It’s hard to choose anyone else for the cellar of the first-ever Leaders and Legends divisions. Minnesota’s been terrible since their delusions of grandeur led them to fire solid coach Glen Mason, and Indiana’s been terrible since, well, since forever. Purdue’s hopes are starting to wane under Danny Hope, but at least they still have Indiana in their division.
Minnesota
Jerry Kill (the mustachioed genius that he is) will need some time to step-up recruiting and re-shape a Gopher team that struggled mightily in four years with Tim Brewster. They do return a bunch on defense and MarQueis Gray is an intriguing athlete at QB, but expect the Gophers to take their lumps this season. 2011 Results: 4-8 overall, 1-7 Big Ten (1-4 in Leaders).
Indiana
Personally, I think Indiana was a bit trigger-happy in releasing Bill Lynch. The guy had the worst bunch of bad breaks, especially these past two years. I suppose administration thought things should have built towards last season, but again they missed a bowl and Lynch was dismissed. Kevin Wilson’s offensive mind should aim to create a passing-oriented niche at IU (similar to Tiller’s trademark “basketball on grass” at Purdue). But it won’t be this year, even with Demarlo Belcher running all over the place. 2011 Results: 3-9 overall, 1-7 Big Ten (0-5 in Leaders).
Purdue
Purdue isn’t nearly as bad as Minnesota and Indiana this season. Unfortunately though, they play in the Leaders division, one that I’m predicting to be a bit top-heavy. They have three easy wins to start and then a bye before Notre Dame at home. I like their shots in this one, but it’s hard to pick against the talent that Weis stockpiled for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. I think Purdue will knock off two of three cross-division foes (home vs. Iowa, home vs. Minnesota) but only beat Indiana on their side of the division. Homecoming against Illinois could make or break this team on October 22, but I’m calling for a loss. Purdue makes it to a bowl and spanks a MAC team in the Little Caesar’s Bowl. 2011 Results: 7-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten (1-4 in Leaders).
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