Our Big 10 preview thread 2016

[B_dub]

Couldn't find Purdue so went with Ohio State.

 

[BUD]

Couldn't find Purdue so went with Ohio State.

If the Sooners do their job and beat osu that would put the suckeyes in a bad place. Even though it's a non conference game I would like to see what your Sooners can do..

 

[cwerph]

If the Sooners do their job and beat osu that would put the suckeyes in a bad place. Even though it's a non conference game I would like to see what your Sooners can do..

Virginia Tech says 'Hi'.

Even if the skunkweasesl stub their toe against Colorado, they wouldn't be in a "bad place" if they are able to pull one out of Harbaugh's backside and win the conference (assuming that would be the only blemish).

 

[VFL1995]

Minnesota wasn't part of the poll, so I went with my 2nd choice, Michigan State. I have Minnesota and Michigan State going to Indianapolis.

The Golden Gophers' three cross-over games are @ Penn State, @ Maryland, and home vs Rutgers.

2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Schedule


The season is gettin' close!

I like that pick with Minnesota, I think they're one of the more underrated teams going into the season. Their division is wide open with no clear cut team being the winner

 

[fishinabarrel]

Smells like nervous skunkweasels in here

 

[HuskerinBig10]

Didn't we already do this in another thread? I could have sworn we did. I think I even listed all the records each team will have.

Ohio State plays Iowa for the B1G Title.

The Big Ten West is bad. All of Iowa's tough games are in Iowa City.

Ohio State has tough road games, but plays Michigan in the Horseshoe. The tough road games, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State all are replacing their starting QB. Ohio State probably won't have enough to beat Oklahoma, but the Big Ten schedule is pretty easy.

The Ohio State Michigan game will be a very good game, if Michigan has a starting QB. If not, Ohio State wins.

Ohio State will beat Iowa.

 

[HuskerinBig10]

VFL's 2016 Big Ten Predictions

Ohio State 11-1
Michigan 11-1
Penn State 8-4
Michigan State 8-4
Indiana 6-6
maryland 4-8
Rutgers 2-10

Iowa 10-2
Northwestern 8-4
Wisconsin 7-5
Nebraska 7-5
Minnesota 5-7
Illinois 3-9
Purdue 3-9

I have no idea if my wins and losses add up, those were just my quick looks at the teams, except more in depth on Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin.

Good luck.

 

[rmilia1]

Homer picked my Hawks. Realistically with Nebraska and Wisconsin schedule AND Iowa getting both them at home the Hawks should win the West. I've got Michigan in the East. I just can't see OSU winning the division with all they're replacing but Michigan isn't a lock. Who knows what they've got at QB.

 

[rmilia1]

I actually think there's a good chance the B10W is the better division this year. Last year it was really close as the crossover games were about even and there wasn't much to choose from in the title game. B10W returns more starters and more quality QBS this year by quite a bit. Everyone is high on Michigan and OSU but UM has QB questions ( as does MSU, PSU and IU) while OSU has everything else questions.

 

[Texas Jefe]

I went outside the box...OSU has a ton of talent. But they also have a lot of guys stepping into starting roles.

Almost picked Nebraska, but went with the other corn guys.

 

[Tomhusker]

I picked Nebraska.
I figure that a team returning a 16 int QB, 2 out of 5 offensive linemen, 1 starting defensive lineman and coming off a 6-7 season has to be primed to make a run.

 

[ericd7633]

I actually think there's a good chance the B10W is the better division this year. Last year it was really close as the crossover games were about even and there wasn't much to choose from in the title game. B10W returns more starters and more quality QBS this year by quite a bit. Everyone is high on Michigan and OSU but UM has QB questions ( as does MSU, PSU and IU) while OSU has everything else questions.

I would be surprised by that, but the Big 10 West has a pretty easy OOC schedule as a whole so the division should rack up the wins.

 

[Deep Creek]

Almost picked Nebraska, but went with the other corn guys.

To-may-tow, To-mah-tow. Iowa corn guys = Nebraska corn guys. Same, same.

 

[Innermind]

Folks are getting ready for the season. Tonight in Ann Arbor, there is a major line of people waiting for the midnight release of the new Jordan Jumpman Michigan gear.


Crazy.

Why the feck would a person want to wait for hours in such a massive line for hats & shirts & jerseys & stuff? Life is too precious and short to be waiting in line to buy clothing!

I wonder if Harbaugh is there directing traffic?

 

[rmilia1]

I would be surprised by that, but the Big 10 West has a pretty easy OOC schedule as a wh

I would be surprised by that, but the Big 10 West has a pretty easy OOC schedule as a whole so the division should rack up the wins.

