DiHard
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2004 Pre-Season Predictions for the Big Ten
written by DiHard (6/21/2004)
Say what you want about parity and the Big Ten, but in reality it is still Ohio State and Michigan that run the show. Sure an Illinois, Iowa, Purdue or Wisconsin will sporadically have a good year …..but year-in and year-out it is still the big two who rule the midwest. 2004 will be no different. The 2004 Ohio State-Michigan game will determine the top two spots in the conference and the winner will play for the National Championship in the Orange Bowl. Paint the Endzones.
Following is my reverse order prediction for the Big Ten and a brief analysis of each squad.
11. INDIANA- The Hoosiers are getting better and better under the leadership of HC Gary DiNardo…but they were so far down that another year of improvement will still result in a cellar finish. Its still hard to believe that Indiana fired Bill Mallory….all he did is take the Hoosiers to six bowl games in an eight year span (86-93).
Key Offensive Player: Courtney Roby (6-0, 185) WR. Ran a 4.02 pro agility and is a real speedster. Caught 45 balls last year. That’s saying a lot when LoVecchio is throwing it his way. In a real offense, Roby would be a star.
Key Defensive Player: Victor Adeyanju (6-4,270) DE. Great motor kid who will play in the NFL for a long-long time.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: OSU 31- IU 10
2004 Record: 2-9
10. NORTHWESTERN- Probably the most undeserving bowl team in the history of the NCAA last year. Sure they finished 6-6, but they beat absolutely nobody……then were beaten by a MAC team in the prestigious Motor City Bowl. This year the schedule is not favorable as they face both TCU and Arizona State in non-conference games. A hint as to how tough this year is going to be for the Cats is that their returning QB (Basanez) had a td-to-int ratio of 4-12 last year.
Key Offensive Player: Noah Herron (5-11,230) RB. Noah has his job cut out for him, as he has to replace a great RB in Jason Wright. Not that Noah did poorly when given the chance last year (119carries-759yds-6.2avg), but can he be “the man.” Most especially, can he do it with a very poor quarterback and receivers? The O-line is very good though.
Key Defensive Player: Tim McGarigle (6-1,230) LB. HM Big10 last year after recording an impressive 140 tackles…five for loss. He will only be a junior this year and has All-Big Ten written all over him.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: OSU 27- NU 6
2004 Record: 2-9
9. ILLINOIS- The only reason I have the Illini above the Hoosiers and Wildcats is because this is a make-or-break year for HC Ron Turner. That’s good enough to get the Illini out of the cellar, but I am confident that Turner has his resume updated already. There is just nothing to work with on this team. An easy non-conference schedule gives them a chance at getting some momentum going into Big Ten play. Then they will fall apart again…..just like last year. If this team quits on Turner early in the year, they are falling to the cellar.
Key Offensive Player: Martin O’Donnell (6-5,290) LT. He is a red-shirt freshman, but was one of the nations top recruits coming out of high school. It says a lot about the Illini offense that a freshman lineman is the key to their offense….but if O’Donnell can play well, it is the best thing that can happen to the Illini this year.
Key Defensive Player: Kelvin Hayden (6-0,190) CB. Kelvin was the teams leading receiver last year with 52 catches…he is one of four offensive players (rb virgil morris, rb james cooper and wr jamaal clark are the others) being moved to DB. Kelvin has great talent and if he can become a solid Big Ten corner, it will give a real boost to the Defense.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: Don’t Play. If they did: OSU 41- Illini 3
2004 Record: 3-8
Ill get to the next three when my lazy arse gets around to it........
written by DiHard (6/21/2004)
Say what you want about parity and the Big Ten, but in reality it is still Ohio State and Michigan that run the show. Sure an Illinois, Iowa, Purdue or Wisconsin will sporadically have a good year …..but year-in and year-out it is still the big two who rule the midwest. 2004 will be no different. The 2004 Ohio State-Michigan game will determine the top two spots in the conference and the winner will play for the National Championship in the Orange Bowl. Paint the Endzones.
Following is my reverse order prediction for the Big Ten and a brief analysis of each squad.
11. INDIANA- The Hoosiers are getting better and better under the leadership of HC Gary DiNardo…but they were so far down that another year of improvement will still result in a cellar finish. Its still hard to believe that Indiana fired Bill Mallory….all he did is take the Hoosiers to six bowl games in an eight year span (86-93).
Key Offensive Player: Courtney Roby (6-0, 185) WR. Ran a 4.02 pro agility and is a real speedster. Caught 45 balls last year. That’s saying a lot when LoVecchio is throwing it his way. In a real offense, Roby would be a star.
Key Defensive Player: Victor Adeyanju (6-4,270) DE. Great motor kid who will play in the NFL for a long-long time.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: OSU 31- IU 10
2004 Record: 2-9
10. NORTHWESTERN- Probably the most undeserving bowl team in the history of the NCAA last year. Sure they finished 6-6, but they beat absolutely nobody……then were beaten by a MAC team in the prestigious Motor City Bowl. This year the schedule is not favorable as they face both TCU and Arizona State in non-conference games. A hint as to how tough this year is going to be for the Cats is that their returning QB (Basanez) had a td-to-int ratio of 4-12 last year.
Key Offensive Player: Noah Herron (5-11,230) RB. Noah has his job cut out for him, as he has to replace a great RB in Jason Wright. Not that Noah did poorly when given the chance last year (119carries-759yds-6.2avg), but can he be “the man.” Most especially, can he do it with a very poor quarterback and receivers? The O-line is very good though.
Key Defensive Player: Tim McGarigle (6-1,230) LB. HM Big10 last year after recording an impressive 140 tackles…five for loss. He will only be a junior this year and has All-Big Ten written all over him.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: OSU 27- NU 6
2004 Record: 2-9
9. ILLINOIS- The only reason I have the Illini above the Hoosiers and Wildcats is because this is a make-or-break year for HC Ron Turner. That’s good enough to get the Illini out of the cellar, but I am confident that Turner has his resume updated already. There is just nothing to work with on this team. An easy non-conference schedule gives them a chance at getting some momentum going into Big Ten play. Then they will fall apart again…..just like last year. If this team quits on Turner early in the year, they are falling to the cellar.
Key Offensive Player: Martin O’Donnell (6-5,290) LT. He is a red-shirt freshman, but was one of the nations top recruits coming out of high school. It says a lot about the Illini offense that a freshman lineman is the key to their offense….but if O’Donnell can play well, it is the best thing that can happen to the Illini this year.
Key Defensive Player: Kelvin Hayden (6-0,190) CB. Kelvin was the teams leading receiver last year with 52 catches…he is one of four offensive players (rb virgil morris, rb james cooper and wr jamaal clark are the others) being moved to DB. Kelvin has great talent and if he can become a solid Big Ten corner, it will give a real boost to the Defense.
2004 OSU Predicted Score: Don’t Play. If they did: OSU 41- Illini 3
2004 Record: 3-8
Ill get to the next three when my lazy arse gets around to it........
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