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Big Ten overview

Dayne done, but Badgers won't surrender crown easy

By Mark Ambrogi, Special to CNNSI.com

Two-sport star Drew Henson takes the reins full time at Michigan. Tom Pidgeon/Allsport

Projected Order of Finish 1. Michigan 2. Wisconsin 3. Purdue 4. Ohio State 5. Penn State 6. Michigan State 7. Illinois 8. Minnesota 9. Indiana 10. Northwestern 11. Iowa

Top Storylines

Can Drew Brees win the Heisman Trophy and lead Purdue to its first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1966 season? The Boilermakers first must prove they can get it done against the Big Ten elite, something they have not been able to do despite the success of Joe Tiller's first three seasons. Joe Paterno needs seven victories to break Bear Bryant's record of 323 Division I-A wins, but the talk of the season might be Paterno's decision to play QB Rashard Casey despite his legal problems. And Wisconsin attempts to make it three consecutive Rose Bowl triumphs despite the loss of Heisman Trophy workhorse Ron Dayne. The Badgers might get it done if they can beat Michigan in Ann Arbor for only the second time since 1962, and if Michael Bennett does well as Dayne's replacement.

Where They'll Be for the Holidays
BCS Blessed	Dot-Com Doomed	Confined to Couch
Michigan	Wisconsin Purdue Ohio State Penn State Illinois Michigan State Minnesota	Indiana Iowa Northwestern

Best of All Worlds

Quarterback

Purdue Drew Brees

Running Back

Michigan Anthony Thomas, Ryan Beard, Justin Fargas

Ends

Ohio State Ken-Yon Rambo, Reggie Germany

Offensive Line

Penn State Kareem McKenzie, Jordan Caruso, Francis Spano, Josh Mitchell, Matt Schmitt

Defensive Line

Wisconsin Ross Kolodziej, Eric Mahlik, Wendell Bryant, John Favret

Linebackers

Michigan State T.J. Turner, Josh Thornhill, Drew Young

Secondary

Wisconsin Jamar Fletcher, Joey Boese, Jason Doering, Mike Echols

Special Teams

Wisconsin Vitaly Pisetsky, Kevin Stemke, Nick Davis

Coaching

Wisconsin Barry Alvarez, Kevin Cosgrove, Jim Hueber, Jeff Horton

Status Report

Set to Go Skygliding

Illinois The Illini might not climb into the first division, but they certainly have a shot if they duplicate their performance down the stretch of 1999.

Set to Go Cliffdiving

Penn State It won't be a monumental drop, but it won't easy for the Nittany Lions to win nine games in the 12-game regular season after losing top NFL draft picks Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington.

About to Step Up

Shaun Phillips, DE, Purdue The redshirt freshman was impressive enough in practice in the spring that coach Joe Tiller moved second team All-Big Ten defensive end Akin Ayodele to linebacker.

Hasn't Stepped Up Yet

Drew Henson, Michigan Henson has yet to live to the hype that has followed him since he committed to the Wolverines as a high school sophomore. Tom Brady outperformed Henson in the two-quarterback system the past two years, but now the job is all his.

Schedules

Brutal Schedule

Iowa Rated toughest in the nation (.654 opponents' winning percentage last year), non-conference foes include Nebraska and Kansas State. The Hawkeyes later have a five-game stretch of Michigan State, Illinois, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State.

Breather Schedule

Minnesota Nobody has too cushy a schedule because of the league's strength, but the Gophers don't have to play Michigan or Michigan State and have perhaps the lightest non-conference schedule.

Mark Your Calendar

Michigan at Illinois, Sept. 23 The Illini's surprising come-from-behind victory over Michigan set the tone last season. So what does Illinois do for an encore at home? Wisconsin at Michigan, Sept. 30 The Badgers have only won at Ann Arbor once since 1962. A loss this year could cost them the Big Ten crown. Purdue at Penn State, Sept. 30 If the Boilermakers have a shot at the Rose Bowl, they have to win this. Purdue hasn't beaten the Nittany Lions since they joined the league.

Mark Ambrogi covers the Big Ten for the Indianapolis Star and will write a weekly CNNSI.com conference insider this season.

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