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2018 Big 10 Preview thread (AKA: "Let's tone it down a little bit, Nebraska fans")

Who will emerge from the Big 10 East as champion?

  • Ohio State

    Votes: 13 54.2%
  • Penn State

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • Michigan

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Michigan State

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • It doesn't matter, Wisconsin will defeat the winner in December anyway.

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .

TrustMeIamRight

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I don't totally disagree. But getting rid of the DC that was here is an immediate upgrade, even with the talent on hand. The defense will be better. It has to be. There is only one way to go, and that is up.

I agree — a new defensive coordinator could help. Nebraska, right now, reminds me of the UM teams with RichRod. They could put up points, but couldn’t stop anyone with a pulse on defense.
This isn’t meant as disrespectful to Nebraska — I think Frost will be able to turn it around, but with the players they have on defense right now — I don’t see much changing this year on that side of the ball.
Now offensively — I think they will score enough to beat quite a few of the middle of the road B1G teams, which is why I would say somewhere around .500 will be where they finish this year
 

Tomhusker

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I agree — a new defensive coordinator could help. Nebraska, right now, reminds me of the UM teams with RichRod. They could put up points, but couldn’t stop anyone with a pulse on defense.
This isn’t meant as disrespectful to Nebraska — I think Frost will be able to turn it around, but with the players they have on defense right now — I don’t see much changing this year on that side of the ball.
Now offensively — I think they will score enough to beat quite a few of the middle of the road B1G teams, which is why I would say somewhere around .500 will be where they finish this year
The interior defensive line is strong. Outside of that, the defense is lacking some talent and lots of quality depth.
It'll be interesting to see how a change in philosophy works.
 

TrustMeIamRight

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The interior defensive line is strong. Outside of that, the defense is lacking some talent and lots of quality depth.
It'll be interesting to see how a change in philosophy works.
The quick paced offense isn’t going to do Nebraska’s defense any favors, especially when it lacks depth.
I love the Frost hire and think he should have Nebraska battling with Wisconsin in a few years
 

Innermind

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Illinois

Good news: Talent is starting to accumulate in Champaign, as evidenced by some good RB's and a salty secondary.

Bottom line: Give Lovie Smith some credit; he could have gone to the Arizona Cardinals or the Tennessee Titans to coach those guys, but he's committed to fixing this program. Some young talent is emerging, so all Illinois fans need to do is hope that all this talent will do... well, SOMETHING good in 2018.




With the fancy new Illinois football facility slated to be finished for the 2019 season, Lovie Smith has an extra recruiting tool...and it is starting to get Illinois back into making headway in their two critical recruiting areas: Chicagoland and St. Louis/East St. Louis.

So far, the average recruiting score for Lovie's 2019 class is .8671, good enough for 7th place in the B1G.
Illinois 2019 Football Commits

And there are some pretty good prospects showing 'warm' indicators for Illinois:
Illinois 2019 Football Prospects


Lovie is doing a complete rebuild, and it will take several years.... Illinois fans need to be patient.
 

Dolgevillefootballfan

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Ohio State

Preview segment: The Ohio State Buckeyes

Last season: Did you know that since Urban Meyer came to Ohio State, the Buckeyes have never had a single-digit win season? That's right, it's all been 10, 11, or all the way up to 14 wins!
2017 was more of the same, with a powerful 11-2 record, a Cotton Bowl win, and (most importantly) their record 37th Big 10 title. But I'll bet hardcore Buckeye fans will still find a reason to bitch; mention that game in Iowa City to them again at your own risk.

Good news: That Buckeye defensive line... WOW! Always stacked with talent, this unit will boast names like Nick Bosa and Dre'Mont Jones to cause complete havoc for offense. There's no shortage of talent on the RB and WR units, either; all 6 of OSU's leading receivers from a year ago are back.

Bad news: It's not just the question of "Who'll replace J.T. Barrett as the starting QB?", it's also about who'll protect that new QB as the O-line must replace a couple of starters. Some replacements must also be found on the secondary as well.

Key games:

Big 10 East Gauntlet:

9/29 @ Penn State (A wild 39-38 fight was what we got the last time these 2 rivals fought. Penn State will find a way to score points against that defense, so can Ohio State do the same thing?)
11/10 @ Michigan State (See my Michigan State preview.)
11/24 vs. Michigan (Much like Jim Harbaugh will be trying to avoid going 0-4 against Ohio State, Ohio State will just LOVE to send "pretty-boy" Jim Harbaugh to an embarrassing 0-4 mark against the Buckeyes.)
Other key games:
9/15 vs. TCU [in Arlington, TX] (You know, the start of the season could be a little hard for the Buckeyes. Yes, Oregon State and Rutgers don't sound too scary, but it's still "Power 5" talent that OSU will be dealing with. And then there's this battle in Arlington with an always-tough TCU defense waiting for them.)
11/17 @ Maryland (Right after Michigan State... with the Michigan game staring them in the face. If Ohio State is gonna suffer an embarrassing upset like what happened last year at Iowa, this is most likely where it's gonna happen.)

