PSU Nittany Lions

Way back in the heady days of the 2012 preseason, we ranked every Big Ten position group from No. 1 through 12. We had to base our thoughts on previous performance and a lot of projections in August.

We're going back now and issuing a final, postseason ranking for each position group, and these will be far less subjective now because we have an actual full season's worth of data on hand.

Quarterbacks, naturally, are up first. (Those guys hog all the glory). You can take a look back and see how we ranked this group in the preseason here. Depth is an important factor in these position rankings, but having a standout main guy under center (or in the shotgun) is the most overriding concern with this group.

1. Ohio State (Preseason rank: 5): We figured Braxton Miller would improve greatly in his second year of starting and in Urban Meyer's system. We didn't know he'd become the Big Ten offensive player of the year or finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. While he didn't always throw the ball with precision, Miller made all the big plays and led his team to a 12-0 record. The biggest preseason worry was what would happen if he got hurt. Kenny Guiton answered that in the Purdue comeback.

2. Penn State (Preseason: 12): The Nittany Lions were dead last in our preseason rankings, and with good reason considering their past performances at the position. But I did write at the time: "Call me an optimist, but I believe Matt McGloin will be more effective at quarterback now that he's got a more modern offensive system and peace of mind that he's the starter." Uh, yeah. McGloin led the Big Ten in passing yards (3,266) and passing touchdowns (24) while throwing only five interceptions. And he stayed healthy, keeping Penn State's youthful backups from getting exposed.

3. Nebraska (Preseason: 3): Taylor Martinez led the Big Ten in total offense and completed a career-best 62 percent of his passes. When he was good, he was as good as there was in the league. But he still struggled with turnovers in key games, including 12 interceptions and numerous fumbles. If he can eliminate the mistakes, the sky's the limit.

4. Michigan (Preseason: 2): The Wolverines are a hard to team to peg in these rankings. Do we rank them based on Denard Robinson's poor showings in big games against Alabama and Notre Dame? Do we rank them based on Devin Gardner's strong finish to the season, when he was as productive as any Big Ten QB? How much do we factor in the team's lack of a solid backup plan in the Nebraska loss when Robinson got hurt early? You have to weigh the good with the bad, which makes this spot feel about right.

5. Northwestern (Preseason: 9): Starting quarterback Kain Colter threw for 872 yards, which was nearly 450 yards less than nominal backup Trevor Siemian. But Colter also rushed for 894 yards and kept defenses off balance with his versatility. Meanwhile, the Wildcats could use Siemian when they needed to stretch the field. The next step for Northwestern is developing a more consistent downfield passing attack.

6. Indiana (Preseason: 11): Who would have guessed in the preseason that the Hoosiers would actually exhibit the best depth at quarterback? After starter Tre Roberson went down in Week 2, Indiana was able to plug in juco transfer Cameron Coffman and true freshman Nate Sudfeld to sustain the league's top passing offense. The three combined to throw for more than 3,700 yards. Coffman got the bulk of the work but needed a better touchdown-to-interception ration than his 15-to-11 mark.

7. Purdue (Preseason: 1): We overrated the Boilermakers' depth in the preseason. It turned out that only one of the trio of former starters performed at a high level, and Robert Marve didn't play enough because of a torn ACL and Danny Hope's misguided insistence on sticking with Caleb TerBush. Purdue actually led the Big Ten in passing touchdowns (30) and finished third in passing yards, but much of that was because the team often had to throw the ball a lot after falling way behind. This ranking could have been higher with a full season of Marve.

8. Wisconsin (Preseason: 8): Danny O'Brien quickly showed that he was not the next Russell Wilson, but luckily the Badgers had some depth. Redshirt freshman Joel Stave showed major promise before his season was derailed by a broken collarbone, and Curt Phillips turned in a nice comeback story by managing the team well down the stretch. Still, Wisconsin ranked last in the Big Ten in passing yards.

9. Michigan State (Preseason: 10): It was not exactly a season to remember for first-year starter Andrew Maxwell, who was benched late in the Spartans' bowl game. But for all his struggles, Maxwell still finished No. 4 in the league in passing and had some nice games in the middle of the year.

10. Minnesota (Preseason: 6): What could MarQueis Gray have done if he hadn't hurt his ankle, prompting an eventual move to receiver? True freshman Philip Nelson took over the reins midseason and broke out with a huge first half against Purdue. However, he failed to throw for more than 80 yards in the team's final three regular season games. Nelson led the team with just 873 passing yards on the season, and the Gophers threw 15 interceptions.

11. Iowa (Preseason: 4): Nobody took a bigger tumble than the Hawkeyes, as James Vandenberg went from a 3,000-yard passer as a junior to often looking lost as a senior. He completed only 57.3 percent of his passes and tossed only seven touchdowns, with eight interceptions, and Iowa showed almost no ability to go vertical. And no other Hawkeye attempted a pass all season.

12. Illinois (Preseason: 7): The Illini had experience at the position with Nathan Scheelhaase and Reilly O'Toole, but they were both part of a wildly dysfunctional offense. Illinois was next-to-last in passing yards in the Big Ten and also had just 11 touchdown passes versus 14 interceptions. In fairness, both QBs were often running for their lives and had very little help.

We take a look inside the Big Ten trends, with no insider trading needed.

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James White: While Montee Ball understandably is getting all the attention right now, don't forget the job Wisconsin's No. 2 back is doing. White rushed for 161 yards on just 14 carries last week at Indiana, including the back-breaking 69-yard touchdown at the end of the first half. White has run for at least 100 yards in three of his last four games.

