NCAA Football: Big Ten East preview

I love college football. LOVE it. It was my first love. One that started all the way back in 1984. I was a kid living in Oklahoma, and the Sooners were the hottest ticket in town. I was hooked. The Jamelle Holieway-Spencer Tillman-Lydell Carr option took me in and never let go.

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Fast-forward 30 years later, and I am still a college football junkie. I spend my Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday watching every game I could record over the weekend. For love of the game, I guess.

For the last four years, I have picked every single 1-A vs. 1-A college football game against the spread. I will do the same this year. But leading up to that, I am going to do a conference by conference preview. That’s right, for love of the game. And for those of you that are rabid fans like I am.

This piece will focus on the Big Ten East . Teams are in the projected order of finish. The AAC is here. The Coastal division is here. The Atlantic division is here. The Big 12 preview is here.

Jan 1, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Michigan State Spartans coach Mark Dantonio (left) and quarterback Connor Cook (18) hoist the Leishman Trophy after the 100th Rose Bowl against the Stanford Cardinal. Michigan State defeated Stanford 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

1. Michigan State:

Schedule: vs. Jacksonville State, at Oregon, vs. Eastern Michigan, vs. Wyoming, vs. Nebraska, at Purdue, at Indiana, vs. Michigan, vs. Ohio State, at Maryland, vs. Rutgers, at Penn State.

Prediction: Most of the key components are back on offense with QB Connor Cook leading the way. Jeremy Langford. Tony Lippett, and Keith Mumphrey are all back as well. They lost a little bit along the offensive line, but if they can plug those holes, the offense should be better than the unit that won the Big Ten last year. The losses on the defense were many. Darqueze Dennard was a first round pick, and rightfully so. The unit also lost LB Max Bullough, S Isaiah Lewis, and LB Denicos Allen. The trickiest part could be replacing Dennard. That said, they still have some studs on the defense, led by end Marcus Rush, LB Taiwan Jones, and S Kurtis Drummond. This will still be a formidable defense.

Sparty gets Ohio State, Nebraska, and Michigan at home, so the stars are aligning for a second straight Big Ten title. The game at Oregon is really going to test the defense. Playing at the Zoo might be the only game they lose. Will that get them into the playoff? We shall see. I see Sparty at 12-1 after their win in the Big Ten Championship game.

The loss of Miller could torpedo Ohio State’s season. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

2. Ohio State:

Schedule: at Navy, vs. Virginia Tech, vs. Kent State, vs. Cincinnati, at Maryland, vs. Rutgers, at Penn State, vs. Illinois, at Michigan State, at Minnesota, vs. Indiana, vs. Michigan

Prediction: The loss of Braxton Miller for the season couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the Buckeyes. Kenny Guiton, who filled in admirably for Miller in the past, graduated. Carlos Hyde is off to the NFL. Philly Brown is also gone. Running the offense now falls on the shoulders of redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett. Dontre Wilson and Ezekiel Elliott will likely split carries until someone separates themselves. Devin Smith is about the only skill player with experience, so the offense will likely undergo some growing pains. The defense was decmiated by graduations and draft entries as well. LB Ryan Shazier, CB Bradley Roby, and S C.B. Bryant leave some big voids. That said, DT Michael Bennett, LB Curtis Grant, and CD Doran Grant are no pushovers. This defense will still be solid, but losing playmakers like Roby and Shazier are always tough losses.

The loss of Miller makes this season infinitely harder to predict. I had them losing to Sparty anyway, but now games such as Virginia Tech and Michigan could be diffcult. Especially VT because it is the second game of the season. Still, we all know that Urban Meyer is a master of getting a lot from a little, and the Buckeyes’ recruiting classes have been very good for the last few years. They shouldn’t slide much. I still see them going 9-3 at worst. I’m going to split the difference and say 10-2.

Apr 5, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner (98) before the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

3. Michigan:

Schedule: vs. Appalachian State, at Notre Dame, vs. Miami(OH), vs. Utah, vs. Minnesota, at Rutgers, vs. Penn State, at Michigan State, vs. Indiana, at Northwestern, vs. Maryland, at Ohio State

Prediction: Devin Gardner and Devin Funchess return, but that is the extent of the positives on offense. Both tackles from last year were drafted in the top 100 picks of the draft. WR Jeremy Gallon and RB Fitz Toussant are gone. True freshman Freddy Canteen will take over Gallon’s role, or as much of it as he can handle. Derrick Green will take over for Toussant. There is a lot of new blood on the offense, but for me the most concerning part would be the new tackles. Defensively, Jake Ryan leads a mostly experienced squad that should be better than they were last year. They will need to be to take the heat off of the offense.

