This will be a very random and disjointed preview because you guys don't pay me enough for this. Feel free to get on my incorrect predictions during the season.

Big Ten:
The face of the Big Ten is changing.
There are three new coaches in the league. Northwestern's coach was given the job much earlier than expected but is growing into it. Bret Bielema is the most successful first year coach I can remember.
Three coaches days are numbered, and a fourth is interim.
Joe Tiller, Joe Paterno, and Lloyd Carr are all winding down their careers. I predict that within 2 years all three will be gone. It won't be for lack of production but simply because it is time to call it quits. Bill Lynch at IU will not be the coach after this season unless IU wins 8 or 9 games. He is not a good long term solution.
Kirk Ferentz and Jim Tressel will be around for a long time and continue to have solid seasons. The hot seat will get a little warmer for Ferentz but he is a good enough coach to keep it from getting too warm.
Ron Zook isn't a good game coach. Hopefully his players can bail him out.

Predicted order of finish:
1. Michigan
They are able to beat Ohio State. They go to the Rose Bowl. The only thing keeping them out of the national championship is the fact that they always find a way to lose a game they shouldn't. Henne or Hart wins Big Ten offensive player of the year depending on who gets more opportunities. They are a legitimate national title contender but I think they fall just short, possibly being the third team out with one loss.
2. Wisconsin
They were very good last year. They will run the ball, and run the ball, and run the ball more. The QB doesn't matter much for them with PJ Hill. The defense is strong. Playing at Columbus and Happy Valley is a tall order. They won't win both of those games. They also get Michigan at home, and they don't win that one either. They get invited to a BCS bowl.
3. Ohio State
This is the hardest pick because I think Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue all have a legitimate shot at getting 3rd and heading to the capital one bowl. I picked Ohio State because they reload better and faster than anyone. They lose a ton off of the team from last year but they have so many athletes to fill in that it doesn't matter. They go to Purdue and lose as they always have trouble with Purdue at Ross-Ade and Purdue matches up very well with them. They also lose at Michigan, but it's the last time for a while.
4. Purdue
I am trying to be as objective as possible. They will be the best offense in the Big Ten and they should have been last year. Curtis Painter will make the same sophomore to junior jump in level of a play that Orton did. Painter already broke Drew Brees' single season passing yards record. He threw a lot of interceptions last year, but so do most freshman and sophomore QB's. They beat Notre Dame. They beat Ohio State. They get beat by a few td's by Michigan and Penn State. They find a way to lose another game(possibly Iowa) and finish 9-3 which gets them to the outback bowl.
5. Penn State
This team is better than 5th in the Big Ten, but Morelli is not. This team could beat any team on it's schedule, but they will lose enough. I don't think they will live up to their potential. I have a tough time projecting the Penn State-Purdue game at Happy Valley because if the Purdue offense is as good as it should be, they won't be able to score with it. They will have to rely on the defense. Looking at the schedule, 11-1 looks possible, but I don't think they come close to that. Alamo Bowl.
6. Iowa
I've seen this movie before. It was Purdue in 2005. A QB with a bad attitude. Off the field problems. A season with high expectations that didn't end like everyone thought. That's the bad news. The good news is that the cleanup is already on the way. Iowa is in a mini rebuilding mode and Ferentz will get them back on track this season but it won't be without some bumps in the road. Ohio State and Michigan off the schedule comes in huge for this team, but either way I would predict them to go to a bowl. Purdue's best recruiting class ended up being a negative for the program. Ferentz returns to high quality, high character 3 star players and continues to build the program up. Champs Sports Bowl.
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And now for everyone else. No offense to fans of these teams, but all of them are hoping for 7 wins at most and a bowl game. One of these teams may find a way to jump up and surprise but none of them are competing for a New Year's day bowl game.
7. Illinois
I really don't know who to put here. The one reason Illinois is here is Juice Williams. He is a great athlete. He is fast and gives defenses fits. The only problem is he's a QB that can't throw. That makes it hard to win. Benn will come in and help him but Williams did not show anything last year to have me believe that he will be a good passer. If he develops even some accuracy, then Illinois ends up here. I haven't jumped on the Ron Zook bandwagon but this is the year we find out. Recruiting can only keep you a job for so long and he hasn't done anything outside of that while at Illinois. Insight Bowl.
8. Northwestern
Northwestern could be a surprise team, and if I had to pick a team that unexpectedly makes a bowl, it would be them. I don't think they are there yet though. No offense to Pat Fitzgerald, but he is still learning on the job. He will get there and he's doing a good job but there is a reason why he is the youngest coach in college football. I like him, but I'll like him more in two years. He handled last year's unfortunate circumstances very well. Northwestern can be a winning program, and they will get there.
9. Indiana
The bottom three is tough too. I don't know how you project who will get an upset or two to not be the worst. Indiana has two players. Kellen Lewis and James Hardy. James Hardy could be a starting WR for any Big Ten team. Kellen Lewis could play for any Big Ten team, but it may not be at QB. Bill Lynch was a poor coach at Ball State. He won't be better here. They must start the season 4-0 with an absolutely cakewalk schedule. They then need to pick up two wins to make a bowl. They avoid Ohio State and Michigan so that helps. The UofI-IU game this year will give a great indication of who will go to a bowl and who won't. I think Indiana finishes here, but finds a way to go to a bowl. They will not beat Purdue! Mark that down. Motor City Bowl.
10. MSU
There are some tools to work with. Recruiting is always decent at MSU and they will be ok. It wouldn't shock me for this team to make some noise and move up to 7th in the Big Ten. Dantonio will be a good coach and MSU will be moving up this list in the next few years, but not this year.
11. Minnesota
I think the cupboard is currently bare. A lot of people graduated. The coach also has never been a head or assistant coach. Growing pains.

