It is a matter of days before college football returns to make Saturdays good once again. We’ve already laid out what you need to know about the SEC and tapped our picks for the best games of the 2014-2015 college football season – today we dig into the Big Ten.
Update: uh oh, Ohio! Braxton Miller is out for the season and with that the Michigan State Spartans become major favorites in this conference.
While Ohio has talent far and beyond their signal caller, the loss of a possible Heisman contender is not easy to account for, especially in the two short months before the Buckeyes play the Spartans.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan State Spartans dominated the Big Ten last season, and they don’t figure to give up their control over this conference in 2014. With the two teams coming in intact, expect them to lock up their top spots as early as the first few weeks of the season.
Can anyone challenge the Buckeyes and Spartans? Read on for everything you need to know about the Big Ten in the 2014-2015 college football season.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Big Ten College Football Preview and Predictions
Overview
Ohio State and Michigan State proved to be the cream of the crop in the Big Ten last season, as their suffocating defenses gave them a stranglehold over their respective divisions. The Buckeyes dominated the Big Ten West while the Spartans took care of the East division en route to undefeated records in conference play and a meeting in the conference championship game.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]However, the two powerhouses are guaranteed not to meet there again because starting this season they will share the same division. Instead of duking it out for the conference title, the Buckeyes and Spartans will be vying for the Big Ten’s East Division crown.
Ohio State’s divisional switch has opened the door for Wisconsin to be the best of the West. The Badgers finished 6-2 (9-4 overall) last season, a full two games back of the undefeated Buckeyes. But with a tremendous rushing attack led by Heisman hopeful Melvin Gordon, the Badgers will likely be the last team standing in the way of Ohio State or Michigan State when the Big Ten championship rolls around.
Favorites – Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans
Ohio State has arguably one of the best defensive units in college football this year. The Buckeyes’ excellent defensive line will be led by defensive end Noah Spence, who put up an exceptional 58 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks.
Spence will be supported by Joey Bosa, who is coming off an impressive freshman season (29 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss and 7.5 sacks) and other key returnees in Adulphus Washington, Tommy Schutt, Joel Hale and Michael Bennett.
Offensively, the Buckeyes are taken care of with Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller. The quarterback has back-to-back 2,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his name as the Buckeyes’ main man on offense.
The Michigan State Spartans is, at least on paper, better than their Big Ten rivals’. They topped the Big Ten in every aspect of defense: scoring defense, rushing defense, and passing defense. The Spartans limited their opponents to just 13.2 points per game last season and allowed 252.2 total yards per game.
Pass rusher Shilique Calhoun stood out among the Spartans with the second-most sacks in the Big Ten with 7.5, 14 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, an interception, and three defensive touchdowns.
This is the best time of the year to get your college football futures bets down. Create a betting account now and get in on the action.
Player to Watch – QB Connor Cook (Michigan State)
Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook had a breakthrough season in 2013-2014, finishing with 2,755 passing yards to rank fifth in the Big 10. Cook helped the Spartans to the Big Ten Championship and the team’s first Rose Bowl since 1988, and then proceeded to lock up the MVP awards for both games.
With his performance last year, expect all eyes to be on Cook this season as he leads the Michigan State Spartans to another appearance in the conference championship.
Best Game on the Schedule
Saturday, November 8, Ohio State Buckeyes @ Michigan State Spartans
This season, the game between the two favorites Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans will be a contest with big implications. The Buckeyes will want revenge after losing the conference championship to the Spartans last season. What better way to do so than defeating your opponents in their home field?
And with the added wrinkle of the two juggernauts being in the same division, this game has an added level of significance as it will almost surely decide which team wins the East and earns a trip to the conference championship.
Writer’s Prediction
The Michigan State Spartans become back-to-back champions of the Big Ten.
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