The last time Michigan opened the season with Appalachian State in 2007, we all know how that ended. I wouldn’t bet on it happening again. Trips to South Bend, East Lansing, and Columbus make this schedule pretty tough for a team with some questions on offense. Still, I see the Wolverines finishing in the top 25 even if they don’t start there. The loss of Braxton Miller opens up the number two spot in the east, and Michigan has the talent to take it. Whether they will or not is anyone’s guess. If they played the Buckeyes earlier in the season, I think Michigan wins. But the Buckeyes will have had a whole season to get things figured out. I have Michigan at 9-3, but they could sneak into Ohio State’s slot.

Apr 12, 2014; State College, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) throws a pass during a warmup prior to the Blue White spring game at Beaver Stadium. The Blue team defeated the White team 37-0. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

4. Penn State:

Schedule: vs Central Florida at Dublin, Ireland, vs. Akron, at Rutgers, vs. Massachusetts, vs. Northwestern, at Michigan, vs. Ohio State, vs. Maryland, at Indiana, vs. Temple, at Illinois, vs. Michigan State

Prediction: Do everything WR Allen Robinson will be playing on Sundays this fall. However, QB Christian Hackenberg is back, and so are RBs Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton, who ran for nearly 2,000 yards combined last year. The defense wasn’t as good as usual last year. That said, they return all but one starter, and should be an improved unit this year.

Schedule-wise, the Nittany Lions have it pretty good. They draw west tomato can Illinois, and get Ohio State and Michigan State at home. They could surprise some people this year. I have them at 7-5, but they have the potential to win at least nine.

Dec 27, 2013; Annapolis, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Levern Jacobs (8) runs for a touchdown against the Marshall Thundering Herd during the 2013 Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

5. Maryland:

Schedule: vs. James Madison, at South Florida, vs. West Virginia, at Syracuse, at Indiana, vs. Ohio State, vs. Iowa, at Wisconsin, at Penn State, vs. Michigan State, at Michigan, vs. Rutgers

Prediction: Maryland lost nothing on the offensive side of the ball from a team that was pretty solid last year. They did lose CB Dex McDougle to the NFL, so replacing him is the most difficult part of their offseason. Over half of their starting defense are seniors, so this unit will likely improve over last year where they were in the middle of the pack.

The Big Ten does their newcomers no favors, that’s for sure. They have to travel to Madison in their first year. A closer look reveals that all of the other tough games are within the stacked (well, compared to the West anyway) Big Ten East. They do get Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan State all at home. So if Maryland is good enough to make a run, they are set up for it. The move from the ACC Atlantic to the Big Ten East could mean less wins, but the team is better overall. I see the Terps at 6-6, with the potential to win eight.

Nov 23, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Nate Sudfeld (7)passes the ball during the second half of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

6. Indiana:

Schedule: vs. Indiana State, at Bowling Green, at Missouri, vs. Maryland, vs. North Texas, at Iowa, vs. Michigan State, at Michigan, vs. Penn State, at Rutgers, at Ohio State, Purdue

Prediction: The Hoosiers lost three of their top four receivers from last year in Cody Latimer, Kofi Hughes, and TE Ted Bolser. They also lost RB Stephen Hughes, who ran for nearly 800 yards last year. The offense lost a lot of talent, including QB Tre Roberson in a transfer. The job is all Nate Sudfeld’s now, but he will have a lot of new faces to throw to. About the only experienced one is Shane Wynn, who caught 11 touchdowns last year. That said, this is still an explosive offense, who can put up points with the best of them in the Big Ten. Their problem has been giving up more than they score. The secondary does seem to be a strength this year, so there is hope that the Hoosiers could be bowl bound.

They have three fairly tough OOC games in Bowling Green, North Texas, and Missouri. That could keep them below .500 because they will likely have to win four games in the Big Ten. I honestly don’t see that happening. It looks like another 5-7 season for the Hoosiers, even though they will be better than last year.

Nov 16, 2013; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Gary Nova (10) throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bearcats at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

7. Rutgers:

Schedule: at Washington State, vs. Howard, vs. Penn State, at Navy, vs. Tulane, vs. Michigan, at Ohio State, at Nebraska, vs. Wisconsin, vs. Indiana, at Michigan State, at Maryland

Prediction: Gary Nova is back, and so is leading rusher Paul James. The offense should be right about where is was last year, but the stats will be worse with the move to the Big Ten. This defense had all sorts of issues last year, and likely will regress this year with the loss of the Merrell brothers and two other defensive linemen. The defensive line will have to step up for Rutgers to be competitive.

The schedule makers did the Knights no favors. They get Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin in four straight weeks. Going 4-8 with this schedule could be a lofty goal. I see Rutgers going 3-9, and I’m not super confident that they can pull that off.

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