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.

Schedule strength will become more vital beginning in 2014, when a four-team playoff is started. Why? Because a major component of the playoff team selection process figures to be schedule strength, which is one of the reasons why the Big Ten is going to a nine-game league slate in 2016 and phasing out games with FCS.

Michigan product Trey Burke is a sure-fire lottery pick in next week’s NBA draft, which means he’s a wanted man. That goes for outside the basketball world, too. The 2012-13 Big Ten Player of the Year is featured in the latest edition of GQ, and it’s not just a simple mention or a single page. No, he’s got a four-page spread. See the photos in this post.

The 2013 football season may still be two-plus months away, but that won’t keep me from taking an (early) in-depth look at each and every week’s top matchups and storylines. Oh, and I’m also offering my rankings of every week’s slate of games. Up now: Week 7, highlighted by Northwestern’s trip to Wisconsin.

Here’s what we know: There will be no repeat winner for the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year. Last year’s winner, John Simon, is in the NFL, leaving a pool of worthy candidates to fight for the award now in its third year. Who’s the top candidate entering the season? Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina discuss it in this post.