SJS College Football Extravaganza
Preseason 2000

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Big Ten Forecast

	2000 SJS Forecast				1999 Summary
		Overall	Conf.	Rank		Overall	Conf.
Michigan Wolverines	1	10-1	7-1	4	3	9-2	6-2
Wisconsin Badgers	2	10-2	6-2	6	1	9-2	7-1
Michigan State Spartans	3	9-2	6-2	16	2	9-2	6-2
Penn State Nittany Lions	4	9-3	5-3	17	5	9-3	5-3
Purdue Boilermakers	5	8-3	5-3	19	6	7-4	4-4
Minnesota Golden Gophers	6	8-3	5-3	25	4	8-3	5-3
Illinois Illini	7	7-4	4-4	26	7	7-4	4-4
Ohio State Buckeyes	8	5-6	3-5	45	8	6-6	3-5
Indiana Hoosiers	9	5-6	2-6	51	9	4-7	3-5
Iowa Hawkeyes	10	2-10	1-7	90	11	1-10	0-8
Northwestern Wildcats	11	1-10	0-8	96	10	3-8	1-7

Big Ten Skinny   Big 10 Breakdown     Conference Champion: Michigan Biggest upset: Minnesota over Wisconsin Offensive Player of the Year:      Drew Brees, Purdue Defensive Player of the Year:      Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin Best coach: Glen Mason, Minnesota Biggest game: Wisconsin at Michigan, September 30   The Big Ten looks like a real battle again this year. Last season's champ, Wisconsin, loses Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne at running back but goes a full season with wunderkind quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who is 8-0 as a starter. Coach Barry Alvarez hasn't had to break in a new tailback for 4 years, but don't forget that he's had no shortage of good ones during his tenure, so Michael Bennett may step in and carry the load. The Badgers' strength will again be on defense, where defensive tackle Wendell Bryant leads one of the best lines in the country, and Jamar Fletcher anchors an experienced secondary. The Wisconsin formula should work again this year: tough defense, ball control offense, good field goal kicking (Vitaly Pisetsky), but in a tough conference with tricky road games in the state of Michigan, they will be hard-pressed to get through the conference unscathed. And a tie at the top will not be good enough for a return to Pasedena, thanks to the Rose Bowl's quirky tie-breaking rules. Enter Michigan. Unlike the Badgers, the Wolverines seem strong at the skill positions, with Anthony Thomas at running back, David Terrell at wideout, and Drew Henson at quarterback. And if that's not enough, you know Michigan will throw to tight end Shawn Thompson, and he has been called one of their best ever. On defense, the Wolverines lose a lot, particularly at linebacker, but the fabled class of 97 is now maturing and should be able to pick up the slack. The schedule looks awfully good for the Wolverines: Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan State all visit. They've owned Ohio State, of course, leaving the only road testers at Purdue and at Illinois. It may very well be that no Big Ten team can go 8-0, but the Wolverines seem to have the best chance to go to Pasedena. After the Big Two, there will be a spirited race for third place involving virtually every team in the conference besides Iowa and Northwestern, who should again be among the worst teams in the nation. Most preseason publications seem to like Purdue, and for good reason. Drew Brees returns at quarterback and a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. And that's not the only good news on offense: Brees with have 80% of his offensive line back, shifty running back Montrell Lowe, and some big, if green, receivers. Defense isn't the wash it has been, either, led by attacking linebacker Akin Ayodele. With all this good news, why don't I have Purdue finishing third? The schedule is brutal. Purdue travels to Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, and must beat Michigan and Ohio State at home. The Boilers certainly got a tough schedule in possibly their best year in ages. So I'm saying third place goes to Michigan State. Part of it might be my own sense of irony; it might be nice to see the Spartans live on after Nick Saban's departure (and perhaps outperform Saban's new team). Sean Burke is gone at quarterback, but Ryan Van Dyke steps in and may be just as good. Plaxico Buress is gone at wideout, so the offensive balance may shift to runner T.J. Duckett, who is a fair bet to lead the conference in ground yardage. Michigan State will have to come together behind new coach Bobby Williams, but although the head guy has been promoted, all the assistant coaches remain. At times in 1999, Penn State looked every bit as good as their preseason hype. In games against Arizona and Miami, the Lions ran an exciting and sophisticated offense and had a solid, or even fantastic, defense to go with it. Unfortunately, they seemed to run out of gas at the end of the year, losing three final games before winning the Alamo Bowl. Many stars are gone, leaving 2000 pretty uncertain. Uncertainty is the word: will Rashard Casey be able to play or will legal troubles interfere? Will Eric McCoo return as the main running back, or will he be shifted to wide receiver in favor of bigger runners Omar Easy and Larry Johnson? On defense the situation may appear worse (just two returning starters), but the problems will mostly be on offense. The linebacking corps has no returning starters, but is led by 3 seniors, all talented. The front 4 will be the strength here. The next group in the Big Ten includes Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Indiana. The Buckeyes clearly have the most talent, but not in the best places. Quarterback Steve Bellisari really struggled in 1999, and if he can't get it together, John Cooper will have to turn to a freshman. So what good is it that the Buckeyes have two of the conference's best wideouts (Ken-yon Rambo and Reggie Germany)? Derek Combs steps in at running back, but he will be hard pressed to match up to Michael Wiley's pedestrian numbers from 1999 (952 yards rushing). The defense largely returns (without Na'il Diggs), but it is the defense that gave up over 40 points to Wisconsin and Illinois last year. The Illini have their greatest expectations in a long time, thanks to Kurt Kittner at quarterback and an offense that returns 9 starters. Defense will be the problem. The Gophers lose a great deal on offense, but a lot is expected from newcomers Thomas Tapeh (running back) and Asad Abdul-Khaliq (quarterback). Ben Hamilton, the center, has shown up on a number of preseason all-America teams, so the Gophers aren't completely decimated on that side of the ball. The defense loses Tyrone Carter, but not much else, and should be good again. Indiana has a strong backfield but not much of a passing game. Still, quarterback Antwan Randle El is good enough to carry the team to an upset or two.