Big 10 Returning Starters & How I Rank The Teams In 2011

[Jack_John_Mark]

Sorry, I got bored ...........this is all assuming that nobody leaves for the draft early.

Illinois....................17 (8 defense, 9 offense) Young QB's return
Michigan.................16 (7 defense, 9 offense) Denard Robinson back at QB
Northwestern..........16 (7 defense, 9 offense) Persa probably back at QB
Purdue...................16 (9 defense, 7 offense) Young QB's return
Minnesota...............15 (9 defense, 6 offense) Loses QB
Inidiana..................14 (7 defense, 7 offense) Loses QB
Wisconsin...............13 (6 offense, 7 defense) Loses QB
Nebraska................12 (7 defense, 5 offense) Taylor Martinez back at QB
Michigan State........11 (6 defense, 5 offense) Kirk Cousins back at QB
Ohio State.............11 (4 defense, 7 offense) Terrell Pryor back at QB
Iowa.....................10 (5 defense, 5 offense) Loses QB
Penn State.............5 (3 defense, 2 offense) Young QB's return


1) Ohio State - I know, they return 11 starters......but they will still be solid on defense as usual and offensively they are still stacked.

2) Nebraska - Yea, and we only return 12 starters.....but 7 back on a Pelini defense = good things. Offensively, I think I only care about losing Helu.....I mean who else that we are losing made much of an impact this year?

3) Michigan - I actually think it's finally their year to put something together. Explosive offense with 9 returning starters, and a defense that has to get better at some point, returning 7 starters. I may be going out on a bit of a limb here, but I like to do that every now and then.

4) Wisconsin - I have them behind Michigan because Tolzien is gone, and that is really the only reason. My brain tells me they should still be ahead of Michigan though.

5) Michigan State - They have their leader back in Kirk Cousins, but they lose 11 starters. I considered putting Northwestern ahead of them.

6) Northwestern - Returning 16 starters on a team that plays with a lot of heart. The wildcard is Persa. He ruptured his achiles tendon at the end of this season and that is not an easy injury to recover from.

7) Illinois - Very inconsistent team, but youth at skill positions hurt them in that regard. They will be the most "veteran" team based on returning starters next year.

8) Iowa - There is enough skill on this team to keep them from drowning completely, but they lose a lot going into next season. They will win the games they are supposed to and lose the games they are supposed to.

9) Minnesota - Yep, I think they will surprise a few next year. They lost 10 in a row this season, but they fired Brewster and hired Jerry Kill who fired Kevin Cosgrove.......problem solved. Unfortunately they won't be good enough to beat a lot of teams yet.

10) Indiana - This is where the shit fest begins. Indiana lost 5 of their last 6 games and they lose the motor that ran their offense in Ben Chappell. I don't know.....

11) Purdue - And the shit fest continues. Purdue lost their last 6 games of the year, and while they return 16 starters, I don't see it helping them much with all the issues they have defensively.

12) Penn State - And the Commander-In-Chief of the shit fest is Penn State. Surprising that I have them this low, but let's be honest.....the only reason they put up a fight in any games this season was due to the fact that they had 17 Seniors starting. They return 5 starters and have a buttload of question marks at QB. A 7-5 season with 17 Senior starters????? I see a very disappointing season on the horizon for the Nittany Lions.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

I hope bonham and SFNL don't come and read this

 

[Red_Alert]

Some recruits are saying Joepa's telling them he'll coach for 5-6 more years.

No matter how many players they lose, I would never put Penn St at the bottom of the Big 10.

 

[Brasky]

Hold your horses on that 7 back on defense if you're including who I think you are.

 

[iruletheskool]

You could argue that we will return more than 7 on D..

 

[Brasky]

Still that was a great preview JJM. Rep.

 

[jedburks]

I just don't see Dennard staying. If he goes out and goes to the combine he will EASILY be a top 2 round pick. Probably late 1st, early 2nd.

Michigan will be breaking in a new coach so they will suck again.

It doesn't matter what QB Wisconsin is losing and Clay may leave, but it doesn't matter with that stable of RBs and that running game they will be fine.

Iowa will suck after what they lose on defense. They may not throw as many INTs without Stanzi though.

Illinois could be tough with that offense.

Northwestern and the Prince of Persa is never out of it.

I LOVE Mike Dantonio and wanted Nebraska to go after him before they got Pelini.

Purdue, Indiana, and Minnesota, who cares they suck.

Ohio St will be Ohio St especially if Pryor comes back.

Penn St played a TON of young talent this year. This will only make them better as the years go on. Can't count them out.

 

[iruletheskool]

I'd put Dennard staying at 85 %

 

[Exorbitant]

I've heard that Pryor will be back next year.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Some recruits are saying Joepa's telling them he'll coach for 5-6 more years.

No matter how many players they lose, I would never put Penn St at the bottom of the Big 10.

Penn St played a TON of young talent this year. This will only make them better as the years go on. Can't count them out.

Yea I don't want to count out Penn State, but when you start 17 Seniors on a team like Penn State, you should never have anything less than 9 wins. They were lucky to squeak out 7 wins with all that experience.

They will still be inexperienced at QB next year as they never really got any of their QBs settled in this year.........I'm really putting them at 12 because they just plain sucked this year when they shouldn't have. It has more to do with this year than next year.

Still that was a great preview JJM. Rep.

Thanks, much appreciated. My rankings are just kind of a wild guess, but the returning starters kinda give us an idea of what to look for.

 

[Exorbitant]

Good job JJM, but I can't see NU finishing 2nd mainly because we have an offense that goes every which way but loose with Watson in control. Also speaking of being unsettled at QB, NU is the epitome of unsettled at that position. All one has to do is watch the Big 12 Title game to see that.

There's a very small chance { about 2%} we would've still lost that game by placing a healthy Lee in the game at the end of the first half, or by the middle of the 3rd quarter.

That was one of the worst coaching blunders I've ever seen at Nebraska.

 

[iruletheskool]

Don't forget, guys.. our offense will be a lot better when Mike Leach is our OC...

 

[iruletheskool]

Zac Lee was not healthy... FACT

 

[ForkEmBucky]

4) Wisconsin - I have them behind Michigan because Tolzien is gone, and that is really the only reason. My brain tells me they should still be ahead of Michigan though.




9) Minnesota - Yep, I think they will surprise a few next year. They lost 10 in a row this season, but they fired Brewster and hired Jerry Kill who fired Kevin Cosgrove.......problem solved. Unfortunately they won't be good enough to beat a lot of teams yet.

Wisconsin: Just for some additional info. Our #2 QB Curt Phillips blew out his knee toward the end of this season giving our defense a scout team look for a running QB. Not sure what he'll be able to do next season.

Also, if Watt doesn't come back, our front 4 should be stout against the run but pass rush...mneh...not so much.

Our stud LB Borland will be back, but we'll see how tender his shoulder is. Our other stud LB Taylor should be fully recovered from his knee injury and will hopefully be quicker and more agile.

Fenelus should be back at CB, Aaron Henry will be back at safety...not sure which S he'll play. We have a young guy Cromartie that might be a hell of a corner next year.

Offensively, our line will still be good, but not this good.

You should still DEFINITELY put us ahead of Michigan, because our defense will still be solid against the run, and we'll still have a rushing attack.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Good job JJM, but I can't see NU finishing 2nd mainly because we have an offense that goes every which way but loose with Watson in control. Also speaking of being unsettled at QB, NU is the epitome of unsettled at that position. All one has to do is watch the Big 12 Title game to see that.

There's a very small chance { about 2%} we would've still lost that game by placing a healthy Lee in the game at the end of the first half, or by the middle of the 3rd quarter.

That was one of the worst coaching blunders I've ever seen at Nebraska.

We are far more settled at QB than is Penn State right now.......I see what you're saying, but Taylor Martinez has been hurt for the majority of this season. He made some bad mistakes against Oklahoma, but like Steve Taylor said.......when you're inexperienced and you are used to being able to take off an run when the pocket collapses, you end up making mistakes when you try to take off an run and realize you can't.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Oh...and about you thinking Minnesota will surprise. Somebody says that EVERY year, and that person is always the only one who ends up surprised. Enjoy making them your bitch on an annual basis.

 

[Exorbitant]

Zac Lee was not healthy... FACT

You're calling Pelini a liar then? He said before the Colorado game that Lee was healthy and he was healthy for the Big 12 Title game and should've played. Was Green injured too? I think even a healthy Green would've been more effective than Taylor at 70%.

I stand by my comment that not benching Taylor for a healthy QB was one of the worst coaching blunders I've seen at NU.

 

[iruletheskool]

You're calling Pelini a liar then? He said before the Colorado game that Lee was healthy and he was healthy for the Big 12 Title game and should've played. Was Green injured too? I think even a healthy Green would've been more effective than Taylor at 70%.

I stand by my comment that not benching Taylor for a healthy QB was one of the worst coaching blunders I've seen at NU.

Yes

Maybe, I haven't been able to confirm

and I agree, Taylor should have been pulled for whoever.. (Burkhead, IMO)

 

[Exorbitant]

We are far more settled at QB than is Penn State right now.......I see what you're saying, but Taylor Martinez has been hurt for the majority of this season. He made some bad mistakes against Oklahoma, but like Steve Taylor said.......when you're inexperienced and you are used to being able to take off an run when the pocket collapses, you end up making mistakes when you try to take off an run and realize you can't.

Steve Taylor also said that Martinez should've been benched in the Title game. Bad coaching blunder, really bad.

 

[jedburks]

Yea I don't want to count out Penn State, but when you start 17 Seniors on a team like Penn State, you should never have anything less than 9 wins. They were lucky to squeak out 7 wins with all that experience.

They will still be inexperienced at QB next year as they never really got any of their QBs settled in this year.........I'm really putting them at 12 because they just plain sucked this year when they shouldn't have. It has more to do with this year than next year.



Thanks, much appreciated. My rankings are just kind of a wild guess, but the returning starters kinda give us an idea of what to look for.

You have to get off of this 17 senior thing. They lost their entire offensive motor from last season in Daryll Clark. 6 of their 7 wins were by double digits and the other was by 9. 3 of their 5 loses were on the road to the likes of Ohio St, Alabama, and Iowa (when they were playing well). The other loses were to a one loss Michigan St and a pretty good Illinois team. I understand what you are trying to say but it isn't just a 17 senior thing. Their schedule was BRUTAL!!!!