Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/339722
88 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 f like it could be more of a race for the West Di- vision title. It appears Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska will contend, and all have enough talent to make the title game c o m p e t i t i v e . As is often the case during the summer months, scheduling advantages play a role in determining who might have the early ad- vantage. While Nebraska gets the nod by most of the "experts," Dienhart sees it as more of a three-team race. "Iowa and Wisconsin have the favorable schedules, and the fact the Badgers have to travel to Iowa City gives some measure of advantage to the Hawks," Di- enhart said. "Iowa has experience at quarterback in Jake Rudock, has as good a stable of running backs as it has had there in a while. Yes, they lose all three linebackers, but the defense still can be good enough to win." If the Hawkeyes can survive road trips to Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Maryland, a big if, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Kirk Ferentz's team could be unbeaten heading into the final two weeks of the sea- son when it plays host to Wisconsin and Nebraska. "I think one of the main storylines is that the league is no longer balanced competitively," DiNardo said. "If you look at the history of Big Ten football, the fact that the Michigan-Ohio State game winner will no longer determine who goes to Pasadena, that is a significant change. For decades it seemed that game pretty much determined the league representative, and now it won't. That will take some getting used to." QUARTERBACKS, RUNNING BACKS IN ABUNDANCE Ohio State senior quarterback Braxton Miller could make history this year. He is the first to win the Chi- cago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's Most GOLD AND BLACK'S ALL-BIG TEN TEAM OFFENSE Pos. Player School WR Devin Funchess Michigan WR Stefon Diggs Maryland TE Jeff Heuerman Ohio State C Jack Allen Michigan State G Kyle Costigan Wisconsin G Kaleb Johnson Rutgers T Rob Havenstein Wisconsin T Brandon Scherff Iowa QB Braxton Miller Ohio State RB Ameer Abdullah Nebraska RB Melvin Gordon Wisconsin K Sam Ficken Penn State DEFENSE DE Shilique Calhoun Michigan State DE Randy Gregory Nebraska DT Michael Bennett Ohio State DT Carl Davis Iowa LB Taiwan Jones Michigan State LB Mike Hull Penn State LB Jake Ryan Michigan CB Blake Countess Michigan CB Trae Waynes Michigan State S Ibraheim Campbell Northwestern S Kurtis Drummond Michigan State P Mike Sadler Michigan State Offensive Player-of-the-Year Miller, Ohio State Defensive Player-of-the-Year Calhoun, Michigan State Special Teams Player-of-the-Year Raheem Mostert, Purdue Newcomer-of-the-Year Wes Lunt, Illinois Coach-of-the-Year Mark Dantonio, Michigan State — Alan Karpick Michigan State The Spartans may only return six starters on defense, but defensive end Shilique Calhoun gives Michigan State a great base from which to build.