The Lions' Pride

What a terrible list of QBs with the exception of Denard Robinson. I think that is a telling sign that the B1G is going to have a bad year.

Wow. It really points out where we are likely to be this year: 2 players on the first 4 offense teams? That is dreadful.

I think everyone is getting carried away with Donovan Smith. I think he is a great prospect and a player to build your line around. However, he is very young and he plays a tough position. I am not sure we should project him as All Big Ten this year. That is an unfair expectation on a kid that has not played a down of college football. He is gonig to take some lumps this year. Let's just hope if he starts (which is not a given yet) that he keeps developing and becomes a force on the line for years to come.

Agreed. Even Levi Brown, who was a two-time all-American and top-five NFL draft pick, struggled as a redshirt freshman. Now, Brown was moved to LT in the summer of 2003, while Smith has been playing o-line since he arrived, but I would expect Smith to have similar ups and downs this year.

Regarding QB play, you are absolutely correct that there is a strong correlation between good play at QB and top finishes in the conference, but with how offensively challenged most teams in the Big Ten will be this year, if McGloin just plays like a fifth-year senior that has been a starter for nearly two years now -- in other words, if he can cut back on the 2-3 bad throws/decisions he tends to make when he tries to be a gunslinger and play the same type of game that Scott Tolzien played for Wisconsin in 2010 - PSU will do really well this year, especially if our defense is up to its usual standards.

I think Urschel is a kid that gets lost in the hype game. He was not a highly ranked recruit. He is a bit undersized as well. However, he is a good athlete, very strong, tough and super smart. He is just a no nonsense kid that shows up and plays hard every play. I think he is a kid that could emerge as a strong player this year.

Snarky, I like it.

My point is: Why do we care about this?

We have a lot of question marks right now. Most maybe answered positively, most may not. There is no way to tell right now. I haven't gone through each of the positions and competitors to make a case for our players, but in general I don't have any problem with Steele's predictions until we prove it on the field. IMO he is the best out threre with research for these kinds of prognistications, but he'll get some wrong, and hopefully a lot of ours.

I kind of thought Red and Hill might be 1st team, but honestly I don't have a problem given who he has in front of them right now. I certainly think they are talented and driven enough to earn it, and I'm excited to watch it happen if it does.

Someone mentioned 2005 --- that was an exception not the rule, there wasn't much reason to believe in pre-season that a team with a jack-of-all-trades-1st-time-starting QB and a brand new freshmen receiving corps were going to win the B1G after 4/5 losing seasons. Heck we weren't even sure what we had ourselves until after NW and we all started believing. Many were calling for M-Rob's hide until he brought us back from the brink. Maybe we can do it again this year with a bunch of new players and new systems/coaches to boot, but if I was in the business of advising bettors I certainly wouldn't stake my reputation on it.

We'll get back with BOB. The years of UW, MSU, Iowa, and Illinois will be over with the resurgence of Michigan, OSU being OSU, and a PSU program with energy and a far improved competency. The big three will be back. Shocking how much love the smaller programs got in this though. The talent will be developed here with BOB.

Snarky is my specialty, ask my wife. The answer to your question is simple, it gets us to September. We all know that preseason predictions aren't worth squat, but it's something to read and talk about till the fall. Kinda like why we're having this discussion on a message board in May.