon team, Nebraska found their way into the polls at No. 20.
Behind senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s 228 yards per game, the Cornhuskers have their eyes on a great season.
Armstrong has amazing talent alongside him on offense, in Alonzo Moore (238 yards and two touchdowns) and Jordan Westerkamp (150 yards and four touchdowns).
Key Games:
@ Wisconsin
@ Ohio State
@ Iowa
Prediction: Nebraska finishes the regular season 9-3.
Iowa: The currently unranked Hawkeyes began the season No. 17, soaring as high as No. 13. Unfortunately for Iowa fans, they dropped a game to the four-time reigning FCS National Champions, North Dakota State.
Nobody expected the Bison would go into Iowa City and take down the Hawkeyes. It was a one-possession game throughout, but Iowa was unable to capitalize in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes held a one point lead, until NDSU converted a 37 yard field goal as time expired.
Iowa is led by senior quarterback C.J. Beathard, who is completing just over 60% of his passes for just under 200 yards per game.
The Hawkeyes have seen what they need to work on, and are very capable of winning games, as we witnessed a year ago.
Key Games:
vs Wisconsin
vs Michigan
vs Nebraska
Prediction: Iowa finishes the regular season 8-4.
Maryland: The Terrapins have yet to suffer a loss, outscoring opponents 123-52 during nonconference play. Maryland celebrated victory in each of their three games; two with ease and one in a double overtime thriller.
Maryland is built like a classic Big Ten powerhouse rushing for over 260 yards per game and passing for less than 200. The Terps have seven different players with rushing touchdowns opposed to two who have reached the end zone via the pass.
The only question for them is can they do it consistently enough to match up against the current Big Ten powerhouses. Watch out for freshman, senior, and sophomore running backs: Lorenzo Harrison, Trey Edmunds, and Ty Johnson.
Key Games:
@ Michigan State
@ Michigan
vs Ohio State
vs Nebraska
Prediction: Maryland finishes the regular season 7-5.
Indiana: The Hoosiers are a more traditional pass first team. Junior quarterback Richard Lagow threw for 506 yards through IU’s first two games, completing nearly 65% of his passes. Lagow has accounted for four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Indiana isn’t exactly a powerhouse when it comes to football, but they have been able to move the ball this season. The Hoosiers biggest problem has been getting the ball into the end zone, having only made the destination six times.
Six touchdowns would not be so bad if they played better teams, but Florida International and Ball State are not exactly top tier programs.
Indiana has one more nonconference game, against Wake Forest, where they are eight point underdogs. This game will give us a better look as of what they can do offensively.
The Hoosiers will need to get their kicker, Griffin Oakes, into field goal range or figure out a way to punch the ball into the end zone more if they would like to win more than six games.
Key Games:
vs Michigan State
@ Ohio State
vs Nebraska
@ Michigan
Prediction: Indiana finishes the regular season 6-6.
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers began the season with a 30-23 win over Pac 12 foe Oregon State, then turned around and rolled past Indiana State 58-28.
Minnesota has a couple of running backs with nearly 200 yards in sophomore Rodney Smith and junior Kobe McCray. The Golden Gophers leading rusher from 2015 has been sidelined to begin the season due to a broken foot, although sophomore Shannon Brooks has been cleared to play, we may not see him on the field for another week or two depending how he personally feels.
Coaches have stated that if he feels sore at all, they will opt to not roll the dice with him until he feels good.
Minnesota is no stranger with scoring touchdowns early on, with three different running backs and wide receivers accounting for 11 total. However, the Golden Gophers will need to convert more third downs and prolong their possessions if they want to compete in the Big Ten.
Key Games:
@ Penn State
vs Iowa
@ Nebraska
@ Wisconsin
Prediction: Minnesota finishes the regular season 7-5.
Penn State: Penn State opened the season with a respectable 33-13 win over Kent State then dropped a game at rival Pittsburgh.
The Nittany Lions went into halftime with a 28-14 deficit and trailed by two touchdowns going into the fourth quarter, then scored ten straight and answered Pitt’s early touchdown with one of their own. Penn State converted a two point conversion making it a three point game.
Sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley threw an interception allowing Pitt to take a knee and end the game. McSorley has accounted for four touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s pretty obvious that sophomore running back Saquon Barkley is the main playmaker for Penn State reaching the end zone six times on 51 touches.
