The predictions are in. Trust them at your own risk.
Ohio State will win the Big Ten’s brand-spanking new East Division, and Wisconsin will slide past Iowa in the West. Northwestern is picked to finish fourth in the west, two spots above Illinois.
This, according to an annual poll conducted by Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com that contains the picks of 29 writers – two for each team except Maryland, plus two ESPN.com scribes.
Check it out here: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2014/07/ohio_state_picked_to_win_big_t.html.
Last year all 26 scribes picked Ohio State to win the Leaders. (Buh-bye, Legends and Leaders.) All 26 were correct, as Ohio State went 8-0.
Twelve had Michigan winning the Legends. Another 12 had Nebraska. Two had Michigan State, which also went 8-0. (Sorry for the blatant #humblebrag or just plain #brag, but I was one of the two.)
Here’s how I see it shaking down this season (Big Ten records in parenthesis (hoping the wins and losses add up equally)):
EAST:
T-1: Michigan State (7-1)
T-1: Ohio State (7-1)
T-3: Penn State (3-5)
T-3: Michigan (3-5)
T-3: Indiana (3-5)
T-3: Maryland (3-5)
7: Rutgers (2-6)
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WEST:
1: Iowa (7-1)
2: Wisconsin (6-2)
T-3: Northwestern (4-4)
T-3: Nebraska (4-4)
T-3: Minnesota (4-4)
6: Illinois (2-6)
7: Purdue (1-7)
My pick: Michigan State beats Iowa in the title game.
Offensive Player of the Year: Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
Defensive Player of the Year: Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
I was also asked to contribute a pre-season All-Big Ten team to BTN.com. The toughest call was at running back, where Melvin Gordon, Venric Mark and Ameer Abdullah all deserve the highest prop.
Here goes:
QB: Braxton Miller, Ohio State
RB: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
RB: Venric Mark, Northwestern
WR: Stefon Diggs, Maryland
WR: Kenny Bell, Nebraska
TE: Tyler Kroft, Rutgers
C: Dan Voltz, Wisconsin
G: Josh Campion, Minnesota
G: Jake Cotton, Nebraska
T: Brandon Scherff, Iowa
T: Rob Havenstein, Wisconsin
K: Michael Geiger, Michigan State
DL: Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State
DL: Randy Gregory, Nebraska
DL: Joey Bosa, Ohio State
DL/LB: Carl Davis, Iowa
LB: Jake Ryan, Michigan
LB: Chi Chi Ariguzo, Northwestern
LB: Mike Hull, Penn State
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DB: Trae Waynes, Michigan State
DB: Kurtis Drummond, Michigan State
DB: Desmond King, Iowa
DB: Blake Countess, Michigan
P: Cameron Johnston, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Mark Dantonio, MSU
Freshman of the Year: Jabril Peppers, Michigan
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein