Michigan State cracks Sun Times Network’s top 10

Waynes was the best defensive back in a secondary that allowed 22 plays of 40 yards or more, and must also replace Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Kurtis Drummond. He’s a game-changer, a tectonic plate-shifter where the Big Ten Conference is concerned. Now, with fall practice set to begin, the question begs to be asked, can the Big Ten repeat such a stellar performance? “Everybody in the world knew that the ball wasn’t intercepted by Ohio State”, Carollo said.

Seven months after Eastern Washington learned it would lose its three-year starting quarterback, Vernon Adams Jr., to Oregon where for one final season of eligibility as a graduate student, the Eagles will play against those same Ducks on September 5 in what is the most intriguing game against an FCS opponent in program history. There will be no Marcus Mariota at the controls for the Oregon Ducks, and that’s good news for Michigan State, which lost to Mariota in Eugene, Ore., last season, 46-27.

When it comes time to have children, they will let their kids decide who to root for. And whomever you slot in on top, the gap between TCU and Baylor is nowhere near so overt as it is between Ohio State and Michigan State.

“I think it’s great“, Franklin says of OSU’s surge to the top and Michigan’s surge of hope.

After years of hearing loud, and usually justifiable, criticism it was vastly overrated, the Big Ten came through with flying colors.

From Kyle Flood at Rutgers to Brady Hoke at Michigan, there was once chatter among Big Ten coaches that visits to one school while committed to another meant the first school was moving on. New Nebraska coach Mike Riley makes this point, though he sees no reason why the Buckeyes or Wolverines should worry him.

If the Big Ten is going to be the league it aims to be, there’ll be enough hype to go around for more than a couple of teams; maybe even three or four or five.