National Title game:
USC vs. Texas.
Rose Bowl:
Michigan vs. UCLA
Other BCS teams:
LSU, Florida, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii(undefeated)

Heisman:
Colt McCoy and John David Booty with Booty winning it.


Notre Dame:
Tough season for them in the beginning. An average bowl game(no BCS). Losses to Penn State, Michigan, Purdue, USC, and UCLA.
Boston college and MSU should be scary games.
7-5, but they play in a bowl game they can win and they do!

Surprise team: South Florida
Disappointing team: Arkansas(Lots of off the field stuff going on)

Well those are my thoughts.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I'll have something that I'll do over the weekend. I used to do a preview for hawkeyes.org but got pissed off at the black and gold posters there and stopped writing for them.

1 week until college football kickoff!
1 week 2 days until the Big Ten kickoff!

I even got my season tickets in yesterday. I'm ready to get it started.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I got my Iowa/NIU tix last week - got to pick up my Iowa tickets in a couple of weeks on campus, but I did get my parking pass - very critical to a successful tailgate season!

I like your picks. But i can't for the life of me understand why all the love for the Illini that has been making its way into the media. Juice Williams has the potential to be the QB that Antwan Randle-El was at Indiana... but unlike Randle-El, Juice has some of the worst decision making skills I've seen in a QB. I know the athleticism at Illinois is getting better (some say its the best its been in over a decade), but if you don't have a competent QB, I'm not sure that you have a potent offense.

In addition, I loved Vince Okruch, but he's gone now. Can the Defense really pull it together? Leman is good, but certainly not the AJ Hawk that everyone is making him out to be.

I've got a "show me attitude towards Zook. I'll make my call right now. The Sweet Sioux Tomahawk is staying in Evanston on Nov. 17th.

Regardless, the hype is there with more season tix sold in quite some time. I hope that high expectations and a refurbished stadium will get UofI thinking of football instead of just b-ball.

Can't disagree with this too much...but, I think they'll beat Purdue or UCLA.

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@audioidkid

I really like your assessment of the changing face of the B10. Seeing Joe Pa in person this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see him coach until his late 80's... he's still that sharp.

Ferentz is the poster boy for what a coach should be. I believe he runs a good program despite all the recent noise.

I agree that Tiller and Lloyd Carr need to hang it up. They are not Joe Pa and never will be. If UofM doesn't win the Big 10 with this talent this year, I'm sure you'll hear loud cries for Carr's ouster.

Dantonia seems stand up. I think he'll do well.

Bielema... can you say Golden Boy? I bet even he would've wished to ease into expectations. He'll do well. Proud to have him in the B10.

Tim Brewster is a putz. This view is completely baseless... I just saw him arguing with his wife after this years B10 luncheon and he rubbed me the wrong way... seemed very fake... basically the anti-Ferentz.

FitzG. He's my emotional favorite. I have legitimate man love for him. However, he has a 2-3 year bye with me to develop his program. I think he is stand up guy (and learned under a guy I think exemplified NU football... Randy Walker). I'm proud to have FitzG lead my Cats.

Bill Lynch is a convenient fill in. Indiana deserves better.

Zook... I'm still in the overrated camp. Prove it (and by "it" I don't mean a wonderful tan). I personally think that Rivals 5 star recruiting ranking mean squat.

