B1G Predictions

[whammer33024]

i also had us finishing 10-2 this season...just not sure who those losses come to. haven't made up my mind yet, lol

i have to agree with a couple other posters as well. i don't see nebraska dropping only one game this season. their defense will keep them in most games, but they're schedule is tough this season and i just don't see it happening. i would guess 9-3 or 8-4 is a better guess for them

 

[billdozer15]

What is all this love for Nebby? They have 1 QB and he is a running type QB.
He will get dinged up, their backup transfered. Nebby is thin at QB and it will cost them at least 1 game. On paper Nebby's defense is good, but by the end of the season they will be warn down. Mark it down Nebraska will not be in the B1G Championship game!
At best Nebraska is 8-4.

I gonna say defense wins championships and even with a mediocre offense the defense will keep us in every single game and may even win a close one or two for us. The defense we have this year on paper is as deep as we've been since the late 90's and will be extremely stout. An all-america candidate at every level would make one think it could be a special year. The O on the other hand is a toss up. The past two years O's have been brutal not average......brutal and we still won 10 games. If the O improves in the slightest we are better than we have been each of the last two years.

At worst we are 8-4 at best 11-1. I actually am liking our chances agianst Wisky early in the season will likely be healthy and all the preasure is on Wisky to win so the B1G doesnt have hurt egos. Not sure what Wisky's QB situation is either it could take awhile for them to gell offensively. The late games on the road agianst PSU and Mich are the most scary to me. But no worse than 8-4.

 

[HawkeyeDenis]

I also predicted 8-4. But young teams can win and lose unexpectedly. A favorable schedule could make the team look better than they are.

I look at Nebby as being a cross between Wisconsin and Ohio State; A large O'line with some excellent skill position players. The Iowa/Nebraska game could very easily be a dogfight to the end. I give Nebraska a 3 point edge because the game is in Lincoln.

 

[BLKNGOLD48]

Dibona, Lowery and a back-up O-linemen and I can't remember who it was. Rumors about Gettis and MacMillian?????? Who is hurt, who is not.

I was thinking the same thing, didn't know we were getting hit that bad by injuries to cause a 1 or 2 game swing in the win column as Homer was stating.

 

[74Hunter]

Why so much love for Nebraska? They have decent RB's but a QB who has not proven he can throw, and a lousy OL, and mediocre WR's. Where is the offense going to come from?

I don't understand MSU gets pasted by Alabama(a very good team) and everyone says MSU was a fraud but Neb looks lousy in their bowl game against Washington(not exactly a power) and they both have similar returning starters. Neb. is supposed to have a great defense but MSU returns a proven all-conference QB who can lead and excellent RB's. Why is everyone putting Neb over MSU?

Talent. That, and MSU was the most over rated team in the nation last year.

 

[hawkeyescott]

I gonna say defense wins championships and even with a mediocre offense the defense will keep us in every single game and may even win a close one or two for us. The defense we have this year on paper is as deep as we've been since the late 90's and will be extremely stout. An all-america candidate at every level would make one think it could be a special year. The O on the other hand is a toss up. The past two years O's have been brutal not average......brutal and we still won 10 games. If the O improves in the slightest we are better than we have been each of the last two years.

At worst we are 8-4 at best 11-1. I actually am liking our chances agianst Wisky early in the season will likely be healthy and all the preasure is on Wisky to win so the B1G doesnt have hurt egos. Not sure what Wisky's QB situation is either it could take awhile for them to gell offensively. The late games on the road agianst PSU and Mich are the most scary to me. But no worse than 8-4.

Wisconsin got Russell Wilson to transfer in at QB, they will be just fine at that position.

Healthy or not and pressure on Wisconsin or not I think Nebraska has a better shot at winning at PSU or Michigan then they do at Wisconsin and I think you will agree after that game. Wisconsin has only lost something like 4 games at home since 2005.

 

[olddude]

I gonna say defense wins championships and even with a mediocre offense the defense will keep us in every single game and may even win a close one or two for us. The defense we have this year on paper is as deep as we've been since the late 90's and will be extremely stout. An all-america candidate at every level would make one think it could be a special year. The O on the other hand is a toss up. The past two years O's have been brutal not average......brutal and we still won 10 games. If the O improves in the slightest we are better than we have been each of the last two years.

At worst we are 8-4 at best 11-1. I actually am liking our chances agianst Wisky early in the season will likely be healthy and all the preasure is on Wisky to win so the B1G doesnt have hurt egos. Not sure what Wisky's QB situation is either it could take awhile for them to gell offensively. The late games on the road agianst PSU and Mich are the most scary to me. But no worse than 8-4.

