Underachievers – The defense is good, but not great. They have a couple of phenomenal defenders in Mitch King and A.J. Edds, but not enough of those types of players to really strike fear in anyone’s heart. How well this melting pot of talent cooks up will determine a lot.
Academic Suspension – The offense is just as bad as the defense is good. The Hawkeyes had the worst offense in the conference last year, and there’s no reason to feel any better, with a returning QB that was terrible last year, no proven tailback, and only one returning wide receiver who is “o.k.” at best. It could be another long year for Ferentz.
Minnesota
Coach: Tim Brewster
2007: 1-11 overall, 0-8 in Big Ten (11th).
Head of the Class – Much like Iowa, about the best thing you can say about Minnesota is that it really can’t get any worse. They have several talented returning starters on offense, enough that it should probably be one of the better ones in the conference again.
Underachievers – Like the flip side of Iowa’s coin, Minnesota had an absolutely terrible defense last season. The team really can’t get any worse than they were, and they brought in former Duke coach Ted Roof to try and fix it up. Wise move, defensive play was one thing Roof did well at Duke.
Academic Suspension – This could be another very ugly year for Minnesota. There is absolutely no way to say how much this team improves, if they improve at all. It is very possible that they could manage anything between 6-6 and 0-12, so Gopher fans need to just keep trusting that Brewster’s recruiting will eventually pay dividends.
Bold Prediction: With so many things working for them, it wouldn't be the slightest surprise for Ohio State to repeat as conference champion - and also have a repeat national championship embarrassment.
- Geeves
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