Usual suspects wield power in league
Big Ten football kicks off Thursday night with Minnesota playing host to New Mexico State and the first conference matchup between Northwestern and host Purdue. But that's just the undercard. The conference will rise and fall this season, as it often does, on the success or failure of its heavyweights. Other than Ohio State, that group includes Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and, yes, even Michigan. A look at the Big Ten's major storylines: teams into high gear as the Nittany Lions turned to the spread offense. McSorley is back, and is considered a viable Heisman Trophy candidate. But he will have to find other ways to keep defenses off balance with the loss of Barkley (Miles Sanders could be the answer) and tight end Mike Gesicki (senior Jonathan Holland is next in line).
Preseason polls suggest Michigan is more pretender than contender, but everyone who matters is back on a defense that was among the nation’s elite last year. If the offense improves a little, the Wolverines could be in the hunt. Injuries at quarterback last season were symptoms of the real problem: inconsistent line play. Coach Jim Harbaugh brought in former Ohio State assistant Ed Warinner for the overhaul. Mississippi transfer quarterback Shea Patterson has Michigan fans excited, but an upgrade in performance by the O-line would make the biggest difference.
Think Wisconsin: huge linemen and a running game that keeps coming. Think national champions: good run games and stout defense — but an over-the-top passing game is vital. This could be the year Paul Chryst and the Badgers, despite the return of 1,900-yard back Jonathan Taylor, unveil a less predictable offense with junior quarterback Alex Hornibrook. But can the left-hander be trusted? He ranked 24th nationally in pass efficiency last year, but his 25 touchdowns were offset by 15 interceptions, including a devastating interception late in a Big Ten title game loss to Ohio State.
Nebraska fans, among the nation’s more faithful, are jacked by the return of former quarterback Scott Frost to lead the program. He’ll make immediate impact with team attitude, and as he showed at Central Florida, he will field an offense bent on scoring. But stopping opponents from scoring has been the Cornhuskers’ shortcoming for a decade. Stocking depth and proficiency on defense is the project most critical to a Nebraska resurgence, and that’s going to take a couple of years. But there could still be an upset or two in 2018. Penn State will be expecting much this season from star quarterback Trace McSorley.