Our discussion on the Big Ten schedules in 2015 continues with a look at the league’s nonconference opponents. You know about the presence of Alabama, Oregon, Stanford and Miami on the nonconference slates of Big Ten teams, but what about the little guys?
Which of the non-Power 5 foes to match against the Big Ten this season poses the most danger? To keep the discussion lively, we’ll eliminate Brigham Young as a candidate. The Cougars, an early favorite of the bettors, visit Nebraska and Michigan in September and clearly present problems with the return from injury of Heisman-contending quarterback Taysom Hill.
The floor is open.
Brian Bennett: Colorado State (vs. Minnesota, Week 2)
There are several salty Group of 5 teams on the Big Ten nonconference schedule this season. I really like, for example, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Air Force. But I don't like their matchups, as picking any of those teams for an upset means you think they will topple Ohio State and/or Michigan State. No thanks.
That's why I'm going with Colorado State. These Rams are almost certain to experience a drop-off from last year's 10-win campaign after changing coaches from Jim McElwain to Mike Bobo and losing star quarterback Garrett Grayson and leading rusher Dee Hart. But they still have one of the best receivers in the country in Rashard Higgins, and Colorado State has consistently been one of the best non-Power 5 programs going.
Plus, you've got to like the timing of this opportunity. Minnesota visits the elevated air of Fort Collins a little more than a week after the Gophers play their high-profile opener against TCU. That screams trap game for Jerry Kill's team. Then again, the Rams should be considered more than just a beneficiary of fortuitous timing. They're good, and dangerous.
Josh Moyer: Marshall (vs. Purdue, Week 1)
Guys, I'm going to play it pretty safe with this pick. Purdue lost to a mediocre MAC team last season in Central Michigan, and every single one of us voted for the Boilermakers as the worst team in the conference after the spring. Put two and two together, and it wouldn't be a shock at all to see Purdue fall to a great Conference USA squad in Marshall this season.
True, Group of Five dynamo Rakeem Cato is no longer with the Thundering Herd. But who cares? Marshall running back Devon Johnson is on the Maxwell watch list after rushing for 1,767 yards last season, and he never had a game where he rushed for less than 5.7 yards per carry. Even if Marshall did play a schedule brimming with cupcakes in 2014, you can see how that might pose a problem for a Boilermakers defense that ranked No. 91 nationally in stopping the run and shouldn't be all that improved. Plus, even without Cato, Marshall should still have a serviceable passing game with three of its top four wideouts returning.
Purdue allowed more than 30 points against its two Group of 5 opponents last season, and I'm not convinced it can maintain that kind of pace against Marshall. And, on top of everything else, the Boilermakers won't even have home-field advantage here. They're traveling to Huntington, West Virginia, to play the Herd. So forget about an upset, I might end up picking the Herd to win outright.
Mitch Sherman: Illinois State (vs. Iowa, Week 1)
I’ll stick with the theme here and express doubt in the West Division. As concern mounts in Iowa City after a troubling finish to last season, the Hawkeyes likely could not have picked a worse opponent with which to open than the Redbirds of the Football Championship Subdivision's Missouri Valley Conference.
Iowa is 9-0 all time against FCS competition, with close calls last year and in 2009 against Northern Iowa. Illinois State, which might bring a few fans along on the three-hour drive from Normal, Illinois, to Kinnick Stadium, is coming off a 13-2 season that ended with a 29-27 loss to North Dakota State in the FCS title game. Yes, the same North Dakota State program that went 4-0 against Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado State and Minnesota over the past four seasons.
The Redbirds feature former Indiana quarterback Tre Roberson, who threw for 30 touchdowns last season and rushed for 1,029 yards. Just as worrisome, running back Marshaun Coprich is back after leading all of the FCS in rushing with 2,274 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Uh, oh.
How do you think Iowa’s first-ever loss to an FCS opponent – no matter how good the competition – would go over for coach Kirk Ferentz? Illinois State undoubtedly demands the Hawkeyes’ attention, even with Iowa State – which has beaten Iowa in three of the past four years -- on tap in Week 2, followed by Pitt, North Texas and a Big Ten opener at Wisconsin.