Team: Michigan State Spartans

Head Coach: Mark Dantonio

2008 Record: 9-4 (6-2), lost to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl

Behind running back Javon Ringer, last season's Michigan State Spartans shed the "underachiever" tag the team had earned the last few seasons.  They beat the teams they should have beat, and lost to the ones that were better than them.  Mark Dantonio has done a good job getting talent to East Lansing and putting together a team that plays more consistently than the Spartan teams from earlier in the decade.  The question now is, is Michigan State ready to make the leap and beat some of those upper-echelon teams?  Click "Read More" to find out...

Team: Minnesota Gophers

Head Coach: Tim Brewster

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5); Lost to Kansas in the Insight Bowl.

Last year we, along with just about everyone else, picked Minnesota to have a dreadful season. They had been average for so long but hit rock bottom in 2007 going 1-11. We felt really safe picking them to win only 3 games in 2008 but instead they stormed out of the gates with a 7-1 start. We were starting to write up our apologies, but then they lost their final 5 games to finish 7-6. We still we should still apologize because they did more than double-up the amount of wins we thought they would get, but they also managed to prove they were still very much a work in progress as they struggled with much of the Big11Ten schedule -- including losses to teams that they should have beat.  The Northwestern loss was ridiculous and for whatever reason, Michigan decided to play like the Michigan of old against the Gophers.

What a bizarre game.

After our disastrous prediction this year, we decided we'd seek the advice of some Gopher fans. No one knows their own team like the hometown fans, right? So for this preview, we're getting the scoop from Tom of The Daily Gopher. Read more to get to the rest...

Team: Indiana Hoosiers

Head Coach: Bill Lynch

2008 Record: 3-9 (1-7)

During last summer's Indiana preview, we had this to say:

"Things have changed in the Big11Ten. It used to be that you would see Indiana on your schedule and chalk the game up as a win in your mind, usually without much thought. But last year, Indiana gave us a healthy scare. While a couple key losses will hurt the Hoosiers, they have the pieces to make it back to a bowl game for the second straight year, a feat that was unheard of in years past."

Well, turns out that we -- and a lot of other people -- were wrong. Indiana struggled, they will again strike fear into the hearts of no one and the most noteable person on the IU campus will once again be this guy:

Boo.

Team: Iowa Hawkeyes

Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz

2008 Record: 9-4 (5-3), beat South Carolina in the Outback Bowl

As Penn State fans, we really hate Ohio State.  They're always good, their fans are cocky and smug because of that fact, and geographically, they're our closest rival.  While we'll always have a special cold, dark place in our hearts for the Buckeyes, maybe we should be paying more attention to Iowa, a team Penn State has lost to in six of the last seven contests.  We don't have to remind you about last year's soul-crushing loss at Kinnick Stadium that kept the Lions from an undefeated season, but we will anyway, just to get you more fired up for this year's matchup.  And if early indications about this year's Iowa squad hold true, that game is going to be another extremely tough contest.

Drew Cieszynski is about to live a college football fan's dream.  Along with three of his friends, he's embarking on "The Big 10 Tour," a crazy journey that will take him to all 11 stadiums in the conference on 11 consecutive weekends.  Drew and his friends aren't going to just take notes on the stadiums, they're going to immerse themselves in the experience of each university and its surrounding town or city.  In addition to attending 11 games, they'll hit up the best restaurants and bars around and grill it up with the best tailgaters at every school.  And if that's not enough, the crew is planning on attending the Rose Bowl in January.  The craziest part of all of this?  The guys are funding this all on their own, no sponsors, all while holding down full-time jobs.

If this sounds like a huge undertaking, Drew heads into this experience as a crafty veteran.  You see, he's already completed two sports mega-journies, touring all 30 MLB parks and all 30 NBA stadiums, both in only one season for each respective sport!  Don't worry if you're jealous of Drew; we are too.

Anyway, Drew kicks off the trip at none other than Beaver Stadium on September 5th, as Penn State takes on Akron in the season opener.  He's graciously given us the opportunity to do a little Q&A with him about his upcoming sports odyssey, and while we have about 1,000 questions we'd like to ask, we tried to narrow it down as Drew is obviously a busy dude.  Click "Read More" to check out the interview, and enjoy!

Head Coach: Danny Hope

2008 Record: 4-8 (2-6)

Last year, Purdue looked like a team in decline.  Their coach was on his way out, they didn't quite have to top-flight talent to compete and just couldn't put things together consistently. This year, Purdue is not going to be a must-watch team or anyone you circle on your calendar, but they should be on their way back up.  Danny Hope takes over the program after helping out on Tillers staff so the team gets a coach who has had a hand in the recruiting and knows the players he'll now be coaching.  The Boilermakers are going to lose some good players on offense, most noteably Curtis Painter, Kory Sheets and Greg Orton -- who just so happened to be the teams leading passer, rusher and receiver, respectively.  Losing your leaders are those three key positions is going to make things extremely difficult, and while most people expect the Boilermakers to struggle offensively, Purdue fans are being a little wary of their offense this year and have hope that the players in the system will be able to turn things around in the coming years.

For expert opinions (because experts we are not) we consulted two Purdue blogs: Boiled Sports and Hammer and Rails.

Read more to get to the rest...

The USA Today /Coaches' Preseason Top 25 poll was released today, and our Nittany Lions check in at #8.  Florida is #1 (big shocker there) and Ohio State is the highest-ranked Big11Ten team at #6.  Don't worry Buckeye fans, we'll rectify that oversight in November.  Iowa was the only other Big11Ten team on the poll, and they came in at #21.

Our stance on preseason polls is that they're pretty much meaningless.  As Clemson proved in Week 1 against Alabama last year, what matters is what plays out on the field.  This year, having Virginia Tech ranked #7 is laughable.  Get back to us when they score more than 13 points in a tough game.

So if you're excited about a #8 preseason ranking, come back down to earth and remember that PSU has a lot of new players to break in this year and that it's going to be a tough road.  But one good thing about the preseason poll is that it means the season is getting close, and that is what you should be excited about.

Here's the entire poll:

Team: Northwestern Wildcats

Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald

2008 Record: 9-4 (5-3), lost to Missouri in the Alamo Bowl