Nebraska's reputation has preceded it into the Big Ten.

The Cornhuskers' first season in its new conference will end with a championship, according to a survey of two dozen newspaper beat writers, two from each city, who cover the 12 teams. In a poll organized by the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, 12 writers predicted a Nebraska victory in the inaugural Big Ten championship game, 11 chose Wisconsin and one selected Michigan State.

And the Gophers? They were projected to finish last among the six Legends Division teams by 23 of the 24 voters.

The Big Ten normally conducts a preseason poll of its media, selecting a conference favorite and projecting the conference's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. But Big Ten coaches voted in May to discontinue the tradition, reportedly to avoid creating additional pressure on the favorite. The poll of newspaper writers was created to take its place.

Denard Robinson ran away with the Offensive Player of the Year voting the same way he ran away from would-be tacklers last fall. Robinson, Michigan's junior quarterback who broke several QB rushing records last year, was the runaway choice to repeat as the league's top offensive player, picking up 14 of the 24 first-place votes. Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa, the league's first-team all-conference quarterback a year ago, finished a distant second, with four first-place votes and 26 points, half of Robinson's 52.

The choice for Defensive Player of the Year was almost as clear-cut. Defensive tackle Jared Crick of Nebraska, who has recorded 9 1/2 sacks in each of the past two seasons, received 15 first-place votes and 58 points overall, well ahead of Huskers teammate Lavonte David, a linebacker who received seven first-place votes and 37 points.

Wisconsin's Bret Bielema is the conference's best coach, according to the survey, though he received only seven of the 24 first-place votes. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz was runner-up with six first-place votes.

Perhaps most notable in the preseason vote was the lack of enthusiasm for a couple of league stalwarts. Ohio State has won or tied for six Big Ten championships in a row, but following a summer in which the Buckeyes lost their coach, their quarterback and their reputation to scandal, only one voter predicted them to win the Leaders Division. And Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who enters his 46th season this fall as the winningest major-college coach in history, received only one third-place vote in the best-coach poll.