The Big Ten conference is bigger and better than ever — and that’s good news for fans, who can expect another blockbuster season. Now that the division stretches from coast to coast, there’ll be new rivalries to match the classic, traditional head-to-heads and, with a new college playoff system in place, we should see the action really begin to heat up as the regular season draws to a close.
All teams will go into the season hoping to put on a good show and, hopefully, impress their fans. But for glory? In practice, only a few teams can have eyes on lifting the championship. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest teams and assess their chances.
Minnesota
Can the Gophers pull off an unlikely run into the postseason? Alas, it doesn’t seem like this will be Minnesota’s time to shine.
Head Coach PJ Fleck has done a great job over the past eight years, helping to stabilize the team and offering a level of consistency that fans appreciate. The team hasn’t been perfect, but they’ve been good, and it would be great if the Gophers could make the most of their attacking prowess to put on another great show. A strong running duo of Darius Taylor and newly-arrived A.J. Turner should help keep their games exciting.
Ultimately, we can’t expect too much of the Gophers, but they might come up with a few surprises and finish in the top 7 – 10 positions if everything goes their way. In any case, we’ll be rooting for them.
Ohio State
Ohio State have to be considered favorites to win the Big Ten. After all, they’ve got the confidence of winning the College Football Playoff National Championship under their belts. Whether they can make it two in a row remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if Ohio finish the division as leaders. Everyone seems to think they will.
Sportsbooks like Wildz Sports have made Ohio State the favorites, commentators call them the best team in the country, and other teams know that they’re the ones to beat. The fact that they have hot talents such as Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, and Julian Sayin all at the peak of their powers makes the case all the more convincing. Whoever can take them down will likely find that they have one hand on the national championship.
Penn State
On paper, Penn State aren’t the same force as they were last year, with a couple of key players opting to enter the draft. But does that mean that the team will be any less confident of winning the Big Ten? Not a chance — Penn State are a team that still packs a powerful punch.
Drew Allar is still a masterful player, and if Trebor Pena or Kyron Hudson can hit the ground running, then they’ll win plenty of football games. Make no mistake, Penn absolutely have a chance of going all the way, though they’ll have to navigate a run of difficult games early in the season that will set the tone for what’s to come.
Oregon
It’s a strange situation for Oregon. They were undefeated and won the Big Ten Championship last season, yet had a horrible postseason in which they were roundly defeated by Ohio State. That’ll have knocked their confidence, and the fact that they’ve lost some ten players to the draft certainly won’t help morale.
Still, there are plenty of reasons why Oregon will feel confident going into the season. Their success will be in the hands of Dante Moore, who replaced NFL-bound Dillon Gabriel. If he can build on the flashes of talent he has shown in the past, then it might just be another exciting year at Oregon.