Big Ten Preview: Overrated Players And/Or Concepts

This was way more difficult than it appears. Overrated players are usually at glamor positions on glamor teams; with Beanie Wells definitively not overrated, Penn State's general lack of star power, and everyone predicting doom for Michigan there was little to go around. So, like, I had to go with concepts. But not for #1.

1. Curtis Painter, QB, Purdue

I've posted on this before, when Mel Kiper put Painter in his top ten senior prospects for the NFL draft and a small portion of the logic center in my brain died.

Last year, Painter was the beneficiary of a silky-soft schedule (nonconference: ND, Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, Toledo, and Central Michigan again; in conference the Boilers missed Illinois and Wisconsin) and still couldn't put up good passer efficiency numbers, finishing 46th. His YPA dropped almost a full yard from his sophomore year, and when it came time to play the big boys Purdue's offense completely disappeared. And now he's lost Dorien Bryant, Selwyn Lymon, and Dustin Keller.

No matter: Purdue's got a Heisman campaign going and Kiper's lost his mind. This is madness. Painter's immobile and erratic; he's not a wizard at reading defenses; his conference TD:INT ratio was 11:7. He'll be better this year, but closer to average than excellent.

2. Joe Paterno's Retirement

At Big Ten Media Days some crafty journalist asked Joe Paterno about his retirement without asking about his retirement. He did this by asking Paterno if he felt "badgered" by the constant speculation about his job status.

Paterno said yes, yes he did feel badgered, constantly so, by the media and that he "didn't know" when he would hang it up. Naturally, something like three of the next four questions badgered him about his retirement; at one point he had to virtually yell "I DON'T KNOW. Do I have to spell it out? I. DON'T. KNOW."

Meanwhile, the aging Paterno has basically ceded control of his team to his coordinators. This is working out wonderfully on defense. On offense... eh, not so much. Paterno now stalks the sidelines theatrically but has about as much effect on Penn State's performance as Mathew McConaughey does on Texas', and slightly less than Snoop Dogg does on USC's -- he's probably gotten a four-star skill player to commit in the last five years.

When does Joe Paterno retire? Does it matter?

3. PJ Hill, Wisconsin

Everyone loves a bubble-butt running back at Wisconsin, and Hill's been good his first two years in that role. But Wisconsin didn't miss a beat during Hill's extended absence last season. Backups Lance Smith and Zach Brown combined to average 5.2 YPC on 190 carries. Hill could do no better, and he picked up a total of five carries against Michigan and Ohio State.

Though Smith might to be down for the count after getting suspended, Brown returns and uber-recruit John Clay comes off a redshirt year ready to knock heads. Hill is by no means assured a starting job, let alone the All Big Ten hype that accrues to any Wisconsin running back entering his third year of playing time.

Buyer beware here.

4. Iowa's 2005 Recruiting Class

February 2005 was the high water mark of the Kirk Ferentz era. The Hawkeyes were coming off their third straight season in the final AP top ten (they were eighth all three years, actually) and used the implosions going on at Notre Dame and Illinois to dominate a huge year in Chicago and environs. Iowa finished the year with the #11 class. The sky was the limit.

Fast forward three years and Iowa has sunk, going one game over .500. Dace Richardson has given up football because of an injury. Dan Doering is a disappointment. Ryan Bain plays for Akron. Alex Kanellis had one too many concussions. Kalvin Bailey and Corey Robertson ended up at a community college.

The only hyped guys to actually make an impact: Rafael Eubanks was honorable mention All-Big Ten; Tony Moeaki was looking pretty good before an injury knocked him out last year, and Jake Christensen is led the glorious Iowa passing offense to 109th in the country.

This is not a good return on one's investment.

5. Ohio State's Inability To Win "Big Games"

Unbelievably, this meme started up after last year's Florida debacle and has lingered around since. Why? My guess is that sportswriters can remember at most one thing at a time, two if they're the cream of the crop.

In case you don't remember the long long ago of 2002, Jim Tressel is 3-2 in BCS games, has a national title to his credit, and is 6-1 against Michigan. They also beat Texas. Save that junk for dumb criticism of Mack Brown, plzkthx.