Penn State tops in the Big Ten

So after 5 Weeks of football the Big Ten picture is far from clear. It seems like there is Penn State then everyone else. After a dominating performance over the Illini Saturday Night there is no doubt in my mind that the Nittany Lions are the team to beat. Of course nothing is set in stone as we will learn much more about Penn State when they travel to Wisconsin in two weeks. That in my opinion will tell everyone in the country just how good of a team they are once they are able to defeat a top of the line opponent on the road.

As for the rest of the Big Ten it's a complete mess. I don't think Ohio State is a solid number 2 in the Big Ten but right now they are and anyone is capable of catching them. With that being said I believe everyone in the Big Ten is a contender. Minnesota is greatly improved as they weren't blown out by the Buckeyes on the road. Indiana has a defense that has struggled and suffered injuries but their spread offense is explosive and can put up points against anyone.

There is then the question at who the third best team in the Big Ten is right now. I'm going to say Michigan State over Wisconsin because Michigan State has been consistent and have a monster at running back in Javon Ringer. The only question I have about Michigan State is whether Ringer can continue to carry such a large load as he has 187 carries already which is almost twice as many as Iowa running back Shonn Greene who has the second most carries at 99. Also can quarterback Brian Hoyer step up his game when the better defenses in the Big Ten load the box forcing him to pass?

In my opinion Wisconsin just hasn't be consistent as can be seen by what happened to them this past weekend. They lead Michigan 19-0 at half and lose 27-25. I feel their biggest problem is that they don't have a passing attack to compliment running back PJ Hill. If they can't put together a better passing attack they will struggle heavily in the Big Ten when defenses stop the run.

Then there is the rest of the field made up of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan and Northwestern.

Any one of these teams could emerge in the Big Ten picture come the end of the season.

Coming off a big win over Wisconsin I think Michigan has momentum but is too inexperienced on offense to play consistent enough to win in the Big Ten.

Illinois has the offense but the defense can't seem to put it together. Against Penn State there were times where the defense looked great but then there were other times where they couldn't tackle which has been an issue for them all year.

Iowa looks like a team that can be explosive and play with anyone in the Big Ten. The offense is coming around and is led by running back Shonn Greene. Last weekend against Northwestern quarterback Ricky Stanzi looked great. If the special teams were able to hold on to the football I believe the game would have been a blow out. They have the defense and the offense has the potential to be unstoppable, they just have to limit the mistakes.

On to Northwestern who is an impressive 5-0 to start the season. However, after watching them play Iowa I don't think they stand a chance. They were practically handed the game and they still couldn't pull away. Their offense had bright spots but they still didn't look like the normal Northwestern offense that I'm used to seeing.

What about Indiana? They have an explosive offense led by quarterback Kellen Lewis but the defense is non existent. Too many injuries for their defense to handle and they will not be able to do much in the Big Ten but the offense could carry them to a few upsets along the way.

Purdue has talent on the offensive side of the ball but their defense was completely destroyed last weekend as Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen had a career day throwing for 275 yards and 3 TD's.

Lastly is Minnesota which had a great start to the season starting 4-0. Even though they lost last weekend to Ohio State bringing their record to 4-1 I still saw improvement. The Gophers were not blown out by the Buckeyes. They struggled to slow down the powerful Buckeyes offense but they still didn't go away as they fell short 34-21.

From all of this mess I see only one thing and that is Penn State is the clear cut favorite to win the Big Ten. After that who knows? I see it being whoever stays healthy will finish 2nd because I don't think anyone is going to run the Big Ten and it is possible that the team that finishes 2nd will not be the Buckeyes who everyone expected to run the table in the Big Ten. Should be exciting and I look forward to hearing from you to see how you think the Big Ten will end up?