CLICK HERE to download.

The Big Ten had an awful 2012 campaign, but there are signs of the conference getting back on track in the upcoming season. CBR's Allen Kenney and Andy Coppens, who also writes for The B1G Time and Madtown Badgers, preview the upcoming season in the conference.

Andy and Allen hit on:

*The rise of spread offenses in the conference;

*Ohio State's status as a national title contender;

*The effect – of lack thereof – of Denard Robinson's departure from Michigan;

*Andrew Maxwell's ability to lead Michigan State to more wins this fall

*Bill O'Brien's future at Penn State;

And more.

(CLICK HERE to download the latest episode podcast. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.)

All of the other teams are too fast. (Photo courtesy: USA Today Sports)

A few years ago, up-tempo styles in the SEC were an afterthought; offenses that teams “out West” put into place because they couldn’t play defense. But this year, there will be more high-flying offenses in the SEC than ever before, and some coaches – some that are B1G Ten transplants – aren’t thrilled about the idea. Nick Saban and newly-minted Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema share the sentiment that this style of play isn’t good for the game.

On Monday, AL.com reported that Bielema proposed a rules change that would allow a 15-second substitution period after every first down to allow defenses to substitute, because defenses aren’t treated fairly. Bielema’s comments echoed those of Saban last year, when he raised the issue of high-tempo offenses being a player safety issue in his now-famous “Is this what we want football to be?” speech.

Welcome to the final installment of the Crystal Ball Run’s Ultimate Road Trip for 2013.

We’ll ride this thing out until the bowl season, which I’d like to add a few of those once we have that schedule.

But these final seven weeks of the season are always some of the best. So let’s see where the must-see games will be played.

Remember I have one simple, self-imposed rule: You can’t travel to the same stadium more than once. It’s a tough rule to follow.

Last week I picked the must-see games for October and the week before that it was for August and September.

Northwestern fans will be painting a new stadium purple soon. (Photo courtesy: USA Today Sports)

Three of the four largest college football stadiums in the nation are home to Big Ten schools: Michigan Stadium (109,901), Beaver Stadium at Penn State (107,282) and Ohio Stadium (102,329). Contrast those with quaint Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill., the conference’s tiniest stadium. Northwestern University’s home seats just 47,000-plus (half of them, it seems, members of the working media who also happen to be alums). An entire area behind one end zone has no fan seating, which puts the Wildcats behind some Texas high schools.

In fact, even though Northwestern won 10 games last season for just the third time in school history (the magical Rose Bowl season of 1995 and before that, in 1903, when the 10-1-3 Wildcats took down both Chicago Dental and the Northwestern Alumni), it only filled Ryan Field to 75 percent capacity. Average attendance was 35,697.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald’s program finished just 65th in the nation in attendance.

As expected, former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt has made the move to Illinois. His transfer is a significant victory for the maligned Tim Beckman, but now the pressure will continue for the Illini head coach to have a team capable of supplementing what surrounds his new quarterback in 2014.

Before we get to Beckman though, it should be noted that Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy had come under fire for the decisions to severely limit the options Lunt had in terms of transfer options. As we noted previously, Oklahoma State was enforcing a scholarship policy that allows the school to block any transfer for a player to any number of opposing schools. The Cowboys were making use of that option to eliminate up to nearly 40 schools from consideration for Lunt, including every possible destination in the Big 12, SEC and Pac 12. Fortunately, Gundy eventually caved a little and lifted some of those restrictions. Interestingly enough, Illinois was not one of the schools appearing to be off-limits, but perhaps the time thinking so many options were out of play led Lunt to take a harder look at Illinois.

Lunt will be eligible to play for the Illini starting in 2014, as he will have to sit out the 2013 season due to typical NCAA transfer rules. The extra time will actually benefit Lunt as Beckman will have a little extra time to ensure Lunt's future teammates are a little more experienced and prepared in Big Ten play.

