by Amy Lamare, Gridiron Goddess

Tonight we continue our Big Ten preview for 2011 with the Leaders Division.

LEADERS

The members of the oddly named Leaders Division have to be breathing sighs of relief at Ohio State’s predicament.  With Tressel and Pryor gone, the Buckeyes are expected to be a shadow of their former Big Ten dominating self this season.  Sanctions are coming in the form of recent news that the NCAA is STILL investigating the goings on in Columbus.  This saga is far from over.

Let’s take a look at these so-called “Leaders,” from worst to first:

Indiana – Indiana is a basketball school.

What? You wanted more? What more is there to say? The Gridiron Hoosiers went 5-7 in 2010 (1-7 in the Big Ten) and that can be considered a wildly successful season for this program.  This is a program, for context, who has gone to nine bowl games. In 120 seasons.   Last season’s 5-7 is probably as good as it is going to get for this program for a number of years.   Indiana’s starting QB and star receiver are gone. (Ben Chappell and Tandon Doss, respectively).

The Hoosiers, after a brief moment of mediocrity will return to being the Big Ten’s punching bag, which is good news for Minnesota fans. They aren’t alone down there in the cellar.

Purdue –   The Boilermakers, coming off a 4-8 season (2-6 in the Big Ten), have a lot of questions to answer with just three weeks to go until the 2011 season kicks off.  For one thing, who is their quarterback? Coach Danny Hope has not indicated whether Robert Marve, last season’s starter who went down with a season-ending knee injury in week 4, or Rob Henry –who took over — will get the starting job.  Hope has made some ominous statements to the press that may indicate he’s thinking about rotating the two.  Which? NO. When has that EVER worked? Jeff Tedford tried it and crashed and burned. Dennis Erickson tried it and saw extreme mediocrity in results. And Cal and ASU are better teams than Purdue is.

The good news is 16 starters return to the Boilermakers this season, including the entire secondary.  This is a 5 or 6 win team, at best.

Illinois – Coach Ron Zook is 18-30 in five seasons at Illinois.  This could be his final stand if the Fighting Illini don’t produce results.  One thing is clear: fans and Illinios’ Athletic Director expect better than 7-6 records (4-4 in the Big Ten), and Zook has been mediocre for pretty much his entire tenure in Champaign.  That is the fact.

But what is also a fact is that the Illini made tremendous strides on offense last season and return nine players from that squad. They return five defensive starters.  They have a lot of raw talent.

The problem is in converting that raw talent into an actual winning record and major bowl appearance. This has been Zook’s stumbling block at Illinois. As a result, there’s no telling whether this team is going to sink or swim until play is underway.  This could be a very potent and dangerous team. Or it could continue to flounder in mediocrity.  One thing is for sure: if the Fighting Illini face another season of mediocrity, Ron Zook better start polishing up his resume and Mike Leach should look into moving to the Midwest.  Leach could take the awesome athletes that Zook has recruited and turn this into a contender, a LEADER, if you will, in the Big Ten’s Leaders division.

It will be interesting to see what happens in 2011 in Champaign.

Ohio State – This is tough. It’s neck and neck between Ohio State and Penn State for third place. Only the chaos the Buckeyes have experienced in this off season and the ongoing NCAA scrutiny have me ranking them below the Nittany Lions.  Without Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor, and with those four tats for memorabilia starters suspended for the first five games, this team is in chaos.

However, they are still Ohio State. Which means not only are they talented, but they also have a cupcake out of conference schedule. They should be able to get past Akron, Toledo, and new Pac-12 member Colorado with ease. Then they face Miami – with a true freshman starting under center in Braxton Miller. And there is no way this team is winning all three of the following games: Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

After going  12-1 in 2010 (11-1 in the Big Ten), this looks to be a 9-4 or 10-3 (if they beat Miami or Michigan State) team this season. At best.

How the NCAA decides to rule on its second notice of infractions, we will know in time. And that result will give us a glimpse into the next 4-5 seasons of Buckeye football, if not more. Lack of institutional control  and repeat offender violations could decimate this program.

Penn State – Despite the #2 spot in this division, I am not all that sure this Nittany Lions squad is going to be all that great.  Last year was a surprising 7-6 (4-4 Big Ten) season where Joe Paterno’s team went 0-4 against ranked teams. Not only did they lose to the ranked teams they played, they did so by an average score of 29-11.

The boys from Happy Valley come into the 2011 season with sophomore QB Rob Bolden and three receivers that last season had a combined 113 catches, 1,700 yards and 10 TDs.  The defense looks fierce with the entire D-line and secondary returning.  There will not be a lot of scoring on this Nittany Lion team.  And that, is why I elevated them to 2^nd over Ohio State. Defense wins games.  And this is going to be one solid defense.

Penn State’s schedule is pretty forgiving with Indiana State, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Indiana and Iowa for five of their first six games.  The sixth? The Crimson Tide of Alabama comes to State College. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

Wisconsin – The Badgers had a hell of a season in 2010, going 11-2 (7-1 in the Big Ten) overall, with one of the most exciting games of the year at Camp Randall—the Badgers vs. Arizona State. Wisconsin won 20-19 in a thrilling game that came down to the final moments.  The Badgers also beat Ohio State at Camp Randall, where they are 43-4 since 2004.  There are eight home games in Madison this season.

Although the Badgers lost QB Scott Tolzien to graduation and RB John Clay, All-American O-linemen Gabe Carimi and John Moffit to the NFL draft, this should not prove to be a stumbling block for Wisconsin at all.  Their stellar running game, a signature of this program, is intact with James White returning. Last season White rushed for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns. In his freshman season.  Sophomore Jon Budmayr is the projected starting quarterback.

Wisconsin has a pretty easy schedule, with UNLV, Oregon State, South Dakota, Nebraska and Indiana at home at Camp Randall for five of their first six games in 2011 and the sixth game versus Northern Illinois at Soldier Field.  Realistically, the Badgers could have a championship run and undefeated season.  The trick will come in the latter half of the season versus Michigan State.  Penn State and Ohio State could present themselves as spoilers, especially if the Badgers don’t stay healthy. But I fully expect this to be an 11-1 regular season for the team from Madison.