I was speaking more to crossover games. The league as a whole has shaky OOC but that'll happen more with 9 league games. I don't really see the West as any worse than the East. Badgers, Husker and Illinois all play Top 25 teams. Gophers play Oregon St, NW plays Duke, Iowa gets their annual crap ISU game. Not really dissimilar from the East. The divisions were much closer last year than people admit with the only top 3 teams in either division losing a crossover being NW ( to UM ) and MSU ( to Nebraska )

 

[ericd7633]

I honestly don't think it's particularly close in regards to OOC schedules between the two. First big thing is that nobody from the West plays a true road game. That's pretty unheard of. East by contrast plays 7 true road games, including at ND, UW and OU, all top 25 teams. Plus the secondary games, IMO are better for the East.

Edit-Not sure why it didn't quote @rmilia1

 

[AfrikaBlack]

I'm gonna have to go with Michigan on this one.

 

[ericd7633]

B1G OOC Schedules:

Indiana - @Florida International, vs. Ball State, vs. Wake Forest
Maryland – vs. Howard, @Florida International, @Central Florida
Michigan State – vs. Furman, @Notre Dame, vs. BYU
Michigan – vs. Hawaii, vs. Central Florida, vs. Colorado
Ohio State – vs. Bowling Green, vs. Tulsa, @Oklahoma
Penn State – vs. Kent State, @Pittsburgh, vs. Temple
Rutgers - @Washington, vs. Howard, vs. New Mexico

Illinois – vs. Murray State, vs. North Carolina, vs. Western Michigan
Iowa – vs. Miami(Oh), vs. Iowa State, vs. North Dakota State
Minnesota – vs. Oregon State, vs. Indiana State, vs. Colorado State
Nebraska – vs. Fresno State, vs. Wyoming, vs. Oregon
Northwestern – vs. Western Michigan, vs. Illinois State, vs. Duke
Purdue – vs. Eastern Kentucky, vs. Cincinnati, vs. Nevada
Wisconsin – vs. LSU, vs. Akron, vs. Georgia State

P5 Opponents & ND/BYU: 13
FCS Opponents: 8

Projected W/L Record: 33-9 – 79%
Projected W/L Record vs. P5/ND/BYU: 4-8

Projected losses in Bold

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Illinois

The first preview segment for the Big 10 Conference: The Illinois Fighting Illini

Last season: Okay... It looks like we're going to be hitting the 100-post mark very quickly, so I won't worry about that goal. Instead, let's focus on the teams. And you're wondering "Why is mediocre Illinois going first?"
Because a lot of things went wrong in Champaign, Illinois in 2015. First, player-abuse forced Tim Beckman out, then Bill Cubit stepped in. Illinois started out 4-1, but then the offense went south and they finished 5-7. Yet, why are Illinois fans so optimistic right now?

Good news: Wes Lunt is back for his final season, and RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn could be a breakout star. The pass-rush looks to be better.

Bad news: A new coaching staff will have initial troubles with depth, and ACL injuries has again ended Mikey Dudek's season before it even started.

2016 X-factor: Lovie Smith- That's right, THAT Lovie Smith. This hire was HUGE for the Illini, as they stole much-needed press away from Ohio State and Michigan.
And come recruiting time, Illinois can use the same tactic that those schools do: Just say to recruits "Uh, you DO know we have a famous coach at our program, do you?"

Key games:
9/10 vs. North Carolina (If you look hard enough at Illinois's schedule, it starts out the same as 2015's. First, they deal with the Tar Heels...)
9/17 vs. Western Michigan (...before the Illini tries to chase away a good "Group of 5" school.)
9/24 @ Nebraska (And then to start off Big 10 play, they face off against an Nebraska team that'll be less than happy to see them. Just like last year!)
10/29 vs. Minnesota (A swing game for both teams in their quest for the postseason.)
11/26 @ Northwestern (Aww... This game's not being played at Wrigley Field anymore? I'll bet the Illini are really unhappy about that.)

Bottom line: Trust me: Some good things will happen in Champaign if Illinois managed to get an accomplished coach like Lovie Smith. However, expect Illinois to stay home come bowl season as Lovie will need time to build depth and get everyone on the team in line.

 

[rmilia1]

I honestly don't think it's particularly close in regards to OOC schedules between the two. First big thing is that nobody from the West plays a true road game. That's pretty unheard of. East by contrast plays 7 true road games, including at ND, UW and OU, all top 25 teams. Plus the secondary games, IMO are better for the East.

Edit-Not sure why it didn't quote @rmilia1

Yeah the no road games thing is pretty weird