w w w w w w w w w w w 1 s : -IRV--w 7--lw - q s ar r ! 'w i 4C - The Michigan Daily -Thursday, September 7, 2006 BIG TEN PREVIEW 9C - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 7, 2006 1. Ohio State The Buzz: If the top- ranked Buckeyes live up to the preseason hype and ride to the national championship, their explo- sive offense led by quarterback Troy Smith will be what brings them there. Make no mistake about it: Ohio State will light up the scoreboard. The Scoop: Although Ohio State's offense is money in the bank, its defense is anything but. The Buck- eyes return just two starters from their 2005 squad. Ohio State has talent waiting in the wings, but it's anybody's guess as to how well the team's new defense will gel. The Bottom Line: Even if Ohio State's defense struggles, few teams will be able to match the Buckeyes' offensive firepower. At worst they'll be in the mix for a Big Ten title. And the 2006 season as the sexy pick for Big Ten darkhorse. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz returns after he flirted with making the jump to the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Rejoining Ferentz is the core of the offense on a team that went 7-5 last season. The Scoop: Most of Iowa's hype is a product of its schedule. The Hawkeyes don't play Penn State and get conference powers Ohio State and Wisconsin at home. The team's lone tough road game is against Michigan. The Bottom Line: The stars may be aligned for Iowa to make a run at the Rose Bowl, but the Hawkeyes must find a way to replace their All- American linebacking corps of Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge. With- out this defensive anchor, the likely high-powered offensive attack could be all for naught. but they still boast a top-notch line- backer corps. Defending Butkus Award winner Paul Posluszny leads the deep, talented and experienced group. The Scoop: Junior quarterback Anthony Morelli has huge shoes to fill with the graduation of last sea- son's Big Ten Most Valuable Player Michael Robinson. Morelli doesn't have Robinson's athleticism, but he has a live arm. The Bottom Line: Having lost 25 lettermen from last season, Penn State probably doesn't have the goods to repeat as Big Ten cham- pion. But if the linebackers carry the defense and Morelli moves the ball, Penn State will find itself near the top of the conference. If not, expect JoePa's bunch to move back to the middle of the Big Ten pack. offense, but his 2006 arsenal could be severely lacking. Star back Brian Calhoun is history, leaving a jumbled mess of backs. The wide receiver sit- uation is even messier - the Badgers lost their top seven receivers from 2005. The Bottom Line: Thanks to a laughable nonconference schedule, Wisconsin is a virtual lock to win eight or nine games. But given the Badgers' gaping holes at the offensive skill posi- tions, don't expect Bielema's inaugural season to be anything special. 6. Michigan State The Buzz: Just as in years past, the topic of foot- ball in East Lansing begins and ends with Drew Stanton. Spartan nation will be carried as far as Stanton can take it in his final season. The real question is whether or not his sup- porting cast will give him enough to work with to get the Spartans past the 500 mark. The Scoop: John L. Smith is on the hot seat, so the creativity he showed as Louisville's head coach may increasingly find its way into the Spartan playbook. A running-back- by-committee backfield could pay dividends, but could also prove to be Michigan State's downfall. The Bottom Une: Too many questions and not enough answers means that Michigan State prob- ably won't have enough to challenge the perennial powers in the Big Ten. But Stanton's athleticism and enough solid role players may be able to get the Spartans into at least a bowl game, which is progress from years past. 7. Northwestem The Buzz: In lieu of the usual preseason talk, the Northwestern football program spent the summer dealing with the sud- den death of its 52-year-old coach, Randy Walker. Thirty-one-year-old Pat Fitzgerald steps in for Walker, becoming the youngest coach in Divi- sion I-A. The Scoop: Fitzgerald will have his hands full replacing departed quarterback Brett Basanez, who set virtually every Northwestern pass- ing mark during his career in purple and white. Redshirt freshman Mike Kafka won the starting job after a three-way training camp battle. The Bottom Une: With a cupcake nonconference schedule,the Wildcats may very well go into the Big Ten sea- son 4-0. And given Northwestern's propensity for sneaking up on teams, a heartwarming trip to a bowl game is not out of the question. See BIG TEN, page 9C if Ohio State's nine new defensive 5. Wisconsin starters click, the Buckeyes may just 4. Penn State steamroll all the way to Glendale. '''The Buzz: New coach The Buzz: They call it Bret Bielema takes the 3. Iowa "Linebacker U" for a rea- reins from legendary Barry Alvarez son. The Nittany Lions lost plenty of and has quite a few tools to work with, The Buzz: Iowa enters " talent from last season's 11-1 squad, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker Mike Zalewski and safety Joe Stellmacher are ballhawks who know how to punish offensive players. The Scoop: Experienced John Stocco returns to lead the Badger LONG Continued from page 5C definitely pushed me harder to get my rehab done and try to come back." Finally, on Oct. 22, 2005 in Iowa City, Long was ready to make his return. He wasn't fully recovered, but he immediately made his pres- ence felt, helping the Wolverines put together a 68-yard touchdown drive during his first series on the field. Eventuallythe tightly contested game wentintoovertime,andthe Hawkeyes struck first,connecting on a field goal. Michigan responded, marching the ball Iowa's one-yard line. With inches standing between the Wolverines and victory, Carr called on Long to usher reserve tailback Jerome Jackson into the end zone. One yard later, Michi- gan celebrated a 23-20 win. Long's performance was even more impressive considering the con- dition he was in at the time. "Definitely the first couple games it wasn't 100-percent" Long said. "It was really weak, painful. But you know during games you just kind of shut that out of your mind and just play through it." Long fought his way through the pain and started every game for the rest of the season. By willing his way