Five points

* In the Big Ten, with its uneven scheduling where teams don’t play two of their conference mates, it’s instructive to see who benefits and who doesn’t. For example, this year Iowa doesn’t play Ohio State or Michigan. At least the Hawkeyes have to play at Wisconsin and Penn State. Wisconsin plays Ohio State for the first time in three years. Michigan has only one tough conference road game -- at Wisconsin. So that means Michigan seems to have the best shot at the league’s automatic Bowl Championship Series bid.

* It will be hard not to root for Indiana after popular and

respected Coach Terry Hoeppner died of brain cancer in June.

The Hoosiers haven’t been to a bowl game in 13 years -- the

longest streak in the conference -- but an easy opening schedule against Indiana State, Western Michigan, Akron and Illinois,

plus a talented pass-catch combo in quarterback Kellen Lewis

and receiver James Hardy, might break the drought. New

Coach Bill Lynch, formerly the offensive coordinator, will try to meet the slogan Hoeppner had for this year’s Hoosiers: “Let’s play 13.”

* Six of the conference’s 11 teams finished with losing records last season, and the glamour programs, Michigan and Ohio State, were badly beaten by USC and Florida in their BCS games. The worst teams aren’t just a little bad, either. Illinois has lost 30 of its last 32 conference games. Northwestern lost to New Hampshire and Nevada last year.

* Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is 80 years old. Last year, he

left one game early because of an upset stomach and suffered

a broken leg on the sidelines during the Wisconsin game. But

the Nittany Lions get Ohio State and Wisconsin at home, finish

with an easy stretch of Purdue, at Temple and at Michigan State, and there’s talk Paterno might sneak in a conference title or at least a major bowl bid. The only tough road game is early, Sept. 22 at Michigan.

* Wisconsin finished 12-1 last season -- thanks partly to not playing Ohio State -- and all the Badgers got was a Capital One bowl game. A 27-13 loss to Michigan only meant everything. What means everything this season is how fifth-year senior quarterback Tyler Donovan does replacing John Stocco, who had a 29-7 record as a starter. Donovan beat out Kansas State transfer Allan Evridge -- for now. Donovan, with only two career starts, won’t get to falter at all with Evridge, who started six games for Kansas State two years ago, ready and waiting.

-- Diane Pucin

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Quick facts

* AP preseason top 25: No. 5 Michigan, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 17 Penn State.

* AP final 2006 rankings: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 8 Michigan, No. 24 Penn State.

* 2007 conference projection: 1. Michigan (11-2 overall, 7-1 in the Big Ten in 2006). 2. Wisconsin (12-1, 7-1). 3. Ohio State (12-1, 8-0). The Big Ten announces only the top three teams in its preseason poll.

* 2006-07 bowl record: 2-5.

* Last season vs. Pac-10: 0-2.

* Key Pac-10 win: USC 32, Michigan 18 (Rose Bowl).

* Key Big Ten win: none.

* This season vs. Pac-10: Today, Washington State at Wisconsin; Sept. 8, Oregon at Michigan; Sept. 15, Ohio State at Washington.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

* Travis Beckum, Jr., TE, Wisconsin, set school records for his position last season with 61 catches for 903 yards.

* Mike Hart, Sr., RB, Michigan, is a 5-9, 196-pound workhorse, having gained 1,562 yards in 318 carries.

* Jack Ikegwuonu, Jr., CB, Wisconsin, might be the best corner in the country but is trying to put off-season legal troubles behind him.

* James Laurinaitis, Jr., LB, Ohio State, had 115 tackles last season and won the Nagurski Award as college football’s top player at his position.

* Mario Manningham, Jr., WR, Michigan, is the Wolverines’ big-play threat, having averaged 18.5 yards a catch last season.

-- Eric Maddy