Big Ten Preseason Rankings

It’s here. If you walk outside right now you can smell it in the air. It’s a familiar smell. A smell you haven’t smelled in what has only been months, but feels like years. It’s college football season. Which means it’s time to put out Big Ten preseason rankings acting like we know what we are talking about, when we really have no idea. Just our feelings and opinions.

College football fans are some of the most emotional fans you will encounter. When they go months without their sport, their emotions keep building up until they explode at the sight of a preseason ranking. Getting irrationally angry at someone’s preseason ranking is part of what makes this sport so great, and I think it’s good for the soul. So here is my attempt at getting some of these emotions out that have been building for the last 6-8 months.

When you look at the Big Ten, there’s 3 tiers. 

1. The Elites
2. The Middle Class
3. The Poors

The Elites are made up of, you guessed it, Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. These are the teams that are in legit contention for a conference championship, almost a shoe in for the playoff, and could win it all. The best of the best. The elites.

The Poors are made up of Purdue, Rutgers, Michigan State, Maryland. These are the teams that are going to be underdogs in most, if not all their games, may have coaches that are on the hot seat, and are probably going through a rebuild.

The Middle Class is everyone else. These are the teams that you will convince yourself in a perfect world they will make a run for the Big Ten Title. These are also the teams that will frustrate their fans the most.

1. Oregon: Where do I even begin with them. They are loaded at every position. The offensive line has a few new starters which could be a concern. The biggest question is can Dan Lanning finally break through?
   
2. Ohio State: Another team that is absolutely loaded. They return a ton from a pretty good offense, but they have to replace a ton from a great defense. Ohio State is one of those teams that doesn’t rebuild, they reload. So even though they have to replace a ton on defense, they will still be a very good defense.
   
3. Indiana: This is no disrespect to Indiana. They are very good team and could very easily win the Big Ten. They will be great on both LOS which is how you win titles. If I had a concern it’s Josh Hoover.
   
4. USC: I could end up with egg on my face for this one. I believe in USC this season. Every year we hear that this is the year the defense/d-line/o-line breaks through. Every year it’s disappointing. I’m officially buying in, and that terrifies me.
   
5. Michigan: Michigan’s success this season will be determined by Bryce Underwood’s success. Last year was a disaster and it was not entirely his fault. He’s got better coaches and weapons around him now. Everything points to a much better season for him, but I need to see it first. 
   
6. Iowa: This is a team that we could look up at the end of the year and be shocked to see that Iowa is getting talked about as a playoff contender. There’s a 3 game stretch where they play at Michigan, home vs Ohio State, and at Washington on a short week. If they can come out of that 3 game stretch with at least 1 win, every other game is winnable. There are questions at QB and D-line that make me nervous.
   
7. Penn State: I really like the Matt Campbell hire. Penn State is in good hands. They have a manageable schedule this season. He brought over a ton of Iowa State players that he’s combining with holdovers from Penn State last year. An Iowa State team that did not finish in the top 25. Do you think that the best players from Iowa State from last year can compete in the Big Ten? That remains to be seen.
   
8. Minnesota: I am uncomfortably high on Minnesota. The offense has so much potential, but a lot of guys need to take a step forward to reach that potential. The defense returns at least one stud at every level, but some of the guys behind those studs are unknown/unproven. If the offense reaches their potential, and some of the defensive unknowns prove themselves, watch out for the Gophers. RTB. Ski-U-Mah. Go Gophers.
   
9. Washington: This is the biggest wild card in the Big Ten. The defense will be good. The offense has questions. They return 4 starters from an o-line that was just okay. There’s been a good amount of injuries to the RBs, so who do they have? Outside of Roebuck, who do they have at WR? The biggest question though is Demond Williams. We saw him disappear against any team with relevance. If he actually shows up against the good teams, watch out for Washington.
   
10. Illinois: I really like this Illinois offense. I’m concerned with the defense. I’m not high on the d-line, and they will be running a 3-3-5. Put those 2 together and we are looking at a team that is going to struggle to stop the run. They have a very manageable schedule, but that defense is a concern.
    
11. Wisconsin: I am not buying into the Wisconsin hype. They have what looks to be an easier schedule, but I don’t know that their roster is that much better. If Colton Joseph is the next coming of *insert your favorite mobile QB of years past*, then maybe Wisconsin will be a team to watch out for.
    
12. UCLA: A lot of hype around UCLA this year. Let’s pump the brakes for a second. “If Indiana can do it, why not UCLA.” The Indiana turnaround was probably a once in a lifetime turnaround. Will this be a better team than last year? Yes. Are they a lock to go bowling? No. There’s still plenty of questions surrounding this team on both sides of the ball.
    
13. Northwestern: I really like the hire of Chip Kelly, but I don’t think we see the end results of his hiring in year one. The offense he wants to run does not necessarily fit what they have on the roster. Give it at least a year and we should start seeing the results we want to see from Chip Kelly.
    
14. Nebraska: Every season Nebraska is ranked higher/expected to be better than Minnesota, and every year they are not. This year is no different. Both lines of scrimmage need to be better this season. Even if they are better on the LOS, this schedule is not easy.
    
15. Maryland: Going into this season I was actually high on Maryland’s defense/d-line. Now with the injury new regarding Zahir Mathis, I’m less high on the defense/d-line. On top of that, I do not love the offense outside of Malik Washington. It’s also a Mike Locksley coached team. I’m out on Maryland.
    
16. Michigan State: I want to like the Pat Fitzgerald, but I am hesitant to buy in. Regardless on whether or not this is a good hire, this will still be a rebuild year. 
    
17. Rutgers: I struggle with Rutgers. They have a great RB, a great WR, and a QB that has the ability to sling it. The o-line looks like they won’t be terrible. I’m not sure what to expect from their defense though. Even if they don’t finish in the bottom 2, they won’t finish much higher. 
    
18. Purdue: The Boilermakers are 4 years and 2 coaches into their rebuild, and I don’t see it getting better. My one bold take for Purdue is that they will win more Big Ten games this year than they have the previous 2 seasons combined.

There’s my rankings. I know there’s many of you that will not agree and that’s okay. Go ahead and get irrationally angry at them. I encourage it. It really is what makes this sport so great.