Big Ten Bloggers Preseason Picks!

So, after berating the pre-season magazines for their lack of intelligent analysis and predictions, LTP took it upon himself to gather the fellow Big Ten Bloggers and tap into a collective voice of reason to hear from the true fans who know these teams inside and out.

So, without further ado, here are the inaugural picks with some calling out of certain bloggers votes to stir the collective pot:

(All commentary by LTP)

1 - Ohio State

The Buckeyes received the first place nod from every Big Ten Blogger with the exception of Maize & Blue Nation who opted for the Nittany Lions. About as much of a surprise as Ryan Field being out of hot dogs at halftime for the Big Ten home opener.

2 - Penn State

After Ohio State's 1-slot, it became a wild west of voting as there was as much disparity here as in different preseason magazines, but the Nittany Lions have this post to look forward to as a new "list" to concentrate on. Penn State received no vote lower than 5th place as Enlightened Spartan and Off the Tracks were the biggest Penn State pessimists.

3 - Wisconsin

The Badgers dropped to third by the skin of Bucky's fur - 1 vote separates Penn State and Wisconsin. Like Penn State, no voters had the Badgers any lower than 5th with MGoBlog being the culprit/non-believer.

4 - Illinois

Amazingly, the Illini's Rose Bowl halo effect continues, especially when you consider there is currently no Illini blogger on board as part of the BTBers. The Illini received six 7th place votes, yet still managed to emerge in the upper tier with MGoBlog trying to secure as many links as possible (as if he needs them!) from LTP for his controversial picks. MGoBlog has Illini back in BCS land with a projected second place finish in the Big Ten.

5 - Michigan State

Enlightened Spartan displayed some homerism with a "3" pick, but he was saved by Boiled Sports and Zombie Nation who seconded and thirded (sic) that emotion. Sparty received votes all over the map from 3 through 8. Enlightened Spartan also wins the award for most creative names for his submissions as LTP had to use the ES decoder to decipher entries like "yellow bellies" (Michigan).

6 - Michigan

The Wolverines emerge the inaugural predictions as the official wildcard team. The RichRods secured votes as high as 3, as low as 10 and every slot in between. MGoBlog went conservative (6), Maize & Blue Nation went homerific (3) and LTP went Lou Holtzian (3).

7 - Iowa

What's in the water in Happy Valley? Perhaps the recent Ferentz rumors/sightings combined with the kindred spirit of Fulmer Cup Overfloweth has bonded the Big Ten border state schools. Black Shoe Diaries and Zombie Nation went the highest with 4, while the Hawkeyes received a few double digit finishes, including one 11th place vote from rival Gopher Nation. Where the hell are the Cats? C'mon...I put this damn thing together and this is the love I get?

8 - Purdue

The Joe Tiller farewell tour didn't have many takers as no one picked the Boilermakers any higher than 5th. So much for QB experience eh?

9 - Northwestern

Thank you for nothing. Really?!!! Ninth? Ahhhh...thanks for the annual angst fuel as we'll be sure to revisit these in November. The Cats are the only team on the list to receive a vote in every slot from 4 through 11. Off the Tracks and MGoBlog are the best blogs ever, errr, voted the Cats at number 4, while Around The Oval (Ohio St) penciled us in at 11. Considering the last half century of results, I can't exactly blame them. LTP voted for NU in the 5 slot.

10 - Indiana

For the record, there was quite a bit of distance between Purdue, NU and the 10 slot Hoosiers. It was a nip and tuck race with Minnesota to avoid the cellar, but the fact that the Kellen Lewis question mark remains, I'm puzzled how Indiana didn't end up at 11. Enlightened Spartan knows something the rest of us don't as he picked them the highest at 8.

11 - Minnesota

I'm not sure how the Adam Weber-led, year 2 spread Gophers ended up behind Indiana, but they did - but not by much. I'm sure the BTBers picks will serve as inspirational stuff in the Metrodome lockerrrooms - that is if the Vikings don't tear down the shared space on Sundays. The Gophers only had two believers - Gopher Nation and Nittany White Out - both of whom voted the Gophers at number 8.

Reax

I was surprised at the wide disparity in voting. It isn't often teams get votes ranging 8 spots as a few did, including Northwestern. I was surprised by the Illini and Michigan State outcomes. I haven't bought in to the fact that Dufrene will keep "Ds" in check like Mendenhall for the Illini and also the on-field leadership of J. Leman is a bigger impact from a chemistry standpoint than I think non-Illini followers realize. For Sparty, I simply don't believe they have proven they know how to finish and while Ringer is legit, the loss of Devin Thomas removes an electrifying wrinkle that kept teams off-balance. That being said, my Michigan pick at 3 is completely irrational and goes against my better judgment. Perhaps I'm trying to hype them as I believe, truly believe, we will beat them in the Big House this year and who wants to win against Michigan and have it be a "down" year for them?

Zombie Nation's Official Ballot (Sorry, no witty commentary right now. Maybe later.):

Predicted order of finish:
1. Ohio State (t)
2. Penn State (t)
3. Michigan State
4. Wisconsin
5. Purdue
6. Iowa
7. Illinois
8. Northwestern
9. Indiana
10. Michigan
11. Minnesota


*Note from ZN: Sorry guys, I know I promised my new top 25 yesterday, but I'm moving it to tomorrow (Friday), Thanks.