Each spring for 44 years, Athlon Sports has had the opportunity to provide fans with their first look at the upcoming football season. In 1967, the process consisted of one man in a dark basement pouring over boxscores and newspaper clippings in an Internet-less age. In a sport that did not even allow its freshmen to play yet, the national champ was all that mattered. That was how Athlon Sports College Football Preseason Magazine was born.

Over four decades later, the annual "picks meeting" as we like to call it has evolved into something much more. A novel of stats, returning starters, game results, coaching changes, roster moves, schedules and more for all 120 teams is distributed weeks in advance of the meeting so that the chosen members of Athlon's editorial team can study up and be prepared to put our best foot forward.

Hours and hours of discussion, sometimes not so cordial, take place every spring in which all 120 teams are placed into what we believe is the correct order of finish.

Over the next week, we'll run down some of the debates that our editors had when slotting teams for the 2010 magazines, then stay locked on AthlonSports.com as we begin rolling out our top 25 on May 1.

Today, we look at the Big Ten.

2009 Order of Finish and Returning Starters

	Big Ten	Conf.	Record	Offense	Defense
1.	Ohio State	7-1	11-2	8	6
2.	Iowa	6-2	11-2	6	8
3.	Penn State	6-2	11-2	8	5
4.	Northwestern	5-3	8-5	6	6
5.	Wisconsin	5-3	10-3	10	5
6.	Michigan State	4-4	6-7	5	7
7.	Purdue	4-4	5-7	5	6
8.	Minnesota	3-5	6-7	9	2
9.	Illinois	2-6	3-9	4	5
10.	Michigan	1-7	5-7	7	8
11.	Indiana	1-7	4-8	7	4

The Debate

As apposed to the ACC or Big East, the Big Ten has much less intrigue at the top of the conference. One team has earned at least a piece of the league crown five consecutive seasons, has played in three national championship games over the last decade and returns a Heisman candidate at quarterback who has guided his team to a Rose Bowl victory. Let's just leave it at that and move on the more interesting discussions within the Big Ten.

There seems to be four primary challengers in Tier 2: Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Iowa. The Hawkeyes will once again have one of the top defensive units in the nation. The Big Ten's best defensive line and secondary should once again keep Iowa in every game it plays. And it appears, on paper, that all of those tough games will come in Kinnick Stadium. The Hawks will host all four of the contenders in 2010: Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State. The road schedule is infinitely easier but a trip to Michigan early on could prove to be a huge game in a league that could see an undefeated team win it all. As a side note, Iowa misses Illinois and Purdue on the schedule this season — the worst twosome of any of the contenders.

The offense returns most of its skill players and then some. The running back corps is loaded, especially if bowling ball Jewel Hampton can return from a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire '09 campaign. Ricky Stanzi isn't flashy, and has made mistakes, but he also won games with clutch play in the fourth quarter. Retooling an offensive line that loses five regulars (Bulaga-Calloway-Doering-Eubanks-Richardson), and tight end Tony Moeaki, is the only real issue surrounding what is always a very well-coached squad.

The Nittany Lions have a couple of very large voids to fill. Daryll Clark, the most productive quarterback in school history, is now gone and three young arms will attempt to fill his shoes. Sophomore Kevin Newsome has a leg up on freshmen Paul Jones and Robert Bolden due strictly to time spent in program. This competition could be wide open come summer camp, however, so even walk-on Matt McGloin will get some looks. With a solid receiving corps, excellent backfield and improved (hopefully) offensive line, the man under center is the only issue on offense. Along with Georgia, Nebraska and Oregon, the quarterback battle in Happy Valley will be one of the more intriguing duels in the country.

The Lions are not hurting for talent on defense, but replacing Navorro Bowman, Sean Lee and Jared Odrick, is a tall order for any team. JoePa will find some linebackers (he always does) but Odrick will be missed. Penn State misses Wisconsin and Indiana on the conference schedule but heads south in Week Two to play defending national champion Alabama — nothing like a Nick Saban defense to break in a new starter at quarterback. Other road trips to Iowa and Ohio State loom large as well. Interestingly, PSU will play only three true road conference games as the Indiana game will take place in Washington, D.C.

The Badgers surprised some people last season with their defensive play. They led the league in rushing defense and now have to replace three of four defensive lineman. The cupboard isn't bare by any means but there are few players on any roster like O'Brien Schofield. The linebackers should be excellent, though, as youngsters Mike Taylor and Chris Borland have a chance to be elite players if they can return from injuries. Former corner Aaron Henry will slide up to free safety in an effort to replace the departed Chris Maragos. This unit played above its head and was led by the staunch D-line last fall, so a slight step back should be expected here for UW.

The offense is a totally different story. All but one starter — first team All-Big Ten tight end Garrett Graham — returns to Madison in 2010 and his replacement is a star in the making, Lance Kendricks. Quarterback Scott Tolzien was a pleasant surprise but needs to step up his play in big games. The O-line could be the nation's best. As could the running backs. The receiving corps is deep and talented as well. If all the little spring injuries heal up, this could be one of the best offenses in school history.

Wisconsin misses Penn State and Illinois on the schedule and gets Ohio State at home. Road trips to Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa will be tough tests for the rebuilt defensive line however.

Michigan State once again enters the season as a promising bunch. To push their way to top, however, Sparty will need turn underwhelming inconsistency into actual results. The line is the only real issue on offense. The quarterback back-and-forth seems to be over as Kirk Cousins is the clear starter and has loads of talent. The running backs have a chance to be special. The tight ends are stacked and the receivers are speedy. Giving time to Cousins and opening up lanes for Larry Caper and company is the key for this offense.

The defense needs to take a step forward. This is much easier to do with a leader like Greg Jones returning. The first team All-American leads an outstanding linebacking corps that will have to mask deficiencies in the secondary and along the line early on in the season. The backfield was not very effective so a lot of names saw time, but four of those are gone. This means that Chris Rucker and Trenton Robinson have to step up their play. Colin Neely and Jerel Worthy need to pick up the slack for the departed Trevor Anderson. If the line can jell quickly and the secondary plays with more consistency, this has the makings of a decent unit.

You know what you are going to get out of Northwestern. The Wildcats will be well-coached and physical but not very talented. They will over-achieve and win some games they are not supposed to, but replacing senior leadership all over the offense removes this team from Big Ten title aspirations.

Easily the most divisive team in this league is the Michigan Wolverines. The opinions and expectations vary greatly with the Maize and Blue. Talent wise, this is still one of the elite rosters in the Big Ten. Tate Forcier appeared to have solidified the quarterback spot but rumors are still swirling about names like Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner. The defense will incorporate more of the RichRod 3-3-5, which will hopefully fit the personnel better. The schedule isn't easy as Northwestern and Minnesota are the two teams UM misses this year. Openers against UConn and Notre Dame could push this team into Big Ten contention or send RichRod spiraling into unemployment.

Stay Tuned to Athlon Sports as we roll out our 2010 Top 25 beginning on May 1st. The countdown begins with No. 25 and will end with our 2010 national champion on June 2.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds