Each week of the season offers a variety of games for fans to watch. I’ll start taking an early look each week of the Big Ten season as a way to preview 2012. Find my Week 1 schedule analysis in this post.

The Big Ten lost some good defensive linemen after last season. Four defensive tackles and three ends were selected in the NFL draft, highlighted by first-round pick Whitney Mercilus (Illinois). Also drafted were: Michigan State tackle Jerel Worthy (Packers), Penn State tackle Devon Still (Bengals), Michigan tackle Mike Martin (Titans), Nebraska tackle Jared Crick (Texans) and Iowa end Mike Daniels (Packers) and Penn State end Jack Crawford (Raiders).