West
Schedule Strength: Easy
Key Losses: RB James White, WR Jared Abbrederis, DT Beau Allen, ILB Chris Borland and S Dez Southward
Top NFL Prospects: RB Melvin Gordon, LT Tyler Marz, RT Rob Havenstein, LG Dallas Lewallen and RG Kyle Costigan
Summary: No matter if the Badgers continue to run their traditional power offense or move towards the spread, the Badgers will rely on four returning starters on the offensive line and RB Melvin Gordon. Outside of that there are plenty of questions. Can a QB emerge? How about a WR to step up? How about only having three starters back on defense? Luckily they avoid Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State, and their only tough road game is Iowa.
2. Iowa Hawkeyes
Schedule Strength: Easy
Key Losses: TE CJ Fiedorowicz, LB Christian Kirksey and OLB Anthony Hitchens
Top NFL Prospects: QB Jake Rudock, LT Brandon Scherff and DT Carl Davis
Summary: After a surprise 8-4 season the Hawkeyes are the trendy pick to win the West. Their offense is arguably the best in the West with QB Jake Rudock back to build off of last year. The big question will be how they replace their three linebackers who started the past four years. Having an easy schedule that sees both Nebraska and Wisconsin at home sets them up very well.
3. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Schedule Strength: Moderately easy
Key Losses: WR Quincy Enunwa, RG Spencer Long and CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Top NFL Prospects: RB Ameer Abdullah, WR Kenny Bell, LG Jake Cotton, DE Randy Gregory and SS Corey Cooper
Summary: Under head coach Bo Pelini two things are constant, at least nine wins but also four losses. Can they break past that plateau? If they do it's because their defensive becomes the best in the Big 10 and the offense relies on RB Ameer Abdullah and the run game. If they can beat Wisconsin and Iowa on the road they should win the division. Otherwise it's another four loss season.
4. Northwestern Wildcats
Schedule Strength: Moderately easy
Key Loss: No Players Drafted
Top NFL Draft Prospects: RB Venric Mark, FB Dan Vitale, WR Kyle Prater, C Brandon Vitabile, OLB Ch Chi Ariguzo, and SS Ibraheim Campbell
Summary: Last year was a complete disaster for the Wildcats who were not as bad as their seven losses would indicate. This was a team that was a few yards short of knocking off Ohio State. Look for a bounce back year with 17 starters coming back. Offensively they'll transition to more of a passing spread with Kolter gone. They have talent on defense and if they can stay healthy they should return to their 8-9 wins per season like we've seen over the past several years.
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Schedule Strength: Moderate
Key Losses: DT Ra'Shede Hageman and S Brock Vereen
Top NFL Prospects: RB David Cobb, LG Zac Epping, DE Theiren Cockran and MLB Damien Wilson
Summary: Winning eight games despite Jerry Kill's epilepsy forcing him to the coaches box was a big story last year. Minnesota does return 15 starters but really lacks any dynamic players. They'll get the ball to Cobb and run down your throat, but nobody on their offense really scares you. Defensively they have a very talented MLB in Damien Wilson but won't be able to replace Hageman and Vereen who were All Big Ten caliber players. Their schedule isn't bad and they are a dark-horse contender, but it's still not as easy as the teams ahead of them.
6. Illinois Fighting Illini
Schedule Strength: Moderately Tough
Key Loss: No players drafted
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Wes Lunt, RB Josh Ferguson and FS Zane Petty
Summary: Last year was a slight improvement winning three of their first four, but it went downhill after that winning only one more game. Getting QB Wes Lunt to transfer from Oklahoma State was a big win. The Illini biggest issue is they lack the elite talent that you need to win games. Lunt added to Josh Furgeson (1,346 total yards in 2013) will help, but that's where it stops. They have some winnable conference games at home (Purdue, Minnesota) but they'll need to upset somebody if they want to bowling and to keep Tim Beckman's job.
7. Purdue Boilermakers
Schedule Strength: Moderately Tough
Key Loss: LT Kevin Pamphile and CB Ricardo Allen
Top NFL Draft Prospect: DE Ryan Russell
Summary: A program that use to be a torn in the side of top Big 10 teams has now turned into the worse program in the conference. Instead of seeing players like Brees, Short, Kerigan and Avril wearing black and gold were left struggling to find draftable players on the roster. What Purdue has in their favor is 15 returning starters. Hopefully added experience can help them improve from only one win last year.
East
1. Michigan State Spartans
Schedule Strength: Moderate
Key Loss: CB Darqueze Dennard
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Connor Cook, RB Jeremy Langford, DE Shilique Calhoun, DE Marcus Rush, OLB Taiwan Jones, CB Trae Waynes, and FS Kurtis Drummond
Summary: Don't last year was a one year wonder. They did lose a few big pieces on defense, but they have elite talent in Calhoun, Waynes and Drummond while Pat Narduzzi has built a plug and play system. What's different this year is they have a QB in Connor Cook that can win them games. The division will come down to their November 8th match up with Ohio State which happens to be in East Lansing.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
Schedule Strength: Moderately Easy
Key Losses: RB Carlos Hyde, LT Jack Mewhort, C Corey Linsley, OLB Ryan Shazier, CB Bradley Roby and SS Christian Bryant
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Braxton Miller, WR Devin Smith, TE Jeff Heuerman, DE Noah Spence, DT Adolphus Washington, DT Michael Bennett and CB Doran Grant
Summary: Once again the Buckeyes will be Big 10 Title and playoff contenders. Urban Meyer has really loaded this team with talent, mainly on defense where their young players are only getting better. If Braxton Miller develops as a passer the Buckeyes would be a legit National Title Contender. But they'll need to beat Michigan State on the road first.
