Everyone is picking the top three, so I’m following suit.

I was going to breakdown every team completely, but it was eating a lot of time.

I realized that the season is right around the corner (Nov. 9 - first Big Ten game) and that there will be plenty of time to evaluate the Big Ten before the start of conference play.

1) Michigan State
Why: Not much of a surprise pick here. Every media source will have Michigan State and Indiana at the top. Coach Tom Izzo’s MSU team overachieved last season. All five starters return from a team that went 23-12 last season. Plus, the team adds three top-notch true freshmen in guards Chris Allen, Kalin Lucas and small forward Durrell Summers.

Best Player: Senior guard Drew Neitzel (left) is the preseason Big Ten Player of Year. Neitzel averaged 18.1 points and 4.3 assists per game last year. Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan is the second best player on this team and could become a star this season. Last year, he averaged 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Best Newcomer: Kalin Lucas, who is described as a “lighting quick point guard”, scored 29 points in MSU’s Green-White scrimmage. In the contest, Lucas made 13-of-16 shots. Fellow freshman Chris Allen scored 21 points and has ability to drill the long three with consistently.

Possible Breakout Player: Junior forward Marquise Gray or senior center Drew Naymick. Gray averaged 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. Watching Gray play last year you could see that he possess great athletic ability. Naymick averaged only 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds last year. Most of the time, Naymick didn’t look to score, but in the Green-White scrimmage he scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Starting Lineup: PG Travis Walton (Jr.), SG Drew Neitzel (Sr.), SF Raymar Morgan (So.), PF Marquise Gray (Jr.), C Drew Naymick (Sr.)
Key Bench Players: C/F Goran Suton (Jr.), F Isaiah Dahlman (So.), C Idong Ibok (Jr.) - and the three talented true freshmen.

2) Indiana
Why: A lot of recent attention on Indiana has been negative. Head coach Kelvin Sampson and his three-way calling could turn out to be a distraction for this talented team. According to The Sports Xchange, Sampson had been prohibited from three-way calling with recruits as part of the penalty imposed by the NCAA for exceeding the rule for number of phones calls to recruits while coaching at Oklahoma. Indiana had to reduce its number of scholarships by one and prevented Sampson from taking a $500,000 raise.

Best Player: Senior forward D.J. White (right), who led the U.S. in the Pan-Am Games over the summer, averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last year. White is the heart and soul of this team.

Best Newcomer: Freshman guard Eric Gordon is considered by some to be the top recruit in the nation. Last year, he was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. At North Central High School in Indianapolis he averaged 29 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Forward Jamarcus Ellis was named the national junior college player of the year last year and will make an instant impact.

Possible Breakout Player: Sophomore guard Armon Bassett played well last year, averaging 9.7 points and 3.1 assists per game. Bassett has improved his three-point shot and will be should get more looks with 06-07 starting guards Roderick Wilmont and Earl Calloway lost to graduation.

Starting Lineup: PG Armon Bassett (So.), SG Eric Gordon (Fr.), SF Jamarcus Ellis (Fr.), PF D.J. White (Sr.), PF Lance Stemler (Sr.)
Key Bench Players: SG A.J. Ratliff (Sr. - out first eight games for academics), PF DeAndre Thomas (Fr.), G Jordan Crawford (Fr.)

3) Ohio State

Why: The Buckeyes could be a surprise team during the 07-08 season. When I say surprise that could mean good or bad. OSU loses four starters including NBA lottery picks Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. However, head coach Thad Matta continues to recruit the best players. This year OSU could be good, but in the near future the Buckeyes should be great.

Best Player: Senior Jamar Butler (left) moved over from point guard to shooting guard to make room for Mike Conley Jr. last year. This year he is back at the point where he averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 assists per game in 05-06. Last year, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 assists per game. This offseason, Butler has reportedly lost a bunch of weight and wants to be more of a slasher like Conley was last year.

