Fiesta Bowl a thriller...and a 2009 look at ILL, NU and Wisky

I'm not putting this one on Anderson Russell. That's the Buckeyes defensive back (No. 21) who couldn't tackle Texas receiver Quan Cosby on the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of Texas' thrilling 24-21 win.

The Buckeyes put a lot of pressure on their secondary to make a play in that situation...and Russell simply couldn't make the play. And I'm not blaming defensive coordinator Jim Heacock (who served eight seasons as Illinois State's head coach, by the way). OSU had a ton of success bringing the heat against Colt McCoy.

Anyway, I think I buried the lede here.

On Saturday, I lampooned the Big Ten for its crummy bowl showings the last two seasons. Though the Buckeyes dropped the league's record to 1-6 this year, OSU acquitted itself nicely and deserves kudos. If Mack Brown can use Fox' post-game pulpit to pander to the fans and claim his team is the best in the country -- even though his defense leaked 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter -- then Jim Tressel and Buckeye Nation can believe their team belongs in the Top 5.

So here's the Big Ten's bowl tally:
1 Good Whuppin' (Iowa)
2 Helluvan Efforts (Northwestern, Ohio State)
1 Blah Showing (Michigan State)
3 Bad Whuppins' (Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota)

Let's close the book on 2008 and take a sneak peek at 2009. If I feel adventurous enough, I'll wrap up the rest of the Big Ten as the week goes along. But for now, I've compiled the starts coming and going for Illinois, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Please excuse the formatting...it's the info that counts!

ILLINOIS:
Offense returning (7 starters/86 starts):
QB Juice Williams (12)
RB Dan Dufrene (7)
RB Jason Ford (5)
WR Arrelious Benn (12)
WR Jeff Cumberland (3)
WR Fred Sykes (5)
WR Chris Duvalt (4)
WR Eddie McGee (1)
WR A.J. Jenkins (1)
TE Michael Hoomanawanui (8)
TE Hubie Graham (1)
FB Rahkeem Smith (2)
FB Mikel Leshoure (1)
RG Jon Asamoah (12)
RT Jeff Allen (9)
RT Ryan Palmer (3)

Offense gone (4 starters/46 starts):
WR Will Judson (10)
LT Xavier Fulton (12)
LG Eric Block (12)
C Ryan McDonald (12)

Defense returning (5 starters/67 starts):
DE Doug Pilcher (6)
DT Josh Brent (8)
DT Corey Liuget (3)
OLB Martez Wilson (7)
OLB Russell Ellington (1)
CB Dere Hicks (12)
CB Miami Thomas (1)
CB Tavon Wilson (1)
S Travon Bellamy (11)
S Donsay Hardeman (8)
S Garrett Edwards (5)
S Bo Flowers (3)
S Nate Bussey (1)

Defense gone (6 starters/65 starts):
DE Derek Walker (11)
DE Will Davis (10)
DT David Lindquist (10)
MLB Brit Miller (12)
OLB Rodney Pittman (8)
OLB Sam Carson (3)
*CB Vontae Davis (11)

Specialists returning:
K Matt Eller
P Anthony Santella
KO Derek Dimke
LS Tad Keely
PR Arrelious Benn
KR A.J. Jenkins/Arrelious Benn

Specialists gone:
None.

SUMMATION: Lot of skill players coming back, lots of holes in the defensive front seven. The Illini must use spring ball to find some O-Linemen, some linebackers and a good safety to ride shotgun with Donsay Hardeman.

NORTHWESTERN:
Offense returning (5 starters/71 starts):
QB Mike Kafka (2)
RB Stephen Simmons (3)
WR Jeremy Ebert (4)
WR Andrew Brewer (4)
WR Sidney Stewart (1)
SB Josh Rooks (5)
SB Brendan Mitchell (1)
FB Mark Woodsum (1)
LT Al Netter (13)
C Ben Burkett (13)
RG Doug Bartels (9)
RT/RG Desmond Taylor (13)
RT Kurt Mattes (2)

Offense gone (6 starters/72 starts):
QB C.J. Bacher (11)
RB Tyrell Sutton (9)
RB Omar Conteh (1)
WR Ross Lane (12)
WR Eric Peterman (12)
WR Rasheed Ward (12)
LG Keegan Kennedy (13)
RG Joel Belding (2)

Defense returning (7.5 starters/98 starts):
DE Corey Wootton (13)
DT Corbin Bryant (9)
DT Adam Hahn (5)
MLB Nate Williams (6)
OLB Quentin Davie (11)
CB Sherrick McManis (13)
CB Jordan Mabin (11)
CB Justan Vaughn (2)
FS Brendan Smith (13)
SS Brad Phillips (13)
S Brian Peters (2)

Defense gone (3.5 starters/45 starts):
DE Kevin Mims (13)
DT John Gill (12)
OLB Prince Kwateng (13)
MLB Malcolm Arrington (7)

Specialists returning:
P Stefan Demos
KR Stephen Simmons
PR Brendan Smith

Specialists gone:
K Amado Villarreal
LS Phil Brunner

SUMMATION: Lots of skill players to replace, but the Wildcats are good everywhere else. Since MLB Nate Williams started the last 6 games, count 8 defensive starters from the best run defense (by yards per game) in school history. We'll find out if NU's big class of freshmen receivers can fill spots left by Peterman, Lane and Ward.

WISCONSIN:
Offense returning (6.5 starters/87 starts):
QB Dustin Sherer (7/7 career)
RB P.J. Hill (12/34 career)
RB John Clay (1/1 career)
WR Kyle Jefferson (4/11 career)
WR David Gilreath (9/9 career)
WR Isaac Anderson (8/8 career)
TE Garrett Graham (10/20 career)
TE Mickey Turner (7/7 career)
LT Gabe Carimi (10/23 career)
LT Josh Oglesby (3/3 career)
C John Moffitt (13/19 career)
OG Bill Nagy (3/3 career)

Offense gone (4.5 starters/56 starts):
QB Allan Evridge (6/6 career)
TE Travis Beckum (4/21 career)
FB Chris Pressley (9/21 career)
FB Bill Rentmeester (1/7 career)
LG Andy Kemp (13/36 career)
RG Kraig Urbik (11/50 career)
RT Eric Vanden Heuvel (12/35 career)

Defense returning (5 starters/69 starts):
LE O’Brien Schofield (13/14 career)
MLB/WLB Jaevery McFadden (13/13 career)
MLB Culmer St. Jean (1/3 career)
WLB Blake Sorenson (2/2 career)
CB Niles Brinkley (7/7 career)
CB Mario Goins (6/6 career)
**CB Aaron Henry (0/2 career)
SS Jay Valai (12/12 career)
FS Chris Maragos (6/6 career)
FS Shane Carter (7/20 career)

Defense gone (6 starters/76 starts):
LT Jason Chapman (13/44 career)
RT Mike Newkirk (13/30 career)
RE Matt Shaughnessy (13/46 career)
SLB DeAndre Levy (13/39 career)
WLB Jonathan Casillas (10/34 career)
CB Allen Langford (13/44 career)
S Aubrey Pleasant (1/15 career)

Specialists returning:
K/KO Philip Welch
P Brad Nortman
KR/PR David Gilreath

Specialists gone:
LS Dave Peck

SUMMATION: Look at all of that defensive expertise the Badgers lose. It's not going to be easy to replace three starters on each side of the line, especially considering they were short on numbers there already. And who the heck's going to be the quarterback? Expect a monstrous and long-lasting QB derby that includes Sherer (a senior-to-be), Fremd's Scott Tolzien (junior), James Stallons (soph) and Curt Phillips (redshirted freshman).

LW