Baker Steinkuhler: The Nebraska defense has played much better in recent weeks -- particularly in the second halves -- and senior defensive tackle Steinkuhler is a reason why. A one-time highly decorated recruit, Steinkuhler is living up to that reputation by playing the best football of his career the past few weeks, coach Bo Pelini said this week. He had six tackles and a sack against Penn State last week. “Baker’s a stud," Pelini said. "He’s a leader. He’s everything you want.”

Purdue's ACL trio: Take a knee, gentlemen. The Boilermakers' backfield trio of Robert Marve, Rob Henry and Ralph Bolden -- who have seven torn ACLs between them -- had a big day at Iowa last week. Marve threw for 266 yards and led the final drive for the winning field goal. Henry continued to play his jack-of-all trades role, including a flip to Akeem Shavers on a double option for a touchdown. Maybe most encouragingly, Bolden eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the first time since the beginning of last season. "That was very special for our whole football family," head coach Danny Hope said.

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Happy start of Big Ten conference play.

League action officially begins in a couple of hours, starting with three intraconference noon games. Here's a quick preview of those early matchups:

Indiana (2-1) at Northwestern (4-0): Pat Fitzgerald said this week that Hoosiers-Wildcats games are usually close and entertaining. He's right. Before Northwestern’s 59-38 win in Bloomington last year, the previous seven meetings between these two were decided by a total of 26 points, including the Wildcats' three-point win in 2010, and huge comeback for a one-point victory in 2009. Indiana will have to try and stop a Northwestern rushing attack, led by Venric Mark, that has been one of the best in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers have the league's top passing attack and remain dangerous with Cameron Coffman at quarterback.

Penn State (2-2) at Illinois (2-2): We've had this game circled since late July, when the Illini sent eight coaches to State College to try and recruit some Penn State transfers. Nobody on either side said anything inflammatory this week, but it clearly is a major subplot in this game. Illinois' defense has struggled against spread offenses, which doesn't really describe the Nittany Lions. But Matt McGloin and Allen Robinson are the leading passer and receiver in the league, respectively. Illinois has some quarterback questions. Nathan Scheelhaase is expected to start, but he was pulled early for Reilly O'Toole in last week's Louisiana Tech game when he didn't look completely healed from a Week 1 sprained ankle.

Minnesota (4-0) at Iowa (2-2): The Gophers are looking to win the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the third straight year. That hasn't happened since 1998-2000. During that stretch (1999) was also the last time Minnesota won in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes should be an angry team after losing last week to Central Michigan, but James Vandenberg and his receivers must be on point against the No. 11 pass efficiency defense in the FBS. Max Shortell makes his second straight start at quarterback for the injured MarQueis Gray and will have to avoid turnovers like he did last week versus Syracuse.

Jordan Hill knew expectations for him were high entering this season. He couldn't forget. A tour bus features his mug, and his name is plastered on two awards lists.

He expected to take over for Devon Still, who was drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Bengals, and build off last season. He didn't expect this. He didn't know he'd tackle just one ball-carrier in the backfield through four games.

"It's been really different to me, especially the first two games," Hill said. "I was really game-planned around. Teams were running away from me and double-teaming me. ... It's a little different from what I've been used to."

After Ohio, he shifted from the one-technique -- just outside of the center -- to his usual three-technique spot just outside the guard. He has recorded just five solo tackles this season, but he said he's becoming more accustomed to his role.

"I've come a long way, I would say. I'm just getting used to it and accepting it's going to happen," he said, referring to double teams.

Hill said he felt most comfortable this past week, and it showed. He finished second on the team in tackles with seven, forced a fumble and recorded a sack.

The senior DT said he's learned, when two linemen come at him, he just has to focus on one. He can't take on both players at once, and he knows he'll likely face double-teams throughout the season.

"Knowing that someone's game-planning against you is a good thing, I guess," he said. "It has to leave somebody open, whether it's another defensive tackle or a lineman or a linebacker, somebody has to be free. You can't be selfish."

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Cornerback Adrian Amos is just fine, Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. He didn't suffer a concussion in Saturday's game; his helmet just became twisted.

"Adrian really didn't get his bell rung on that one," O'Brien added.

O'Brien said defensive end Pete Massaro will probably not play, but he listed Sean Stanley as "probable." Donovan Smith was also listed on the depth chart as the starting left tackle.

Punt returner: Jesse Della Valle returned three punts for 45 yards against Temple, and O'Brien called him the "special teams player of the week."

"He's got a little bit of a knack for that," O'Brien said, "and we're going to stick with him."

O'Brien said secondary coach John Butler noticed Della Valle making good catches during warmups against Virginia -- so they decided to go with him then. And, after Saturday's performance, he's cemented his position.

Defensive line: O'Brien showed a lot of respect for the Illini's defensive line, which features two players on a lot of watch lists.

Defensive end Michael Buchanan (Nagurski, Bednarik, Lombardi, Hendricks) and defensive tackle Akeem Spence (Lombardi, Outland) could give Penn State some trouble, and O'Brien said he gets a sense of deja vu when he watches them.

"They remind us of what we play against every day in practice," he said.

Preparing for ... who? Illinois coach Tim Beckman said Monday that Nathan Scheelhaase remains his starting quarterback, but Penn State appears to be preparing for both.

Scheelhaase is a dual-threat, while Reilly O'Toole is more of a pocket passer.

"Both guys bring two distinct styles to the offense," O'Brien said, "so preparing for this team is very, very difficult because you almost have to prepare for two types of offenses."

Sticking with it: Wideout Brandon Moseby-Felder made a critical drop Saturday that wound up as a Temple interception. O'Brien said he exchange some words with Moseby-Felder, mainly just telling Shawney Kersey's replacement he wouldn't bench him.

"Brandon Moseby-Felder is proably one of the more improved players on our football team," O'Brien said. "When he came here in the spring, he had some injuries -- a bit of a hamstring -- but he stuck with it."