The Power 5 Conference previews begin today, and in the unusual spot of lowest ranked of the Big 5 stands the 14-member Big Ten. In actuality, just three points separates the fifth best conference from the second best this year, so the Big Ten is basically in a four-way tie for second best conference this year.
Being the fifth best league does not mean the Big Ten will not have a team in the third FBS College Football Playoffs. In fact, three teams have the talent to run the table and earn one of the four coveted spots. And overall, the PiRates believe 11 teams could be bowl eligible this year. This means that at least one and probably two teams will fill vacant spots as at-large candidates.
The power once again rests in the East Division, where six of the seven members have a chance to get to six wins. In recent years, it has come down to the Ohio State-Michigan State game, but this year we believe a third team will crash the party. Second year head coach Jim Harbaugh has quickly rebuilt the Michigan Wolverines to a point where the Maize and Blue are ready to return to greatness not seen in a decade. The Wolverines improved immediately in year one, becoming tougher on both sides of the ball and doubling their wins from the year before from five to ten.
The same improvement in year two could make Michigan a national title contender. The offense loses a good quarterback in Jake Rudock, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions, but unlike recent years, there is a competition among multiple quality quarterbacks, and whoever wins the battle will be a talented and competent leader. Expect Michigan’s passing game to remain as strong as last year, whether former Houston QB John O’Korn or Wilton Speight wins the job.
Whoever winst that job will have a bevy of highly-talented receivers catching the passes. Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh combined for 108 catches and 14 touchdowns as the starting wideouts last year, while tight end Jake Butt added 51 catches.
Running back De’Veon Smith is another pass-catching weapon, but his main goal is continuing to improve as a multi-talented runner who can plunge forward up the middle for an extra yard or two and break a long run to the outside. Backup Ty Isaac is capable of taking over a game if he can become more consistent.
Where Michigan should win most games this year is up front, as their offensive line has no peers inside the league. There is talent throughout the two-deep, led by center Mason Cole, guard Kyle Kalis, and tackle Erik Magnuson.
The other side of the ball is strong and potentially dominating up front, as the defensive line has a quartet of brick walls. Opponents will run away from the side end Chris Wormly lines up on, and quarterbacks will worry about his rushing when dropping back to pass. Taco Charlton will see improved stats this year, as he faces more plays to his end of the line.
The pass defense was a little vulnerable at times, but the back seven should be better this year, led by potential All-American cornerback Jabrill Peppers.
If it wasn’t for a schedule that includes road games with Michigan State, Iowa, and Ohio State, the media and other experts might be calling for a 12-0 regular season. Maybe, just the Pirates believe it is possible this year.
Ohio State looks to be in a rebuild season, but in Columbus, rebuilding means a possible 9-3 season. The Buckeyes lost so much from last year’s 12-1 season on both sides of the ball. Sure, there is still a ton of talent left on this squad, but we believe OSU will be about a touchdown weaker overall.
J.T. Barrett returns at quarterback after splitting the job with Cardale Jones, who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills. Barrett is a better fit in Coach Urban Meyer’s spread offense, but defenses might be able to sneak defenders toward the line without worrying as much about being beaten deep by the arm of Jones.
The biggest replacement Meyer must make is at running back, where Ezekiel Elliott might be the leading candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year in Dallas. Finding capable receivers to replace Michael Thomas, Jalen Marshall, and Braxton Miller will be nearly as difficult.
The offensive line must replace three starters, but there was a lot of talented depth here last year, and we don’t see this becoming much of a problem this year.
Defensively, the Buckeyes return one starter to the line, one at linebacker, and one in the secondary. Middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan and end Tyquan Lewis could both become All-Americans, while end Sam Hubbard has all-league potential.
Road games with Oklahoma and Michigan State should be too much for the inexperienced Buckeyes to handle this year, so it could be a bowl other than the New Year’s 6 this year.
Michigan State faces a similar but less rebuilding effort this year after making the NCAA Playoffs in 2015. Coach Mark Dantonio’s Spartans won a lot of close games last year in their road to the Big Ten title, and a small rebuild should mean that some of those close wins last year could become close losses this year. Replacing quarterback Connor Cook may be the toughest replacement in the entire league, and number two might be finding one or more players to replace the production of defensive star Shilique Calhoun.
Penn State coach James Franklin is 14-12 in his first two seasons in Happy Valley, and another 7-6 year will leave Nittany Lion fans very unhappy. Although most of the offense returns this year, one player missing is quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Although Hackenberg had issues with the Franklin offense, he still was good enough to become an NFL Draft pick, and nobody on the current roster has his skills.
The Defense loses a lot of talent, but possibly more important is the loss of defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, who will be directing the defense at Tennessee this year. September 10 could be an important Saturday for Franklin’s future in State College. A loss at Pittsburgh could get the alumni moving to find a replacement.
Indiana and Maryland don’t figure to contend for an upper division spot this year, but both teams have enough talent to go 3-0 outside of league play and find three more wins to get to 6-6. Rutgers is not in that same boat. The Scarlet Knights will be fortunate to avoid double digit losses.
Although the West Division is not as strong, the competition might be fiercer. Four teams have the potential to end up in the Big Ten Championship Game, while a fifth should be bowl eligible.
Iowa is the slight favorite to repeat as division champions, but Nebraska might be the most improved team in the division. The two rivals meet in Iowa City on Black Friday.
Wisconsin has the talent to win double digit games in most years, but not this year with a schedule that only a masochist could design. The Badgers face the two Michigan schools on the road and must face Ohio State at home, and then add a game at Lambeau Stadium against national title contender LSU. They also play at Iowa, and all of these games occur by October 22.
Northwestern is a mystery team this year to some extent. The Wildcats return a lot of talent from a 10-3 team, but overall that talent is not as strong as the other contenders. Coach Pat Fitzgerald finds a way to squeeze every yard and point out of his offense, while the defense always plays better on the whole than the sum of its parts.
Minnesota begins its first full season under Coach Tracy Claeys, who took over after Jerry Kill retired after the season began last year. The Gophers should be about as good this year as last, which means a probable lower-tier bowl.
Illinois and Purdue do not have the talent to compete for bowl eligibility, but both teams are capable of pulling off an upset. Last year, they both upset Nebraska and could have knocked the Cornhuskers out of a bowl.
The Big Ten does not sanction an official media preseason poll, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer does the job for the league in an unofficial capacity. Here is that Cleveland.com poll.
| Big Ten–East Division | ||||
| # | Team | 1st Pl. | Total | Champ. |
| 1 | Ohio St. | 31 | 260.5 | 27 |
| 2 | Michigan | 14 | 241 | 11 |
| 3 | Michigan St. | 1 | 195.5 | |
| 4 | Penn St. | 0 | 155.5 | |
| 5 | Indiana | 0 | 110 | |
| 6 | Maryland | 0 | 81.5 | |
| 7 | Rutgers | 0 | 52 | |
| Big Ten–West Division | ||||
| # | Team | 1st Pl. | Total | Champ. |
| 1 | Iowa | 33 | 265 | 1 |
| 2 | Nebraska | 3 | 206 | |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 2 | 194.5 | |
| 4 | Northwestern | 1 | 171.5 | |
| 5 | Minnesota | 1 | 132 | |
| 6 | Illinois | 0 | 76.5 | |
| 7 | Purdue | 0 | 46.5 | |
Here are our initial PiRate Ratings for the league.
| Big Ten Conference | ||||
| East Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| Michigan | 120.0 | 118.0 | 120.4 | 119.5 |
| Ohio St. | 113.3 | 113.5 | 113.5 | 113.4 |
| Michigan St. | 113.1 | 112.4 | 111.1 | 112.2 |
| Penn St. | 109.5 | 111.3 | 108.0 | 109.6 |
| Indiana | 101.5 | 106.0 | 100.9 | 102.8 |
| Maryland | 100.9 | 104.2 | 98.1 | 101.1 |
| Rutgers | 99.0 | 96.2 | 97.3 | 97.5 |
| West Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| Iowa | 114.6 | 110.9 | 114.2 | 113.2 |
| Nebraska | 110.4 | 105.9 | 110.5 | 108.9 |
| Wisconsin | 109.1 | 105.9 | 109.5 | 108.2 |
| Northwestern | 109.7 | 103.5 | 108.1 | 107.1 |
| Minnesota | 104.8 | 102.8 | 104.7 | 104.1 |
| Illinois | 100.6 | 97.2 | 99.8 | 99.2 |
| Purdue | 99.4 | 96.6 | 98.3 | 98.1 |
The PiRate Ratings are meant to be used only to predict the outcomes of the next week of games, and are not best used to predict beyond that point. Because we use algorithms that include automatic adjustments by each team based on depth and experience, two different teams can win by the exact score we predict, and their new ratings might change differently.
Thus, using our ratings to predict won-loss records and bowl projections is a bit comical, but then we all need some laughs every now and then. So, laugh away at our projected standings and bowls.
| Big Ten Conference Projected Standings | |||
| Team | Conference | Overall | Bowl |
| East Division | |||
| Michigan | 9-0 | 13-0 * | Playoffs–Fiesta |
| Ohio St. | 7-2 | 9-3 | Citrus |
| Michigan St. | 7-2 | 9-3 | Outback |
| Penn St. | 6-3 | 8-4 | Music City |
| Indiana | 3-6 | 6-6 | [Cactus] * |
| Maryland | 3-6 | 6-6 | [Birmingham] * |
| Rutgers | 1-8 | 3-9 | |
| Team | Conference | Overall | Bowl |
| West Division | |||
| Iowa | 7-2 | 10-3 | Holiday |
| Nebraska | 5-4 | 8-4 | Pinstripe |
| Northwestern | 5-4 | 8-4 | Foster Farms |
| Wisconsin | 5-4 | 7-5 | Quick Lane |
| Minnesota | 4-5 | 7-5 | Heart of Dallas |
| Illinois | 1-8 | 3-9 | |
| Purdue | 0-9 | 3-9 | |
| * Indiana’s Cactus Bowl Bid is an at-large selection | |||
| * Maryland’s Birmingham Bowl Bid is an at-lerge selection | |||
Coming up tomorrow: The Big 12 Conference was close to going on life support until Oklahoma made the playoffs last year. Now, with the possibility of new blood coming soon, and the likelihood that the Sooners could be better this year, there’s hope for the league. Find out which teams are contenders, which are pretenders, and what team could surprise a lot of people this season.
The Pi-Rate Ratings 