With spring football 2011 wrapping up I have decided to dive into the overall health of each program, ranking them from 1-12. In ranking the programs I consider everything from National Championships, Big Ten championships, program history and lore, recent success, number of rivals, facilities, donors, boosters, administrative support, coaching, basically anything and everything under the sun...
1. Ohio State
Maybe the most consistently successful thing the state of Ohio has to offer, in a perfect sized college town, in the heart of Ohio. This program has it all from history to facilities to Big Ten dominance. The only thing they are lacking is more national titles. They have absolutely dominated their rival Michigan.
2. Michigan
Don't let the abject failure that was the three year regime of Richrod fool you. They have the Big House, facilities, money, and history. Programs like Michigan don't stay down for extended periods. Ann Arbor is a great college town that is close, yet far enough away from Detroit, wink, wink...
3. Penn State
A school in rural Pennsylvania with an 83 year old head coach shouldn't be ranked this high should it??? Think again, Penn State owns the talent rich state of Pennsylvania gobbling up recruits from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the small towns. Speaking of recruiting they absolutely own the eastern seaboard. They take the top kids from New York, New Jersey, and Maryland every year. Other schools need to ask Penn State for permission before recruiting anyone east of Pittsburgh. Top that off with a picturesque campus in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains that houses a stadium of 100,000 + and you have a superpower!
4. Nebraska
The last of the Big "4". Call Memorial Stadium "The Palace On The Prairie". Lincoln is the capital of the great plains. No one that grows up in Nebraska playing football doesn't dream of playing football for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska has one of the biggest fan bases in the country and they don't just live in Nebraska. The Huskers have fans across the country. They are a huge TV ratings draw. That doesn't hurt recruiting at all.... The Huskers also seem to be "close" to getting back to their past success, but despite not winning a national championship in recent memory are a solid top 20 program.
5. Wisconsin
The Badgers are proof positive that you can go from rags to riches. The Badgers were the laughingstock of the Big Ten just 20 years ago and traded with Northwestern for rights to the Big Ten basement. Barry Alvarez followed a simple philosophy to bring the Badgers to the upper tier of the Big Ten: Wis"can"sin offensive lineman and skill position talent from Florida, St. Louis, and the East Coast. Couple that with a trendy college campus with close proximity to Chicago, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee and you have something.
6. Iowa
Arguably the most passionate fan base in the country, with all due respect to fans from the SEC. Kirk Ferentz is an elite head coach and no program in the country gets more out of their players than Iowa in my opinion. The recently renovated Kinnik Stadium is the cherry on top of the sundae.
7. Michigan State
I can't remember the last time Michigan State dominated their arch-rival Michigan like this and they still aren't anywhere even close to the same level as the Wolverines as a program. Michigan State is also a program that struggles with consistency. Sparty has struggled with everything from fast starts that turn into rotten tomatoes to short leashes for head coaches. The Spartans seems to have a good foundation started with Dantonio, but his health concerns and the programs erratic history still leave me skeptical of the program as a whole.
8. Purdue
The Boilermakers are truly at a competitive disadvantage with Notre Dame just down the road. They are in the middle of a geographical area shared with: Northwestern, Illinos, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Indian, Ohio State, and a handful of MAC schools such as Ball State, Northern Illinois, etc... They are competing against a lot in recruiting and usually have to battle Indiana and MAC schools for diamonds in the rough. The one thing the Boilermakers can hang their hats on is their history of elite QB's. Jim Everett, Drew Brees, Bob Griese, Kyle Orton, among others slung the ball down field for the Boilermakers.
9. Minnesota
With a campus in a sexy, cosmopolitan city, and a brand new stadium it is almost "offensive" that the program has sucked the way it has the last 50 years. Did I mention that the Gophers have a brand new stadium with views of downtown Minneapolis and a locker room that looks like the Presidential Suite at the Four Seasons? At least the Gophers have a football coach now in Jerry Kill and not a used car salesman in Tim Brewster. The Gophers also have 6 national championships, but none since 1961.
10. Illinois
The Illini are a goofy program, they can go through a 5 year stretch of being awful and then out of nowhere go to a BCS game only to be awful again a year later. A dreadfully inconsistent program with high coaching turnover, I just don't see Illinois ever being a consistent "upper tier" Big Ten program.
11. Northwestern
Poor Pat Fitzgerald, he is one of the best head coaches in the country, and has almost no support. I have seen more fans at High School games in Texas than at Ryan Field on Saturdays in the fall. Northwestern is an elite academic school that has a small local following thanks to an alumni base that is scattered throughout the country if not the world. I will say this, Northwester has zero chance of winning a national championship. So if Fitz is happy coaching his Alma mater to 4-4 finishes and trips to the Alamo Bowl than god bless him for that, but if he has his eyes on bigger things than I recommend sprucing up his resume'.
12. Indiana
The third best program in the modestly sized state of Indiana and did I mention this was a basketball school? Enough said...