Might want to look up where Iowas D has been ranked for many years. I know you all think the B12 had more powerful O's, but really, it's not hard to shut down the run in the B12 and that means you just turned a team 1 dimensional. Thats why Neb D looked so good, they really didnt have to stop the run or atleast a serious run game, so they took away the air attack which was the only real threat anyway.
Now the B10 does run the ball very well and has some very talented passing QB's, alot harder to shut down. Iowas D has been ranked high for years, and you dont see us going to the NC do you? The B10 is full of very good D's, and sorry to poop in your cheerios, but a good D and a shaky O is not going to get it done. Now if your O has improved by 100%, you got a shot. Odds are not even favorable then, because of your QB situation. Mark my words if T-mart tries to run it as much and like he did last year, he will get hurt. That will work in a game or two, but not for a season.

 

[billdozer15]

Wisconsin got Russell Wilson to transfer in at QB, they will be just fine at that position.

Healthy or not and pressure on Wisconsin or not I think Nebraska has a better shot at winning at PSU or Michigan then they do at Wisconsin and I think you will agree after that game. Wisconsin has only lost something like 4 games at home since 2005.[/QUOTE]

1) Transfer QB's rarely work out how they are projected. Russell Wilson is not used to the kind of O that Wisky runs, Wisky's O is not used to having a Russell Wilson at QB. There are going to be growing pains and i wouldn't be shocked if it takes 1/2 to 3/4 of the year to work through them all.
2)That may be true and it wouldnt shock me if it was, but everyone's time comes and with the new QB in his first B1G game along with all the pressure of a night game I wouldn't be surprised to see some cracks that allow NU to sneak out of their with a win.

I dont expect to blow out Wisky by any means but I wouldnt be shocked to come out of there with a 3-7 pt win and it will likely be the defense that wins that game. Either way its should be a great game. PSU and Mich are back-to-back on the road late in the season at a point where stamina could become an issue thats what scares me most about those.

 

[billdozer15]

Might want to look up where Iowas D has been ranked for many years. I know you all think the B12 had more powerful O's, but really, it's not hard to shut down the run in the B12 and that means you just turned a team 1 dimensional. Thats why Neb D looked so good, they really didnt have to stop the run or atleast a serious run game, so they took away the air attack which was the only real threat anyway.
Now the B10 does run the ball very well and has some very talented passing QB's, alot harder to shut down. Iowas D has been ranked high for years, and you dont see us going to the NC do you? The B10 is full of very good D's, and sorry to poop in your cheerios, but a good D and a shaky O is not going to get it done. Now if your O has improved by 100%, you got a shot. Odds are not even favorable then, because of your QB situation. Mark my words if T-mart tries to run it as much and like he did last year, he will get hurt. That will work in a game or two, but not for a season.

Problem with Iowa's O is it hasnt had a true homerun threat since......Tim Dwight? Thats just KF mantra though play good D win the close ones, if you guys had a homerun threat or two you likely would have a few more W's. We have homerun threats on O, its just a matter of getting the O to gel. I am certain T-mart wont be running as much as last year and the offense will be better, play calling alone should be better now that we got rid of that clownahan hold over Watson.

 

[olddude]

Wisconsin got Russell Wilson to transfer in at QB, they will be just fine at that position.

Healthy or not and pressure on Wisconsin or not I think Nebraska has a better shot at winning at PSU or Michigan then they do at Wisconsin and I think you will agree after that game. Wisconsin has only lost something like 4 games at home since 2005.[/QUOTE]

1) Transfer QB's rarely work out how they are projected. Russell Wilson is not used to the kind of O that Wisky runs, Wisky's O is not used to having a Russell Wilson at QB. There are going to be growing pains and i wouldn't be shocked if it takes 1/2 to 3/4 of the year to work through them all.
2)That may be true and it wouldnt shock me if it was, but everyone's time comes and with the new QB in his first B1G game along with all the pressure of a night game I wouldn't be surprised to see some cracks that allow NU to sneak out of their with a win.

I have a feeling, they wont need to or even try to throw it much against Neb. You guys are hard to throw against. So I wouldnt read to much into their qb situation. He can just hand it off until he is ready.

