2009 Big Ten Preview

#6 (tie) Illinois,Minnesota,Northwestern 6-6

I know, I know, 'whats this madness' you say? Illinois is widely regarded as being a much better team than it was last year. Better players, less distractions, etc,etc. Iam not buying it. I think all the problems and all the good points at Illinois stem from the same source, the coaching staff. Now dont get me wrong, Zook is who Zook is, and he deserves to be at this level of coaching, I dont see any debate about that, but from observing the team, I think there is a lack of leadership/control of the team that Zook is expecting from his upper classman and I just dont see it there. Juice Williams will more than carry the load, but I feel that defense schemes have caught up and overtaken the "dual threat" quarterback offenses. One man does not a team make. Penn State has one of the premiere dual threat QB's in the country, but Clark also has Evan Royster and a good defense to get the ball in his hands.Illinois does not have the same depth or level of talent to compete with the likes of Penn State.Expect Illinois to beat up Illinois State,Purdue,Michigan,Northwestern,Cincinnati,and Fresno State. The smacks will come from Missouri,Ohio State,Penn State,Michigan State,INDIANA ( yes, I said Indiana ) and Minnesota.

Of course, I could be wrong about it all, but I dont care.Really, I dont. Northwestern is the one team I feel that could do two things this year. 1) Go 6-6, by losing 6 games by a combined 18 points or less, or go 9-3 by showing the heart of the seniors and their great coach. Im opting for 6-6. For all the smarts and all the heart, they will not escape with wins on the road at Michigan State ( the best chance of a road win ) Iowa or Illinois. Cory Wooton is a fit and furious team leader and Mike Kafka has shown what he can accomplish with the right circumstances. I will not short change the Cats on the talent side of the football, but LIKE MSU, Im gonna have to see prolonged success to believe it, and I feel that Northwestern is still a year or two off. A good showing and a bowl game this year would certainly cement things for Pat Fitzgerald ( one of my all time favorite player in the 10 ) and bring in the recruits necessary to compete for league titles. The Cats have talent, you can see it when they practice, but do they believe it. Count on one thing, Northwestern will play every game all the way to the sound of the gun. Any team that expects to coast on the Cats in the 4th quarter will have a rude awakening. Wins will come from Towson,Eastern Michigan, Syracuse,Purdue,Miami (OH) and Indiana.
Losses from Minnesota,MichiganState,PennState,Iowa,Illinois and Wisco.

Finally, the Gophers. The Weber/Decker combo is a good one, but much like the "juice", I feel most of the summer coaching by Minnesota's opponents was done to squash this tandem. The Gophers dont offer much up on offense to keep a pretty darn good defense off the field enough to give them a rest. Any team in the 10 from top to bottom will fall to any other team if your defense stays out there ALL THE TIME. You have to make good pushes on offense to recharge the D. Its a must. Minnesota, as good as thier passing combo is, let me put it this way, passing doesnt chew up clock and if you dont have the horses to punch the ball in on the goal line, your not going to win a lot. The sun doesnt rise and set on the passing game alone, especially in the 10.You've got to pound the rock, at least a little bit. A team must have SOME threat to score in the running game, and I just dont feel it with the Gophers. They are a relatively light team size wise as well and thats not good for punishing with a RB. Wins will come at the hands of Syracuse (on the road even!) Air Force, Northwestern ( revenge ), Purdue,Illinois, and the coup de grace versus South Dakota State.The 'Phers could take out the Hawks by seasons end, because Iowa will think they just "need to show up" to win,but I wouldnt bet on it. Losses could be steep in point total and will be delivered by California,Wisconsin ( in a blood bath), Penn State(see Wisco),Ohio State, Michigan State on Halloween,and Iowa. I really like Tim Brewster and I feel he would be a wrecking ball if he had the weapons.Lots of up and coming RB's in the stable, so the 'Phers are rising, but not this year.