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
5 Bold Statements
I am going to make 5 bold statements regarding the 2011 Big Ten Football season.
1. Marcus Coker will lead the Big Ten in rushing.
With Iowa's lack of depth at the position, Coker will get every opportunity to be a workhorse and he will not disappoint. With the departures of Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton, Coker will be the feature back in Iowa's rush heavy offense and with his size (6'1" and 230 lbs) he will have little trouble handling the workload. Iowa should once again be strong along the offensive line, as they usually are and Coker showed promise late in the year, rushing for over 200 yards in an Insight Bowl victory over Missouri.
2. Illinois will once again fail to make it to the postseason two years in a row.
We have read this book before. The Illini come off a surprisingly successful season to high preseason expectations only to fail miserably. For whatever reason the Illini are unable to put together back to back successful seasons. That is one of the reasons the Illini are still considered a lower echelon Big Ten program. They return Nathan Sheelhaase at QB, but lost RB Mikel LeShoure, DT Corey Liuget, and LB Martez Wilson to the NFL. Ron Zook has also not given us any reason to believe.
3. Minnesota will have one of the top 5 rushing offenses in the Big Ten
Minnesota finished 10th in the league in rushing last year averaging just 135 yards per game, but they return their top 3 rushers from last year, RB's DeLeon Eskridge and Duane Bennett, and QB MarQueis Gray. Couple that with three promising redshirt freshman running backs in Lamonte Edwards, Devon Wright, and Donnell Kirkwood and the Gophers should have no shortage of weapons to run the football. Head Coach Jerry Kill and Offensive Coordinator Matt Limegrover have always made running the football a priority and they should have no trouble turning around Minnesota's fortunes on the ground.
4. The Big Ten will lack a dominant team
The Big Ten's run of sending two teams to BCS bowls will come to a screeching halt. I don't see any team competing for a national championship this year. Ohio State looks great on paper, but the 5 game suspensions to their star players and head coach have really turned me off. Michigan State has trouble putting together back to back great seasons, Wisconsin has to replace many key players, and Nebraska showed signs of being an average football team late last year.
5. Michigan will continue to be a mess defensively
The Wolverines hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison to try to fix what has been ailing the program for the last two years, a lack of defense. Despite the talents of the 61 year old Mattison who also coached the defensive line for the 2006 National Champion Florida Gators, if you have don't have the personnel it's tough to coach em' up I don't care who you are. Richrod left Mattison and Head Coach Brady Hoke with a bunch of undersized players that will get pounded to the turf once again.
1. Marcus Coker will lead the Big Ten in rushing.
With Iowa's lack of depth at the position, Coker will get every opportunity to be a workhorse and he will not disappoint. With the departures of Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton, Coker will be the feature back in Iowa's rush heavy offense and with his size (6'1" and 230 lbs) he will have little trouble handling the workload. Iowa should once again be strong along the offensive line, as they usually are and Coker showed promise late in the year, rushing for over 200 yards in an Insight Bowl victory over Missouri.
2. Illinois will once again fail to make it to the postseason two years in a row.
We have read this book before. The Illini come off a surprisingly successful season to high preseason expectations only to fail miserably. For whatever reason the Illini are unable to put together back to back successful seasons. That is one of the reasons the Illini are still considered a lower echelon Big Ten program. They return Nathan Sheelhaase at QB, but lost RB Mikel LeShoure, DT Corey Liuget, and LB Martez Wilson to the NFL. Ron Zook has also not given us any reason to believe.
3. Minnesota will have one of the top 5 rushing offenses in the Big Ten
Minnesota finished 10th in the league in rushing last year averaging just 135 yards per game, but they return their top 3 rushers from last year, RB's DeLeon Eskridge and Duane Bennett, and QB MarQueis Gray. Couple that with three promising redshirt freshman running backs in Lamonte Edwards, Devon Wright, and Donnell Kirkwood and the Gophers should have no shortage of weapons to run the football. Head Coach Jerry Kill and Offensive Coordinator Matt Limegrover have always made running the football a priority and they should have no trouble turning around Minnesota's fortunes on the ground.
4. The Big Ten will lack a dominant team
The Big Ten's run of sending two teams to BCS bowls will come to a screeching halt. I don't see any team competing for a national championship this year. Ohio State looks great on paper, but the 5 game suspensions to their star players and head coach have really turned me off. Michigan State has trouble putting together back to back great seasons, Wisconsin has to replace many key players, and Nebraska showed signs of being an average football team late last year.
5. Michigan will continue to be a mess defensively
The Wolverines hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison to try to fix what has been ailing the program for the last two years, a lack of defense. Despite the talents of the 61 year old Mattison who also coached the defensive line for the 2006 National Champion Florida Gators, if you have don't have the personnel it's tough to coach em' up I don't care who you are. Richrod left Mattison and Head Coach Brady Hoke with a bunch of undersized players that will get pounded to the turf once again.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
2011 Breakout Stars
I have compiled a list of soon to be household names in the Big Ten Conference.