 

[Wreckonize]

The championship game is not a lock for anyone! The huskers have been getting alot of hype, But they did make back to back conference championship game appearances in the B12. the defense is gonna def wins some games for them. I wouldn't call the o-line lousy, they nearly had two thousand yard rushers last year. I can see where that guy had them over MSU and NW, b/c those offenses are mostly spread, which was prominent in the B12.

The huskers schedule is brutal, 9 of 12 teams were bowlers last Year. 3 were in BCS games. 10 of 12 teams had winning records last year with an overall opponent record of 91-62. i think we suffer two losses in the B1G and still make the Champ game.

I dont see Iowa reaching double digit wins either this year, let alone the B1G title game. They will be too one dimensional, leaning on the running game with a stout O-line. Vandy is gonna have some Hic-ups along the way, its just the way it is. And it sounds like they are suffering some injurys in camp as well.......

 

[billdozer15]

I have a feeling, they wont need to or even try to throw it much against Neb. You guys are hard to throw against. So I wouldnt read to much into their qb situation. He can just hand it off until he is ready.

1 dimensional....I like it.

 

[74Hunter]

I know you all think the B12 had more powerful O's, but really, it's not hard to shut down the run in the B12 and that means you just turned a team 1 dimensional.

Actually, its just the opposite. It makes it more difficult to stop a spread running game when your defense is spread across the field, and is using 2, 1, or no LBs, as opposed to a traditional defense where you have 7 or 8 defenders in the box.

Thats why Neb D looked so good, they really didnt have to stop the run or atleast a serious run game, so they took away the air attack which was the only real threat anyway.

The defense the last 2 years was built to stop the pass, and to make a team beat you on the ground.

Iowas D has been ranked high for years, and you dont see us going to the NC do you? The B10 is full of very good D's, and sorry to poop in your cheerios, but a good D and a shaky O is not going to get it done.

Those "very good defenses" gave up an average of 33.5 points per game in the bowls. They didn't look overly impressive.

Now if your O has improved by 100%, you got a shot. Odds are not even favorable then, because of your QB situation. Mark my words if T-mart tries to run it as much and like he did last year, he will get hurt. That will work in a game or two, but not for a season.

Purely assumption. Plus, we have more weapons on offense than we have had in the past 2 years, and hopefully we have an offensive coordinator who knows how to properly use those weapons. Most are young and raw, but I think that Big 10 defenses are going to have a difficult time trying to keep up with the speed this offense will put on the field.

 

[olddude]

Ok first to bill. Yes you can make Wisky 1 dimensional, but it's going to hurt.

74, we may have given up points but we still were ranked high and had enough O to win almost all our bowls. If you plan on stacking the box many of the B10 teams will pick you apart. Same goes for blitzing to much.
As far as assumption goes, I am only looking at how it has gone for qb's that run alot in the B10. It just doesnt seem to work out. Like I said for up to a half season, it looks good but then...... Much like your season or Mich season last year. Plus I go back to the fact T-mart has been fighting injuries since HS, so yes I'll lay odds, that if he tries to play like he did last year, he will get hurt.

 

[kicker22]

Here are my B1G predictions for this year. I pretty well just quickly determined who I thought would win. I did not overly analyze or have a pre determined # of wins that I thought a team needed to have. In reviewing the schedules I think Penn St will have a tough year, I think Illinois is a team that could surprise, and I don't think Michigan will be making the return to national glory that some are predicting. Also MSU will struggle with a tough schedule this year.


Leaders Division
Wisconsin 10-2 (6-2) W's - UNLV, Oreg St, NIU, SD, Neb, Ind, Purdue, Minn, Ill, PSU

Ohio St 9-3 (5-3) W's - Akron, Toledo, Miami, COL, MSU, Wisc, Indiana, Purdue, PSU

Illinois 8-4 (4-4) W's - Ark St, SDSt, AZ St, W Mich, NW, Indiana, OSU, Minnesota

Penn St 7-5 (4-4) W's - Ind St, Temple, EMU, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue, Illinois

Purdue 6-6 (3-5) W's - MTSU, Rice, SEMU, Minn, ILL, Ind

Indiana 4-8 (0-8) W's - Ball St, Virg, SC St, N Texas

Legends Division
Nebraska 11-1 (7-1) W's - UT Chat, Fresno, Wash, Wyo, OSU, Minn, MSU, NW, PSU, Mich, Iowa

