Ranking BIG 10 Football

Here are my BIG 10 rankings before the season. No detailed breakdowns, just a quick ranking. Think of them as the first 4, the second 4, the next 5, and the last 5.

1. Oregon: The Ducks will win the BIG 10 in their first year in the conference. Dan Lanning is part of the Kirby Smart coaching tree. He brings a toughness to Oregon that will do well in the BIG 10. They are loaded with talent and have brought in Dillion Gabriel at quarterback. Yes, Michigan and Ohio State are on the schedule, but Michigan is down, and Lanning has already painted a giant bullseye on Ohio State.
2. Ohio State: With the addition of Chip Kelly and the pressure on Ryan Day to beat Michigan, everybody is jumping on the Buckeye bandwagon. I keep hearing people say Kelly is going to run the ball. With the talent Ohio State has, I want to believe it. But I don’t. Ohio State also brought in Will Howard to play quarterback, but I’m not sold. He played second fiddle to Skylar Thompson and Adrian Martinez, and then hit the transfer portal when Avery Johnson saw playing time.
3. Penn State: James Franklin hasn’t been able to get over the hump, but Michigan and Oregon aren’t on the schedule this season. Penn St. gets Ohio St. after they play Oregon, if Ohio St. loses that game, Franklin will make sure his team understands there is blood in the water. Former Indiana HC Tom Allen is the new DC and comes in with a chip on his shoulder. The addition of former Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki brings a much-needed boost to a stagnant offense. QB Drew Allar’s return is a big plus.
4. Michigan: With Harbaugh suspended, Sherrone Moore was the interim head coach in four games. But Harbaugh was never gone, his voice was still in the room. That’s changed. Now comes the hangover. Moore is a good coach, but this is his first head coaching job, and he lost a ton of talent, including assistants that left with Harbaugh. There are too many changes and too many questions for Michigan to pick up where they left off.
5. Nebraska: After Michigan, I think the next 4 teams are a toss-up. And while I’m putting the Huskers at 5, their schedule is set up for them to move up to 3 or 4. The talent level at every position has improved and there is far more depth than last year, especially at QB. Retaining Tony White along with the addition of Glen Thomas and John Butler adds experience and new enthusiasm. Matt Rhule seems very confident that with Dylan Raiola and the added depth in the WR room, Nebraska will be a team to be dealt with.
6. Iowa: Everybody is giving Iowa 9 to 10 wins and with their schedule, why not. They don’t play USC, Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, or Oregon this year. Tim Lester is an upgrade at OC, but with Kirk Frentz, offense is sometimes an afterthought. Frentz lives and dies with defense and special teams. The return of Cade McNamara and the addition of Brendan Sullivan gives Iowa depth at QB.
7. USC: Paul Finebaum claims Lincoln Riley ran from the SEC and is coaching his way out of the BIG 10. If he doesn’t turn things around defensively that may be true. To help, Riley hired D’Anton Lynn away from UCLA as DC. Then he hired former North Dakota State HC Matt Entz as a defensive assistant. Most of the other defensive position coaches are new as well. With USC’s schedule, which includes LSU, Michigan, Penn State, and Notre Dame, the new staff has their work cut out for them.
8. Wisconsin: People expect Luke Fickell to do better than 8^th in his second year. But there is still wok to be done. OC Phil Longo returns as well as DC Mike Tressel. The wild card is portal QB Tyler Van Dyke from Miami. Although inconsistent last year, Van Dyke has talent and WR Will Pauling can be dangerous. An improved offensive line helps, but there is a lack of depth at the other skill positions. A tough schedule features Alabama, Penn State, Oregon, and Iowa.
9. Rutgers: With an experienced offensive line and last year’s leading BIG 10 rusher Kyle Monangai, playing Rutgers will be a rock fight. They also added OC Kirk Ciarrocca who brought QB Athan Kaliakmanis with him from Minnesota. Kaliakmanis has WR’s to work with. Most of the defense returns, which was the strength of the team last season. Rutgers does not have Oregon, Ohio St, Penn State, or Michigan on their schedule.
10. Washington: After playing for a national championship last season there was a mass exodus. New HC Jedd Fisch was hired to reload. He brought in portal QB Will Rodgers from Mississippi State. Rodgers put up good numbers under Mike Leech. Washington returns several skill players on both sides of the ball, but their season will revolve around an unproven offensive line. Still, I’ll use one word for Washington under Fisch, ‘scary’.
