CHICAGO -- Penn State is not getting a lot of respect from the Big Ten media.

The Nittany Lions weren't one of the top three teams tabbed as preseason favorites at the conference's annual media day yesterday at the Hyatt Regency.

Michigan was No. 1, followed by Wisconsin and defending champion Ohio State.

The Big Ten only announces its top three teams, so Penn State cannot be certain it was ranked No. 4 in the 11-team league.

Not everyone agreed with the snub.

"I would have put Penn State on top and dropped Ohio State from the top three, but unfortunately, I didn't have a vote," said ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit, a former Buckeyes quarterback.

"Penn State has got one tough road game against Michigan in Ann Arbor, but all the rest of their big games are at home, including Wisconsin, Ohio State and Notre Dame. I see that as a big advantage for them.

"If I were a Penn State fan, a player or a coach, I'd be loving it. This oversight is only going to pump all of them up and give them even more motivation to prove people wrong."

Ohio State (12-1), Wisconsin (12-1) and Michigan (11-2) all won at least 11 games a year ago, marking the first time that has happened in Big Ten history.

Penn State went 0-3 against those three teams last season. The Nittany Lions never have beaten all three teams in the same year since joining the conference in 1993.

And they have not defeated Ohio State and Michigan in the same season since 1994.

"We'll be a good, competitive football team, not a great team," coach Joe Paterno said.

"We're a little too young to think that we're a football team that can come into the league this year and just hold our own, but we have a good future."

Coming back

Paterno said he expects starting safety Anthony Scirrotto and backup defensive tackle Chris Baker to practice with the team when preseason drills begin Monday.

Scirrotto and Baker are facing criminal charges as a result of an off-campus fight four months ago. They are scheduled to stand trial in October.

Asked if he planned to discipline the two players further, Paterno said: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

Preseason honors

The media selected diminutive Michigan running back Mike Hart as the preseason offensive player of the year and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis as the top defensive player.

Hart rushed for 1,562 yards last season, the fifth-best total in the Wolverines' history, and scored 14 touchdowns.

Laurinaitis, whose father, Joe, is a pro wrestler best known as "Road Warrior Animal," was a force for the Buckeyes last year as a sophomore.

He had a team-leading 115 tackles, five interceptions and four sacks.