Next up in my super-early week-by-week preview of the 2013 Big Ten football schedule: Week 8. This is a week light on marquee matchups, with predicted Big Ten title contenders Michigan and Ohio State taking on Indiana and Iowa, respectively, and Nebraska and Penn State on byes. Get all the storylines, matchups and my game rankings for Week 8 in this post.

In its short two-year existence, the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year has been very kind to its recipients. The inaugural winner, Russell Wilson, went on to have an All-Pro NFL rookie season, and last year’s winner, Braxton Miller, is a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. Not bad, huh? Who will have the good fortune of taking home the hardware this season? Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina offer their picks in this post.

Victor Oladipo is proof that hard work pays off. The Indiana product spent most of last offseason in the gym and it turned the previous fringe pro prospect into a guaranteed lottery pick in next week’s draft. With his improved jump shot and always-present defense, Oladipo could go as high as No. 2, according to some of the mock drafts.

Perhaps the most intriguing quarterback battle in the Big Ten will take place in State College, Pa. But the great David Jones of PennLive.com says Penn State fans shouldn’t expect massively hyped incoming freshman Christian Hackenberg or junior college transfer Tyler Ferguson to be the equal of Matt McGloin this fall.