A quick take on 2005 Big Ten football:

Here is how I see it shaking out:

1) Michigan-they are my favorite team, so maybe I am biased but they are capable of finishing first. The offense if anything should be even better than last year with experienced players returning at quarterback and running back. The question mark is the defense...if they get the job done, then an undefeated regular season and a shot at the national championship is entirely do-able. If not, then two losses may occur.

2) Ohio State-they stumbled early last season, but came on strong in the end and that momentum should help them get off to a better start. I see the Big Ten race coming down to the Big Game at Ann Arbor on November 19...just as it should.

3) Iowa-the Hawkeyes are a solid team that always gives it their best, but there are too many question marks so I see them coming in third.

4) Minnesota-they started out strong then faded at the end of the regular season, but they have a lot of starters coming back and have built a pretty good program in recent years.

5) Penn State-the Lions were horrible on offense last year (a 6-4 loss to Iowa being merely the ugliest incident) but they are strong on defense and return most of their starters. And one should never count a team coached by Joe Paterno out too soon.

6) Michigan State-the Spartans had an up and down 2004 and 2005 looks to be more of the same. They have a fair amount of talent and potential, but also lost a lot of starters, particularly on offense.

7) Purdue-they are not called the Spoilermakers for nothing, and they usually manage to field at least a competitive team. Their entire defense returns, but they lost their starting QB and one starting WR to graduation. They may do better than this, but in a competitive conference I see them struggling to do much better than seventh place.

8) Wisconsin-the Badgers are also probably a better team than this ranking indicates, but with so many good teams someone has to finish in the lower spots. They collapsed down the stretch last season and also lost many starters (6 on offense, 7 on defense) to graduation. Therefore I see a rebuilding year in Madison.

9) Northwestern-Another team that has a tough time competing in the very tough Big Ten. They finished a respectable 6-6 overall and 5-3 last year, and knocked off two ranked teams (Ohio State and Purdue). Maybe they will do better than ninth place, but it will take all the effort they have to give.

10) Illinois-this program has a new coach which is usually worth at least something in terms of fresh thinking and positive attitude. That being said, the Illini have not exactly done much lately so they would do well to just get out of the league basement.

11) Indiana-The Hoosiers finished in a tie for last with Illinois last year (both had identical 1-7 league and 3-8 overall records). Over half of last year's offense is gone, including the QB, RB, and two WRs. It is going to be another long "waiting for basketball" season in Bloomington, where hardly anyone seems to care anyway (average home attendance of just 28,377).