EAST LANSING– The Big Ten enters a monumental season with major changes to the landscape of the conference. Some of the storylines include, adding four schools from the west coast, eliminating decisions and the Michigan Wolverines defending their title as National Champions. Here’s how the teams stack up before the season begins.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
After a disappointing 2023 campaign, the Buckeyes hit the portal hard, acquiring Senior Quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State and safety Caleb Downs from Alabama.
Ohio State will have one of the best ground games in the country. Transfer RB Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson give the Buckeyes a dynamic thunder and lightning backfield with Judkins being the speed and Henderson the power of the tandem.
Ohio State starts the season with a lighter non-conference schedule, squaring off against Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall. The Buckeyes travel to Michigan State for their first road game. They also travel to Oregon and Penn State, with two tough road matchups against top 10 teams. And of course, an intense matchup with Michigan to wrap up the regular season.
2. Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are a conference favorite in their inaugural season in the Big 10. Dan Lanning has rebuilt Oregon to a perennial national championship contender entering his third year in Eugene.
Oregon has been an attractive program for transfer quarterbacks. Two years ago, Bo Nix transferred to Eugene and turned his game around. This offseason, Oregon landed two high-profile players. Ex-Sooner Dillion Gabriel is the projected starter for the Ducks. The Southpaw threw for over 3,600 passing yards and 30 touchdowns at Oklahoma last season. Oregon also landed Dante Moore, a true sophomore who underperformed at UCLA last season.
The big question is how the Ducks will acclimate to the Big 10. The biggest game on their schedule is when they host Ohio State on Oct. 12 in a possible Big 10 Championship preview.
3. Michigan Wolverines
The Defending Champs. However, this squad is much different from Team 144. Harbaugh is out. McCarthy is out. With an NCAA punishment looming, new head coach Sherrone Moore will have to navigate a tough situation for the Wolverines to maintain their spot at the top.
Michigan’s defense is still elite, Defensive Lineman Mason Graham and Cornerback Will Johnson are first-round talents that will anchor the Wolverines defense. This squad will have to lean on their defense with many questions on the offensive side of the ball.
After scheduling weak non-conference opponents in years prior, Michigan has a tough matchup against Texas at the big house, a great litmus test for the new regime of Wolverines football.
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
This is a make-or-break year for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. In the four-team playoff era, Franklin’s squads were frequently on the bubble but never made the top four. Now with the expanded playoff, there is more pressure for Penn State to make the postseason.
Drew Allar’s sophomore campaign was exceptional with 25 touchdowns and two interceptions. Allar lost some weapons to the transfer portal and will have to manage with a lesser supporting cast.
With a rearranged Big Ten, the Nittany Lions only have to play one of the conference’s major powerhouses Ohio State. A favorable schedule and veteran quarterback give Penn State a clear path to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
5. Iowa Hawkeyes
After being a laughing stock of college football for their poor offense, the Hawkeyes finally made some changes, firing Brian Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz. The new offensive coordinator is Tim Lester, former senior analyst for the Green Bay Packers. Lester’s most recent term in college football was as head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos from 2017-2022.
Cade McNamara is looking to bounce back after a 2023 campaign that was cut short due to an ACL tear. The former Michigan quarterback has amassed 21 starts over his five seasons of collegiate football.
The Hawkeyes will no longer be able to beat up on the Big Ten West. But this season Iowa only has one tough matchup as they travel to Ohio State but they no longer have an easier path to the conference championship.
6. USC Trojans
After a disappointing 2023 season, Lincoln Riley and the Trojans have a chip on their shoulder as they begin their inaugural season in the Big Ten. USC starts with a tough out-of-conference game against LSU on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas.
2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams departing for the NFL is a tough blow for USC but Riley has no issue in developing elite quarterbacks with three Heisman-winners in the last seven years. This year, Miller Moss will be the guy for the Trojans. Moss, a redshirt junior, has been a backup quarterback at USC for the last three years, learning Riley’s system. Moss showed out in his first start, throwing for 362 yards and six touchdowns against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl.
7. Wisconsin Badgers
Entering his second year at the program, Luke Fickell has begun the rebuild of Wisconsin. Last season the Badgers went 7-5, a solid first season for Fickell. Coming into 2024, Wisconsin will be without leading rusher Braelon Allen who was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Jets.
Fickell brought in transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke from Miami. Van Dyke had a disappointing 2023 campaign in Coral Gables with 19 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions but looks to improve under Fickell, who has proven that he can develop quarterbacks at the collegiate level.
The Badgers have a gauntlet of a schedule, starting with hosting fifth-ranked Alabama at Camp Randall in week three. They will also face off against four ranked Big Ten opponents (USC, Iowa, Penn State, and Oregon). For the past decade the Badgers have had an easier schedule in the Big Ten West but now will have to battle some tough teams in conference.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have high expectations for the upcoming season in the second year of head coach Matt Rhule’s tenure. The Cornhuskers crawled to the finish line of the 2023 season, losing their last four games and ultimately missing out on a bowl game, finishing 5-7.
Quarterback play was a glaring issue for Nebraska a year Prior. Rhule has brought in a five-star freshman quarterback from Georgia, Dylan Raolia. Raolia’s father Dominic Raolia was a two-time All-American center for the Cornhuskers during their peak in the late 90s. Raolia flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska last winter.
