This has to be the only time Ohio State even sniffed a preseason ranking this low
(From a pre-season standpoint, the whole Big Ten seemed kinda down in 2001.)Pages:
106 – 119Big Ten Preview:
106:
107: Conference Overview:
“Obviously, any time somebody is scoring as many points as Northwestern, you can’t stand pat,” Indiana coach Cam Cameron said. The Wildcats, believe it or not, really do rate the favorite’s role in this league. When they were winning back-to-back league titles in the mid-90s, they were never considered a preseason power. But in this well-balanced league, it’s difficult to overlook them.”
108:
2001 All-Big Ten Offense:
QB Zak Kustok Northwestern
RB Damien Anderson Northwestern
RB TJ Duckett Michigan State
WR Ron Johnson Minnesota
WR John Standeford Purdue
TE Tim Stratton Purdue
C LeCharles Bentley Ohio State
OL Gene Mruczkowski Purdue
OL Jeff Roehl Northwestern
OL Ben Johnson Wisconsin
OL Leon Brockmeier Northwestern
Returner Antwaan Randle El Indiana
2001 All-Big Ten Defense:
DL Akin Ayodele Purdue
DL Wendell Bryant Wisconsin
DL Mike Collins Ohio State
DL Josh Shaw Michigan State
LB Larry Foote Michigan
LB Napoleon Harris Northwestern
LB Josh Thornhill Michigan State
DB Mike Doss Ohio State
DB Mike Echols Wisconsin
DB Cedric Henry Michigan State
DB Stuart Schweigert Purdue
109: Big Ten In The NFL:
Top 10 Talent In 2001
1. Wendell Bryant DT Wisconsin
2. TJ Duckett TB Michigan State
3. Ron Johnson WR Minnesota
4. Antwaan Randle El QB/WR Indiana
5. Napoleon Harris LB Northwestern
6. Damien Anderson RB Northwestern
7. Kurt Kittner QB Illinois
8. Tim Stratton TE Purdue
9. Josh Thornhill LB Michigan State
10. Marquise Walker WR Michigan
110 – 119: Individual Team Previews:
1. (#15 Nationally) Northwestern – “An overabundance of attention was paid last season to the unique qualities of the Wildcats’ spread offense – as orchestrated by quarterback
Zak Kustok and All-American tailback
Damien Anderson – but the players’ dedication to tough-minded play and a staggeringly difficult workout program triggered Northwestern’s renaissance. Will Northwestern stay at the top of the heap in 2001? It certainly has the means to win at least a share of its (gasp!) fourth Big Ten championship in seven years.”
2. (#16) Michigan – “The day he announced he had decided to accept a $17 million offer to play baseball for the New York Yankees and pass up his senior season at Michigan,
Drew Henson was asked if his departure killed any chance the Wolverines had of challenging for the Big Ten title. Henson shook his head. “Michigan is Michigan,” he said simply. With Henson’s surprising announcement during the first week of spring practice, Michigan was suddenly left with an offense that bore no resemblance to the one that tore through the Big Ten last season.”
3. (#25) Wisconsin – “Brace yourself, but Wisconsin’s offensive focus has actually shifted from the running back to the quarterbacks:
Brooks Bollinger, who has a 17-3 record as a starter; and
Jim Storgi, who came off the bench twice to rally the Badgers to wins at Michigan State and Indiana.”
4. (#31) Purdue – “…the program has to prove that there is life A.D. – After Drew. Replacing a player of Brees’ ability, while continuing their winning ways, won’t be easy. The coaching staff has tweaked its famed spread offense…Look for a lot of bootlegs and possibly even some option from the Boilermakers this season. While Tiller’s potent pass offense has been the headliner in his first four seasons at Purdue, the Boilermakers defense keeps improving, and this time has 10 starters returning.”
5. (#34) Illinois – “We’re really hungry and anxious to prove that last year was a fluke, and that (1999) was not a fluke,” said coach
Ron Turner. Whether Illinois has the talent to do that, time will tell – particularly on defense. With seven starters, led by quarterback
Kurt Kittner, back on a productive offense, Illinois will score enough points to win.”