Best Newcomer: 7-1 true freshman center Kosta Koufos will replace Greg Oden. Unlike Oden, Koufos can hit the three. In his senior year at Glen Oak High School he scored 25.9 points, 15.4 rebounds and 5.2 blocked shots per game. Fellow true freshman Jon Diebler could turn out to be a big scorer for the Bucks.

Possible Breakout Player: Sophomore guard/forward David Lighty was another huge recruit in that amazing recruiting class last year. He didn’t get the looks last year that he will this season. Lighty could lead this team in scoring after averaging only 3.7 points per game last season.

Starting Lineup: PG Jamar Butler (Sr.), SG David Lighty (So.), PF Othello Hunter (Sr.), PF Matt Terwilliger (Sr.), C Kosta Koufos (Fr.)
Key Bench Players: G/F Eric Turner (Fr.), G/F Eric Wallace (Fr.), G Jon Diebler (Fr.), PF Dallas Lauderdale (Fr.), PF Kyle Madsen (So.), G P.J. Hill (So.).

4) Wisconsin
The Badgers lose Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor and who knows when Michael Flowers will play. However, somehow this team is always good.

5) Illinois
Not much is expected from this team. However, the Fighting Illini have a pair of good senior forwards in Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle. This team could surprise and finish near the top of the Big Ten.

6) Minnesota
Tubby Smith will looking to prove that his is a good coach. All five starters return, but they return from a team that finished 9-22.

7) Michigan
Another team with a new head coach. John Beilein is a great coach and he needs to be, as Michigan returns only starter. This team is young and I expect them to play good basketball by conference play behind Beilein.

8) Purdue
The Boilermakers finally made the NCAA Tournament last year and was leading eventual champ Florida at halftime. Supposedly they got a good recruiting class this year, but their top two scorers are gone.

The Next Three
9) Penn State - 10) Northwestern - 11) Iowa

All three should struggle

- GO TO Eleven Warriors - THERE IS A NICE RECAP ON OSU’s EXHIBITION GAME -

The week is finally here!

Wisconsin week - and -

it is Buckeye Lane’s turn to host the Big Ten Roundtable of Bloggers.

Let’s see how the fellow blogger answered my questions -

There’s the list of the bloggers that got their answers in by the deadline:

Lake The Posts
Black Shoe Diaries
Off the Tracks
The Hoosier Report
The Buckeye Blog
The Nittany Line

1) With the Big Ten season about to be wrapped up, it is a little easier to predict what Bowl games are possible for your school. Tell me what Bowl games would interest you as a fan. Where do you want to go? More importantly, who do you want to play?

Go see what the The Buckeye Blog says about Ohio State, “I can’t believe we are on the home stretch of the Big Ten season already. As for the Buckeyes, we are all looking to New Orleans for the BCS National Championship game. Anything else at this point would be a letdown. As for a matchup? Anybody got a coin for me to flip?”

Black Shoe Diaries (PSU blog) wants to play an SEC team in the Capital One or Outback bowls. However, BSD thinks that PSU won’t make it to the Capital One, and maybe an Alamo Bowl against a Big 12 team will take place. The Nittany Line wants an SEC team as well in the Outback bowl. Lake The Posts (Northwestern blog) wants any Bowl except for a trip to the Motor City. Off the Tracks (Purdue blog) wants to visit the Alamo. The Hooiser Report will take anything since their team hasn’t been to a bowl game in 14 years.

2) In honor of Black Shoe Diaries’ question about the Big Ten Moron Coach of the Year Award. Tell me who is the most disappointing player in the Big Ten this season. Also, tell me who is the most disappointing on your team.

Black Shoe Diaries says, “Aw shucks. Nice to know BSD is leaving a legacy of suck with the Big Ten Bloggers. I am thoroughly unimpressed with Juice Williams. He was supposed to be the next Troy Smith or Vince Young this year. So far he blows.” On PSU he nominates the obvious choice in Austin Scott.

The Nittany Line picks a player from their team - “Most disappointing player in the Big Ten is on Penn State. Without a doubt, it has to be Justin King. This guy was the shutdown corner that teams dream about last year and has become totally unfocused and sloppy.”

