Newcomers to The B1G
The Big Ten Conference is experiencing a resurgence in the College Football scene. This year will be more competitive than ever, as 4 more teams will be added, and the College Football Playoff is expanded from 4 to 12 teams.
Top New Big Ten Football Team, The Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies suffered their only loss to Michigan in the National Championship game. Their losses would continue in the following weeks, as the Coach that led that season would end up replacing Nick Saban as the Head Coach at Alabama. Jedd Fisch will be the next Husky Football Head Coach. The quarterback situation is still to be figured out, with only 2 walk on quarterbacks officially on the roster after a wave of transfers out. Fisch is hopeful that he can find a transfer QB to lead his new team.
The Huskies first season in the Big Ten will be host to decent schedule, where they will only be expected to lose to Michigan and Penn State. With only two losses, they should stay at the top of the Big Ten, and in the Playoff.
University of Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are coming off a 2 loss season as they make their move into the Big Ten. Their two losses to Washington kept them out of the playoff, but a 45-6 win over Liberty ended their season on a high note. Brian Michalowski has been promoted to linebacker coach, but the quarterback position is still a question. Dillon Gabriel, a transfer QB from Oklahoma, is expected to win the starting role. Five star recruit Dante Moore will also be competing for the job. Moore played 9 games for UCLA as a freshman, before transferring to Oregon.
With 12 teams entering the playoff, we still might not see Oregon on that stage. Their true tests will be OSU, Michigan, and Washington, which could result in a 3 loss season in a new conference.
UCLA
UCLA had an average final season in the Pacific 12 conference, finishing with 4 losses. New head coach, DeShaun Foster, will be looking to turn that around. His first big move as head coach, is the hire of Eric Bieniemy as Offensive Coordinator. These two coaches hope to bring NFL experience to help cement UCLA in the Big Ten Football scene. Their upcoming season will be put in the hands of Quarterback, Ethan Garbers. Garbers is a mid size, pro style quarterback that led the Bruins to a 35-22 win over Boise State in their bowl game to finish off the season.
A tough schedule is on the books, with expected losses to LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Iowa, and Washington. It doesn’t seem like a year that UCLA will make the cut for the College Football Playoff, even as it expands to 12 teams.
USC Trojans
Lincoln Riley managed to lead Heisman winner Caleb Williams and the USC trojans to a dismal 5 loss season. Riley has hired rival Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn(UCLA). With Caleb Williams heading to the NFL, Riley will lean on Miller Moss at Quarterback. Moss’s performance in the Holiday Bowl was phenomenal, as he threw for 6 touchdowns and 372 yards in his first start at Quarterback since high school.
The move to a new conference will likely only hurt the Trojans season, while we watch Lincoln Riley waste another quarterbacks career. I can simply list their predicted wins, because they will only win against Utah State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Nebraska. Expect USC to miss the Playoff by a huge margin.