6. (#39) Ohio State – “It was designed as a gesture to show how far Ohio State senior
Steve Bellisari has come as a quarterback, but instead wound up demonstrating how far he has yet to go. New coach
Jim Tressel called Bellisari to the stage before OSU began spring practice and threw him a softball in front of the assembled media. Gimme the three basics for an Ohio State quarterback, Tressel said. “Eliminate turnovers, make big plays and get first downs,” Beliisari answered, looking over at Tressel for confirmation. Tressel dropped his head, then reminded Bellisari that answer No. 3 should have been, “Make good decisions.” With a record of just 12-9 as a starter, a career completion percentage under 50 percent and 25 touchdown passes against 22 interceptions, Bellisari is an easy target to blame for the Buckeyes’ failure to finish above fourth place in the Big Ten the past two seasons.”
(Eventually Bellisari lost his QB spot to Craig Krenzel, but I’m not sure how it played out – injuries? This was Tressel's first year coaching the Buckeyes. To introduce the team at a basketball game he said this: “…you’ll be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days at Ann Arbor Michigan, on the football field.”)7. (#42) Michigan State – “They enter this season with a revamped receiving corps, keyed by sophomore
Charles Rogers who sat out last season as a partial qualifier. Forcing opponents to play honest defense on all those playmakers is Heisman Trophy-quality tailback
T.J. Duckett. But because he shouldered such a heavy load with 240 carries, Duckett began to wear down. Groin and shoulder injuries hampered him greatly by the end of the season and even necessitated arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the spring.”
(I’m remembering this was the season when the Spartans rivalry with Michigan infamously ended in Clockgate.)8. (#44) Minnesota – “
Glen Mason will try to do something that’s never been done in Minnesota’s football history – take a team to three consecutive bowl games. Mason has made the Gophers respectable as they went to the Sun Bowl in 1999 and the MicronPC Bowl last season.”
9. (#50) Penn State – “Coming off Penn State’s worst season if the legendary
Joe Paterno era and 10 losses in their last 16 games, the Nittany Lions have taken great measures to change their course for 2001. Paterno hired three assistants from outside the Penn State family; the team had nearly perfect attendance at offseason conditioning and weight training; the receivers worked diligently to improve their pass-catching; and they sought to have more fun. The latter was difficult last season considering the weight of two crises and a 5-7 season that created a somber mood around the team for most of the season. Freshman cornerback
Adam Taliaferro suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a game at Ohio State, and a New Jersey grand jury spent most of October investigating assault charges against quarterback
Rashard Casey. Taliaferro made an amazing recovery after it was feared that he would never walk again, and charges eventually were dropped against Casey. So, Paterno and the Lions tried to put those real-life dramas behind them with a more relaxed environment. They sought to spend more time off the field in such group activities as bowling, tug of war, softball, paint-ball wars and picnics.”
10. (#60) Iowa – “Coach
Kirk Ferentz won’t make a call on the Iowa quarterback race right up until he absolutely has to. So although senior
Kyle McCann completed the spring with a tenuous hold on the No. 1 job, sophomore
Jon Beutjer and junior college transfer
Brad Banks head in the fall in hot pursuit. Brad Banks, a 6-1, 185-pounder, is the wild card. “
(After two losing seasons to begin his tenure at Iowa, it was this third year under Ferentz that Iowa got back into the bowls, and not until 2002 that Iowa had their big breakout year that upstarted the stabilized winning still seen from Iowa under Ferentz.)11. (#67) Indiana – “
Antwaan Randle El has been just about as elusive as…well, about as elusive as victories around Bloomington have been lately. Fifth-year coach
Cam Cameron is plotting to put Randle El’s elusiveness to work to an even greater degree this season in an effort to turn at least a few of those losses into wins in what appears to be a make-or-break year.”
(Overall seems like a bit of a down year for the Big Ten going into the 2001 season. Northwestern was getting billed as frontrunner, only to finish 4-7. Illinois ended up winning the conference.) 