LTP says Curtis Painter and he is disappointed in Corey Wooten (and rest of D-line) on NW. Off the Tracks says the entire Minnesota defense and on his team - the Purdue defensive line. The Hooiser Report isn’t impressed with Michigan’s freshman QB Ryan Mallet. The Buckeye Blog goes with a different Michigan QB (Chad Henne - view at your own risk - bad language)

3) Ohio State is rumored to be building a giant buckeye nut outside the football stadium. This will lead to the new tradition of “rubbing the nut.” I’m sure Michigan fans will use that against us. I know it is pretty late to start new traditions in the Big Ten, but pitch me a new tradition idea for your school.

“You serious, Clark? A big nut? The nut-head with arms and legs isn’t enough? IU already has “The Rock” for pregame rubbing purposes. It may sound trite, but I would prefer to add winning games and filling the stadium as IU traditions before adding anything else.” - The Hoosier Report

Off the Tracks on new traditions, “This was actually a discussion on the Purdue football message boards not too long ago. I would love to see us come up with some kind of flashy nickname for Ross-Ade Stadium and get into the tradition of everyone wearing black for a game. I’d love to nickname the place the Depot, the Rail Yard, or the End of the Line. I am a huge fan of the train theme because of its uniqueness. One that I love, but not many people know about is that we put the hat of every team we beat on the cowcatcher of the Boilermaker special during football season. I think we could build this one up more as well by symbolically doing it at midfield after home games.”

Unlike the Cubbies, LTP wants NW to have more night games. BSD wants PSU to sing the fight song after games. The Buckeye Blog likes how coach Tressel added the fight song after games and thought I was joking about the nut. I seriously heard this from a credible source.

BONUS ROUND

- You are a big-fight promoter - Talk up your team’s mascot and how/why they could kick the living crap out of any opposing team’s mascot - inspired by Oregon’s mascot

Lake The Posts says, “We’d kick the heck out of the skunk at Wisconsin, we’d eat Chief Illiniwek if he were still here, but I’d hate to meet Purdue Pete or Sparty in a dark alley.”

BSD- “Are you kidding me? The Nittany Lion doesn’t kick the crap out of other mascots. He kills them.” Great video on his site Black Shoe Diaries

Off the Tracks likes Pete’s chances since he carries a giant hammer.

- Now you’re an agent - Convince me that you have the top 2008 NFL Draft pick on your team -

LTP says that junior DT John Gill is the best NFL prospect on NW. BSD says it’s Dan Conner on PSU.

Overall, no one thinks they have a #1 NFL prospect. Either the Big Ten Bloggers are getting bitter or they just can’t lie.

I’ll go for the latter.

Thanks for all who participated - sorry if I didn’t get your answers in time -

Highlights of Ohio State @ Penn State - 2007

Last year, Ohio State struggled to put Penn State away. OSU was the home team and found itself losing 3-0 at halftime. Late into the fourth quarter, OSU held a one-score lead (14-6).

This year, OSU traveled into Happy Valley to face a Penn State team that has been dominate at home. In the five home games leading up the OSU game, PSU had coasted to victories in all five. Two of the blowouts were against quality Big Ten opponents (Iowa 27-7 and Wisconsin (38-7). Again prior to the OSU game, PSU had outscored its opponents at home 200 to 48.

Game time arrived this Saturday and OSU fans were worried after PSU scored on its first possession. On that drive, the Nittany Lions didn’t have any trouble moving down the field. Running back Rodney Kinlaw scored on a 12-yard run.

During Penn State’s first two possessions, Buckeye fans saw their defense allow gaping holes in the running game for the first time this season.

After seeing those gaping holes, I have to admit I got worried.

However, the Buckeyes’ offense allowed me to relax.

After PSU took a 7-3 lead on Kinlaw’s touchdown run, OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman threw a perfect deep ball to receiver Ray Small. The play went for 60 yards and set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Boeckman to receiver Brian Robiskie.

On the ensuing possession, PSU drove it down to the OSU 38-yard line. A Vernon Gholston sack on third down forced the Nittany Lions to punt.

