The Wolverine

December 2011

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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A Way Too Early Look At The Legends Division Race In 2012 After finishing one game back of rival Michigan State in the Legends Division, Michigan will be determined to earn a spot in the 2012 Big Ten championship game. To do so, it will have to finish ahead of MSU, Nebraska, Iowa, Northwest- ern and Minnesota. Here is an early look at the prospects of those five competitors next season. Michigan State: The Spartans must replace Kirk Cousins, the winningest signal-caller in school history (26 victories and a .703 winning percentage). The offense also loses se- nior receivers B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol, and senior tight end Brian Linthicum. However, four of five offensive line starters return, and MSU's backfield triumvirate of Le'Veon Bell, Edwin Baker and Larry Caper also returns intact. Defensively, underrated defensive tackle Kevin Pickelman has exhausted his eligibility, and defensive tackle Jerel Worthy will likely enter the NFL Draft following a successful junior season. State's entire linebacker corps returns and three-fourths of its secondary, but the one departure, safety Trenton Robinson, is a significant one. Michigan State welcomes Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska to East Lansing but must travel to Wisconsin and Michigan. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers will need their offense, featur- ing the prolific quarterback-running back tandem of Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead, to be even more dangerous — no easy task with the departure of three starting offensive linemen — because the defense will be graduating its three best players, saying goodbye to defensive tackle Jared Crick, linebacker Lavonte David and cornerback Alonzo Dennard. Safety Austin Cassidy also leaves. Nebraska's schedule this fall was brutal, and it isn't much easier in 2012, with visits to Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa complementing home games against Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State. Iowa: The Hawkeyes need quite a few breaks to go their way to show improvement over a 4-4 conference campaign, starting with the emergence of a go-to receiver following the departure of Marvin McNutt. Tailback Marcus Coker will be back for his junior year, and James Vandenberg should be one of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks as a senior. A very mediocre defense says farewell to three starters along the line, a productive linebacker and two defensive backs, and will have to hope its reloading actually nets bet- ter results. Iowa will not see Ohio State or Wisconsin, and will benefit from playing Penn State and Nebraska at home, but travels to Michigan State, Northwestern and Michigan. Northwestern: Northwestern went 4-1 to close out the regular season, building some momentum for next season. The Wildcats will lose standout quarterback Dan Persa, but reserve Kain Colter performed extremely well in his role as a quarterback/wide receiver and should be a plus for NU. Northwestern must also replace senior starters at wide receiver (two, including Jeremy Ebert), tight end, tailback, right guard and left tackle. However, the bigger concern is replacing five defensive starters, including three-fourths of the secondary. The Wildcats tend to rebuild more quickly on offense, and have struggled to field a competent defensive unit. Next year will be no exception. Northwestern also avoids Ohio State and Wisconsin, but Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez (shown under pressure from U-M safety Jordan Kovacs) will be back to lead the Cornhuskers again next season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL must travel to Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State while entertaining Nebraska and Iowa. Minnesota: The Golden Gophers could be the wild card in 2012, not because they stand a chance of competing for the Legends Division, but because they could be much improved in Jerry Kill's second season. Minnesota has plenty of holes to fill, at wide receiver (two departing starters), along the offensive line (two), tailback, the defensive line (two), linebacker (one) and in the second- ary (two), but with quarterback MarQueis Gray back for his senior season, and some emerging building blocks, the Maroon and Gold could be a team that breaks even in 2012. Of course, the schedule won't help — away games at Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska, with home dates with Michigan and Michigan State — though Minnesota misses out on Ohio State and Penn State. — Michael Spath DECEMBER 2011 THE WOLVERINE 23

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