Who's the best in the Big Ten? Willhite makes his picks
Editor's note: Before he hit the road to feed his hunger for some college football, we asked Lindsey Willhite for his Big Ten predictions and some nuggets to digest before Northwestern travels to Vanderbilt and Illinois hits the road to play Missouri in St. Louis on Saturday. Grab a plate:
Top three QBs1. Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin: Once again, the 2006 Fremd graduate needs to be held up as a reason never to give up.After his first three years in the Badgers' program, he had no reason to expect to be anything more than a mopup guy.But after a productive offseason, Tolzien earned the job last year and became the Big Ten's leader in passing efficiency (142.99 rating) while directing the Badgers to 10 victories. Now they're No. 12 in the preseason polls.2. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State: Notre Dame and Northwestern will vouch for this redshirt junior. In his games against them, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Cousins completed 44 of 66 passes for 583 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT.He finished last year with 2,680 yards to go with 19 TDs and 9 picks.3. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State: Yes, I see he's near the top of everyone's Heisman Trophy preseason lists. People do realize his Rose Bowl performance against Oregon (23 of 37, 266 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 72 rushing yards) was an anomaly, right?I'm pretty sure he won't get six weeks to prepare for each opponent during the 2010 season. Want to know something funny? Juice Williams had a slightly better passer-efficiency rating (129.38) than Pryor (128.91) last year.Nametags for GophersWith its only two returning defensive starters out due to injury and suspension, the Gophers planned to begin Thursday's game at Middle Tennessee State with eight defenders who had never started a college game.Only one Gopher, senior DB Ryan Collado, has more than 3 career starts.Flip-flops at IllinoisIf you watch the Illini's opener against Missouri on Saturday, you'll notice the offense's guards and tackles flipping sides depending on the formation and the play.Why did new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino bring in a relatively little-used system that features weak-side and strong-side linemen?"It's to create matchups and get the matchups you want," said junior weak-side tackle Jeff Allen, who started on the right side as a freshman and left side last year."Coach Petrino wants me matched up with the best defensive end, so we can get the ball going and get the running game going. The strong-side is more double teams, more help."I think it's great. I want to be on the best player every time. It shows my strengths and shows where I'm at."Hometown O-linemenIf you're wondering where Daily Herald area alumni went following successful prep careers, look no further than Big Ten starting offensive lines.Indiana features sophomore center Will Matte (Wheaton Warrenville South) and sophomore right guard Marc Damisch (Buffalo Grove).Prospect alum Markus Zusevics starts at right tackle for Iowa.Purdue right tackle Nick Mondek has the best story. The Naperville Central product spent his high school career and his first two seasons at Purdue as a defensive lineman, but the Boilers asked Mondek to fill a void during spring ball and he earned a starting job this fall."From a talent standpoint, he's a dream lining up at (tackle)," Purdue coach Danny Hope told The Exponent. "We don't have a guy that's that big and that fast and that smart-"If you stretch the parameters a few more miles north and south, then Illinois starting center Graham Pocic (Lemont), Michigan starting center David Molk (Lemont), Northwestern left guard Brian Mulroe (Loyola Academy), Purdue left guard Dennis Kelly (Marian Catholic), Northwestern right tackle Patrick Ward (Providence) and Michigan right tackle Perry Dorrestein (Plainfield Central) join the list.Running to daylightAt season's end, these will be the top five in the Big Ten rushing standings:1. John Clay, Wisconsin2. Mikel Leshoure, Illinois3. Evan Royster, Penn State4. Brandon Saine, OSU5. Jewel Hampton, IowaBest game-of-the weekSaturday: Purdue at Notre DameSept. 11: Penn State at AlabamaSept. 18: Iowa at ArizonaSept. 25: Temple at Penn StateOct. 2: Penn State at IowaOct. 9: Michigan State at MichiganOct. 16: Ohio State at WisconsinOct. 23: Wisconsin at IowaOct. 30: Michigan State at IowaNov. 6: Northwestern at Penn StateNov. 13: Penn State at Ohio StateNov. 20: Ohio State at IowaNov. 27: Michigan at Ohio StateDec. 3: Illinois at Fresno State (by default)Big Ten predictionsTeam Overall Conf.Ohio State 11-1 7-1Wisconsin 11-1 7-1Penn State 9-3 6-2Iowa 9-3 5-3Northwestern 8-4 5-3Michigan State 8-4 4-4Purdue 6-6 3-5Michigan 5-7 3-5Illinois 4-8 2-6Indiana 5-7 1-7Minnesota 3-9 1-7False19002000Wisconsin quarterback Scott TolzienAssociated PressFalse