Pinned back inside their own 10, the Buckeyes drove 91 yards on 15 plays in route to another touchdown. At the end of the drive, OSU faced a third-and-four when the team was called for holding. That set up a tough third-and-14 from the PSU 16-yard line. Boeckman tossed a screen to receiver Brian Hartline, who with offensive tackle Alex Boone leading the way took it in for the touchdown.

At that point, I got the feeling this game was over. OSU cruised the rest of the way to a 37-17 victory over PSU.

Boeckman finished with 253 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 19 of 26 and was intercepted once.

Chris Wells pounded out 133 yards on 25 carries. Maurice Wells added 55 yards on 13 carries.

On defense, linebacker James Laurinaitis struggled. He missed tackles and PSU set up its blocking schemes to take him out of the game.

With PSU concentrating on Laurinaitis, fellow linebacker Marcus Freeman stepped up his play. Freeman finished with 14 total tackles (10 solo and two for loss) and forced a fumble.

OSU had won the time of possession battle - 37:52-to-22:08.

Three (LB Dan Connor, LB Sean Lee, CB Lydell Sargeant) different Nittany Lions finished with over 10 tackles. Conner had 18 and had an interception.

The Buckeyes looked impressive Saturday night, but are they better than the ‘06 team?

There are three more games left, including home games with Wisconsin and Illinois. Then that road game at Michigan to end the season.

Note:

The Wisconsin at Ohio State game will be at noon on the Big Ten Network. Personally, I thought it should be on ABC at 3:30 p.m.

Coming soon: I will preview the Buckeyes basketball season

The week is finally here!

Wisconsin week - and -

it is Buckeye Lane’s turn to host the Big Ten Roundtable of Bloggers.

I will post my answers soon, but now here are the questions:

1) With the Big Ten season about to be wrapped up, it is a little easier to predict what Bowl games are possible for your school. Tell me what Bowl games would interest you as a fan. Where do you want to go? More importantly, who do you want to play?

2) In honor of Black Shoe Diaries’ question about the Big Ten Moron Coach of the Year Award. Tell me who is the most disappointing player in the Big Ten this season. Also, tell me who is the most disappointing on your team.

3) Ohio State is rumored to be building a giant buckeye nut outside the football stadium. This will lead to the new tradition of “rubbing the nut.” I’m sure Michigan fans will use that against us. I know it is pretty late to start new traditions in the Big Ten, but pitch me a new tradition idea for your school.

BONUS ROUND

- You are a big-fight promoter - Talk up your team’s mascot and how/why they could kick the living crap out of any opposing team’s mascot - inspired by Oregon’s mascot

- Now you’re an agent - Convince me that you have the top 2008 NFL Draft pick on your team -

Sorry.

Wish I could tell that this will be the last time you hear, see or read this statement, but I have to write it - ‘The last time the Buckeyes lost to a Big Ten opponent was in 2005 against Penn State.’

Get ready to hear that over and over again all day and all night on Saturday. And if Buckeyes happen to lose, get prepared to hear that statement on Sportscenter for at least a week.

But for now, let’s squash it - It isn’t 2005 - both of these teams are different. Penn State is worse and Ohio State is unproven.

One thing that is certain - both these teams are very similar. Especially when you compare statistics -

OSU averages 423.6 yards (225.1 passing and 198.5 rushing) per game while Penn State averages 419.5 (233.3 passing and 186.3 rushing).

Ohio State averages 34.3 points per game and Penn State scores 33.1.

Both teams have two receivers that have just over 30 catches each, running backs Rodney Kinlaw and Chris Wells have identical numbers and both teams have starting quarterbacks with seven interceptions each.

Penn State has a freshman tailback [Evan Royster] that is on the rise and so does OSU [Brandon Saine].

PSU has a great linebacker [Dan Conner] and Ohio State could have the best [James Laurinaitis].

Both teams have great pass rushers and top-ten defenses.

However, the teams do not share the same record.

OSU is 8-0 and PSU is 6-2, but to the Nittany Lions credit the team has been dominating at home.

