Big Ten Bloggers Preseason Picks!

So, after berating the preseason magazines for their lack of intelligent analysis and predictions, I took it upon myself to gather the fellow Big Ten Bloggers and tap into a collective voice of reason to hear from the true fans who know these teams inside and out. The result? Disappointing! Why? Well, the whole selfish point was to substantiate my claim that Northwestern is not a bottom tier team in 2008, and while the Cats received many votes for many slots, the end result left me still upset.



So, without further ado, here are the inaugural picks with some calling out of certain bloggers votes to stir the collective pot:



1 - Ohio State

The Buckeyes received the first place nod from every Big Ten Blogger with the exception of Maize & Blue Nation who opted for the Nittany Lions. About as much of a surprise as Ryan Field being out of hot dogs at halftime for the Big Ten home opener.



2 - Penn State

After Ohio State's 1-slot, it became a wild west of voting as there was as much disparity here as in different preseason magazines, but the Nittany Lions have this post to look forward to as a new "list" to concentrate on. Penn State received no vote lower than 5th place as Enlightened Spartan and Off the Tracks were the biggest Penn State pessimists.



3 - Wisconsin

The Badgers dropped to third by the skin of Bucky's fur - 1 vote separates Penn State and Wisconsin. Like Penn State, no voters had the Badgers any lower than 5th with MGoBlog being the culprit/non-believer.



4 - Illinois

Amazingly, the Illini's Rose Bowl halo effect continues, especially when you consider there is currently no Illini blogger on board as part of the BTBers. The Illini received six 7th place votes, yet still managed to emerge in the upper tier with MGoBlog trying to secure as many links as possible (as if he needs them!) from LTP for his controversial picks. MGoBlog has Illini back in BCS land with a projected second place finish in the Big Ten.



5 - Michigan State

Enlightened Spartan displayed some homerism with a "3" pick, but he was saved by Boiled Sports and Zombie Nation who seconded and thirded (sic) that emotion. Sparty received votes all over the map from 3 through 8. Enlightened Spartan also wins the award for most creative names for his submissions as LTP had to use the ES decoder to decipher entries like "yellow bellies" (Michigan).



6 - Michigan

The Wolverines emerge the inaugural predictions as the official wildcard team. The RichRods secured votes as high as 3, as low as 10 and every slot in between. MGoBlog went conservative (6), Maize & Blue Nation went homerific (3) and LTP went Lou Holtzian (3).



7 - Iowa

What's in the water in Happy Valley? Perhaps the recent Ferentz rumors/sightings combined with the kindred spirit of Fulmer Cup Overfloweth has bonded the Big Ten border state schools. Black Shoe Diaries and Zombie Nation went the highest with 4, while the Hawkeyes received a few double digit finishes, including one 11th place vote from rival Gopher Nation. Where the hell are the Cats? C'mon...I put this damn thing together and this is the love I get?



8 - Purdue

The Joe Tiller farewell tour didn't have many takers as no one picked the Boilermakers any higher than 5th. So much for QB experience eh?



9 - Northwestern

Thank you for nothing. Really?!!! Ninth? Ahhhh...thanks for the annual angst fuel as we'll be sure to revisit these in November. The Cats are the only team on the list to receive a vote in every slot from 4 through 11. Off the Tracks and MGoBlog are the best blogs ever, errr, voted the Cats at number 4, while Around The Oval (Ohio St) penciled us in at 11. Considering the last half century of results, I can't exactly blame them. LTP voted for NU in the 5 slot.



10 - Indiana

For the record, there was quite a bit of distance between Purdue, NU and the 10 slot Hoosiers. It was a nip and tuck race with Minnesota to avoid the cellar, but the fact that the Kellen Lewis question mark remains, I'm puzzled how Indiana didn't end up at 11. Enlightened Spartan knows something the rest of us don't as he picked them the highest at 8.



11 - Minnesota

I'm not sure how the Adam Weber-led, year 2 spread Gophers ended up behind Indiana, but they did - but not by much. I'm sure the BTBers picks will serve as inspirational stuff in the Metrodome lockerrrooms - that is if the Vikings don't tear down the shared space on Sundays. The Gophers only had two believers - Gopher Nation and Nittany White Out - both of whom voted the Gophers at number 8.



Reax

I was surprised at the wide disparity in voting. It isn't often teams get votes ranging 8 spots as a few did, including Northwestern. I was surprised by the Illini and Michigan State outcomes. I haven't bought in to the fact that Dufrene will keep "Ds" in check like Mendenhall for the Illini and also the on-field leadership of J. Leman is a bigger impact from a chemistry standpoint than I think non-Illini followers realize. For Sparty, I simply don't believe they have proven they know how to finish and while Ringer is legit, the loss of Devin Thomas removes an electrifying wrinkle that kept teams off-balance. That being said, my Michigan pick at 3 is completely irrational and goes against my better judgment. Perhaps I'm trying to hype them as I believe, truly believe, we will beat them in the Big House this year and who wants to win against Michigan and have it be a "down" year for them?

For What It Is Worth...LTP's Vote:

1. Ohio State - duh?!!

2. Penn State - You HAVE to pick someone at number two, so this admittedly is my least favorite pick as I think any one of four teams could be in this slot. Yes, there are major question marks at QB with Darryl Clark the likely starter, but Derrick Williams and Deon Butler could make me look average. Expect Stephfon Green to emerge as the next big star at RB for Penn State, especially with this line. The continued heat around the PSU rap sheet (see: anywhere on internet) and upcoming mainstream media onslaught (see: Outside The Lines) could cause some major distractions. But, not as much as the White Out will for opponents.

3. Michigan - I just like being the contrarian. Michigan fans are playing the Chicken Little card with so many question marks, but I contend this is the year of the Jedi mind trick and expectations will be exceeded as Wolverines fans enjoy the Northwestern factor of how good it can feel to go 6-2 in conference when you fear 3-5. For the record, Michigan has only won less than 8 games two times in the past 40 years.

4. Wisconsin - I'm not sold on the QB, Allan Evridge, but since Northwestern isn't on their schedule, you've got to give them the benefit of the doubt. Lucky dogs. With Michigan and Ohio State to start the season, we'll know by October 4 how their season will be.

5. Northwestern - I've been saying 8-4 (5-3) all along and I'm sticking to it. The back-loaded tough part of the schedule is a blessing for our o-line and defensive LB and secondary to learn the ropes. My least favorite part of the schedule? The placement of the bye week after week one of Big Ten play. With a likely 4-1 start, I'd much rather keep the mojo going.

6. Purdue - Perhaps I'm sentimental about Wilford Brimley, aka Joe Tiller, or perhaps it is the heir apparent, Danny Hope, who looks like Tiller, but speaks like Yogi when he recently said "Timing is everything in life. There's no question about it, I'm still young enough to get it on." Cue Barry White. Cue LTP's bias towards returning starting senior QBs.

7. Illinois - No doubt the talent is there in Champaign, but I'm not sold on Juice. The likely Mizzou loss in the opener could be huge on the psyche, but like Wisconsin, with Big Ten openers at Happy Valley and at the Big House to open Big Ten play, we'll know early what this team is made of.

8. Michigan State - As outlined above they need to prove to me they can close the deal. I like Dantonio, but don't believe the Sparty "hype".

9. Iowa - I'm biased by my sparring with BHGP and still carrying a grudge for the loss in Evanston last year. Iowa may have had the most dismal half of football vs Northwestern since Wisconsin in 1995 - yet they somehow WON. The off-season turmoil, lack of depth and question marks in the backfield scream of lowest ppg in the conference. They say defense wins championships, we'll see how many Big Ten games it wins for Herky.

10. Minnesota - Mr. PR, Tim Brewster, has a chance to surprise as this team reminds me of the 2003 NU team with a sophomore "veteran" at QB, a year of the spread under the belt, and a relative influx of marquee talent. The Gophers are a year away from making a jump to the middle of the pack, that is, if Brewster doesn't lose their confidence before then.

11. Indiana - Kellen Lewis is MIA and the Hoosiers lose two of the most underrated stars in recent memory with sure-fire NFL stud, James Hardy and the Mr. Everything, Tracey Porter. Indiana has a chance to be bad even by Indiana standards.