Johnny Manziel almost transferred from Texas A&M last summer. Oh what would never have been... Photo: USA Today Sports

In the world of sports we always ask at times questions that begin with the words "What if?" What if Alabama had held on to beat Cam Newton and Auburn? What if Ohio State were eligible for postseason play last season? What if Penn State joined the Big East instead of the Big Ten? What if the Big 12 took Louisville instead of TCU? What if Jon Gruden accepted any of the 17 jobs he was supposedly just about to accept? Now we have a new question to throw in to the mix.

What if Johnny Manziel had followed through on a transfer out of Texas A&M?

Dallas Morning News reports it almost happened before Manziel took the college football world by storm en route to a Heisman Trophy and a grand SEC debut by Texas A&M last fall. Citing an anonymous source (love those guys, always full of juicy information), A&M had initially suspended Manziel for the start of the 2012 season as a punishment for an arrest that occurred over the summer. Manziel was arrested in College Station and jailed following a fight and for presenting a fake ID (two fake IDs, actually). Manziel had sat out the 2011 season with a red shirt and would have explored transfer options if he did not win an appeal on his suspension according to Dallas Morning News.

Alabama is the most dominant football power of late and with success, comes luxury. Alabama has spent $9 million of its national-title-winning revenue on the completed strength and conditioning facility and the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. A facility, that apparently spared no expense on its frills and soothing accents. Five-star quarterback commitment David Cornwell did his own intrepid reporting on one of the new additions to the locker room.

That waterfall in Bama's locker room is about to be legit! C'mon who has a waterfall.. No one!

— DC5 (@DavidCornwell5) June 17, 2013

Will Nebraska vs. Michigan decide a division? Could it be one of biggest games in 2013? 
(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

September has never held so much importance to the Big Ten. No, we aren't talking about 2014 and the crazy schedules that will be played, we're talking about 2013 and the conference setting the tone early on. Why? 

Parts of the conference race could be decided by the time we turn to October and the general narrative of where this conference is heading as a whole will be settled - so yes, the first month is rather important to the race. However, it won't be the only month that matters as November holds some keys to this race as well. 

So, expect the Big Ten to hold your attention from beginning to end, unless of course September ends badly and then, well.... Um, um.... hey, there's always that annual butt kicking in the SEC's backyard on January 1st.... err.... um, ya - let's just not think about that happening. 

In fact, let us instead focus on the ten biggest games this conference will play in 2013. 

Urban Meyer is in control in Columbus. Can he lead the Buckeyes to a BCS title in 2013? Photo: USA Today Sports

Ohio State went undefeated last season, with a 12-0 record, yet still finished third in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll for the season behind BCS champion Alabama and one-loss, non-conference champion Oregon. If the Buckeyes were eligible for postseason play last year, would they have been no better than third without a blemish on the schedule?

Urban Meyer was expected to turn things around in Columbus in short time, although they did need a massive turnaround to begin with. The one year blip on the radar in the immediate fallout of tattoo gate that saw Jim Tressel lose his job and Terrelle Pryor take his chances in the NFL supplemental draft and more, Luke Fickell was thrown in to a near impossible situation. The circus that was Ohio State football in 2011 was only a mild detour from the norm, and the hiring of Meyer quickly brought Ohio State back to a routine.

Kids these days will announce their commitment to schools in weird ways. Some still use the hat selection in the middle of a crowded high school gym, while others shave the school's emblem into their high-top fade. Some even use baby bulldogs like Isaiah Crowell did.

2014 four-star WR Derek Kief had his choices narrowed down to Kentucky, Ohio State and Alabama. The receiver out of Cincinnati's LaSalle High School committed to Alabama by gathering his family and friends, dressing up his infant sister in crimson and filming the reveal for YouTube. Kief has a website which has kept track of the entire recruitment process, including a post that announced the time and date of his commitment on Twitter. Welcome to the future.

Apparently, kids these days don't need camera crews or "commitment countdowns" on ESPNU. All that they need is a camera and the internet to advertise their intentions. Kief's video already has 37,000 views since Sunday.

The infant has been offered a scholarship by Saban, but Lane Kiffin is also interested. Roll Tide.