On the road, PSU is 1-2 with loses coming at Michigan and Illinois (two teams that OSU has not played). In those three games, PSU has been outscored 72 to 65.

In Happy Valley, PSU has outscored its opponents by the score of 200 to 48. In those five games, Penn State coasted to victories - the notables being wins over Iowa (27-7) and Wisconsin (38-7).

That being said, a Buckeyes win at Penn State won’t come easy.

If the Buckeyes win, then there will be three other Big Ten “playoff” games to go before another chance for a national title.

Prediction

Ohio State 21, Penn State 10

Both defenses will make plays, but I believe that OSU has the better one.

I’m taking the lazy way out and stealing their predictions - please visit their sites to see for in-depth breakdowns of this weekend’s game.

I will post my preview of the game soon.

Black Shoe Diaries a Penn State blog has the Nittany Lions beating the Buckeyes by a score of 13-10.
“This game could go either way. Both offenses are going to have trouble moving the ball and scoring points. In a low scoring game it always comes down to field position and turnovers. Ohio State doesn’t have anyone seven inches taller than King to worry about. Boeckman will be frustrated all night and eventually the Penn State pressure will get to him. If they can force some turnovers Penn State will win the game.” - Black Shoe Diaries

“Kevin Kelly will kick a game winning 48 yard field goal.” - Run Up the Score another Penn State blog predicts another PSU victory.

The Nittany Line likes PSU as well, by the score of 14-10. However, if you read the site’s breakdown - you have to think the writer is hoping for a win, but really thinks this is OSU’s game to lose.

There Is No Name On My Jersey is another PSU blog that has Penn State winning. The predicted score is 16-14.

All four of our Penn State bloggers have the Nittany Lions winning - I would be very surprised to see any of the Buckeye bloggers pick against OSU.

Every week this season a fellow Big Ten blogging site will host the Big Ten Bloggers’ roundtable of questions.

This week Black Shoe Diaries, which is a Penn State blog, will be the host of the seventh Big Ten roundtable of the season. Buckeye Lane will play host next week when Wisconsin visits Ohio State (September 29th through the November 3rd).

Go to Black Shoe Diaries’ questions to find links of what other Big Ten Bloggers are saying.

1) Pretend for a moment you’re the little Japanese guy on Heroes. You can close your eyes, clench your fists, crap your pants and go back in time. If you could go back and change one play for your team this season, what would it be?

WOW! I have never seen the show, but now I want to. Actually on second thought I don’t want to. That sounds like one of those horrible reoccurring dreams I had when I was a child.

Honestly, there isn’t a play I would want go back in time to change. I might want to tell Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman to be careful in that Michigan State game, since the Buckeyes had let the Spartans back in the game. On the other hand, he may have learned something there.

I don’t want to come off as an arrogant Buckeye fan, but like the average football coach Herm Edwards used to say, “you play to win ….

2) We’re now two-thirds of the way through the season. Everyone likes to debate who will be the Big Ten Coach of the Year. I want to know which Big Ten coach is a complete moron that should be demoted back to fullbacks coach on a team that runs the spread offense?

That’s is tough question. Ron Zook could easy be mistaken for an idiot, but his team has overachieved and is 5-3.

The Big Ten Worst Coach of the Year award has to go to Kirk Ferentz

Almost every offseason, ESPN and other national media outlets say that he is one of the best suited coaches to make the jump to the NFL.

Iowa has an overall record of 3-5 and is 1-4 in Big Ten play.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. But the Bible doesn’t say anything about your rival. Which current Big Ten player do you most wish played for your team?

Maybe it is my morals, but I don’t covet any other Big Ten player. However, I would like the Buckeyes to have Illinois’ wide receiver Arrelious Benn.

It is always nice to have a proven true freshman WR. Through eight games, he has 38 receptions for 459 yards. He also has rushed for 109 yards on 23 carries.

Bonus Question

It’s probably too early to start thinking about next year. Well, unless you’re Minnesota in which case you’ve been thinking about next year for a month or so already. Assess your team’s future. Was this year your chance to make a run or is this just a rebuilding year with greater expectations in 2008? Or do you plan to suck in 2008 just as much as you suck now?

