[FreakNasty]

[B][SIZE=3]Illinois
[/SIZE][/B]Last Season: 2-10 (no bowl)
Head Coach: Ron Zook (3rd season)

[B]Returning Leaders:[/B]
Passing: Juice Williams (103-261, 1489 yards, 9 TD, 9 INT)
Rushing: Rashard Mendenhall (78 att, 653 yards, 5 TD)
Receiving: Kyle Hudson (30 rec, 403 yards, 3 TD)
Tackles: J Leman (152)
Sacks: Derek Walker (5.5)
Interceptions: Bellamy/Miller/Mitchell (2)

[B]Schedule/Projected Results
[/B]Sept. 1 Missouri (L)
Sept. 8 Western Illinois (W)
Sept. 15 at Syracuse (W)
Sept. 22 at Indiana (W)
Sept. 29 Penn State (L)
Oct. 6 Wisconsin (L)
Oct. 13 at Iowa (L)
Oct. 20 Michigan (L)
Oct. 27 Ball State (W)
Nov. 3 at Minnesota (W)
Nov. 10 at Ohio State (L)
Nov. 17 Northwestern (W)

Projected Record: 6-6 (3-5 Big Ten)
4 “swing” games
Notes: Illinois out gained opponents by 36 yards per game last season… Juice Williams completed only 39.5 percent of his passes last year, that needs to improve dramatically… Zook is an amazing recruiter, and with a top five WR and two highly regarded defense lineman coming in, the team will continue to get better… Six wins is the best they can do this season, but next season they could be a sleeper to win the conference…

[B][SIZE=3]Northwestern
[/SIZE][/B]Last Season: 4-8 (no bowl)
Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (2nd season)

[B]Returning Leaders:[/B]
Passing: CJ Bacher (95-161, 1172 yards, 6 TD, 8 INT)
Rushing: Tyrell Sutton (189 att, 1040 yards, 5 TD)
Receiving: Ross Lane (30 rec, 401 yards, 2 TD)
Tackles: Adam Kadela (80)
Sacks: Corey Wootton (4.5)
Interceptions: Brendan Smith (3)

[B]Schedule/Projected Results
[/B]Sept. 1 Northeastern (W)
Sept. 8 Nevada (W)
Sept. 15 Duke (W)
Sept. 22 at Ohio State (L)
Sept. 29 Michigan (L)
Oct. 6 at Michigan State (L)
Oct. 13 Minnesota (W)
Oct. 19 Eastern Michigan (W)
Oct. 27 at Purdue (L)
Nov. 3 Iowa (L)
Nov. 10 Indiana (W)
Nov. 17 at Illinois (L)

[B]Projected Record[/B]: 6-6 (2-6 Big Ten)
6 “swing” games
Notes: Fitzgerald came in under difficult circumstances last season and did a fine job, they could have easily been bowl eligible (blew a big lead vs. Michigan State).. Sutton struggled early in the year but really came on late, and should have a year comparable to his freshman campaign… If they win the game they should, they could get to a bowl…

[B]Indiana
[/B]Last Season: 5-7 (no bowl)
Head Coach: Bill Lynch (1st season)

[B]Returning Leaders:[/B]
Passing: Kellen Lewis (190-346, 2221 yards, 14 TD, 7 INT)
Rushing: Kellen Lewis (124 att, 638 yards, 5 TD)
Receiving: James Hardy (51 rec, 722 yards, 10 TD)
Tackles: Tracy Porter (59)
Sacks: Kirlew/Brown (1.5)
Interceptions: Tracy Porter (4)

[B]Schedule/Projected Results
[/B]Sept. 1 Indiana State (W)
Sept. 8 at Western Michigan (L)
Sept. 15 Akron (W)
Sept. 22 Illinois (L)
Sept. 29 at Iowa (L)
Oct. 6 Minnesota (W)
Oct. 13 at Michigan State (W)
Oct. 20 Penn State (L)
Oct. 27 at Wisconsin (L)
Nov. 3 Ball State (W)
Nov. 10 at Northwestern (L)
Nov. 17 Purdue (L)

[B]Projected Record[/B]: 5-7 overall (2-6 Big Ten)
5 “swing” games
Notes: Hoeppner will be sorely missed in the college football community. He had a solid plan for the program that needed it when he stepped in… It’ll be interesting to see the progression of QB Kellen Lewis, who reminds me a little of Antwaan Randel El… The Hoosiers can make a serious run at a bowl bid (no Ohio State or Michigan) and if they can it’ll be their first bowl since 1993...