Jim Tressle... I think the guy is still struggling to clean up the mountain of slime from the Cooper era. Even a national championship didn't cure that. It'll take more than a sweater vest to give that program a clean name. That being said, I think he's done a great coaching job and elevating the program beyond just on-field performance. If you have any idea what I mean by these comments, just take a look at the way Joe Pa handles things:

http://deadspin.com/sports/get-a-mop,-kid/joepa-will-put-your-ass-to-work-262490.php

As for Joe Tiller, you won't find a bigger fan of his then mine. He has built a potentially great team this year. The defense was terrible last year, but if they can be average then it will be a successful season.
Joe Tiller will either:
A) Retire at the end of the season. With a good season, this will be voluntary. With a bad season(in this case 6-6 would be and 7-5 would most likely be considered bad with current expectations), he would feel the pressure to retire
B) Announce that he will coach one more season after this, and name a successor. It has worked out great for our basketball team and the transition worked well in Wisconsin. This would require a very good season this year.

He raised the level of the Purdue football program more than any other coach in the Big Ten has done in the past 25 years. Even Iowa and Wisconsin had some success. Purdue was as good as Indiana for about 25 years. Now they are a perennial top half Big Ten team. They were never able to have a run like Iowa did, or Wisconsin is currently at, and consistently challenge the big two but they were right there and have been for the last 11 years(except for one season).

He will go down as the most important coach in Purdue history and with a good hire, Purdue is positioned well to make runs at the big two.

There is no chance that Joe Tiller is the coach past the season after this one. I think Lloyd Carr is gone after this season. JoePa will coach forever since his assistants do most of the work now anyways.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I like Tiller. He's quality. He has elevated that program to new heights. If Penn State is Linebacker U, then there is a case to be made that Purdue has been Quaterback U in recent years.

His sense of humor is the best in the Big 10. That guy has more jokes and stories than Joe Pa, and that is saying alot. You'd be surprised how many Assistant Coaches and Head Coaches can trace their careers back to Joe Tiller. I think Joe Tiller is considered "The other Joe" in the Big 10, but he's top notch, IMHO.

P.S. I always wanted to bang the Silver Twins on top of that big 'ol drum.

Counting the days!!!

1) Badgers
2) Michigan
3) Penn State
4) Ohio State
5) Illinois - I know it sounds crazy
6) Iowa
7) Purdue
Northwestern
9) Indiana
10) Michigan State
11) Minnesota

And all you Big Ten Fans don't forget to contact Comcast etc. about the Big Ten Network. Watched their slanted infomercial yesterday. What a joke.

I'll see if I can use my connections to get that set up.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I'd rather take the Iowa golden girl.
And yes, she was Miss Iowa this year.

Agreed Doug. They beat Purdue, get beat by UCLA. I think they win at home against MSU, but BC gets them. Maybe if they play in a crappy bowl, they can finally win one. I dont think I have watched them win a bowl game since the Kevin McDougal era.

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"YOU GOTTA BE BLEEPING ME"

The first week of the season is here!

The Ron Zook experience begins a new.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

One thing about Juice and his inaccuracy. He wasn't very accurate, I'll give you.

But, they had more drops last year than any college team I can remember. I don't know if it was just him rifling it too much (it was at times). But, they dropped a ton of passes that hit guys right on the hands.

The upgrades at WR alone will improve his accuracy.

I'm as concerned about Mendenhall's propensity to drop the ball while the play is still live as I am about Juice and his accuracy.

I think that Benn will be an amazing player and Juice's accuracy should improve because of it. This won't be his year, but he is going to a terribly difficult player to control once he is an upperclassmen. I wonder if he will be able to keep his job that long as I think that Ron Zook knows his seat will be getting hotter with another poor season. I have to plead ignorance on the backups at UofI but an accurate passer will be needed to fully take advantage of some great athletes.

Illinois will pull off a huge upset this season.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Wow. That one loss sure came quick. It looks like my national title contender prediction may not come true.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

I am getting this in before the collapse starts.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Shit, I would normally go HHJ on you and say button 48, but that was a damn good prediction.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

There is still a lot of football left to be played. I thought they would be at worst top two in the Big East but I never expected this.

An Ohio State vs. South Florida would be so controversial because the SEC and Pac-10 believe that even if they lose they deserve to go over South Florida.

Before I break my arm patting myself on the back, I should point out some of the incorrect predictions too.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Yeah and the Yankees believe they should go to the WS every year too. They shoulda thought about that before losing to Standford and Kentucky, although Kentucky looks very for real.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul