We’re going to take a look at which Big Ten teams are consistent, which ones are on the rise, and which ones are in panic mode.
Read our prior conference picks here: SEC, Big 12, ACC, and more to come.
Consistent
Ohio State
Ohio State seems like they’ve been consistent forever. They continuously have double-digit win seasons, they continuously win Big Ten championships and make the College Football Playoff, and they won the National Championship in 2014. Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, and now Ryan Day have been great with recruiting, developing, and game-day coaching. I see the Buckeyes being elite for a long time to come.

Michigan
Michigan started being pretty consistent around 2015 but reached the Ohio State level over the past two seasons. They have beaten the Buckeyes two times in a row, won back-to-back Big Ten championships, and have participated in the last two CFPs. There have been rumors of Jim Harbaugh leaving during these past two off-seasons but he’s still there and looks to be for at least a few more seasons. I can’t wait to see Michigan and Ohio State battle it out over these next few seasons.

Iowa
Iowa hasn’t been on Ohio State or Michigan’s level, but they have been consistent. Similar to Kentucky in my SEC edition, they have at least eight wins almost every season. Since 2014, Iowa has only failed to reach eight wins once, and that was in the shortened Covid season where they went 6-2. Everybody talks about Kirk Ferentz and his low-scoring offense, but he has been very successful. I believe their offense will improve this upcoming season, it needs to consider the new addition to Ferentz’s contract about averaging a certain number of points.
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On the Rise
Penn State
I feel like Penn State has been “on the rise” forever and has been in Michigan and Ohio State’s shadow for the past decade or so. I almost didn’t add them to this, but after going 7-6 in 2021, they went 11-2 last season and won the Rose Bowl. They only lost to the two teams I just mentioned, so if they can beat both or even just one of them next year, they could be looking at a shot at a playoff appearance. With former five-star QB Drew Allar set to take over at QB, and with Penn State consistently pulling in top-15 recruiting classes, now is the beginning of Penn State’s window to be competitive against Ohio State and Michigan.

Illinois
The Fighting Illini just completed their first winning season since 2011 and had the most wins in a season since their 2007 season where they went to the Rose Bowl. Head Coach Bret Bielema improved from a 5-7 season in year one and went 8-5 in his second season at the helm. Illinois started 7-1 and almost upset Michigan in Ann Arbor, losing on a game-winning field goal, 19-17. They’re returning a PFF first-team All-American in Johnny Newton. The Illini have brought in transfer QBs Luke Altmyer (four-star via Ole Miss) and John Paddock (three-star via Ball State), along with having Devin Leary‘s brother, Donovan under center as well. The Illini had the nation’s top-ranked defense last season according to Sports Reference. There is hype in Champaign that hasn’t been there in a long time, and I am thrilled to see what they can accomplish.

Panic Mode
Northwestern
Northwestern is coming off of a 1-11 season that followed a 3-9 season in 2021. Northwestern football is in danger of being left in the dust in this new age of college football. With NIL and the transfer portal, it is becoming harder for schools like Northwestern to thrive. Stanford, California, and Vanderbilt fall into this same category. They all have one thing in common as well, they have much higher academic standards than most P5 schools. They also don’t have the NIL money coming in to attract these highly touted recruits and transfers. It’s really sad to see.

Nebraska
Nebraska has been in panic mode since 2017. They haven’t been to a bowl game since 2016 and haven’t had a ten-win season since 2012. Since legendary coach Tom Osborne left Nebraska in 1997, they have gone through eight different head coaches, with the latest one being Matt Rhule. I like this hire and believe he can turn the Cornhuskers around, he has a track record of taking programs like Baylor and Temple, which were in disarray and making them good.