[B]Michigan State
[/B]Last Season: 4-8 (no bowl)
Head Coach: Mark Dantonio (1st season)

[B]Returning Leaders[/B]:
Passing: Brian Hoyer (82-144, 863 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT)
Rushing: Javon Ringer (86 att, 554 yards, 1 TD)
Receiving: TJ Williams (25 rec, 281 yards, 3 TD)
Tackles: Otis Wiley (94)
Sacks: Ervin Baldwin (4)
Interceptions: SirDarean Adams (2)

[B]Schedule/Projected Results
[/B]Sept. 1 UAB (W)
Sept. 8 Bowling Green (W)
Sept. 15 Pitt (W)
Sept. 22 at Notre Dame (L)
Sept. 29 at Wisconsin (L)
Oct. 6 Northwestern (W)
Oct. 13 Indiana (L)
Oct. 20 at Ohio State (L)
Oct. 27 at Iowa (L)
Nov.3 Michigan (L)
Nov. 10 at Purdue (L)
Nov. 17 Penn State (L)

[B]Projected Record[/B]: 4-8 overall (1-7 Big Ten)
4 “swing” games
Notes: Dantonio is a good hire, should install discipline into a program that needs it after it’s four year run with John L. “clown” Smith… The schedule is difficult, and a bowl game will be a hard task in this coaching staffs first season, but there is no reason MSU shouldn’t be a solid mid-level Big Ten team for years with the new regime in place…

[B]Minnesota
[/B]Last season: 6-7 (lost to Texas Tech in Insight Bowl)
Head Coach: Tim Brewster (1st season)

[B]Returning Leaders:[/B]
Passing: Mike Maciejowski (1-2, 18 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT)
Rushing: Amir Pinnix (252 att, 1312 yards, 10 TD)
Receiving: Ernie Wheelwright (26 rec, 437 yards, 5 TD)
Tackles: Mike Sherels (104)
Sacks: Willie VanDeSteeg (10)
Interceptions: Dominique Barber (4)

[B]Schedule/Projected Results
[/B]Sept. 1 Bowling Green (W)
Sept. 8 Miami (OH) (W)
Sept. 15 at Florida Atlantic (W)
Sept. 22 Purdue (L)
Sept. 29 Ohio State (L)
Oct. 6 at Indiana (L)
Oct. 13 at Northwestern (L)
Oct. 20 North Dakota State (W)
Oct. 27 at Michigan (L)
Nov. 3 Illinois (L)
Nov. 10 at Iowa (L)
Nov. 17 Wisconsin (L)

[B]Projected Record[/B]: 4-8 overall (0-8 Big Ten)
5 “swing” games
Notes: Glen Mason was fired after doing a solid job, getting the Gophers to five straight bowl games… Amir Pinnix is a converted DB who is the next good Minnesota RB (had 1300 yards last season). It’s hard to pick them last in conference, but most of their winnable conference games are on the road and a new QB and HC with no college head coaching experience will keep them out of the bowl

[calQlate]

Looks good FN. Michigan State has a very tough schedule. They could very well go 2-10..

I wished Kentucky and Indiana still played though. Will that contract ever be renewed?

[rallo316]

i did not know the big 10 was still toghther ha ha.

[More Cowbell]

Looks good FN. Michigan State has a very tough schedule. They could very well go 2-10..

I wished Kentucky and Indiana still played though. Will that contract ever be renewed?

I doubt it. With that series in place, UK had to go to Bloomington every other year, which was one less home game ($$$$) they could schedule.

If the series was a huge rivalry, like Louisville, I think they would've kept it going. But people really didn't get fired up about playing Indiana, and the series had become pretty one-sided near the end.

They do have a 3-year series (2 home, 1 away) starting with Akron in the next couple years. They will also play a home-and-home with Temple, in which the Cats will get to play the road game at Lincoln Financial Field (where the Philadelphia Eagles play their home games), so that will be a neat experience for the players.