In June I wrote a piece on which 2007-2008 Buckeyes would be drafted in the NFL Draft. Many of the key players are junior on this current roster.

This season was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but right now all of the fans’ hopes are on this season and a possible BCS National Championship.

Granted OSU has a tough stretch the rest of the season, even if OSU loses a couple, I still don’t think I would be able to call ‘07 a rebuilding year.

However, you have to think the Buckeyes will be even stronger next year.

OSU will lose senior offensive tackle Kirk Barton, who will be drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft. I’m worried which juniors will leave - cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, linebacker James Laurinaitis, offensive tackle Alex Boone and defensive end Vernon Gholston will all have tough decisions to make after the Bowl season.

Many Penn State fans consider the 2005 17-10 win over Ohio State the greatest game they have ever been to. The same fans consider it the most intense football game in recent memory.

The Buckeyes got their revenge last year. The final score was really misleading. The Buckeyes struggled to score against Penn State.

The Buckeyes almost blew a comfortable lead against Michigan State this past Saturday.

However, the focus of that win isn’t how OSU held on, but on who the Buckeyes have to beat next.

Ohio State has won 18 straight games against Big Ten opponents. Its last loss coming in 2005 (Oct. 8th) to Penn State. In that game, the Buckeyes lost by a score of 17-10.

One could expect a similar score this upcoming weekend, as the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions have top-ranked defenses. Ohio State (No. 1) has allowed only 7.9 points per game while Penn State (tied for fourth) has only allowed 15 per game.

While the national media will be focusing on this Saturday night’s football game, the Buckeyes almost didn’t hold up their part of the bargain.

Halfway through the third quarter, quarterback Todd Boeckman tossed a 50-yard touchdown to Brian Robiskie, making the score 24-0.

The Buckeyes, with the game in hand, almost blew their favorable lead.

With 3:52 left in the third quarter, MSU’s Otis Wiley (above - right) picked off a Boeckman pass and raced it 54 yards for a touchdown.

Then after one play and two consecutive penalties, Boeckman fumbled. Spartan Sir Darean Adams picked it up and scored on a 25-yard fumble return, making the score 24-14 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

Then on the Buckeyes’ next offensive play, running back Chris Wells fumbled. The ball bounced off multiple Spartan defenders until Chris Wells fell on the ball at the Buckeyes’ 14-yard line. If the Spartans’ would have just have fallen on the ball, MSU could have made the score 21-24 with a touchdown.

Michigan State got a 43-yard field goal from Brett Swenson with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes were able to run out the clock and hold onto a 24-17 victory.

A banged up Chris Wells had his best performance of his career. He finished with 221 yards on 31 carries and scored a touchdown.

The Buckeyes are hoping that the Rutgers’ upset of No. 2 South Florida, will be only major news this weekend, as they hope to continue to coast through their schedule.

Speaking of upsets, many OSU fans remember the game against Michigan State in 1998. That is when the top-ranked Buckeyes lost 28-24, even though they were favored to beat the Spartans by 26 1/2 points.

I remember that game, remember exactly where I was and how disappointed I was when I found out the Buckeyes were allowing Michigan State back in the game.

For some odd reason, I was at the tennis center waiting for my friend to finish up so we could watch some college football. I didn’t bother to watch the Buckeyes, they weren’t supposed to have any trouble with Michigan State. However, I overheard some of the people at the tennis club talking about the game - so I found a television and watched it - up until that point I had never cussed so much in a public place.

Ohio State drove to the Michigan State 15 in the closing minutes, when Joe Germaine’s pass was intercepted by Renaldo Hill at the goal-line. I can still see the pass, which was terrible, and wide receiver Dee Miller appeared to be wide open.

This weekend, because of prior commitments, I will be in place again that will hinder my ability to see the game. Again, I will be expecting a win. However, if you are a Buckeye fan don’t expect win. Remember ‘98 - while I be trying to think of ‘06, when the Buckeyes rolled 38-7.