20 Twitter Accounts Every Big Ten Football Fan Should Follow

Fret not, Big Ten fans. The product on the field may be suffering this year in comparison to the other power conferences, but the coverage of the league in the Twitterverse is thriving. Sure, some of that coverage is snarky, but that's what you get when your top-ranked team not on probation is No. 22 Michigan. Here are the top 20 Twitter accounts for the B1G. Unlike some of the teams they cover, they're all leaders and legends.

ESPN_BigTen
Since 2008, Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett have been regaling Big Ten fans with news, notes and links for the mothership.

Is that "On Wisconsin" playing on the Pepsi Max commercial? (am I the last person to realize this?)

— Rittenberg/Bennett (@ESPN_BigTen) October 25, 2012

@steakNstiffarms
Football, food and female hotness. What more is there to the Internet? Elika Sadeghi covers all three on her Twitter feed, with a Big Ten emphasis. To follow her is to love her.

Dude tweets that he wants Desmond fired or dead, gets himself fired, and... we're supposed to feel bad?

— Elika Sadeghi (@steakNstiffarms) October 24, 2012

@JimComparoni
Jim's the publisher of SPARTAN Magazine and is a one-stop shop for all things Gang Green-related. Especially good for in-game tweets that give you a feel for the action.

MSU in straight base for all 3 plays on that UM 3 and out. Nothing special for MSU, "just doing what we do," is what Narduzzi would say

— Jim Comparoni (@JimComparoni) October 20, 2012

@TeddyGreenstein
Teddy has one of the best self-descriptions on Twitter: "lover, fighter, Chicago Trib sportswriter." Kind of says it all, although he focuses on the sports part on his Twitter feed, in bareknuckles fashion.

Pelini on the Big Ten call is so boring, I actually forgot he was still on.

— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) October 23, 2012

@marcmorehouse
A sportswriter for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Marc Morehouse covers Iowa sports with a stated goal to entertain and inform. Mission accomplished on both counts, although Kirk Ferentz might not be all that entertained by what he reads.

First caller fires Ferentz. Calls for him to resign. Speaking from the heart.

— marcmorehouse (@marcmorehouse) October 25, 2012

@jaypo1961
Jeff Potrykus is a sportswriter for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel specializing in Badger sports. Jeff's also apparently a big fan of tacos. Oh, the things you learn on Twitter.

I am all about Team Taco Bell. If this were recruiting, I'd be five stars. @hellerbig1070 @mattlepay

— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) October 22, 2012

@nickbaumgardner
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for MLive.com, but he doesn't limit his tweets to the team from the Big House, weighing in with opinions and observations on all sports with a Wolverine State bent.

Brady Hoke had Elliott Mealer stand next to the Paul Bunyan Trophy after the win -- the resemblance is clearly there.

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) October 22, 2012

@joerexrode
Joe Rexrode covers Sparty for the Detroit Free Press, and he's not just a mouthpiece for Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo. Joe delivers unvarnished opinions about the goings-on in East Lansing.

Dantonio ends with a Wisconsin/House of Pain reference: "We've got to go up there excited, jump around."

— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) October 23, 2012

@GophersNow
Pioneer Press reporter Marcus R. Fuller is your man on the inside of Gopher sports. After three straight losses, he has to be wondering if there's a bowl trip in his future. Plus, he's gearing up for another season with Tubby's Team Turmoil.

Overall Kill was positive considering what happened in Madison. But he feels sorry for the SRs, saying #Gophers need to get them to a bowl.

— PiPress Gophers Now (@GophersNow) October 21, 2012

@Sean_Callahan
The publisher of HuskerOnline.com, Sean (Don't Call Me Bill) Callahan has seen the Nebraska program suffer through some uncharacteristic struggles the last several years. But unlike the team, Sean's coverage is consistently solid.

Nebraska has lost just five prime time night games at home - Washington (1991),Texas (2002), USC (2007) Va Tech (2008) & Missouri (2008).

— Sean Callahan(@Sean_Callahan) October 21, 2012

@DustinDopirak
Like the rest of Hoosier Nation, Dopirak's thinking hoops right about now. In fact, if you are a Twitter follower of Dustin's, it's like you were there for Big Ten Basketball media day. But if you're an IU football diehard, Dustin's your guy, too.

Wilson asked about time of possession in fourth quarter: "We had five plays and we had three mistakes."

— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) October 23, 2012

@PDBuckeyes
Doug Lesmerises provides what he calls "news, analysis and inane banter" from his perch as Buckeyes beat guy for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The banter may be inane, but the info's not.

The Ohio State LBs have been hurt. But Urban Meyer can't risk mentioning how critical the good health of OL has been cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/…

— Doug Lesmerises (@PDBuckeyes) October 24, 2012

@carminjc
Mike Carmin covers Purdue football and women's hoops for the Lafayette Journal and Courier. Can make for an odd mix of tweets, but if you're a Boilers fan, you won't mind.

Hope on last def. series in regulation: "We pressured and played some zone. I’m not going to second guess a whole lot of calls right now."

— mike carmin (@carminjc) October 20, 2012

@TomMulhernWSJ
Tom's been on the Badger beat for the Wisconsin State Journal for more than a decade, meaning he's seen more highs than lows — although he's not afraid to point out the lows.

Tough times for UW athletic department. Game programs not provided to media for first time since I came on beat in '99. #austerity

— Tom Mulhern (@TomMulhernWSJ) October 20, 2012

@PSUExaminer
Kevin McGuire provides a fount of Penn State and Big Ten information in bite-sized form. Lots of links, stats and tidbits for the Big Ten fan on the go.

Since 2005 season, the winner of Penn State-Ohio State has gone on to win the Big Ten's automatic berth five times (8 BCS games combined)

— Kevin McGuire (@PSUExaminer) October 25, 2012

@BTNTomDienhart
Tom Dienhart is the senior writer for btn.com, the website for the Big Ten Network. Not surprisingly, he's turned some of his attention to basketball, but as long as there's football to be played, he's got it covered.

Now, we wonder: How badly is Braxton Miller hurt? How long will he be out? The speculation may crash the Internet--at least in Ohio.

— Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) October 20, 2012

@11W
Eleven Warriors is your source for all things Scarlet and Grey. It's the largest free Ohio State sports source on the internet, and they've extended their footprint to Twitter in a big way.

Ohio State opened as three point favorites over Penn State, but the line has swung to PSU -2.5. Call it Braxton Uncertainty.

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 22, 2012

@edsbs
It's more of a general college site, but I couldn't let this Twitter rundown lapse without mentioning the guys over at Every Day Should Be Saturday, who freely share a love of college football with a slightly skewed, always amusing perspective.

If players' ability and Twitter competence are connected, then Auburn's offense is just a long series of sad pocket tweets.

— edsbs (@edsbs) October 24, 2012

@RappUp
Jeff Rapp is an Ohio State grad who turned his avocation (Buckeye sports) into his vocation. On his site, SportsRappUp.com, and his Twitter feed, he covers OSU and the Big Ten with a nice eye for detail. 

No offensive "champions" after the #OhioState coaches graded the film post-Purdue but several on D. Complete role reversal from last week.

— Jeff Rapp (@RappUp) October 22, 2012

@HawkeyeNation
Jon Miller is publisher of HawkeyeNation.com, billed as an independent source for Hawkeye news. That independence comes in handy when your team lays a colossal egg against Penn State.

The pressure on Fran McCaffery's basketball team just shot up about 100% this weekend

— Jon Miller (@HawkeyeNation) October 22, 2012