Rocket City Report: 2010 Big Ten Preview

The Favorite: Ohio State has won or shared the Big Ten title for the past five years. This year should be no different. It's very possible that Jim Tressel could have his team playing for a national title for the fourth time in his tenure. Terrelle Pryor continues to grow into a better quarterback, and he is my favorite to win the Heisman this year. The schedule isn't too bad, but it might be tough to beat Wisconsin and Iowa on the road. At home they host Miami, Penn State, and Michigan.

The Challenger: Penn State has question mark at quarterback and road games to Iowa and Ohio State, so Iowa is my challenger. Iowa could make a run at the Rose Bowl or more since they get Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State at home. The defense was stout as usual last year, but the offense struggled, barely scoring 23 points per game. Both losses from last year were close, but four of the wins were by a field goal or less. In fact, only two of their eleven wins were by more than 12 points. Iowa will have to become a more dominant team if they are going to win conference and national championships.

The Sleeper: Wisconsin flew under the radar last year despite winning ten games. There hasn't been much preseason chatter either, but this is a very solid team capable of winning the Big Ten. The offense averaged more than 200 yards through the air and on the ground last year. RB John Clay ran for over 1500 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. This season they host Ohio State and miss Penn State from the schedule. They do have to play at Iowa, but the non-conference is pretty light. They play Ohio State and Iowa in consecutive weeks, and those two games will be huge in deciding the Big Ten champion.

The Letdown: Minnesota was outscored by almost three points per game and outgained by over 60 yards per game last year. This year they have to replace nine starters on defense, everyone but the safeties. On offense, the quarterback returns, but he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and only completed 52% of his passes. The schedule does them no favors either. They open at MTSU, a very dangerous team especially for an inexperienced defense. They host USC, which might get ugly. Head coach Tim Brewster is only 14-24 in three seasons and will start feeling the heat with another losing season.

Conference Players of the Year: If he wins the Heisman, then Terrelle Pryor will win this one too.

I Wrote What?: In last year's preview, I thought Illinois would be back near the top, but I was six games wrong. I was way too low on Wisconsin, calling them to only go 6-6.

Non-conference Games to Watch:
* Miami at Ohio State, Sept 11 - The last time these two programs met, the 2002 National Championship was on the line.
* Penn State at Alabama, Sept 11 - Penn State surprised me last year when they beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl. Can they surprise again versus another SEC team?
* Iowa at Arizona, Sept 18 - An underrated matchup between two teams gunning for BCS bowls.
* Notre Dame at Michigan State, Sept 18 - The Spartans can make an early season statement here.
* Connecticut at Michigan, Sept 4 - Michigan didn't beat a team that went bowling last year, and Connecticut wants to prove they can win in the Big House.

Projected Standings: