Big Ten football gets kickstarted tonight with a pair of attractive match-ups. Can the Big Ten get off to a good start to carry over the momentum gained from the conference’s postseason showing, or will it be limping out of the gate in hopes the rest of the conference can pick up the slack the rest of the weekend?
Michigan will begin the Jim Harbaugh era tonight on the road at Utah. The Utes are a formidable foe and smacked Michigan around a little bit last season in Ann arbor. This feels like a bad spot for Harbaugh and the Wolverines, because Utah’s defense could be one of the best in the Pac-12 and winning in Salt Lake City is no easy task for those who enter. Michigan should be in good hands in the years to come with Harbaugh at the helm, but Kyle Whittingham’s program already feels a bit slighted with all of the attention given to Harbaugh and the Wolverines entering the season opener.
One thing to watch in particular for Michigan will be the impact Jabrill Peppers has in the secondary. He was a top-rated recruit for a reason but saw his 2014 freshman season cut short due to injury. All indications are he is back in good form and ready to go, and he has even suggested he would be open to playing a little offense. I’m not sure if we’ll see that tonight or not, but it certainly is an interesting possibility.
The key for Michigan will just be finding some consistency on offense. Being able to move the chains and sustain some drives that result in points was a problem for the Wolverines last season, and there are some concerns with the offense going into the new year. I think Iowa transfer Jake Rudock will ultimately be the man at quarterback for Michigan, and I would think we start to see more Derrick Green running the football. The offensive line returns all but one starter, which tends to be a good sign, but Michigan needs help in the receiving area. It’s not exactly a game-changing crop of receivers.
Everything about Michigan feels average at best, which I believe is a fair assessment. There is much to improve and it cannot all be done overnight. I’m on record suggesting Michigan just misses a bowl game this season, and that will be in large part due to a slow start to the season in non-conference play. Michigan goes down tonight on the road at Utah.
Before that game gets started, last year’s surprise team in the Big Ten will host one my preseason playoff favorites. Minnesota, coming off a strong showing in 2014 and looking ready to make things more interesting in the Big Ten West, hosts No. 2 TCU. The Gophers have become a little bit of a trendy pick in the Big Ten West picture, but with just four returning starters I have some concerns. The defense should be good, but I’m not sure it is good enough to slow down these Horned Frogs with my preseason Heisman Trophy pick, Trevone Boykin. Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill has said a few times this offseason he feels extremely confident with his defense, as he should. He returns seven projected starters and feels the depth on defense is the deepest he has had to work with in Minneapolis.
TCU ambushed Minnesota last year, 30-7. I think it will be a little closer than that this time around, and Minnesota may even give TCU a bit of a scare as they did against Ohio State last season. But I really like TCU this season and do not see them going home with a loss here.
Who Do You Root For?
Now that the new season is here, I am curious which team or teams Penn State fans will root for in these two particular games. Do you take on the SEC mindset and root for your Big Ten allies in hopes of improving the conference’s reputation, or do you not give a rat’s behind and hope Michigan and/or Minnesota go down in flames? Or do you simply have no preference? Leave a comment below and share your rooting interests and predictions for tonight’s games.
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