3. Michigan Wolverines
Schedule Strength: Moderate
Key Losses: WR Jeremy Gallon, LT Taylor Lewan and RT Michael Schofield
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Devin Gardner, TE Devon Funchess, DE Frank Clark, LB Jake Ryan and CB Blake Countess
Summary: Instead of the wide open Leaders Division they are grouped with Ohio State and Michigan State and their chances of a Big 10 Title this season don't look promising. Especially since their previous top 10 recruiting classes haven't panned out. Their offensive line was the big issue last year and they lost the two best they had. They really need their interior lineman to develop otherwise we'll see Devin Gardner running around again. They should bounce back but they just aren't as good as the two top teams and will find themselves battling for third place at best.
4. Indiana Hoosiers
Schedule Strength: Moderate
Key Losses: WR Cody Latimer and TE Ted Bolser
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Nate Sudfeld, RB Tevin Coleman, LB David Cooper and CB Tim Bennett
Summary: What was once the conference doormat has slowly being built up under offensive guru Kevin Wilson. With 17 of 22 starters back the Hoosiers are primed to get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2007. They'll miss WR Cody Latimer but this is a system offense and with QB Nate Sudfeld back to run the offense they shouldn't miss the beat. However they'll only go as far as their defense which gave up 28.5 points per game. But that's down from the past three years so with nine starters back we'll see improvement.
5. Penn State Nittany Lions
Schedule Strength: Moderate
Key Losses: WR Allen Robinson, RG John Urschel and DT DaQuan Jones
Top NFL Draft Prospects: TE Jesse James, TE Kyle Carter, LT Donovan Smith, OG Miles Dieffenbach, MLB Mike Hull, and FS Adrian Amos
Summary: With Bill O'Brien out and James Franklin in it should be interesting to see how if the Nittany Lions can continue to have success despite the NCAA sanctions. QB Christian Hackenberg is an elite talent while the offensive line is no slouch. Defensively they return seven starters that will help them stay in games. Their schedule sets up nice, but the scholarship limits have taken a toll on their depth, they desperately need to stay healthy.
6. Maryland Terrapins
Schedule Strength: Moderately tough
Key Loss: CB Dexter McDougle
Top NFL Draft Prospects: WR Stefon Diggs, WR Deon Long, DT Darius Kilgo, OLB Matt Robinson and S Sean Davis
Summary: Last year in the ACC they were able to win seven games but it won't be that easy this season. Especially drawing Iowa and Wisconsin from the West while having to travel to Michigan State. Luckily they come to the Big 10 with 17 starters returning which should help. Maryland will sport the top WR tandem in the league, but they'll only go as far as their QB takes them. And I'm not willing to bet on CJ Brown. Look for a hard introduction into Big 10 play.
7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Schedule Strength: Tough
Key Losses: No Players Drafted
Top NFL Draft Prospects: QB Gary Nova, TE Tyler Koft, G Kaleb Johnson and OLB Steve Longa
Summary: Not only are the Scarlet Knights moving up in competition but they were dealt a brutal schedule by the Big 10. In this expansion era teams moving up in competition usually means that team will struggle. Rutgers won't be the exception. They're an experienced team (16 starters back), but they're lacking the Ray Rice and Kenny Britt's that really made this team a contender in the past. Then you add the tough East Division and having the top two teams in the West and it will be difficult for Rutgers to improve on their six wins from last year.
Conference Title Game
Michigan State over Wisconsin
Coach of the Year: Gary Anderson, Wisconsin
Coach on the Hotseat: Tim Beckham, Illinois
Coordinator for Hire: Pat Narduzzi, Michigan State (Defensive Coordinator)
Top 20 Prospects for the 2015 NFL Draft
1. Randy Gregory DE Nebraska
2. Connor Cook QB Michigan State
3. Devon Funchess TE Michigan
4. Shilique Calhoun DE Michigan State
5. Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
6. Noah Spence DE Ohio State
7. Tyler Kroft TE Rutgers
8. Brandon Scherff OT Iowa
9. Michael Bennett DT Ohio State
10. Kurtis Drummond S Michigan State
11. Ameer Abdullah RB Nebraska
12. Trae Waynes CB Michigan State
13. Venric Mark RB Northwestern
14. Carl Davis DT Iowa
15. Stefon Diggs WR Maryland
16. Ibraheim Campbell S Northwestern
17. Doran Grant CB Ohio State
18. Jeff Heuerman TE Ohio State
19. Ryan Russell DE Purdue
20. Kenny Bell WR Nebraska
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