Following the loss to Pittsburgh, the Nittany Lions went on to beat Temple by a touchdown. Penn State needs to do a better job holding on to the football, especially when conference play begins this upcoming week.
Key Games:
@ Michigan
vs Ohio State
vs Iowa
vs Michigan State
Prediction: Penn State finishes the regular season 6-6.
Rutgers: Rutgers began the season with an eye opening loss to No. 9 Washington. In the demoralizing loss, Washington had one scoring play inside the red zone.
The rest were as follows; 43 yard TD pass, 45 yard FG, 38 yard TD pass, 50 yard TD pass, 92 yard kickoff return, 42 yard FG, and a 68 yard punt return.
The following game, against Howard, the Scarlet Knights gave up a 38 yard TD pass and a 15 yard TD run going down 14-0. They then proceeded to score 52 unanswered points to win 52-14.
Rutgers then went on to beat New Mexico 37-28, but they gave up one touchdown play of under 20 yards. The Scarlet Knights offense is not very potent so they will need to improve their weak defense.
If your team is playing Rutgers, all they have to do is get past the line and into the secondary and they will be able to manipulate the Scarlet Knights.
Key Games:
@ Ohio State
vs Michigan
@ Michigan State
vs Penn State
Prediction: Rutgers finishes the regular season 4-8.
Purdue: The Boilermakers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders in their first game against Eastern Kentucky led by sophomore quarterback David Blough, who had himself a game.
Blough threw for 245 passing yards, three total touchdowns, and one interception. The Boilermakers went on to win that game 45-24. Purdue had an offensive shootout in their hands against Cincinnati with Blough throwing for over 400 yards.
The only problem was, next to his two passing touchdowns, he was responsible for five interceptions. The inability to hold on to the ball cost them the game. Purdue is not very strong running the ball, but if they can be more careful in the air, they would be much better off.
Along with Indiana, Purdue has yet to play their final nonconference game. The Boilermakers are set to match up against Nevada this upcoming Saturday. If they can protect the ball Saturday, we may be talking about a different outcome for them.
Key Games:
vs Iowa
@ Nebraska
@ Illinois
vs Wisconsin
Prediction: Purdue finishes the regular season 5-7.
Illinois: In the season opener against Murray State, Illinois had no problem on either side of the ball in a 52-3 rout, but the following games were a different story.
Dropping a couple of games to North Carolina and Western Michigan, all hope seemed to fade away. After putting up 52 against Murray State, the Fighting Illini scored a combined 33 points in their next two matchups.
Illinois’ defense struggles big time with holding opposing offensives. In the two losses, the Fighting Illini only forced seven total punts.
The defense needs better conditioning and tackling skills, which head coach Lovie Smith will attempt to do. On the offensive side of the ball, senior quarterback Wes Lunt averages just over 220 yards but needs to do a better job converting on third down, which would give the defense extra time to catch their breaths.
Key Games:
@ Nebraska
@ Michigan
vs Michigan State
@ Wisconsin
Prediction: Illinois finishes the regular season 3-9.
Northwestern: Northwestern seems to have their defense under control allowing only five touchdowns in three games.
Statistically the Wildcats’ offense is great, led by sophomore quarterback Clayton Thorson and junior running back Justin Jackson who averages 235.0 and 86.0 yards per game, respectively.
However, Northwestern has trouble finding the end zone and it is had for them to rely on their senior place kicker Jack Mitchell who is 1/3 on field goals this season.
If they want to have any chance to have an acceptable season, their defense will need to step up against the tough conference, Mitchell will need to be more consistent, and Thorson will need to find the end zone by any means necessary.
After losing to Western Michigan and Illinois State in the first two weeks, the 2016 season is not off to a very promising start.
Key Games:
vs Nebraska
@ Michigan State
@ Ohio State
vs Wisconsin
Prediction: Northwestern finishes the regular season 4-8.
With three of the top teams in the conference falling under the same division, the Big Ten Championship Game will consist of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 20 Nebraska. Although No. 4 Michigan, No. 8 Michigan State, and No. 11 Wisconsin will not reach the conference title game, we could see one of them join Ohio State in the third annual College Football Playoff.
Photo Credit: Cleveland.com.
