Dodd picks PSU 6th; Not a surprise

Why am I not shocked that Dennis Dodd pegged PSU to finish 6th in the Big Ten this year?

"6. Penn State: The Big Ten is down? Not in State College. Penn State has won three consecutive bowl games, including the Orange Bowl over Florida State. You've got to hand it to Joe. After that little downturn a few years back, he spit in the eyes of his critics and reloaded. All that off-the-field stuff will fade away if Paterno can win nine. It would be nice if receiver Derrick Williams finally fulfills his promise. Five career receiving touchdowns? C'mon, D-Will. Linebacker Chris Colasanti gets his chance after the injury to star Sean Lee."

I'm not quite sure where he was going with that. On one hand, Dodd said PSU has held up its end of the line when everyone's calling the Big Ten inferior. Yet, then he picks PSU sixth. Actually, it's not something to get upset about as fans. I mean, how can you take a prediction like this seriously when you see how he picked the other teams...

"5. Michigan: Sorry, Blue. Ten-win seasons are a thing of the past until Rich Rodriguez gets his spread up and running. There will be confusion, there will be losses, and there will be grumbling fans by the end of the season. Everything is going to be fine, just not right away. Call it 7-5 or 8-4."

So that would mean PSU finishes somewhere around 7-5? I think the best part of the preseason is how worked up the writers try to get their readers. All you have to do is pick one team too low, or another too high, and there you have it. In fact, I believe I'm feeding into my own criticism as I write this. But it sure is fun. Moving on...

"2. Illinois: The ugly stepchild of the Chicago media market has developed into a top 15 program without many folks noticing. Forget the Rose Bowl. That was a Southern California home game. Illinois is still on the upturn. The season could take off quickly with a victory over Missouri in the opener."

Wow. Sorry, but wow. Illinois will definitely not creep up on people as they did in 2007. And sorry, folks, but when you lose your main weapon on offense, it's going to be tough to fill that gap. But I'm not so sure it's the replacement of Mendenhall that will be the Illini's biggest problem. It will be playing all the tough games away from Champaign, against teams that were burned by Zook's spread offense last year, teams that won't be caught off guard again. Again, this seems like a sensationalist prediction. To top that off, CBS didn't even include PSU on its "who will win the Big Ten" reader poll.