talking10 Power Poll: Surprises galore in Week 1 poll

[Da-news-now]

We’re back…after a long offseason, the staff is finally back to watching football, crunching numbers and giving you our opinions on all things Big Ten football. It also means our weekly staff Power Poll is back as well. This season we’ve got five staff members voting every week. That includes the following names: Andy Coppens – @AndyOnFootball Phil Harrison –...

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[TW]

It may be a little early to say that Penn State and Ohio State are the two Eastern Big 10 powerhouses. Yet, if you go by the hype, and the returning members of last year's teams, it might not be far off. I just don't want to throw Maryland under the bus, or Michigan, whose nucleus is pretty darned strong. It's going to be a dog fight to see who wins out there.

In the West, despite the lofty expectations for the Badgers to win it, then get whipped in the Big 10 championship by one of those "Eastern powers," I'm not certain they're going to win the West, let alone fall to the big dogs in the east.

I see Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Minnesota all as teams capable of upsetting the Badgers, and keeping them out of the championship game, before the season ends. There are no easy opponents there. At least not at this point.

As far as championship games, they can be more or less than preseason hype. It could be the Badgers, and they could be blown out by one of the big dogs. But, what happens if Hornibrook goes down with an injury? Can Coan guide this team to wins? Too many uncertainties, and a lack of depth in areas that matter too much on the scoreboard.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, hoping the Badgers actually do get there, for the Big 10 Championship game. It's not going to be easy, and I doubt they will have a perfect record if they do.

 

[Mark87]

It may be a little early to say that Penn State and Ohio State are the two Eastern Big 10 powerhouses. Yet, if you go by the hype, and the returning members of last year's teams, it might not be far off. I just don't want to throw Maryland under the bus, or Michigan, whose nucleus is pretty darned strong. It's going to be a dog fight to see who wins out there.

In the West, despite the lofty expectations for the Badgers to win it, then get whipped in the Big 10 championship by one of those "Eastern powers," I'm not certain they're going to win the West, let alone fall to the big dogs in the east.

I see Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Minnesota all as teams capable of upsetting the Badgers, and keeping them out of the championship game, before the season ends. There are no easy opponents there. At least not at this point.

As far as championship games, they can be more or less than preseason hype. It could be the Badgers, and they could be blown out by one of the big dogs. But, what happens if Hornibrook goes down with an injury? Can Coan guide this team to wins? Too many uncertainties, and a lack of depth in areas that matter too much on the scoreboard.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, hoping the Badgers actually do get there, for the Big 10 Championship game. It's not going to be easy, and I doubt they will have a perfect record if they do.

Maryland lost its starting QB and best defensive player for the season... hard pressed to compete now.

 

[TW]

True. I hadn't noticed that. They're going to take a few hits because of it. You just can't win if you can't move the football, and lose guys who are leaders on defense.