Iowa 10-2 (6-2) W's - TTU, ISU, Pitt, ULM, NW, Ind, Minn, Mich, MSU, Purdue

Northwestern 8-4 (5-3) W's - EIU, Army, Rice, Mich, PSU, Ind, Minn, MSU

Michigan 7-5 (4-4) W's - WMU, EMU, SDSU, Minn, Purdue, ILL, OSU

Michigan St 7-5 (4-4) W's - YSU, FAU, CMU, Mich, Wisc, Ind, Minn

Minnesota 2-10 (0-8) W's - NMSU, NDSU

Nebraska over Wisconsin in B1G Championship Game

Bowls:
Nebraska - Rose
Iowa - Fiesta
Wisconsin - Cap One
Ohio St - Outback (if they are bowl eligible)
Michigan - Insight
Gator - Illinois
Texas - Penn St
Ticket City - Michigan St
Pizza Bowl - Northwestern
Kraft Fight Hunger - Purdue

I didn't see anything that jumped out at me as way off base in terms of predictions, some I'd disagree with (ie. Nebraska's record) but nothing that far off base. However, IMO there is no way that Iowa, or any other team for that matter, would make a Fiesta Bowl appearance without making it into the Big Ten Championship game.

 

[74Hunter]

74, we may have given up points but we still were ranked high and had enough O to win almost all our bowls.

I could be wrong, but I thought that the Big 10 went 2-6 in bows this past year.

If you plan on stacking the box many of the B10 teams will pick you apart. Same goes for blitzing to much.

This is where great lockdown corners come into play, you can match them up 1 on 1 and play run defense with the other 8 or 9 guys on defense.

As far as assumption goes, I am only looking at how it has gone for qb's that run alot in the B10. It just doesnt seem to work out.

You need to let go of the thought that the Big 10 is a much more physical conference. It isn't any more physical than the SEC or Big 12, see TCU v. Wisconsin.

Heck, if you want to see a physical football team, look at the Pac 10/12 team Stanford.

 

[olddude]

I could be wrong, but I thought that the Big 10 went 2-6 in bows this past year.


This is where great lockdown corners come into play, you can match them up 1 on 1 and play run defense with the other 8 or 9 guys on defense.


You need to let go of the thought that the Big 10 is a much more physical conference. It isn't any more physical than the SEC or Big 12, see TCU v. Wisconsin.

Heck, if you want to see a physical football team, look at the Pac 10/12 team Stanford.

#1 I was talking about Iowa not the B10 in bowls.
#2 we have some pretty good cb's in the B10 as well, nothing new there.
#3 I wasnt saying more physical, I was only pointing out running qb's dont seem to last in the B10, for whatever reason. They need to be able to move or roll out, but in open field they tend to get hurt. As I have said before, I am not saying it cant be done, just that recent history shows in the B10 it is not easy.

 

[74Hunter]

#1 I was talking about Iowa not the B10 in bowls.

We misunderstood each other. I was saying that the Big 10 teams gave up an average of 33.5 points in their respective bowl games last year. Gotcha.

 

[MultipleDundieAwardWinner]

Old dude, why are you obsessed with the fact that running QBs can't survive the Big 10? T. Pryor went to multiple BCS games, D. Robinson was a 1st team AA, and N. Scheelhaase was FOY. As far as I can tell, none of them missed a start due to injury last year, and Robinson certainly was not the reason Michigan was not competitive late in the season.

 

[olddude]

Old dude, why are you obsessed with the fact that running QBs can't survive the Big 10? T. Pryor went to multiple BCS games, D. Robinson was a 1st team AA, and N. Scheelhaase was FOY. As far as I can tell, none of them missed a start due to injury last year, and Robinson certainly was not the reason Michigan was not competitive late in the season.

Here is a quote.

"Robinson averaged 204 yards passing and 165 yards rushing in Michigan's first six games, and the Wolverines went 5-1. He averaged 182 yards passing and 109 yards rushing over the second half of the season, and the Wolverines lost four of their final six games.
"With Denard carrying so much of the load as he did on offense, he got hit quite a bit," guard Stephen Schilling said. "He took a lot of hits the first half of the season and he was able to get up from them a little easier because he was a little healthier."
His health was a question mark down the stretch." ALSO "That could be a challenge considering Robinson has been slowed by knee, shoulder and finger injuries this season"

"Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been playing with a slight tear in the posterior cruciate ligament of his knee,"

"The bigger questions will be whether quarterback Terrelle Pryor has any lingering effects from a thigh injury that temporarily sidelined him "

"Terrelle Pryor will have a ligament in his foot stabilized in surgery Friday afternoon "

HAVENT I DONE THIS ALREADY?