Finally decided to read this thread...my take...
1) We "should" win our division. On paper we will be superior to each team we play in Lengends.
Saying Wisconsin will be so much more dominant than Nebraska - or Ohio State will be favored by 17 is too much for me. I believe we were favored in every game we played this year (maybe not Oklahoma). We managed to lose 4. Next year I don't see us being favored against a couple, but there won't be a huge gap in the spread...2-3 points. The schedule is not that far off from this year.
Chattanooga = WKU
Fresno State = Idaho
Washington = Washington
Wyoming = S. Dakota St.
Wisconsin = Missouri
Ohio State = Texas (this was going to be a blood game regardless of Texas being a 1-12 team or a 13-0 team)
Minnesota = Kansas State
Michigan State = Oklahoma State
Northwestern = Iowa State (always play us tough)
Penn State = Texas A&M
Michigan = Kansas (sorry Michigan fans but I think you'll have a down year w/ the changes)
Iowa = Colorado (always play us tough)
2) 90% of the arguments against this speculate the offense will lay an egg at least once, twice, or 3 times. valid assumptions based on recent history.
But I don't think the speculation is a solid argument at this point, though understandable. It's not factual in any way. It's based entirely on this year, or last year - and we all know that in college football a single variable (Cam Newton) can make the difference between finishing 8-5 one year, or 14-0 and MNCs the next.
Finally...who cares about Big12 vs Big10 anymore...we're Big10. Big12 sux