ASSOCIATED PRESS

"I believe everybody is looking up to Ohio State to play for back to back (to back) national championships; that's pretty obvious to me." — Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald

Dispatch coverage

• Preseason poll jilts Michigan
  Friday, July 25, 2008
• Big Ten notebook: Improvement always on mind of Laurinaitis
  Friday, July 25, 2008
• Rich Rodriguez: A family guy
  Friday, July 25, 2008

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Big Ten football

• Updates from the conference meetings in Chicago

What? No Michigan?

"That's probably a misprint," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.

No. But considering that Michigan has not been out of the top three since 1995, it was easy to understand Bielema's opinion at the conference's annual preseason kickoff.

Actually, a more realistic poll probably would have proclaimed Ohio State the Big One this season and the others the Little 10. The Buckeyes return 20 starters from the team that played -- and lost for the second straight time -- in the Bowl Championship Series national title game. They are gunning for an unprecedented third straight outright Big Ten title.

Ohio State's roster includes the conference's preseason players of the year in junior running back Chris "Beanie" Wells and senior linebacker James Laurinaitis. And in recruiting the Buckeyes beat out Michigan and Penn State for the No. 1 prospect in the country, dual-threat quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

"I believe everybody is looking up to Ohio State to play for back to back (to back) national championships; that's pretty obvious to me," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

They're not looking up at Michigan, at least in the preseason. Not only did the Wolverines lose the heart of their offense in quarterback Chad Henne, running back Mike Hart and left tackle Jake Long, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, but they also changed coaches. Lloyd Carr is out and in is former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who found all kinds of ways to make headlines -- good and bad -- in the offseason.

There are questions about the other teams considered to be OSU's top competition for the title. Wisconsin might need a quarterback but still appears to be loaded enough everywhere else to make a run. It might help the Badgers that they play host to Ohio State and Penn State in back-to-back night games.

Illinois, meanwhile, was splattered by Southern California in the Rose Bowl in January, but prognosticators also remembered how the Illini upset No. 1 OSU in Ohio Stadium to reach the Rose for the first time in 24 years. The Illini return quarterback Juice Williams and dynamic receiver Arrelious Benn as well as six starters on a defense that coach Ron Zook thinks can be the best part of the team.

Plus, Zook said his players know the challenge. "They understand the mood out there is, 'Was it a one-and-done year for Illinois?' " he said.

Beyond that, there are challengers rising in the ranks. Second-year Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio pointed out that when he was an assistant at MSU in 1999 "we were picked to finish ninth, and we went 10-2. … Throughout time what I've seen in this league is people coming out of nowhere and playing very, very well."

The Spartans could be that team in 2008. So could Indiana, which a season ago qualified for a bowl for the first time this century and which features dangerous quarterback Kellen Lewis.

Although Michigan might be in transition, Rodriguez said, "We've got some players." The same goes for Penn State, where 81-year-old coach Joe Paterno also might be fighting for his job.

And lest anyone forget, a loaded Michigan was anointed the favorite to win the conference last year, and Appalachian State changed that thinking in a hurry.

So about that poll …

"It hasn't been very accurate in the past, which is a little frightening," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "But you know, it's really kind of irrelevant because you get to line up against eight folks in your league to see who the champion can be.

"And outside the next week or two, there's not much discussion on the preseason poll."

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/07/25/osu_fb25.ART_ART_07-25-08_C1_JEARD8L.html?sid=101

tony ding | associated press photos

tony ding

Dispatch coverage

• Preseason poll jilts Michigan
  Friday, July 25, 2008
• Big Ten notebook: Improvement always on mind of Laurinaitis
  Friday, July 25, 2008
• Rich Rodriguez: A family guy
  Friday, July 25, 2008

---

Enter to win a signed
copy of Jim Tressel's
new book.
Click here for details

---

Big Ten football

• Updates from the conference meetings in Chicago

You don't say.

"If I paid a whole lot of attention to a lot of the stuff that was written, it probably would have been a little bit tougher," the embattled new Michigan coach said yesterday at the Big Ten preseason meetings. "But after a while, it was like, 'Just stand in line and throw some darts our way.' "

Rodriguez has had plenty of reasons to duck.

West Virginia sued Rodriguez for breaking his contract. He finally reached a settlement July 9 to pay his former school $4 million, most of which came out of Michigan's pocket.

Rodriguez drew the wrath of Purdue coach Joe Tiller on signing day when a coveted recruit reneged on an oral commitment and signed with Michigan. A furious Tiller described Rodriguez as a "guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil."

Later, prized recruit Terrelle Pryor picked Ohio State over Michigan, even though Rodriguez's spread offense was considered an ideal fit for the quarterback.

Perhaps the crowning blow came when starting guard Justin Boren of Pickerington left the Wolverines for the Buckeyes, saying "family values had eroded" under the new coach.

Rodriguez tried to make light of some of the turmoil.

"I've been working all summer on my snake-oil concoction that I've been trying to give to Joe," he joked, saying the two have been friends for a long time.

The Boren family-values comment clearly stung Rodriguez, though.

"That was the one that really upset me the most because that's the one we take the most pride in," Rodriguez said. "Any player who's ever played for us in my 15 years as a head coach will tell you it's just the opposite, not only on our team but also amongst our staff or anyone who's touched our program. We feel that there's nobody that's going to have a family-type unit more than our football program."

Rodriguez was the last coach to speak yesterday and clearly the marquee attraction. When two of the first four questions directed toward Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema were about the Wolverines, he ended his answer by saying, "It's good to be at a Michigan press conference."

But for the most part, his new Big Ten brethren had no interest in tossing more darts at Rodriguez. Tiller chastised a reporter for mentioning the snake-oil comment, saying he did not specifically mention Michigan or Rodriguez.

"I've talked to Rich and said I never said 'Rich Rodriguez,' " Tiller said. "We've known each other for a long time and had good discussions this spring, so to me it's a moot point."

Asked whether he thinks he needs to rebuild his image, Rodriguez said he wasn't the best person to ask.

"I've not changed who I am, but I never have," he said. "It just seems that what was portrayed was changed. That was probably the most disappointing part about it. I mean, what have I done wrong, imagewise? Did I cause anybody to leave? Just ask the players. Everybody wants to talk about a guy who leaves, not about the 99 who stayed.

"I still have my health. I still have my family. I'm at a great place. If the reputation has been damaged, that is upsetting because I've just changed jobs and done things the way I've done them everywhere else."

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/07/25/richrod25.ART_ART_07-25-08_C1_JEARDGQ.html?sid=101