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College Football - Who Will Reign Supreme in the Big Ten?

By Keith Thronson
Sunday, August 26th, 2001

That's a very big question this year, and most college football experts don't have a clear answer. It would have been an easy choice, if Michigan's quarterback Drew Henson, hadn't opted to play professional baseball for the New York Yankees' organization.

Not only did the Michigan Wolverines lose Henson, but also their prized wideout David Terrell, who decided to forego his senior year at Michigan, and enter the NFL draft. He was the first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He joins his ex-teammate from Michigan, running back Anthony Thomas, who was also drafted by Chicago in the second round.

Michigan finished last season with a 9-3 record, which included a bowl win over the Auburn Tigers, 31-28 in the Citrus Bowl. They will be pressed to repeat those numbers this year.

So who will lead Michigan in the 2001 season? A sophomore quarterback by the name of John Navarre. He is huge for a quarterback at 6'6", 242 lbs. He started the first four games last season for Michigan, while Drew Henson recovered from a broken right foot. He was quite impressive.

Michigan will rely on sophomore running back Chris Perry to establish their running game. He's no Anthony Thomas, though.

At receiver, Marquise Walker will be the main target. Ronald Bellamy is a threat downfield.

The defensive line is young and inexperienced, but the coaches will hopefully have them ready to play on opening day. Linebackers Eric Brackins and Larry Foote, who are seniors, are tough and fast. Michigan may have the best secondary in college football.

Michigan opens their season Sept. 1st against Miami of Ohio at home. Good practice game. Then, Sept. 8th, they travel to play Washington. That game will make or break the Wolverines.

So who else is a threat to win the Big Ten? A lot of sportswriters are saying the Northwestern Wildcats will win the conference. They were 8-4 last season, which included a loss to Nebraska, in the Alamo Bowl. They were crushed by Nebraska 66-17. Those same sportswriters say Northwestern could be ranked in the top ten by the end of the season.

Who will lead Northwestern to such greatness? Have you ever heard of senior tailback Damien Anderson? He only rushed for 2,014 yards last season, finishing second in the nation in rushing. He set or tied an impressive twenty-three school records. This man can run and run. He's certainly a candidate for the coveted Heisman Trophy.

The offense will be led by quarterback Zak Kustok. He threw for 2,251 yards last season, that included 18 touchdown passes. He rushed for 450 yards and nine touchdowns, as well. He can hurt you passing or running, which is a lethal combination for a quarterback.

Last fall, the Wildcats led the Big Ten in total offense (475.6 yards per game) and scoring (38.6 points per game). That's nothing to sneeze at. They have ten offensive starters returning, which will do nothing but help matters.

The defense gave up the big play too much last year, so that needs to change right away. The defense returns six starters. They must follow their assignments and stay in their areas. The Wildcats run a 4-3 defense and their linebackers are considered the best in the Big Ten.

Head coach Randy Walker is considered one of the best young coaches in the game. Let's hope he doesn't jump ships to the NFL, as many young college coaches are persuaded to do.

Northwestern opens their season on Sept. 7th against UNLV in Las Vegas. Their first big matchup comes against Michigan State Sept. 29th, however.

By now, everyone has heard of the tragedy that occurred at Northwestern a few weeks ago. Senior safety Rashidi Wheeler suffered a severe asthma attack on the practice field and died. What a tremendous loss for the program and a tremendous loss for those that knew him as a person. He will be sorely missed.

The Wisconsin Badgers, led by Head Coach Barry Alvarez, cannot be overlooked. Wisconsin finished last season 9-4, beating UCLA in the Sun Bowl 21-20.

In last year's loss to Northwestern in overtime 47-44, Coach Alvarez noticed that the Wildcats really spread their offense to run the ball. So he has decided to try it with his team and see what happens. He used it in a few plays in their Sun Bowl victory over UCLA, with success.

Gone is running back Michael Bennett, he was drafted by the Vikings in last year's NFL draft. Wisconsin may have to rely on three red shirt freshmen to get their running game going again. The offensive line is a concern, too. They allowed 43 sacks last season.

The defense runs a 4-3 scheme and it is built to stop the run. Luckily for Wisconsin, they have Northwestern and Purdue off their schedule this year.

This will not be an easy year for the Badgers, though. Wisconsin won their opening day game on August 25, against the Virginia Caviliers, 26-17. On Sept. 1st, they play the high-powered offense of Oregon in Oregon. I said it wasn't going to be easy.

Let's not forget about the Purdue Boilermakers, the Michigan State Spartans, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. These three teams don't figure to make the top twenty this year, but deserve mention. That's highly unusual for Ohio State. They finished 8-4 last season, but lost to a tough South Carolina team in the Outback Bowl 24-7. As you well know by now, Purdue's ex-quarterback Drew Brees is in the NFL now and Michigan State will be lucky if they finish at .500. See you at the game.

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