Big Ten Bloggers Preseason Picks!
(Looking for the Big Ten Bloggers' 2009 Picks? Click HERE)
So, after berating the pre-season magazines for their lack of intelligent analysis and predictions, LTP took it upon himself to gather the fellow Big Ten Bloggers and tap into a collective voice of reason to hear from the true fans who know these teams inside and out.
So, without further ado, here are the inaugural picks with some calling out of certain bloggers votes to stir the collective pot:
(All commentary by LTP) 1 - Ohio State
Zombie Nation's Official Ballot (Sorry, no witty commentary right now. Maybe later.):
The Buckeyes received the first place nod from every Big Ten Blogger with the exception of Maize & Blue Nation who opted for the Nittany Lions. About as much of a surprise as Ryan Field being out of hot dogs at halftime for the Big Ten home opener.
2 - Penn State
After Ohio State's 1-slot, it became a wild west of voting as there was as much disparity here as in different preseason magazines, but the Nittany Lions have this post to look forward to as a new "list" to concentrate on. Penn State received no vote lower than 5th place as Enlightened Spartan and Off the Tracks were the biggest Penn State pessimists.
3 - Wisconsin
The Badgers dropped to third by the skin of Bucky's fur - 1 vote separates Penn State and Wisconsin. Like Penn State, no voters had the Badgers any lower than 5th with MGoBlog being the culprit/non-believer.
4 - Illinois
Amazingly, the Illini's Rose Bowl halo effect continues, especially when you consider there is currently no Illini blogger on board as part of the BTBers. The Illini received six 7th place votes, yet still managed to emerge in the upper tier with MGoBlog trying to secure as many links as possible (as if he needs them!) from LTP for his controversial picks. MGoBlog has Illini back in BCS land with a projected second place finish in the Big Ten.
5 - Michigan State
Enlightened Spartan displayed some homerism with a "3" pick, but he was saved by Boiled Sports and Zombie Nation who seconded and thirded (sic) that emotion. Sparty received votes all over the map from 3 through 8. Enlightened Spartan also wins the award for most creative names for his submissions as LTP had to use the ES decoder to decipher entries like "yellow bellies" (Michigan).
6 - Michigan
The Wolverines emerge the inaugural predictions as the official wildcard team. The RichRods secured votes as high as 3, as low as 10 and every slot in between. MGoBlog went conservative (6), Maize & Blue Nation went homerific (3) and LTP went Lou Holtzian (3).
7 - Iowa
What's in the water in Happy Valley? Perhaps the recent Ferentz rumors/sightings combined with the kindred spirit of Fulmer Cup Overfloweth has bonded the Big Ten border state schools. Black Shoe Diaries and Zombie Nation went the highest with 4, while the Hawkeyes received a few double digit finishes, including one 11th place vote from rival Gopher Nation. Where the hell are the Cats? C'mon...I put this damn thing together and this is the love I get?
8 - Purdue
The Joe Tiller farewell tour didn't have many takers as no one picked the Boilermakers any higher than 5th. So much for QB experience eh?
9 - Northwestern
Thank you for nothing. Really?!!! Ninth? Ahhhh...thanks for the annual angst fuel as we'll be sure to revisit these in November. The Cats are the only team on the list to receive a vote in every slot from 4 through 11. Off the Tracks and MGoBlog are the best blogs ever, errr, voted the Cats at number 4, while Around The Oval (Ohio St) penciled us in at 11. Considering the last half century of results, I can't exactly blame them. LTP voted for NU in the 5 slot.
10 - Indiana
For the record, there was quite a bit of distance between Purdue, NU and the 10 slot Hoosiers. It was a nip and tuck race with Minnesota to avoid the cellar, but the fact that the Kellen Lewis question mark remains, I'm puzzled how Indiana didn't end up at 11. Enlightened Spartan knows something the rest of us don't as he picked them the highest at 8.
