The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Big Ten Preview Plus Projections For The Division Crowns Taking Stock Of The Conference's Top Storylines And Best Players, A BY MICHAEL SPATH fter fielding questions for close to a decade as to when he might retire, Joe Paterno was fired dur- ing his 46th season as Penn State's head coach amid a child sex abuse scandal that rocked the university, athletic depart- ment and football program last fall. A little more than two months after he was dis- missed, Paterno passed away Jan. 22, 2012, dying of complications from lung cancer. The Big Ten, forever changed, will forge ahead with three new head coaches this season — Bill O'Brien at Penn State, Tim Beckman at Illinois and Urban Meyer at Ohio State. All three will attempt to dethrone Wisconsin, which became the first Big Ten Championship celebrant when it knocked off Michigan State 42-39 Dec. 3. Here we take a look at the 12 teams that will vie to capture the second Big Ten title in this new Legends and Leaders division format, while also ranking the conference's top 25 players for the 2012 campaign. Top Five Storylines 1. Succeeding a legend: Joe Paterno was the winningest coach in NCAA history, with 409 victories (compared to just 136 losses) during his four-plus decades in State College, Pa. Bill O'Brien steps in to replace the legend having never been a collegiate head coach, or a head coach of any kind. He spent the past five seasons as an assistant with the New England Patriots and was a college assistant from 1993-2006. The Nittany Lions are off to a surprising start in the 2013 recruiting class, landing six four- star talents among their first eight recruits. And O'Brien enjoyed a calm, productive spring with the Blue and White. However, he still has much to prove as a game-day coach, press-conference quote and university ambassador under the scrutinizing eye of fans and a media horde ex - pecting him to fail. 2. Postseason suspension: Forced to resign after a 10-year stint at Ohio State in which he led the Buckeyes to six Big Ten titles and a national championship in 2002, Jim Tressel turned the pro- gram over to loyal assistant Luke Fickell in 2011. But the interim head coach, engulfed in NCAA scandal, could not keep the ship afloat, going 6-7. Enter Urban Meyer, who agreed to become head coach even though the NCAA hit OSU with sanctions that place the program on three years probation and reduce scholarships by nine over a three-year period. The biggest hit, though, Wisconsin senior tailback Montee Ball was one of four finalists in 2011 and he ranks among the frontrunners to snag college football's biggest accolade, while Michigan senior quarterback Denard Robinson should be in the mix if he leads U-M to a Big Ten title. Tailbacks Rex Burkhead (Nebraska), Fitzgerald Toussaint (Michigan) and Le'Veon Bell (Michigan State) could also join the discussion with 1,600- yard seasons and team success, while quarter - backs Braxton Miller (Ohio State) and Taylor Martinez (Nebraska) are on the fringe. 5. Defensive bragging rights: Offense may occupy the spotlight more often, but defense wins championships, so the college football axiom goes, and the Big Ten featured six of the nation's top 20 units in 2011: No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 Illinois, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 17 Michigan, No. 19 Ohio State and No. 20 Penn State. Wisconsin's Montee Ball led the nation in rushing with 1,923 yards and tied an NCAA single-season record with 39 total touch - downs (33 rushing and six receiving) in 2011. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN came when the NCAA announced the Scarlet and Gray would be ineligible for postseason play in 2012, eliminating any chance of a bowl game or a berth in the Big Ten Championship. 3. Surviving the gauntlet: The Big Ten greeted Nebraska with a strenuous first-year schedule, pitting the Cornhuskers against Wis - consin, Ohio State and Michigan State in Octo - ber, and Penn State, Michigan and Iowa back to back to back in November. Not surprisingly, the conference favorite struggled through the dif - ficult stretch, going 5-3 to finish third in the Big Ten's Legends Division. This fall, Nebraska is once again a conference favorite, but once again the Big Red will face a murderous schedule that will see them face the Buckeyes and Badgers in the first two weeks of league play followed by a three-week stretch of Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. And then Nebraska finishes with Iowa. No Big Ten team has a more difficult road to navigate en route to the title. 4. Heisman hopefuls: The Big Ten's 12 ac - tive members have accounted for 16 of the 77 Heisman Trophy awards handed out since the its inception in 1935, or one every 4.8 seasons. Considering the conference hasn't won since 2006 (Ohio State's Troy Smith), it's due. 180 s THE WOLVERINE 2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW With six new starters offensively, including at QB, the Spartans will rely on eight returning defensive starters in their efforts to claim the Big Ten title. Ohio State (nine returning starters), Illi- nois (eight) and Michigan (eight) also bring back a large contingent on defense, setting the stage for the stopping units to once again decide the league's champion. Top 25 Players In The Big Ten 1. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin: No player was more dominant in 2011 than the 5-11, 212-pound senior, who tied an NCAA single- season record with 39 total touchdowns in ac - counting for 45.9 percent of his team's total scoring production. 2. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan: The se- nior has led the Big Ten in total offense in each of the past two seasons, and he is second only to Ball among active career rushers with 3,229 yards on the ground. 4. Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin: The Big Ten's most complete linebacker, Borland had 19 tack- les for loss among his 143 stops last year, while recording five pass breakups, two interceptions and five forced fumbles. 3. William Gholston, DE, Michigan State: The most feared returning pass rusher in the Big Ten, the 6-7, 275-pound junior is expected to dramatically improve upon the five sacks and 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage he had in 2011. 5. John Simon, DT, Ohio State: A senior, Si - mon will look to lead an Ohio State revival in Columbus, after the Buckeyes went 6-7 last year, by improving upon the seven sacks and 16 tack- les for loss that earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2011.