7/31 - Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable - Inaugural Post

If you're searching for the NU Alltime Best Game # 3 - have no fear - just scroll down to the next post and stop dead in your tracks when you see "The Real Deal". In honor of Big Ten media day, Lake The Posts brings you a double session today:

LTP has been invited to participate in the prestigious (read: "you're "in" if you reply to the email invite") Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable. The group is a representative of each Big Ten school and spearheaded by the likes of Black Shoe Diaries (Penn State), Maize n' Brew (Michigan), Around The Oval (Ohio St.) and hosted by our pal BadgerSportsFan (needs no qualifier). Below, you'll see the same questions that have been circulated among us - so be sure to check around the Big Ten Bloggers Network (currently looking for distribution within Big Ten footprint on the basic tier) and compare and contrast!

1a. The press and the coaches will be predicting the Big Ten champ at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago on Wednesday. That's fine, but overdone. In lieu of boilerplate predictions of who will come out on top, which Big Ten team will be the most surprising? Remember, surprises can be good or bad; the underdog who comes out of nowhere to share the title is just as surprising as the favorite who winds up with five losses and no bowl bid.
Purdue. Every publication and pundit known to the Big Ten has the Big Four (MI, WI, PSU, OSU) in some variation, with Iowa and Purdue in the middle and the bottom half (IU, NU, MN, IL, MSU) in every conceivable combination. I find myself wanting to drop Wisconsin and Ohio State into the middle of the pack, but Bucky's annual patsy schedule makes it impossible to unearth losses.

Curtis Painter is the league's leading returning passer, Dorien Bryant is the league's leading returning receiver and for the first time in a decade, Tiller's entire staff returns intact. Sure, they had off the field issues with several players, but I can't see how this veteran team can't figure out how to punch it in this year. Their offensive ppg last year was inexplicable (20.6 in BT play - 7th) and with Tiller on the hot seat, to some degree, he will play up his strengths and increase this dramatically. Their defense was a joke. This team will be like the 2005 Cats - simply outscore opponents. The core of the "D" returns, which is always a double-edged sword. Assuming they improve marginally, Purdue will surprise. They have to survive the roughest 3-week stretch of anyone in the Big Ten - ND, OSU and Michigan , after presumably opening the season 4-0. If they can steal one of three, they're in good shape. They have Iowa, (Tiller is 3-1 vs Hawks at home) Northwestern and Michigan State at home and Penn State and Indiana on the road.
The sexy/sentimental pick here is Indiana, but I don't buy it. Having lived through the Randy Walker factor, the emotional toll is matched only by the learning curve factor for Bill Lynch. Granted, he has game experience under his belt from last season's substitution for Hoeppner, but he went 0-2 against SIU and UConn. Yikes.

1b. Imagine it's December, and the consensus in the media is that your team's season was "surprising." Is this a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? What would have to happen for you to consider your team's season surprising?
Good thing - as always. NU has a knack for ying-ing to the media's yang (or something like that). They pick us 11 - we surprise. The pick us 1st (aka 2000) we tank. Cats fans would be disappointed without at least 7 wins, which would be eyebrow-raising to the rest of the Big Ten. The surprising part for me would be a sub-500 season. It would be more like disastrous than surprising.

2. A preseason player of the year will also be dubbed in Chicago. For your team to succeed, which player or unit is going to have to put forth a "player of the year" performance? What's the one position that would take your team to the next level if it performs above expectations?
The obvious picks are CJ Bacher and/or Tyrell Sutton. Every Cat fan knows that the stats don't tell the story from last year. CJ didn't start til week 7, Sutton was kept under wraps (60+ less carries than his Frosh season) and the play calling was extremely conservative. So, I expect both of them to have player of the year-type years. The D-line is going to have to have a player of the year performance. Our LB corps is suspect and the D-backs are allegedly significantly improved and poised for a breakout year. Specifically, Corey Wooton is the guy who can take NU to the next level. Only a sophomore, he has the potential to cause opposing coaches to mix-up their gameplan. Since so much attention will be paid to him - including double teams, it will free-up opportunities for other guys to become more effective pass rushers - something we haven't seen effectively since Fitz was on the field.

3. Which Big Ten team's out-of-conference schedule would you most want to have this year? Why? Do you think your team will have out-of-conference losses this year?
I love ours, but if I had to pick, I'd go Penn State. Three gimmees - Florida International, Buffalo and Temple, plus Notre Dame. I'd love to see us get ND back on the schedule - but only if they'd agree to come to Evanston. Considering the Cats have become infamous for losing at least 1 non-conference game they shouldn't (pick a year, any year!), I'd love to at least get one while taking down the most hated team in my sportsdom.

4. Here's a chance to look like a complete genius in a few months: pick the biggest in-conference upset that will happen this season. Justify your prediction!
October 6 - Illinois over Wisconsin. The Illini jumped all over the Badgers in Madtown last year before dismantling in the second half. The Illini will be battle-tested after losing to Penn State the week before, yet will have enough wins at this point - and experience - to hang on. Every year, it seems, the Illini have one red letter home moral victory (see Ohio State last year). This year, it will simply be a victory.

5. Say something nice about the Big Ten school whose name precedes yours alphabetically. Say something mean about the one that comes after.
The Mike Dunbar era begins! People will be saying what in the Chris Darkins' is going on out there? Whatever happened to three yards and a rugburn? All NU fans know how critical Dunbar's spread offense was to Basanez' success, and now, just in time to crank up season tickets for their new stadium next year, a new look Minnesota will actually make it enjoyable to watch ESPN2 again. Did I mention how excited I am about the new stadium?

Ohio State? This is too easy. The most obnoxious fans in the Big Ten. I can't wait to chuckle as the "we don't rebuild, we reload" Bucknuts lose more games this year than they have in the previous 2 combined. Thanks a lot for single-handedly killing Big Ten recruiting with your heartless showing in the national championship game. At least we get to take 1/11 of the revenue as a consolation prize which we can then invest to continue to separate NU from OSU academically. You - you invest in branded sweater vests. When you think "Ohio State" you think national championships - us? We think Maurice Claurett crying on the sideline in Evanston. Nice character standards you've got there. Don't worry, we'll happily take Tyrell Sutton off your hands - anytime. Have fun complaining this year with your 50+ days off - you'll have plenty of time to gripe about how you got jobbed by the refs after getting smoked by Michigan.

6. USC: great football program, or greatest football program? Also, how about that SEC? Damn, those guys are fast!
Greatest football program. Hypnotic fight song, Entourage sideline, spank Big Ten top teams in down years and oh, those cheerleader sweaters. Wowsa.

SEC - Gotta love a conference whose commissioner's 5 year plan was to get every school probation free - and then, in year 4, remark that by next year's media day, they may have achieved their goal. NU tried the osmosis trick - after getting blitzed by Tennessee in the 97 Citrus Bowl, GB put in checkerboard endzones. Ahhhhh....not quite.