Big Ten Football Preview

Ohio State has a shot at winning it all in college football this year. No, seriously.

While we can hear the chuckles in Baton Rouge and Gainesville, whose LSU and Florida teams won the last two national titles at the Buckeyes' expense, Ohio State is loaded for 2008 and returns two of the best players in the country -- running back Chris Wells and linebacker James Laurinaitis.

And with their ancient rival Michigan having a new coach and a heavy graduation toll, the Buckeyes are favored to win a record third straight conference title.

As for the national title, well, there is a little obstacle sitting in sunny Los Angeles the third week of the season -- a game against the University of Southern California.

So here's a look at the upcoming season for the 11 (yes, 11) teams that make up the storied heartland conference.
(Big Ten fanatics also can catch games and team news through the Big Ten Network, if your cable provider carries it, and more are lately.

The channel is a partnership between the conference and News Corp. (NWS)).

And here we go, in alphabetical order.

ILLINOIS -- The Fighting Illini will look to build on a breakout season in 2007, when they went 9-4 overall, 6-2 in the conference, losing to USC in the Rose Bowl. The highlight of Illinois' season was an impressive victory over No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus. Juice Williams and receiver Aurelious Benn return, although Coach Ron Zook will have to replace running back Rashard Mendenhall, who left for the NFL after his junior year, and rebuild an offensive attack that rushed for 257 yards a game last year.