2008 Big Ten Predictions

Jeff Alexander’s 2008 Big Ten predictions rate the conference from top to bottom. Find out how he sees the league shaping up this year,

1st Place – Ohio State Buckeyes: +100 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

With most of the 2007 team back which made yet another trip to the BCS Championship game, the Buckeyes are huge favorites to win the Big Ten. If the Buckeyes can beat USC on the road early in the season, they should run the table.

2nd Place – Wisconsin Badgers: +300 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

While Wisconsin won’t be as strong as it has been at the QB position in recent years, a dominant running game, led by P.J. Hill, will continue to get the job done. The Badgers have the most talent returning among a group of six second-tier teams who will be jockeying for position.

3rd Place – Illinois Fighting Illini: +400 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

With the loss of running back Rashard Mendenhall, the Illini won’t be the team they were a year ago. Luckily for them, most of the other Big Ten teams have lost something as well. With QB Juice Williams leading the attack, Illinois is still an elite Big Ten team.

4th Place – Iowa Hawkeyes: +800 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

Iowa is perennially one of the toughest teams to beat on its home field in the nation. Combine that with a schedule that does not include Michigan and Ohio State and the Hawks should be in the top half of the conference.

5th Place – Michigan Wolverines: +500 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

New head coach Rich Rodriguez is completely changing things up at Michigan and the cupboard is pretty bare by Big Blue standards. Wolverine fans will need to be patient as good wins and bad losses are inevitable this season.

6th Place – Penn State Nittany Lions: +500 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

Penn State has more talent on both sides of the ball than many experts will give them credit for but not enough to overcome a challenging schedule which includes games at Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa. It doesn’t matter what happens though, Joe Pa will coach until he’s dead.

7th Place – Michigan State Spartans: +1000 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

If there was ever a year to beat in-state rival Michigan it’s this one, but the Spartans don’t have the luck of the draw as they’ll have to do it at the Big House. A big time offense will be negated at times by a lackluster defense.

8th Place – Purdue Boilermakers: +1200 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

Senior QB Curtis Painter is one of the nation’s top passers, but he lost most of his top targets and a good portion of the offensive line. The Boilers will still slink it, but all signs point to Joe Tiller’s final season in West Lafayette being a tough one.

9th Place – Indiana Hooisers: +3000 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

The magic in Bloomington will run out after one short season with the loss of talented wide receiver James Hardy to the NFL. If talented QB Kellen Lewis can’t return after being suspended for violating team rules, the Hoosiers will really be hurting.

10th Place – Northwestern Wildcats: +1800 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

C.J. Bacher gives the Wildcats a QB capable of delivering the football so the Cats should continue to put some points on the board, but the defense is still suspect and the Cats must play Ohio State, Michigan, and Illinois to close out the season.

11th Place – Minnesota Golden Gophers: +6000 to win Big Ten at BetUS.com

Anything will be viewed as an improvement over last season when Minnesota won just one game and went 0-8 in the Big Ten. A young squad gained experience last year and they’ll be ready to put a few more “W’s” on the board in 2008.

Beat the college football odds all season long with Jeff Alexander’s Big Ten football picks. Sign up for his low cost college football season pass and win from week one through the BCS title game.

Check out more 2008 Big Ten Predictions at the conferences official website.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

2008 Big Ten Predictions

Comments