back ontothe field and helping Michi- gan through the latter part of a tumul- tuous 2005 campaign, Long earned plenty of respect from the Michigan football family. "He spent an exorbitant amount of time in that training room, getting treatment on a daily basis," Carr said. "He came back much sooner than we expected, because he had a will and a desire and a determination to play" Captain Long's vigorous rehab and recov- ery bolstered his leadership creden- tials and likely contributed to the lifelong Michigan fan's election as team captain. But Long is not simply the strong, silent type who leads by example and lets his actions speak for themselves. For one, Long brings his goofy sense of humor to the often all-too- serious world of college football. Riley smiled as he recounted his linemate's antics at the first meeting of summer training camp. "Everybody's pretty amped when Coach Carr comes in, and we do various things to show our intensity" Riley said. "Big man decided to take his shirt off and wave it in the air. Not a good sight for us considering we're men - but maybe some young ladies somewhere liked it." Although Long's sense of humor helps keep his teammates loose, the true test of his leadershipcomes when it's time to hit. That's when the usu- ally fun-loving Long shuts off the smile and shows off the scowl. It's a seamless transition Long's co-captain - and frequent recipient of Long's playful trash-talking barbs - knows all too well. "You know when camp comes around that you've got to deal with big Jake, you know he's going to be coming at you," Woodley said. "Because you know even though we joke around, he's still going to back those words up. Because he knows I'm going to try to back mine up. At the end of the day atj practice, either he's going to get talked about by me, or I'm going to get talked about by him." Putting it together Moving from right to left tackle, Long is now responsible for protect- ing Henne's blindside - an especially important task given Michigan's pre- carious back-up quarterback situation. Even for such a big manthe transition is a tall order. But Long welcomes theI challenge. "(Left tackle is) a tough spot," Long said. "And a lot of responsi- bility comes on that side. And I'm really excited to try to live up to that expectation." Heavily recruited out of high school and long pegged as a poten- tial NFL prospect, Long is accus- tomed to high expectations. But this year, the hype surrounding the 2004 freshman All-American has reached a whole new level. Long is widely considered one of the premiere offensive linemen in the nation, evidenced by his placement on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, awarded annually to the top interior lineman in college football. Despite all the talk and preseason accolades, most of Long's book has yet to be written. Sure, he opened plenty of eyes while earning a start- ing job as a redshirt freshman. Sure, he managed to contribute during his redshirt sophomore season while playing on a severely injured left leg. But no one knows exactly what Long can do. According to his coach, the sky's the limit. "He's an enormously talented guy with a love for the game and the com- petition,"Carrsaid."Hehas wonderful ability - he has the chance to be one of the great players we've had here:" All the ingredients for great- ness are on the table. A massive serving of size. An equally huge portion of willpower. A heap- ing tablespoon of character. And now, after a rocky 2005 season, a healthy, experienced Chef Jake appears ready to use these items to their fullest potential- by dic- ing, grilling and devouring oppos- ing defenders - his weight-loss pledge notwithstanding. BIG TEN Continued from page 4C 8. Minnesota The Buzz: No Big Ten team lost a larger percentage of contributors than the Gophers. Still, 12 starters from a team that finished 7-5 and beat Michigan in Ann Arbor will return. The Scoop: Like the NFL's Denver Broncos, Minnesota uses a zone blocking scheme, and many feel that it doesn't matter who is running the ball. If this is the case, whoever joins quarterback Brian Cupito in the backfield could still pose a formidable rushing attack for Minnesota to build upon. The Bottom Line: Glen Mason's squad will still be able to put away the Indianas of the Big Ten, but it will be a struggle for the Gophers to return safely to bowl play without last season's nucleus. 9. Purdue The Buzz: Things can only go up from last season, when the Boilermak- ers had a losing season and missed a bowl'game for the first time in 10 years. Purdue coach Joe Tiller felt the sense of urgency in the offseason, signing 11 junior college players to help the Boilermakers immediately. The Scoop: Quarterback Curtis Painter took over as the starter midway through last season, giving him some much-needed experience coming into his first season as the full-time starter. The Bottom Line: Tiller's worries are war- ranted. Purdue possesses the Big Ten's worst secondary and arguably the conference's worst defense as a whole. But the Tiller spread offense has confused defenses since its inception. With Dorien Bryant returning as the Big Ten's leading receiver from a year ago, the Boilermakers may be able to play spoiler. 10. Illinois The Buzz: Year two of Ron Zook's rebuilding process can't be any worse than year one. Zook, usually a disciple of the air- it-out school of thought, has put an extra emphasis on the ground game in the offseason, adding bulk to his offensive line. The Scoop: The Illini allowed 435 points last season. Though a slight improvement may occur this year, not enough of Zook's recruits will make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball. The Bottom Line: Steps in the right directions are being made, but they look like baby steps. Illi- nois will have to fight hard not to be cellar dwell- ers for the second consecutive season. 11. Indiana The Buzz: Six-foot-7 wide receiver James Hardy is a definite NFL prospect and has halfway decent quarterback Blake Pow- ers throwing to him. But there's not much else there. The Scoop: This team has stunk for a long, long time. And there's no reason to believe that will change. The Bottom Line: Indiana will be lucky to match last year's Big Ten win total of one. II A SEASON IN THE MICHIGAN FOOTBALL -- H US 160 PAGES " CLOTH $24.95 240 PAGES CLOTH . s$24.5 OA tV F NI MIHIwAS Gs~s (451ST 1P1.5 .