By Luke Brumm
We took a look at the ACC, now let’s see how the Big Ten teams are stacking up as Spring practice is winding down.
18. Indiana
17. Minnesota
16. Purdue
15. Illinois
14. Rutgers
13. Nebraska
12. Iowa
11. UCLA
This is what the bottom half of the conference looks like to me. Many of these teams were also bottom of the conference last season. I’m interested to see if Nebraska can improve in year two with Matt Rhule and year one with QB Dylan Raiola. UCLA is the only Pac-12 newcomer that finds themselves in the bottom half, and that has a lot to do with losing their starting quarterback to Oregon, defensive coordinator to USC, and head coach to Ohio State, three other Big Ten teams.
10. Northwestern
9. Maryland
8. Michigan State
7. Wisconsin
6. USC
These teams are on top half of the conference, but still behind the leading contenders. Northwestern finds themselves here after a very impressive 2023 season under David Braun, all things considered. Michigan State should improve drastically with new head coach Jonathan Smith after last year’s mess. Wisconsin is heading into year two under Luke Fickell and USC is heading into the Big Ten with a lot of talent, but also some question marks.
5. Washington
The Huskies lost their head coach to Alabama the season after making the National Championship game, and while that hurt, I like how the Huskies are bouncing back. They got Jedd Fisch from Arizona and also grabbed former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers from the portal. I like Rogers and think he is very underrated. He might be overlooked because he played at Mississippi State, but the stats speak for themselves.
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4. Penn State
Penn State had almost identical seasons the past two and I don’t know if they can stand another one like it. They beat everyone on their schedule except for Ohio State and Michigan. The only difference between the two seasons is that they won their bowl game in 2022 and lost this past season to Ole Miss. James Franklin has had loads of success, but has to get over that hump. He has been close multiple times. With the new playoff format, that needs to happen sooner rather than later.
3. Michigan
The defending national champs have a lot to replace. They will look to reload after losing their head coach, and starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, offensive lineman, and numerous defensive players. Jim Harbaugh will be replaced by Sherrone Moore, who did a good job in relief duty while Harbaugh was suspended last season. I do see the Wolverines being good again this year, but I do expect a drop-off. They’ll have to figure it all out quickly, as they play Texas in week two.
2. Oregon
In my opinion, the Ducks are the best team coming over from the Pac-12. Dan Lanning has done a tremendous job and has added even more talent through recruiting and the portal. They have two solid quarterback options and added a lot of other players. I’m looking forward to seeing Evan Stewart in an Oregon uniform this Fall. I like their offense and defense and expect them to immediately come in and contend for Big Ten titles.
1. Ohio State
Ohio State very well could be the most improved team over the offseason. An elite recruiting class mixed with arguably the best portal class. They added Will Howard, Julian Sayin, Quinshon Judkins, Caleb Downs, Seth McLaughlin, and Will Kacmarek in the portal. The addition of five-star Freshman Jeremiah Smith will help ease the loss of All-American Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver.
Ryan Day has the reputation of starting on third base and not being able to get home, but that could be changing with the recent additions and a larger playoff.
