A team-by-team look at the Leaders Division of the Big Ten Conference.

Leaders

Illinois

2010: 7-6, 4-4 Big Ten
Coach: Ron Zook, seventh year (28-45, 16-32)
Returning starters: 7 defense, 6 defense
Key returners: QB Nathan Scheelhaase, RB Jason Ford, WR A.J. Jenkins, TE Evan Wilson, CB Tavon Wilson
Key losses: RB Mikel Leshoure, LB Martez Wilson, DL Corey Liuget, WR Jarred Fayson, WR Eddie McGee, LB Nate Bussey, CB Travon Bellamy
Schedule: The Illini will have one of the most favorable Big Ten schedules this year, taking road trips to Indiana, Purdue, Penn State and Minnesota and getting the rest at home. They also miss conference heavyweights Michigan State and Nebraska.
Forecast: Illinois will be an intriguing team. It will start a sophomore quarterback, which often is a death knell in the Big Ten, but Scheelhaase is a talented dual-threat quarterback who could provide a spark. On the other hand, the Illini lose a lot of talent on defense, including three players who declared early for the NFL. Still, they have a favorable schedule that could help them net an extra win or two and hang around .500, despite their inexperience.

Indiana
2010: 5-7, 1-7 Big Ten
Coach: Kevin Wilson, first year
Returning starters: 9 offense, 6 defense
Key returners: RB Darius Willis, WR Demarlo Belcher, DE Darius Johnson
Key losses: QB Ben Chappell, WR Tandon Doss
Schedule: The Hoosiers have another puffy nonconference slate, with Virginia, Ball State, South Carolina State and North Texas all on the schedule, but things get trickier in conference play. Indiana gets Penn State and Illinois at home, then travels to Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State — the final three of which split the conference championship last year.
Forecast: Indiana generated some good off-season buzz this summer by hiring Wilson (a former Oklahoma offensive coordinator) as its coach and earning a commitment from five-star quarterback Gunnar Kiel — the Hoosiers’ best recruit in decades. But the 2012 prospect won’t help this season, and the Hoosiers will have quarterback woes as they try to fill the void left by Chapell’s departure. The long-term forecast is as good as it’s been in years for Indiana, but this is a team in transition that could again struggle.

Ohio State
2010: 12-1, 7-1 Big Ten
Coach: Luke Fickell, first year
Returning starters: 6 offense, 4 defense
Key returners: RB Dan Herron, TE Jake Stoneburner, WR DeVier Posey, DL John Simon
Key departures: QB Terrelle Pryor, LB Brian Rolle, LB Ross Homan, CB Jermale Hines, CB Devon Torrence
Schedule: The first five games of the season includes games against Miami (Fla.) and Michigan State, which will prove challenging while four players serve suspensions for their roles in a gifts scheme that was revealed in the off-season. The Buckeyes then return to full strength in time for road games against Nebraska and Illinois and a home tilt against Wisconsin. And of course, Fickell will get his first taste of The Game at Michigan on Nov. 26.
Forecast: Ohio State has serious personnel issues on both sides of the ball, and that doesn’t include the five-game suspensions of Herron, Posey, OL Mike Adams and DE Solomon Thomas for their roles in a memorabilia-for-gifts scheme . On defense, the Buckeyes lose their top four tacklers from last year, and six of their top 10. On offense, they lose Pryor, who left school — and now is banned from the university for five years — for his role in the memorabilia-for-gifts scandal that was revealed this offseason. Who plays quarterback? Whether it’s freshman Braxton Miller or senior Joe Bauserman, the starter will lack experience.

Penn State
2010: 7-6, 4-4 Big Ten
Coach: Joe Paterno, 46th season (401-135-3, 90-53)
Returning starters: 7 offense, 7 defense
Key returners: QB Robert Bolden, QB Matt McGloin, RB Silas Redd, WR Derek Moye
Key losses: RB Evan Royster, WR Brett Bracket, WR Graham Zug
Schedule: The slate sets up nicely for Penn State to open at least 6-1, with only Alabama posing a true test in the nonconference season and drawing Indiana, Iowa and Purdue to open Big Ten play. The homestretch is tough, though, with a home game against Nebraska and road tilts against Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Forecast: It all comes down to those final three games for the Nittany Lions. They have two options at quarterback — but sometimes, all that means is you have no good options at quarterback. Bolden began last year as the starter, McGloin ended it as the starter. The defense will keep Penn State in games, but with Alabama early and three of the Big Ten’s best in the homestretch, 8-4 might be the Nittany Lions’ ceiling this year.

Purdue
2010: 4-8, 2-6 Big Ten
Coach: Danny Hope, first year
Returning starters: 6 offense, 9 defense
Key returners: RB Ralph Bolden, QB Robert Marve, QB Rob Henry, LB Joe Holland, CB Kawann Short, DL Bruce Gaston
Key losses: DE Ryan Kerrigan, WR Keith Smith, WR Cortez Smith, TE Kyle Adams, RB Dan Dierking, RB RB Kieth Carlos
Schedule: Frankly, Purdue could finish last in the Leaders Division no matter how it schedule stacks up — and it doesn’t stack up favorably. The Boilermakers will hit the road to face Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin — three of the toughest venues in the Big Ten, particularly if Michigan improves under Brady Hoke.
Forecast: Hope said at the Big Ten media days in Chicago he would use a two-quarterback system with Marve and Henry. Henry is a better runner and provides a spark, but Marve — who is coming off a knee injury — is a superior passer. Either way, the Boilermakers are frighteningly thin at wideout this year. Purdue will struggle, especially over a brutal stretch during which it faces Penn State, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Iowa on consecutive weeks. Best of luck with that one.

Wisconsin
2010: 11-2, 7-1 Big Ten
Coach: Bret Bielema, sixth year (49-16, 27-13)
Returning starters: 6 offense, 6 defense
Key returners: RB James White, RB Montee Ball, WR Nick Toon, LB Mike Taylor
Key losses: QB Scott Tolzien, OL Gabe Carimi, OL John Moffitt, TE Lance Kendricks, DE J.J. Watt, LB Culmer St. Jean, S Jay Valai
Schedule: After a manageable nonconference slate, Wisconsin will host Nebraska in primetime on national TV to begin the conference season — perhaps the league’s biggest regular-season game since Michigan and Ohio State played as the country’s top two teams in 2006. The Badgers travel to East Lansing and Columbus, and finish at home against Penn State.
Forecast: Wisconsin is solid, top to bottom, and addressed its most pressing off-season concern with the transfer of quarterback Russell Wilson. The senior helps allay the loss of Tolzien and makes the Badgers perhaps the league’s best BCS contender. Their running game will be fearsome again, the defense stout and the schedule favorable (their first true road game is Oct. 22 at Michigan State). Wisconsin’s biggest obstacle for the Big Ten crown? That league opener against the Cornhuskers — and perhaps a rematch in the title game.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.