Bottom line: Actually, it's pretty easy to predict Ohio State's fortunes in 2018. 9 of their 12 games [and yes, that includes the TCU game] should be easy wins for OSU thanks to all that 4-star and 5-star talent Urban Meyer has accumulated.
That Big 10 East gauntlet, however, is another story. There, the Buckeyes will just be another warrior just trying to survive. And if they want to survive, their new starting QB HAS to step up and fast.
 

Dolgevillefootballfan

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Indiana

Preview segment: The Indiana Hoosiers

Last season: A kinda rough 5-7 season. But it wasn't because Indiana had a lack of talent, it was more about bad luck. I mean, they lost to Michigan in OT, lost to Michigan State by 8, lost to Maryland by 3, and lost to Purdue by 7. Had they gotten better luck in at least 1 of those games, they could've been bowling.

Good news: With RB Morgan Ellison impressing people as a freshmen and the entire O-line coming back as well, the Hoosiers run game should be a lot better. Free-safety Johnathan Crawford returns to the defense...

Bad news: ...but that unit will still be missing 8 starters (including studs like Rashard Fant and Tegray Scales). And most of that O-line dealt with injuries last season, so fingers crossed that it stays together this time.

2018 X-factor: QB Brandon Dawkins- Coach Tom Allen was all set to name Peyton Ramsey the starting QB for 2018, but then former Arizona QB Brandon Dawkins transferred to Bloomington a week before their spring game. So now we've got a QB duel going on right now, which is almost never good news.
Wait... Maybe THIS time it'll all work out. After all, both Peyton and Brandon would do good in the coach's spread attack.)

Key games:
9/8 vs. Virginia (Hopes rose for Indiana last year when they defeated the Cavs in Charlottesville. Now in the rematch, we'll see if Indiana can nail down a starting QB in time.)
9/22 vs. Michigan State (Indiana DID beat Michigan State the last time they met in Bloomington. Just one problem: The Spartans will be a LOT stronger this time than they were 2 years ago.)
10/26 @ Minnesota (A Friday-night game in the Big 10, and it'll be crucial for both teams in their quest for the postseason.)
11/10 vs. Maryland (This is one of those "close losses" from a year ago that Indiana needs to avenge.)
11/24 vs. Purdue (In last year's game, Indiana lost not only a 4-game winning streak against the Boilermakers, but a bowl invite as well.)

Bottom line: Chasing down a Big 10 East title? No f--king chance. But chasing down a bowl? Very doable. Scoring points shouldn't be a problem for the Hoosiers, but some young talent on defense will have to emerge quickly to better their postseason chances.
 

Deep Creek

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Hey anything is possible . O think there's only 2 games on the schedule where you guys should mark down a W. There are 6 imo where you'll be prohibitive underdogs and 4 where I think you'll have a shot although I personally believe your roster won't be as good as 3 of those other 4 teams . If you can get off to a 3-0 start it could snowball in a good way. We shall see
maryland-catonsville-frostie-root-beer-sign-5.jpg

gonna coach 'em up!
 

rmilia1

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maryland-catonsville-frostie-root-beer-sign-5.jpg

gonna coach 'em up!
I like Frost but you can't polish a turd enough to turn it into a trophy. Give him a few years and they'll be legit. Right now there only 1 team on Nebraskas league schedule I can definitely say has a worse roster ( Illinois) and only 2 others where I think its comparable ( Minnesota and Purdue) . Basically they have to beat all the teams they should beat AND win all the toss ups just to get to 6-6. That's tough
 

rmilia1

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Iowa does it every few seasons
Iowa has a proven system and a staff who takes 35-45th ranked classes and churns out more NFL talent than all but about 12-15 programs. Frost may do that eventually but it wont be year one.
 

Deep Creek

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you can't polish a turd enough to turn it into a trophy.
You mean you can't win the Kentucky Derby on a jackass? How about if you put a gold saddle on that jackass?

Nah, guess not.
 

Dolgevillefootballfan

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Minnesota

Preview segment: The Minnesota Golden Gophers

Last season: Turns out that "Row the Boat" isn't the cure-all for everything around here. That was made clear during Minnesota's 2017 season as a crappy offense dragged everyone down. And when the Gophers started to sniff a bowl berth, they lost their last 2 games by a combined score of 70-0 to finish 5-7.

Good news: Oh well. At least with P.J. Fleck there, the Gophers signed it's best recruiting class in a long time. The O-line shows signs of promise, and the secondary could be nasty. All this is good news for a stud RB like Rodney Smith.

Bad news: Uh oh! I see a lot of holes on this boat, and the biggest one is at QB; can ANYONE come in and get this passing game going? Depth behind Rodney Smith at RB is not good, and the D-line could get pushed around early.