11. Indiana: I’ll use two words to describe new HC Curt Cignetti, ‘stupid confident’. Cignetti comes from JMU where he had nothing but success. He is unbashful with quotes like, “Oh, if we got to a bowl, it’s a great year. Bullshit. That ain’t the goal. The goal is to be the best.” Listening to the man, you may not care for him, but he speaks with such conviction it’s hard not to believe in him. Cignetti brought every good player he had with him from JMU and added Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke. They face Michigan and Ohio State. this season, but the early schedule allows for a strong start, the Hoosiers could easily be 4-0 when they face Nebraska at home.
12. Maryland: Tua Tagovailoa is no longer QB, and without a proven replacement, look for Maryland to run the ball. How far that will take them without a big play guy like Tua will have to be seen. Their schedule isn’t a killer, but they do get Oregon, Iowa, and Penn State. Their defense will be good, but not good enough to produce the season Mike Locksley desires.
13. Michigan State: New HC Johnatan Smith could build momentum before facing Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa and then Michigan. Talented players like QB Aidan Chiles and TE Jack Velling followed Smith from Oregon State. Add RB Nate Carter and the threesome could be huge in Smith’s first year. However, after that there isn’t much depth on the offensive line or on defense. Smith provides a promise of better days.
14. Northwestern: David Braun did the unthinkable last season and led Northwestern to an 8-5 record. OC Zach Lujan was added from two-time FCS national champion South Dakota State. Lujan has experience to work with but is lacking in one key position, QB. Braun, who was originally hired to be DC has turned the reins over to former LB’s coach Tim McGarigle. There is experience on the defensive side, but the schedule won’t allow for a repeat of last season.
15. Illinois: HC Brett Bielema saw a letdown last season after appearing to be on the right track. Bielema had success in the BIG 10 while at Wisconsin, but this is Illinois. This season won’t be easy with Kansas, Penn St., Michigan, and Oregon on the schedule. QB Luke Altmeyer is the one returning bright spot. But after that depth and experience are sparse. This team is starting to look eerily familiar to Arkansas a few years back.
16. Minnesota: There are holes in the boat. Fleck’s teams have been solid in the past, but we witnessed a downward turn last year. Its questionable Fleck can right the ship. QB Max Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire will be asked to improve a passing game that wasn’t very good last year. But the Gophers return a good offensive line which will help. DC Joe Rossi’s departure along with injuries to last year’s defense leaves questions. The schedule doesn’t help either, with playing North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan, USC, and Penn State.
17. UCLA: I wanted to rank UCLA and Deshon Foster higher. But after his performance in Indy, he came across as unprepared. If this was an example of his being the head man, the Bruins are in trouble. Hopefully Eric Bieniemy can organize the offense. The defense lost player production that won’t be easy to replace. The schedule is challenging, seeing LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Iowa, and USC.
18. Purdue: The Boilermakers face Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State. OC Graham Harrell returns as well as QB Hudson Card. The biggest concern with Card is consistency. The return of RB Devin Mockobee and the addition of Reggie Love III gives them good depth in the backfield, however, Card lost his top four WR’s. Purdue’s pass defense was the worst in the BIG 10 last season, and they lost their top pass rusher to the portal. Walters was hired for what he did defensively at Illinois, he may be fired for what he did defensively at Purdue.

Outlook: The new 18 team conference is brutal for almost everyone involved. Husker fans talk about getting back to winning conference championships, but fans just need to be happy being in the top four of the conference each season. Gone are the days of repeatedly winning the conference championship. Don’t get me wrong, Nebraska can win conference championships and regularly get into the 12-team playoffs. And under Matt Rhule they’ll contend for national championships. But don’t think Nebraska is going to beat Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC year after year.

Look at it like this, if this was the old Big 8, Nebraska would need to beat Oklahoma six times a season to be conference champions.