Nebraska has the chance to start strong with a weak first half of the schedule. However, their competition ramps up in week nine when they travel to Columbus to face off against second-ranked Ohio State.
9. Washington Huskies
There are a lot of changes coming to the program in Seattle. After losing in the College Football Playoff Final to Michigan, Washington is switching conferences and switching head coaches as Kalen Deboar left to take over for Nick Saban at Alabama.
Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch will take over a depleted roster due to transfers and losses to the NFL Draft where Washington saw ten players get drafted to the NFL. Fisch will have some help, his staff includes defensive coordinator, Steve Belicheck, who brings his father Bill Belicheck as an advisor to the team.
This is expected to be a rebuilding year for Fisch but doesn’t mean the Huskies won’t play in marquee games, week six Washington hosts Michigan in a rematch of the 2023 Championship.
10. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are no longer the bottom dwellers of the Big Ten. Last season marked their first winning season since 2014. Greg Schiano is entering the fifth season of his second tenure as head coach at Rutgers, it’s his 16th total season at the helm for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers will lean on their experienced defense and hope that Minnesota transfer quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis can improve their struggling offense from a year prior.
The Scarlet Knights caught a good break with scheduling, the only ranked team on the schedule is USC. Avoiding the powerhouses will help Schiano and the Scarlet Knights as they continue to improve year after year.
11. Michigan State Spartans
The first season of the Jonathan Smith era begins in East Lansing as he brings over impact transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles and tight end Jack Veiling as impact transfers from his last stop at Oregon State.
Freshman four-star receiver Nick Marsh will provide a deep-threat to the Spartans offense that has been missing for some time. Veteran running back Nate Carter will be the primary back in his third year at Michigan State.
The middle four games on their schedule could rival for the toughest four-game stretch in college football. Facing off against Oregon and Ohio State in back-to-back weeks before hosting Iowa and then of course the in-state rivalry game against Michigan.
12. Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins are coming off an eight-win season in 2023 but enter a transition time for the program.
The Terrapins will have a hole at quarterback after Taulia Tagovailoa was denied eligibility for a sixth year. NC State transfer quarterback MJ Morris and backup quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. will battle for the starting spot.
Maryland doesn’t have many tests in the first half of the season but they face off with Oregon and Penn State to close the season.
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois had a disappointing 2023 season, with a record of 5-7, the year after a record season under Bret Bielema in 2022.
Luke Altmyer, former Ole Miss backup, was the starter for the 2023 Fighting Illini. Altmyer started nine games last season, throwing for 1,883 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns.
Bielema will lead his squad to try to upset one of the four ranked teams on the schedule. (Kansas, Penn State, Oregon, and Michigan).
14. Indiana Hoosiers
After Tom Allen’s Indiana Hoosiers never reached the same heights of the shortened 2020 season, Allen was relieved of his duties as head coach. The Hoosiers brought in Curt Cignetti, former James Madison head coach, who transformed the Dukes program at the FBS level.
Cignetti was active in the transfer portal this offseason bringing in twelve players from James Madison and thirty total transfers. Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke was all-MAC in 2023 after throwing eleven passing touchdowns for the Bobcats.
The Hoosiers have a win total of 5.5 games, according to the FanDuel Sportsbook.
15. Minnesota Golden Gophers
PJ Fleck enters his eighth season at the helm of the program for the Golden Gophers. In 2023, Minnesota narrowly made a bowl game even with a 5-7 record.
Fleck brings in new quarterback Max Brosmer from New Hampshire out of the transfer portal. Brosner will hopefully help improve Minnesota’s air attack, which was near the bottom of the Big Ten last season.
The Golden Gophers are another former Big Ten West team that will now face a harder schedule due to the extinction of divisions in the conference. Minnesota’s over/under win total is set at 5.5 according to the FanDuel Sportsbook.
16. UCLA Bruins
UCLA is in a tough spot as a program. Former head coach Chip Kelly left to take a demotion at a school in the conference at Ohio State. Former quarterback Dante Moore transferred in conference to become a backup quarterback at Oregon.
First-time head coach Deshaun Foster was one of the talking points after Big Ten media day for his interesting press conference. Foster brought in Eric Bieniemy, former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, to be the Bruins offensive coordinator.
UCLA has one of the toughest non-conference schedule games in the Big Ten. In week three the Bruins travel to Baton Rouge to face the 13th ranked LSU Tigers.
17. Northwestern Wildcats
The Wildcats will be playing at a temporary stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan. The program made a surprising turnaround in 2023. Despite a scandal and coaching change the Wildcats won seven more games than they did in 2022.
Starting quarterback Mike Wright enters his final year of eligibility after spending four years in the SEC at Mississippi State and Vanderbilt where Wright started 14 games, three for the Bulldogs and eleven for the Commodores.
The Wildcats’ toughest opponents include Penn State, Michigan, and Iowa this season. Their win total line is currently at 4.5 according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
18. Purdue Boilermakers
The Purdue Boilermakers are coming off a 4-8 season in 2023, don’t expect them to be much better this upcoming year.
Redshirt senior quarterback Hudson Card is back at Purdue for his final year of eligibility. Card spent his first three seasons at Texas where he played in 22 games as a Longhorn. In 2023, at Purdue, Card threw for 15 touchdowns and earned all-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors.
Purdue can still play the role of ‘Spoliermakers this year as they host national championship contender Oregon at Ross-Ade Stadium in October.