Key games:
9/8 vs. Fresno State (I feel like Minnesota's defense will do a good job in stopping Fresno's offense. It'll be on the OTHER side of the field [Gopher offense vs. Bulldogs defense] where this game will be decided.)
9/22 @ Maryland (The Gophers start Big 10 play with the Terrapins again, and they're hoping for better lock this time around.)
10/6 vs. Iowa (Minnesota has lost 3 in a row [and 5 out of the last 6] against their rivals from Iowa City.)
11/17 vs. Northwestern, and 11/24 @ Wisconsin (Wait... Did the Big 10 schedule makers just used a photo-copier to make Minnesota's schedule? They have to finish the season with these 2 dipwads again?!)

Bottom line: I know it's only Year 2 of the P.J. Fleck era. But with Purdue and Nebraska recently grabbing exciting new coaches of their own, Illinois now spending money on their football team, and Wisconsin now becoming a real monster, it does NOT look good for the Gophers in the long run. It could be another 5-7 mark for the Gophers in 2018, but just keep rowing. Maybe you'll get through this...
 

Dolgevillefootballfan

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Wisconsin

The final preview segment for the Big 10: The Wisconsin Badgers

Last season: These are truly glorious times for Wisconsin football. Since 2009, it's almost always been 10-win seasons and All-American players, and on the one year they DIDN'T get 10 wins (2012) they STILL won the Big 10 title.
And 2017 was the cherry on the sundae, with a masterful 13-1 season. Sure, some people poo-poo'd it as "due to a weak schedule" and laughed when a stacked Ohio State somehow bypassed them in Indy, but I guarantee NOBODY was laughing when Wisconsin stunned Miami in that Orange Bowl. With that now under their belts, Wisconsin will aim for that final step to greatness: A national championship.

Bad news: Are things perfect over in Madison right now? Of course not; the Badgers are replacing some key starters on the D-line and in the secondary. And that secondary may suffer from a lack of experience.

Good news: However, I don't see too many teams on Wisconsin's schedule that can get to that secondary. And plus, the offense is LOADED! Jonathan Taylor is a bona-fide Heisman contender, Alex Hornibrook will be looking for 3,000 yards passing this year, and after a few lean years the WR group is strong in Madison.

2018 X-factor: The road schedule- Yep... This road slate Wisconsin has will be a LOT harder than last year's [and you'll see what I mean below]. On the positive side, maybe Wisconsin won't HAVE to go undefeated to make the playoff this year.

Key games:
9/22 @ Iowa (That Badger defense should be ready for this big encounter, mainly because they know what that Iowa offense is capable of; just ask Ohio State.)
10/13 @ Michigan (It'll all depend on how Michigan's offense is doing at this time, but Wisconsin should still prepare itself.)
10/27 @ Northwestern (Yet another hurdle that Wisconsin must jump over, but again it'll all depend on how well that offense is rolling for the Wildcats.)
11/10 @ Penn State (Now, THIS game is the one Wisconsin should be the most scared about. It could end being a 44-38 type of affair.)
11/24 vs. Minnesota (14 wins in a row in this rivalry...)

Bottom line: Uh oh... All of a sudden, I don't like Wisconsin's chances right now. Will that defense be ready for challenges like a confident Michigan and a possibly-desperate Penn State late in the season? And if it's not, I don't think the Badgers can win every game 58-52...
 

Dolgevillefootballfan

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Big 10 previews

Okay. While the juices are still flowing, let me put down where I think everyone will end up in the Big 10 in 2018:

Big 10 East:
1. Michigan State [Conference champs, maybe Playoff]
2. Ohio State ["New Year's Six" bowl, maybe Playoff]
3. Michigan [Maybe "New Year's Six"]
4. Penn State [via tiebreaker]
5. Maryland
6. Indiana
7. Rutgers

Big 10 West:
1. Iowa
2. Northwestern
3. Wisconsin (Crash and BURN at 7-5, baby! CRASH AND BURNNNNNN!)
4. Nebraska
5. Purdue
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois

...and, THERE! I hope you're happy, you underachieving Badger defense! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! I had a CFP spot all shined up for you, too!

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

"huff, puff"... Okay. Sorry, I had a little bit of a panic attack about Wisconsin's defense. Knowing Paul Chryst and his staff, I'm sure they'll find some good replacements...
...so now, let's get to my REAL predictions for the Big 10 in 2018!


Big 10 East:
1. Michigan State ["New Year's Six bowl", maybe playoff]
2. Ohio State ["New Year's Six" bowl, maybe playoff]
3. Michigan [Maybe "New Year's Six" bowl]
4. Penn State [via tiebreaker]
5. Maryland
6. Indiana
7. Rutgers

Big 10 West:
1. Wisconsin [Conference champs, maybe Playoff]
2. Iowa
3. Northwestern [by default, really]
4. Nebraska
5. Purdue
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois

...and I'm done! Now if you excuse me, I need to start thinking about how I'm gonna screw up covering the Big 12 THIS season (That thread starts tomorrow)!
 

Gopherfan84

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I think we're looking at a best case scenario of 4-8, and that's if we beat both Fresno St. and Illinois, and I don't think we beat both of them. Worst case is 2-10 with wins only over New Mexico St. and Miami (OH).
 
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