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

Legends

Iowa
2010: 8-5, 4-4 Big Ten
Coach: Kirk Ferentz, 13th year (89-60, 53-43)
Returning starters: 5 offense, 5 defense
Key returners: RB Marcus Coker, WR Marvin McNutt, OL Reily Reiff, LB Tyler Nielson, CB Shaun Prater
Key losses: QB Ricky Stanzi, DE Adrian Clayborn, DL Karl Klug, WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, RB Adam Robinson, RB Jewel Hampton, TE Allen Reisner, S Tyler Sash
Schedule: The slate sets up nicely for Iowa, which misses Ohio State and Nebraska and hosts Michigan and Michigan State. The big one will be the second week of the conference season against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes open at Penn State and host Indiana in Week 3, which they likely will split. A win against Northwestern could set up a nice run for Iowa. A loss could put them in an early hole.
Forecast: Iowa lost a considerable amount of talent and leadership to graduation and the NFL. The Hawkeyes will have enough talent back to beat anyone on their schedule, but might lack enough depth to put together enough consistency for a title run.

Michigan
2010: 7-6, 3-5 Big Ten
Coach: Brady Hoke, first year
Returning starters: 9 offense, 9 defense
Key returners: QB Denard Robinson, WR Roy Roundtree, WR Junior Hemingway, TE Kevin Koger, CB Troy Woolfolk, CB J.T. Floyd, DT Mike Martin, LB Kenny Demens
Key losses: LB Jonas Mouton, CB James Rogers, DL Greg Banks
Schedule: The Wolverines’ schedule isn’t particularly easy, and is brutally back-loaded. To ensure a winning season, they will need wins against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan in Weeks 1 and 3 and at least a split of Notre Dame in Week 2 and San Diego State in Week 4. Why? Because Michigan’s final four games are at Iowa and Illinois and home against Nebraska and Ohio State.
Forecast: The potential is here for a quality season, but Robinson is learning a new pro-style offense and the defense — ranked 108th in points allowed per game last year — is learning its third scheme in three years. Both will take time to implement, and a learning curve should be expected — not that Michigan will have much time to pick them up, as it closes with a tough stretch. It’s imperative the Wolverines get off to a good start if Hoke is to avoid his predecessor’s fate: A losing first season in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State

2010: 11-2, 7-1 Big Ten
Coach: Mark Dantonio, fifth year (33-19, 20-12)
Returning starters: 7 offense, 6 defense
Key returners: QB Kirk Cousins, RB Edwin Baker, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR B.J. Cunningham, WR Keyshawn Martin
Key losses: LB Greg Jones, LB Eric Gordon, S Marcus Hyde, CB Chris L. Rucker Schedule: The Spartans have probably the stiffest Big Ten schedule this year. They begin by traveling to Ohio State, hosting rival Michigan and Wisconsin, then heading back on the road to face Nebraska. Michigan State closes the season at Northwestern, which could be a trap game.
Forecast: Cousins will be a three-year starter, and has a sharp mind to complement his powerful right arm, but there are real questions surrounding the Spartans this year. The schedule is daunting, and they lose four of their top five tacklers from last season’s defense as well as a lot of talent on the offensive line. Expect Michigan State to regress this year after it earned a piece of the Big Ten title last season. Michigan State has the talent to be 10-2, but might struggle to finish within two games of that.

Minnesota
2010: 3-9, 2-6 Big Ten
Coach: Jerry Kill, first year
Returning starters: 6 offense, 8 defense
Key returners: QB MarQueis Gray (who played receiver last year), WR Da’Jon McKnight, LB Gary Tinsley
Key losses: QB Adam Weber, S Kyle Theret
Schedule: Minnesota may not have a lot going for it in 2011, but it at least has a favorable schedule. While the Gophers begin the season by travelling to USC, the rest of their nonconference schedule is not challenging. In Big Ten play, they miss both Ohio State and Penn State and get Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois at home. Not bad.
Forecast: Jerry Kill comes to Minneapolis by way of Northern Illinois, where he guided the Huskies to an 11-3 record last year and 8-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference. What can he do this year for Minnesota? A lot will depend on how Gray transitions from receiver to quarterback. He’ll be the most athletic player on the field most Saturdays, but will he have the polish to consistently beat Big Ten teams? A lot could be riding on the Gophers’ defense, which loses Theret, a cornerstone on an otherwise poor unit last year. Expect Minnesota to struggle to stay out of the Legends Division cellar.

Nebraska
2010: 10-4, 6-3 Big 12
Coach: Bo Pelini, fourth year (30-12, 17-7 Big 12)
Returning starters: 6 offense, 7 defense
Key returners: QB Taylor Martinez, TE Kyler Reed, C Mike Caputo, DL Jared Crick, LB Lavonte David
Key losses: RB Roy Helu Jr., WR Niles Paul, TE/WR Mike McNeill, CB Prince Amukamara, CB Eric Hagg, CB DeJon Gomes
Schedule: Nebraska’s first jaunt through the Big Ten will begin with a bang, as it draws Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State in three of its first four league games. If the Cornhuskers can survive, though, they’ll be set up to make a run at the Legends Division title.
Forecast: Nebraska, which had the ninth-best scoring defense last year while playing in the high-scoring Big 12, enters the Big Ten fray with perhaps the league’s best defense, and two if its best players in David and Crick. The Cornhuskers will hang with anybody. Whether they can win the Big Ten title, then, becomes a matter of how well Martinez, who is a returning starter but only a sophomore, can play right away in the Big Ten.

Northwestern
2010: 7-6, 3-5 Big Ten
Coach: Pat Fitzgerald, sixth year (34-29, 18-22)
Returning starters: 9 offense, 7 defense
Key returners: QB Dan Persa, RB Mike Trumpy, WR Jeremy Ebert, WR Demetrius Fields, DL Vince Browne, SS Brian Peters, CB Jordan Mabin
Key losses: LB Nate Williams, DL Corbin Bryant, LB Quentin Davie, WR Sidney Stewart
Schedule: Not a cakewalk, but it sets up nicely for this veteran team. A nonconference slate of Boston College, Eastern Illinois, Army should have the Wildcats undefeated heading into league play (they also face Rive Nov. 12). From there, anything could happen for this team. The good news: It misses Ohio State and Wisconsin and gets Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State at home. The bad news: It travels to Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. All told, it’s a decent slate.
Forecast: Northwestern is a boom or bust team this year in the Big Ten, and it all hinges on the health and play of Persa, the Wildcats’ first-team all-Big Ten quarterback who guided them to a 7-3 record last year before rupturing his Achilles’ tendon against Iowa. Northwestern went 0-3 down the stretch without him. Now in Year 6 of the Fitzgerald era and with 16 starters back, Northwestern is a legitimate contender for the Legends Division title.

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.