Keanon Cooper (Minnesota) - Can you say poor mans Clay Matthews? Okay, so I realize that I may have just nominated myself for some sort of preposterous statement award, but Cooper is the kind of linebacker that Minnesota defensive coordinator Tracy Cleays covets. Is Cooper going to be a replica of the best defensive player on the planet? Of course not, but with his speed, and Cleays aggressive scheme it wouldn't be a shock to see Cooper end up with double digits in sacks this fall.
Silas Redd (Penn State) - Big Ten network analyst Gerry Dinardo once likened Redd to a NYC taxi driver, saying "any space will do". Redd is just that type of back, compact and explosive, showing no pause with any crease in front of him. Expect him to rush for well over 1,000 yards this spring.
C.J. Fiedoriwicz (Iowa) - Think of former Hawkeye and current Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, with more physical tools. Fiedoriwicz is a physical freak at 6-7 and 250 and will flourish in the tight end friendly Hawkeye offense. He will make a nice safety valve for new starting QB James Vandenberg.
Keanon Cooper (Minnesota) - Can you say poor mans Clay Matthews? Okay, so I realize that I may have just nominated myself for some sort of preposterous statement award, but Cooper is the kind of linebacker that Minnesota defensive coordinator Tracy Cleays covets. Is Cooper going to be a replica of the best defensive player on the planet? Of course not, but with his speed, and Cleays aggressive scheme it wouldn't be a shock to see Cooper end up with double digits in sacks this fall.
Silas Redd (Penn State) - Big Ten network analyst Gerry Dinardo once likened Redd to a NYC taxi driver, saying "any space will do". Redd is just that type of back, compact and explosive, showing no pause with any crease in front of him. Expect him to rush for well over 1,000 yards this spring.
C.J. Fiedoriwicz (Iowa) - Think of former Hawkeye and current Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, with more physical tools. Fiedoriwicz is a physical freak at 6-7 and 250 and will flourish in the tight end friendly Hawkeye offense. He will make a nice safety valve for new starting QB James Vandenberg.
Spring Football stock report
*I am not a professional journalist. Please keep that in mind when reading my posts. I am just a rube who has opinions on Big Ten football, sometimes I will be right and sometimes I will be wrong. Of course I will throw a parade in my honor when I am right.
With spring football coming to an end within the next week across the conference I have decided to post a stock report on all Big10 (12) football teams. *I reserve the right to change my mind by September.
Legends Division
Nebraska - hold (Let's see if Taylor Martinez can stay healthy.)
Iowa - buy (The Hawkeyes thrive when everyone doubts them.)
Minnesota - buy (Everyone and their brother will have Minnesota at the bottom of this division, but Jerry Kill can flat out coach.)
Michigan - hold (It can't get worse defensively for the Wolverines, but I'm just not sure what to expect from Brady Hoke in year 1.)
Michigan State - sell (I can't remember the last time MSU put together back to back impressive seasons.)
Northwestern - sell (You can't throw all your eggs in the basket of a player recovering from a torn Achilles.)
Leaders Division
Ohio State - buy (Don't let the 5 game suspensions fool you, their play on the field speaks for itself.
Indiana - sell (Awful defense + offensive minded coach, sound familiar? How has that worked out for IU?)
Purdue - hold (I'm just not sure what to think of Danny Hope.)
Illinois - sell (see Michigan State, and their last season wasn't all that impressive)
Penn State - buy (Too much talent on the roster.)
Wisconsin - hold (Let's wait to see what the new qb can do, and the D has ???.)
With spring football coming to an end within the next week across the conference I have decided to post a stock report on all Big10 (12) football teams. *I reserve the right to change my mind by September.
Legends Division
Nebraska - hold (Let's see if Taylor Martinez can stay healthy.)
Iowa - buy (The Hawkeyes thrive when everyone doubts them.)
Minnesota - buy (Everyone and their brother will have Minnesota at the bottom of this division, but Jerry Kill can flat out coach.)
Michigan - hold (It can't get worse defensively for the Wolverines, but I'm just not sure what to expect from Brady Hoke in year 1.)
Michigan State - sell (I can't remember the last time MSU put together back to back impressive seasons.)
Northwestern - sell (You can't throw all your eggs in the basket of a player recovering from a torn Achilles.)
Leaders Division
Ohio State - buy (Don't let the 5 game suspensions fool you, their play on the field speaks for itself.
Indiana - sell (Awful defense + offensive minded coach, sound familiar? How has that worked out for IU?)
Purdue - hold (I'm just not sure what to think of Danny Hope.)
Illinois - sell (see Michigan State, and their last season wasn't all that impressive)
Penn State - buy (Too much talent on the roster.)
Wisconsin - hold (Let's wait to see what the new qb can do, and the D has ???.)
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