OSU picked to finish second in Leaders Division

The Big Ten used to conduct a preseason poll and announce a favorite — and the top three finishers — at the conference’s annual media days. But to avoid hurt feelings and/or the weight of expectation, coaches voted to end the practice last year. The preseason offensive and defensive player-of-the-year vote was banished, too, replaced by a 10-man “Players to Watch” list. Everybody gets participation awards and ice cream. (Except Indiana.)

No worries, though. To continue the tradition of making preseason predictions nearly as accurate as forecasts of the Rapture, The Big Ten Preseason Newspaper Poll was born. The poll seeks input from two dozen beat writers who cover Big Ten schools.*

Here are the full results of the 2012 poll followed by my vote (and a few thoughts). 

Leaders Division

Team (First-place votes), Points

1. Wisconsin (19), 139

2. Ohio State (5), 125

3. Purdue 79

4. Illinois 72

5. Penn State 65

6. Indiana 24

Legends Division

Team (First-place votes), Points

1. Michigan (16), 134

2. Michigan State (7), 120

3. Nebraska (1), 104

4. Iowa 72

5. Northwestern 51

6. Minnesota 24

Big Ten champion:

Michigan (11), Michigan State (7), Wisconsin (6).

Offensive player of the year:

Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin (14), Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan (9), Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State (1).

Defensive player of the year:

William Gholston, DE, Michigan State (11), Kawann Short, DT, Purdue (5), Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State (3), John Simon, DE, Ohio State (2), Denicos Allen, LB, Michigan State (1), Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin (1), Gerald Hodges, LB, Penn State (1).

How I voted:

Leaders Division

1. Wisconsin

2. Ohio State

3. Illinois

4. Penn State

5. Purdue

6. Indiana

Legends Division

1. Michigan

2. Michigan State

3. Nebraska

4. Iowa

5. Northwestern

6. Minnesota

Big Ten champion:

Michigan

Offensive player of the year:

Montee Ball

Defensive player of the year:

Johnathan Hankins

-- I keep going back and forth on which team will finish atop the Leaders Division. Ohio State is a tempting pick. I think they have the league's best defense and a quarterback (sophomore Braxton Miller) poised to make a big leap in Urban Meyer’s spread-option offense. Will not be surprised if OSU wins 10 games in Meyer’s first season. But I give the slight edge to Wisconsin on account of its schedule. If the Badgers face big questions —  chief among them whether their new transfer quarterback (Danny O’Brien) can approach the production of their old one (Russell Wilson) — UW avoids Michigan and plays just one of the top five Big Ten teams on the road (Nebraska on Sept. 29). Expect the top perch to come down to the Buckeyes’ Nov. 17 trip to Madison, where they have lost two of their last three games. Should be a fun race to track.

* A list of voters in the Newspaper Poll

Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette

Steve Batterson, Quad City Times

David Briggs, Toledo Blade

Mike Carmin, Lafayette Journal and Courier

Matt Charboneau, Detroit News

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star

Pete DiPrimio, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel

Dustin Dopirak, Bloomington Herald-Times

Chris Emma, Northwestern Scout.com

Bob Flounders, Harrisburg Patriot-News

Marcus Fuller, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune

Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis Star

Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald

Kyle Meinke, Annarbor.com

Phil Miller, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Marc Morehouse, Cedar Rapids Gazette

Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal

Jeff Potyrkus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joe Rexrode, Lansing State Journal

Jeff Rice, Penn State 247sports.com

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press

John Supinie, GateHouse News Service