Early Prediction of Division Winners

It was posted by myself in a separate thread (albeit somewhat off topic) that I believe that OBrien transferring to Wisconsin will help UW get back to the B1G championship game again in 2012. I believe I said OBrien and Wisconsin will, "... have the league's best RB, the league's best TE and even though Toon is gone he'll have the league's most underrated WR (IMO) abredaris to throw to. I know UW's O line lost a lot of talent but they are UW and O line is their bread and butter. they will reload, he'll be plenty safe back there." All that said, I fully believe O$U is one year away from putting the pieces together so UW gets the nod in the Leaders Division for 2012.

But all that UW talk brings up the other point... Who win's the Legends?

There has been some discussion and argument about who comes out of the Legends in 2012. Michigan, Sparty, Nebraska?

I have predicted that Nebraska will win the division and face UW for the B1G championship. Not that I don't think the UM will give Nebraska a run but I fully believe that the division will come down to Michigan at Nebraska. I believe the winner of that game will represent the Legends in Indy. The reasons I give the nod to Nebraska are simple.

1. Nebraska at home is going to be a tough atmosphere
2. You can bet your next paycheck Nebraska won't have as many turnovers
3. Nebraska won't have as many special teams fails either
4. Michigan won't get a comfy lead by running off 21 strait points
5. Nebraska won't be held to 260 total yards

I looked at the stat sheet and UM rushed the ball 61 times last year. UM will have to have a more balanced attack this year because the close score is going to make them throw it a bit more.

I have every bit of faith that next year's team will be fully capable of beating Nebraska. I think they match up really well, and perhaps you can make the case that UM is actually the more talented team but I just see UM coming out with the L this year.

And for those of you who have little to no faith in Taylor Martinez... I saw a little segment on him on the BTN the other day. It was mostly about how the coaches have gone about "fixing" him in the off season. On tape (in 7 on 7 drills) he looked really sharp. He seems to have gotten that "internal clock" he's been missing. His drops looked good. His feet looked good. They clearly fixed his shoulders. He was reading the routes, picking up his receivers and his timing looked nice. All that said, I'm still as skeptical as the next guy. I need to Martinez in game action before I give any real evaluation but from what I did see he seems to be heading in the right direction. All I'm saying at this point is don't count him out.

On the flip side I could play devil's advocate and make that same case for Denard's improvement as well.

The Nebraska game aside, UM will beat Sparty this year. That will be UM's only other test.

My early prediction is UW vs Nebraska in the B1G championship game. UW wins and faces Oregon in the Rose Bowl again. UW is the first back-to-back-to-back loser of the Rose Bowl.

Thoughts, Comments, Rebuttals please.

I think Wiscy caught lightning in a bottle last season, I doubt that a new QB can come in and make a huge impact in his first season, especially not two years in a row. Having said that, I can definitely see O$U, Illini, and PSU all being down, so if O'Brien is merely adequate, Wiscy looks good for the Division title.

I see Michigan, Sparty, and Neb strong in the Legends, with UM on top.

So, I'm going Wiscy v UM in the title game with UM coming out on top at a neutral field.

I will say the other division is a joke right now. PSU is mediocre, Ohio will be working through kinks all season, and all others besides UW flat out suck.

UW will have all of that to its advantage, and win that side.

I think Sandy may be right regarding that game in Lincoln, and I truly, unbiasedly (is that a word?) believe we win that game. Their coaches can say they're "fixing" Martinez all they want, but his throwing motion will always haunt that kid. I think Burkhead is overrated (not by a whole lot, but definitely to a degree.) That game comes down to DR's ability to create, and our D's ability to shut down that bullshit shotgun-option attack. I like DR's chances. Lavonte David made countless TD/HUUUGE-saving tackles last season.

He's gone.

They'll reload, but he was something special (crazy how awful his combine was...). I envision a 'low' scoring game. 24-14 UofM.

All that aside, we can't count out the schmucks from EL. We win that one and the Nebraska game, we're in Indy. We win one, we may need a game out of our hands to swing in our favor.


Damn...is it Sept. yet?