Big Ten Football: Down Today, Dominant Tomorrow

Full Disclosure: I'm a Big Ten fan. But I'm not like any of you all... SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC, Big East, or fellow Big Ten fans. I'll swallow my pride and admit it; the Big Ten is weak at football this year and has been down this whole decade. They can't hang with the SEC or Big 12, and I'm not real interested in where they slot in the lexicon with the rest of the pretenders. Purdue could run the table in conference this season (really, they could), and I wouldn't be impressed (really, I wouldn't).

But as cynical and pessimistic as I am about the conference today, I've got a raging clue at the thought of where it's headed. The Big Ten is stockpiling top head coaches, and traditionally pathetic programs are squirreling out of hibernation with a metaphorical nutsack loaded with highly ranked recruits.
In just a few years, we may not blink at the sight of eight ranked conference teams. Big Ten fans may be disappointed to see just six at one time in 2011.

Read on as I rank the Big Ten's football programs in order of just how fat they'll get feasting on wins in the near future:

1) Ohio State - In the last six seasons going into 2008, the Buckeyes had won 70 games, finished in the top-four of the coaches' poll five times, and earned at least a share of four Big Ten titles. Despite some unimpressive national title game performances and a meek loss to USC, they're showing no signs of slowing down. They already have 25 commitments for their 2009 recruiting class (including one five-star and 17 four-star prospects) that is ranked number one by Rivals, and last year's mega-signee Terrelle Pryor is looking like Texas Vince Young. Assuming Ohio State fans don't boo their young quarterback (and turn him into another Tennessee Vince Young), they can expect to see their team in BCS games every January.

2) Michigan - Their new head coach is a certifiable creeper, got his fellow conference coaches all butthurt with some shady recruiting practices, and pissed off his home state. Pretty much everyone hates him. Word doesn't seem to have reached recruits; Michigan's got 10 four-star commits in 2009, and their class is ranked sixth nationally. He did win four Big East titles in his last five seasons at West Virginia, so it's fair to assume he's got the coaching perspicacity that Lloyd Carr lacked. Once he's got a sickass running quarterback in place, Michigan will once again be on level footing with Ohio State. With how drawn high schoolers are to those sweet helmets, there's no reason for Michigan to ever be ranked outside the top-10. They won't be ever again once Rodriguez gets this Lamborghini in fifth gear.

3) Penn State - Recruiting has fallen off dramatically (they haven't been ranked in the top-20 in the team rankings since their 2006 class), and JoePa is still in good health and may be around for awhile yet. But they're loaded on both sides of the ball and primed for 10+ wins this season, Galen Hall seems to have revived a stagnant offense since coming in as offensive coordinator, and when (if?) Joe Paterno is replaced, the job will be an easy sell to hot coaching candidates thanks to crowds of 100,000+ at every home game. If Paterno retires soon and the new coach locks down the state of Pennsylvania, Penn State should be a fixture near the top of the polls like the two teams above them.

4) Michigan State - Their 2009 recruiting class is shaping up to be amazing (ranked 16th by Rivals right now, eight four-stars already). Sure they're probably cheating, but so is the whole SEC. And most of the SEC is ranked, which Michigan State will be every year come 2010 (and maybe sooner). Mark Dantonio's track record with Ohio State and at Cincinnati suggests he's a pretty good coach, too. If Brian Hoyer turns it around, they might be able to take advantage of the Big Ten being down this season and win a conference championship. If that were to happen, and Javon Ringer ends up a first round pick (which he shouldn't), the program could take off faster and higher than anyone expects.

5) Minnesota - Ripped mercilessly while winning just one game all last season for firing Glen Mason, the job Tim Brewster did in recruiting and on the field thus far this season has been overlooked. The Golden Gophers somehow pulled seven four-star recruits last season and have quadrupled their 2007 win total in just five games this year. Brewster seems to favor mobile quarterbacks, and they pulled one of the nation's best in MarQueis Gray last year, but he ended up academically ineligible. If Gray can get on the field, he could be Minnesota's Juice Williams... an exciting poster boy for a hot program. Then Minnesota fans will just have to worry about whether Brewster will stay loyal; hypocritical when you think back to what happened to Mason.

6) Wisconsin - Did you realize that Wisconsin ended the season ranked only six times in 16 years with Barry Alvarez at the helm? That shocked me. It's true, though. So it seems the perception of this program exceeds its production. Still Bret Bielema has them looking just like they did throughout Alvarez's tenure. Never lauded for their recruiting, the Badgers consistently make the most of the talent they get. "Jump Around" is pretty lame (fine,I'm just jealous), but the state of this program will always be healthy.

7) Illinois - Settle... I know the Illini were the sexy program, Juice is attracting kids from all over, etc... But Illinois has a lot talent now, yet they're not really performing. It's the ultimate Catch-22; Ron Zook is the reason Illinois has pulled a string of strong classes, but his coaching is holding them back. They'll continue to be exciting, consistently win six to nine games and chill around the bottom of the top-25 polls. But that'll make them run-of-the-mill in the new Big Ten. There's a cieling to where they can go with Zook leading them.

8) Northwestern - The Wildcats went 10-6 in Big Ten play over Randy Walker's last two seasons as head coach. Their record fell off in Pat Fitzgerald's first two seasons, but the Wildcats are 5-0 and looking good today. Recruiting is picking up; Fitzgerald has already landed a commitment from four-star lineman Patrick Ward (their first four-star commit since 2002), who was offered by Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Illinois among others, along with four other three-stars. Fitzgerald's got the D playing stout (they're allowing just over 12 points a game); adding a little more talent in the future could be enough to put the Wildcats into the polls with regularity.

9) Purdue - The talent level in West Lafayette has bottomed out in an unbelievable way. Players change positions in midweek and start on Saturday. Highly rated signees have failed to show up on campus, and when they have they've been busts. The players show nary a modicum of fire. Luckily, Danny Hope is waiting to take over from longtime (and very successful) coach Joe Tiller. By all accounts, Hope works and recruits around the clock. He gets in players' faces at practice. And he's trying to bring in the best talent in the country. On that topic, the nation's top running back recruit, Bryce Brown, is slated to take an official visit this fall. If Brown switches his commitment from Miami to Purdue (and doesn't turn out to be a baseball player, stab victim, or serial beater of women), then Purdue gets moved up this list a few ticks.

10) Iowa - Has any coach's star burned out faster than Kirk Ferentz's? Just two years after thrilling Hawkeyes fans by signing one of the richest contracts in college football, many of the same supporters were hoping a botched rape investigation would bring him down. What went wrong? Jake Christensen turned out to be more Paul Burmeister than Brad Banks and the vaunted 2005 recruiting class didn't pan out. A return to double-digit win seasons seems unlikely. Staying bowl eligible every year might be a lofty goal.

11) Indiana - The Hoosiers look to have taken a step back in Bill Lynch's second season as head coach, but there's even reason for optimism in Bloomington. 14 of 16 2009 commits are three-stars (although six lack other high-major offers), suggesting that there will more talent in a re-done Memorial Stadium than in 15 years. Indiana will be better on the field than during last year's bowl campaign, but the Big Ten is going to be so deep it probably won't be enough for them to kick open the cellar door.

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