11 - Minnesota
I'm not sure how the Adam Weber-led, year 2 spread Gophers ended up behind Indiana, but they did - but not by much. I'm sure the BTBers picks will serve as inspirational stuff in the Metrodome lockerrrooms - that is if the Vikings don't tear down the shared space on Sundays. The Gophers only had two believers - Gopher Nation and Nittany White Out - both of whom voted the Gophers at number 8.
Reax
I was surprised at the wide disparity in voting. It isn't often teams get votes ranging 8 spots as a few did, including Northwestern. I was surprised by the Illini and Michigan State outcomes. I haven't bought in to the fact that Dufrene will keep "Ds" in check like Mendenhall for the Illini and also the on-field leadership of J. Leman is a bigger impact from a chemistry standpoint than I think non-Illini followers realize. For Sparty, I simply don't believe they have proven they know how to finish and while Ringer is legit, the loss of Devin Thomas removes an electrifying wrinkle that kept teams off-balance. That being said, my Michigan pick at 3 is completely irrational and goes against my better judgment. Perhaps I'm trying to hype them as I believe, truly believe, we will beat them in the Big House this year and who wants to win against Michigan and have it be a "down" year for them?
Predicted order of finish:
1. Ohio State (t)
2. Penn State (t)
3. Michigan State
4. Wisconsin
5. Purdue
6. Iowa
7. Illinois
8. Northwestern
9. Indiana
10. Michigan
11. Minnesota
(If you're looking for the 2009 edition of Big Ten Bloggers Preseason Picks, click HERE!
6 Commented on this story:
you're putting michigan at #10? ouch. well it may be true this year but we can at least count on the standard victory over PSU.
WE OWN....
Penn State beats Michigan this year, and Rich Rodriguez tries to take over the job at Penn State while keeping all bonus money from UM. Write it down. WE ARE PENN STATE.
I like your predictions better than the so called ESPN experts. I like #2 a whole lot better than #24 overall. Did they forget that we beat Texas Tech. Also, Whisky and the Illini are ranked way above us. Whatever.
What is the different between the Penn State and the State Pen. (PA State penitentiary) football teams? Penn State had more players arrested in the last year.
Well, your predictions are okay at best. I still have mad love for the Big Ten. Besides, when all the SEC graduates are mowing the B 10 grads lawns, we will see what is really important about college athletics. Ohio State, perhaps, but I still question Pryor's throwing ability, but then again, he got alot of PT during his first year, so that could change with his increased knowledge of the playbook. Sure, OSU is the fave, but it should be a race at least. OSU won't go undefeated though. No Big Ten team will. I don't like Illinois at 4th. Zook isn't a winner and Williams throws too many picks. They are 6th. Sparty could surprise with a 2nd or 3rd place finish. To lay my balls on the Beaver Stadium chopping block, I think they finish ahead of Penn State. PSU could be solid again, but I just don't see how they can lose so many players with questionable recruiting classes. Yes, questionable. PSU is going to go through what happened to Iowa when Fry left. Wisconsin is bottoming now that Bielema's system is in place, and they finish 7th. Michigan, simply because R-Rod cursed himself by screwing WVU, doesn't improve enough and they will fumble the ball consistently like last year. God, that was so awesome. Iowa finishes 4th or better. Their road schedule will doom them in the end, but their defense will be particularly stingy and that goes a long way. Too many tough ones. Northwestern, sigh. I just don't know. Fitzgerald just got extended, and his players play so hard - they will rock 5th. Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota get to clean up the Big Ten basement....which lately, has become rather filthy. Still have love for them in the bowl games. It's all about matchups and with two teams going BCS every, each Big Ten team gets slated one spot further up. Perhaps a victim of their own respective success. This year, the Big Ten gets one in the BCS, and we show up much better in bowls - 4-3, overall. For the record....I hate saying it, but when it comes to USC vs. Ohio State....please Bucks....show up to the game and represent.
Dude. You realize this is LAST YEAR'S preseason picks?
Look at the dates of the other comments, and the tags, sir...
But don't worry, the 2009 edition of this is due out soon...
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