What to look forward to in the Big Ten Conference in 2010 at QB?

The Big Ten Conference ended the 2009 season with four teams picking up at least 10 wins overall and defeating four Top 15 opponents to close out the season in bowl play.

• Ohio State
• Iowa
• Penn State
• Wisconsin

Northwestern, Michigan State and Minnesota all finished in a bowl game, but lost. The Big Ten finished 4-3 in bowls during the 2009-10 bowl schedule. Purdue finished 4-4 in the Big Ten, but didn't get bowl eligible in 2009 under first year coach Danny Hope. Illinois finished 9Th, while Michigan dropped to the cellar with Indiana in 2009.

There is a lot of talent returning in the Big Ten Conference for the 2010 season, including experienced quarterbacks.

Lucky Seven Back Under Center: The Big Ten welcomes back seven starting quarterbacks from the 2009 season, five of which led their teams to bowl appearances. Iowa senior Ricky Stanzi and Ohio State junior Terrelle Pryor each led their squads to BCS victories last January, Stanzi in the Orange Bowl and Pryor in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin senior Scott Tolzien led the Badgers to a victory in the Champs Sports Bowl, while Minnesota senior Adam Weber guided the Gophers to the Insight Bowl. Michigan State junior Kirk Cousins guided the Spartans' in their 31-point effort in the Alamo Bowl. Also returning in 2010 is the conference's top statistical passer, Indiana senior Ben Chappell, and Michigan sophomore Tate Forcier, the only full-time freshman starting quarterback in the Big Ten last year.

Seven starting QBs do return for the 2010 season in the Big Ten Conference. Quarterback play is often one of the key factors to success in college football. It should be another interesting season in 2010.

• Iowa senior Ricky Stanzi returned from a 2-3 game injury for the Orange Bowl. Stanzi lead Iowa to a 24-14 win over the ACC-champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Sophomore James Vandenberg started two games in relief of the injured Stanzi and provides a solid 1-2 punch for the Hawkeyes, if needed.


• Ohio State junior Terrelle Pryor returns, after leading the Buckeyes to the Big Ten championship, the fifth straight, and a 26-17 win in the Rose Bowl over the Pac Ten champion Oregon Ducks.


• Wisconsin senior Scott Tolzien lead the Badgers to 20-14 win over Miami-FL in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Badgers return 10 of 11 starters on offense in 2010. Sadly, projected #2 QB sophomore Curt Phillips has been lost for the 2010 season, due to a knee injury.


• Michigan State junior Kirk Cousins enters the 2010 season as the clear #1, as junior Keith Nichol has been moved the WR, after battling Cousins for the #1 job in the early part of the 2009 season.


• Minnesota senior Adam Weber returns as a three-year starter for the Golden Gophers. But, one has to wonder, if we will see more of sophomore QB MarQueis Gray or redshirt freshman Moses Alipate , after Weber's up and down junior season?


• Indiana senior Ben Chappell returns for the 2010 season to lead Hoosiers, coached by Bill Lynch, now in his fourth season. Chappel's freshman season in '07 was the last bowl appearance for Hoosier program, ending a drought, since 1993


• Michigan sophomore Tate Forcier returns, but will he stay #1 with sophomore Denard Robinson battling again for playing time at QB for the Wolverines? Could true freshman Devin Gardner emerge for coach Rich Rodriquez, who is entering his third season in Ann Arbor?

The other four schools must replace the top signal caller in 2010.

• Northwestern returns junior Dan Persa, who played in relief for departed Mike Kafka, especially the midway part of Northwestern's upset win over Iowa to end Iowa's 13 game winning streak. The Wildcats are coming off a 35-38 OT loss to Auburn in the Outback Bowl.


• Penn State has to find the replacement for two-year starter Daryll Clark, who help lead the Nittany Lions to a share of the 2008 Big Ten title. Sophomores Kevin Newsome and Matthew McGloin will battle with true freshman Paul Jones for the 2010 quarterback job in Happy Valley.


• Purdue looks for Miami-FL transfer sophomore Robert Marve to replace departed Joey Elliott to lead the Boilermakers offense in 2010.


• Illinois will have to replace four-year starter departed Juice Williams at quarterback and former backup senior Eddie McGee has moved to receiver for the Fighting Illini. Look for redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase, son of former Iowa defensive back Nate Creer, to get the first opportunity. Scheelhaase will be backed up by sophomore Jacob Charest.

The 2010 College Football season will kicks off on Thursday September 2, 2010 with three Big Ten programs (Ohio State, Indiana and Minnesota) playing.

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Big Ten Football: A look at the Quarterbacks for 2009

Ohio State has won a share or won outright the past four Big Ten Conference titles. One common denominator has been that the Ohio State quarterback has lead the conference in pass efficiency each of the four seasons. In 2004, the Buckeyes finished 4-4 in the Big Ten and their top QB wasn't in the Top 3 in passing efficiency that season.

* - Returning Starters

Top Returning QBs in the Big Ten

1. Terrelle Pryor, soph., Ohio State*
2. Juice Williams, senior, Illinois*
3. Daryll Clark, senior, Penn State*
4. Ricky Stanzi, junior, Iowa*
5. Adam Weber, junior, Minnesota*
6. Dustin Sherer, senior, Wisconsin*
7. Ben Chappell, junior, Indiana
8. Mike Kafka, senior, Northwestern
9. Joey Elliott, senior, Purdue
10. Nick Sheridan, junior, Michigan

Top Back-ups returning

1. Eddie McGee, junior, Illinois
2. Kirk Cousins, sophomore, Michigan State
3. Joe Bauserman, sophomore, Ohio State
4. Dan Persa, sophomore, Northwestern

Top Newcomers

1. Tate Forcier, true freshman, Michigan
2. Keith Nichol, sophomore, Michigan State (OU transfer)
3. Kevin Newsome, true freshman, Penn State
4. James Vandeberg, redshirt frosh, Iowa
5. Curt Phillips, redshirt frosh, Wisconsin
6. MarQueis Gray, Prop 48 freshman, Minnesota
7. Caleb TerBush, redshirt frosh, Purdue
8. Adam Follett, redshirt frosh, Indiana

Quarterbacks from 2008 that have departed

1. Brian Hoyer, senior '08, Michigan State*
2. C.J. Bacher, senior '08, Northwestern*
3. Curtis Painter, senior '08, Purdue*
4. Pat Devlin, sophomore, '08, Penn State (transferred to Delaware)
5. Kellen Lewis, junior '08, Indiana (dismissed)*
6. Steven Threet, freshman '08, Michigan (transferred to Arizona State)*

Six starters return in the Big Ten for the 2009 season, including the conference's Top 4 in passing efficiency from '08. Michigan State will have a brand new starter, while part-time starters look to fill the roles at Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue. Michigan may open with a true frosh in the starting lineup.

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Iowa @ Pitt: First road test for Hawkeyes in '08

Another Big Ten vs. Big East match up against two teams looking to grab some momentum before conference play begins for '08.


Iowa (3-0) will meet Pitt (1-1) at Heinz Field, in Pittsburgh, Saturday at 11 am on ESPN2. It will be the first meeting between the two teams, since 1952. Pitt is a slight favorite at home.


The Hawkeyes and Panthers both entered the season looking to redeem their programs, after a couple of years of down times. The Hawkeyes haven't had a winning season, since 2005, while the Panthers have been shut out of a bowl game, since 2004.


The Hawkeyes will bring a two-quarterback attack to Heinz field on Saturday. Junior Jake Christensen will make his second start of the season, with sophomore Ricky Stanzi in relief for Week 4. Pittsburgh will counter with junior QB Bill Stull at the helm. Ball security will be important for both teams. Stull had a rough freshmen season as the primary starter. Christensen for Iowa is usually good at keeping mistakes to a minimum, but his consistency will be tested as he battles to be the #1 quarterback for Iowa.

The running game will be something to watch on Saturday. Iowa lost all three running backs from '07, but junior Shonn Greene has ran for three straight 100-yard games, since returning to the Iowa team, after spending '07 focusing on academics at a JUCO. Pitt's top running back, sophomore LeSean McCoy, is looking to get on track in '08, after earning Big East freshman player of the year honors in '07.

The real area to watch in this game is the line-play. The strong suit for both team is the defensive front, so it will be interesting to see, which O-Line finishes stronger in this match up. Iowa appears to have the edge in O-Line, but this will be the first road test for Iowa, so one will have to see how the players respond to their first road test.

Special teams are always important. Iowa from 2002 to 2004 excelled in special teams. The potential is there for Iowa in '08, after three lack luster seasons in this phase.

Pitt is coming off a bye week. Iowa is coming off an important 17-5 win over in-state rival, Iowa State. Pitt is just 1-5 vs. non-conference BCS teams.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt both have college and NFL experience, with Wannstedt having the head coaching experience at the next level. Both teams are needing to heal some past wounds from the past several seasons.

It should be a classic battle between two football teams that haven't meet lately. It should be a good game, despite the problems of either program the past several seasons.

My pick:

Iowa 23
Pitt 16

Iowa wins the battle of the line of scrimmage and pulls out another important road test, to follow up road wins at Miami-OH (2002) and at Syracuse (2006). Iowa has won 3 of 4 in the State of PA, since 2000 (all four games were in Happy Valley).

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Does Iowa have a quarterback controversy?

"Photo by Jonathan D. Woods/The Gazette. Iowa quarterbacks Ricky Stanzi (from left) and Jake Christensen (#6) talk to offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe on Saturday."

I see the quarterback position right now, junior Jake Christensen's to lose. I would not call Iowa's quarterback situation a controversy.

Christensen under threw a pass for an interception on Iowa's third drive vs. Maine, near the end zone. After Iowa's defense came up with a safety and a 16-0 lead, the Iowa coaching staff gave the keys to sophomore Ricky Stanzi for the rest of the first half. Of course it was planned vs. Maine as the following post game quote mentions.

“I’ll defuse that one,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “That was part of our
plan. If it would’ve been a touchdown pass, we would’ve gone with our rotation.”

Don't think that during the 2008 season, if mistakes become an issue with Iowa's number one quarterback, that this season, the coaching staff won't make a change at QB. Competition can be a good thing and the Maine game highlighted that. We saw that with the placekicking position, as well. We'll see it at middle linebacker and likely at a secondary position along the way in '08.

Competition is healthy, especially when you are coming off a .500 season, like the Hawkeyes are entering 2008. The Iowa coaching staff doesn't want to see another season of playing down to the competition or worse (IE: Western Michigan game in '07).

The players likely know that, as Christensen alluded to during the post game interviews. For now, Christensen appears number one, there is no controversy and Iowa is 1-0, as opposed to .500 right now.

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Should he stay or should he go?

What should the Green Bay Packers do? Should he stay or should he go? Yes, The Clash song comes to mind, after hearing the news today that Brett Favre may want to revive his short-planned retirement from the National Football League. Of course the song used the word "I" and the real decision is with the Packers now, since retirement was the original plan for Brett Favre.

Wow, what a nice situation developing in Green Bay over one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. Clearly, Favre is a QB that has skills, despite his original plans for retirement after last season. But, he also is in his final years of playing.

It's a tough situation for the Green Bay Packers. At some point, the Packers have to implement plans for life after Brett Favre as their quarterback. With Favre's original plans to retire this season, the Packers clearly began setting things into play for life without Brett Favre.

As a Green Bay fan and a person who has enjoyed the Brett Favre era over the years, I am not sure allowing Brett Favre to walk is a good move for the Packers. I guess Favre wants to take a page out of Joe Montana's playbook and play for another team.

It's too bad Brett Favre had a change in plans. I was hoping to see him retire as a Packer. The Packers do need a veteran QB in the mix with Aaron Rodgers and Brian Brohm, but I didn't figure it should be Brett Favre. The Packers should receive something for Favre, if he wants to go elsewhere?

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Rating the Quarterbacks of the Big Ten...

Over the years, the Big Ten has had some outstanding QBs. Entering the 2008 season, eight of 11 Big Ten teams return their #1 signal caller for this season.

Rating the best quarterback units in the Big Ten?

1. Ohio State, 7-1 in '07: Todd Boeckman, senior; Terrelle Prior, true freshman - This unit may attempt play out for the Buckeyes as Leak-Tebow played out for the Florida Gators in '06, in pursuit of nation's top prize in '08!
2. Purdue, 3-5: Curtis Painter, senior; Joey Elliott, junior; Justin Siller, redshirt freshman - Painter could leave West Lafayette as the Big Ten's all-time #1 passer, a solid NFL prospect, but absent the Big Ten's biggest prize, a title.
3. Illinois, 6-2 : Juice Williams, junior; Eddie McGee, sophomore - The Illini have the most experienced 1-2 punch two dual-threats at QB, but can Coach Zook pull the right strings to make the right music for the Illini in '08, with a runner and a passer?
4. Indiana, 3-5: Kellen Lewis, junior; Ben Chappell, sophomore - Lewis is clearly the Big Ten's top dual-threat QB with his run-pass skills for the Hoosiers. Chappel is a dropback QB, who has thrown one pass, a pick 6.
5. Iowa, 4-4: Jake Christensen, junior; Ricky Stanzi, sophomore - as Lindy's points out, "Iowa has to have better production at this spot," which this rating projects, with improvement in the OL. "When Jake has time, he's lethal," as one Big Ten opponent's coach told Athlon's.
6. Michigan State, 3-5: Brian Hoyer, senior; Kirk Cousins, redshirt freshman; Nick Foles, redshirt freshman; Connor Dixon, sophomore - Hoyer is the clear #1 for the Spartans, but a battle will continue to unfold for #2 and the Spartans future QB.
7. Minnesota, 0-8: Adam Weber, sophomore; Tony Mortensen, senior; David Pittman, junior; MarQueis Gray, true freshman - Weber had a surprisingly strong redshirt freshman season last year as a dual-threat; JUCO Pittman and Indianapolis prep Gray are both dual-threats and expected to battle for #2.
8. Northwestern, 3-5: CJ Bacher, senior; Mike Katko, junior - the Wildcats QB needs to cut down on mistakes, but with experience returning in Evanston, look for greater production at QB lead by Bacher.
9. Penn State, 4-4: Daryll Clark, senior; Pat Devlin, sophomore - the Nittany Lions may be another team looking to use a 1-2 punch at QB; Clark is a run-first prospect, while Devlin is viewed as a typical pocket passing QB. Team to Watch in '08 at the QB position.
10. Wisconsin, 5-3: Allan Evridge, senior; Dustin Sherer, junior; Curt Phillips, true freshman - inconsistent Evridge had 6 starts as a redshirt frosh at Kansas State, spring arrival Phillips is a dual-threat QB for the future, while Sherer has taken too few snaps to know what to expect.
11. Michigan, 6-2: Steven Threet, redshirt freshman; Nick Sheridan, sophomore; David Cone, sophomore; Justin Feagin, true freshman - Coach Rich Rodriquez will bring a new system to Ann Arbor, some look for GA transfer Threet to get first shot, with possible dual-threat Feagin emerging by season's end.

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