With less than 60 days left till the start of the college football season, the anticipation grows for answers to this off-season’s questions.
The 2023-24 season will be the final season of divisions for the Big Ten, with the arrival of USC and UCLA in 2024. Will it be the usual suspects at the top, or will new faces be running for the conference title?
Here are Dylan Jurgens’ preseason Big Ten power rankings for this upcoming season.
East Division
No. 1 – Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines are the favorites to win the Big Ten and make the college football playoff for the third straight season.
On offense, they return junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a popular Heisman candidate for this upcoming season. They also return their dangerous running back duo with All-American Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, who had good seasons a year ago.
On defense, they look to keep up their success from last season, where they had the sixth-best total defense in the nation. They return All-B1G linebacker Junior Colson and transfer Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska.
Michigan should be in contention for a Big Ten title and a national championship. It all comes down to whether they can hold off Ohio State and Penn State.
No. 2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes lost their signal caller, C.J. Stroud, after he was drafted into the NFL back in April. They replace him with either junior quarterback Kyle McCord or sophomore Devin Brown. Regardless, whoever starts under center will have good receivers around them, with star wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Ebuka returning for another season.
Defensively speaking, Jim Knowles should have a solid group returning for another season in Columbus. Defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimolou lead a strong pass rush with leading tacklers behind them with Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers.
Ohio State should be in contention for the division and even for the College Football Playoff, but late-season matchups between Penn State and Michigan won’t make it easy.
No. 3 – Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State loses four-year starter quarterback Sean Clifford but has a worthy replacement. Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar is subject to becoming a rising star for the Nittany Lions offense.
After true freshmen Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped bring back a strong running back position group last season, they look to continue that success. Penn State brought in a pair of solid pass catchers through the transfer portal – Dante Sephas (Kent State) and Malik McClain (Florida State). Both should play big roles this fall.
Defensively, Penn State will look to build off of Manny Diaz’s successful defense from last year. They return a few important players for the defense, which includes outside linebacker Abdul Carter and cornerback Kalen King.
Overall, Penn State will be looking to challenge the top dogs later in the fall with a daunting road matchup against Ohio State. Despite that, they do get to host the reigning Big Ten champs at home.
No. 4 – Maryland Terrapins
Maryland returns one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten, Taulia Tagovailoa, to try to keep up with the top three in the division. That will be a tough task as Maryland lost four of five starting offensive linemen and three starting receivers.
On the defensive side, Maryland is coming off a middle-of-the-road type of season. There was improvement, but the main thing is to build off of the improvement. The Terrapins gained two new transfers up front with Jordan Phillips (Tennessee) and Donnell Brown (St. Francis (Pa.)).
Maryland will have a successful season, but the question is, can they close the gap between them and the top 3? We’ll see, but overall, expect a good season out of the Terrapins.
No. 5 – Michigan State Spartans
Coming off of a letdown of a season last year, Michigan State will look to find the same success they had in 2021. The Spartans lost starting quarterback Payton Thorne and top receiver Keon Coleman to the transfer portal this spring. They will need guys to step up into those positions to help the Spartan’s offense to succeed.
Can Head Coach Mel Tucker get the program back to where it was only a few years ago? We will see when this fall comes around. Michigan State should get to at least a bowl game this year.
No. 6 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights revamped their offensive coaching staff over the off-season after having an abysmal 2022. Junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt projects to be named the starter for this fall. On defense, the Scarlet Knights return seven starters from last season and look to improve greatly in 2023.
The biggest question is, can Wimsatt help improve the offense to push for a bowl game berth? They could get into bowl eligibility, but with those questions in mind, they will need to improve on both sides.
No. 7 – Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana has been trending in the wrong direction after their successful 2020 season. The Hoosiers only return seven starters from last season from both sides of the ball. Despite this, they were able a few pickups from the transfer portal, including freshman quarterback Tayven Jackson (Tennessee).
If these transfers can help get Tom Allen and Hoosiers trending back in the right direction, this team could get to six wins this season. We will have to wait and see.
West Division
No. 1 – Wisconsin Badgers
After firing former Head Coach Paul Chryst in the middle of last season, they hired Luke Fickell after a successful stint at Cincinnati. New offensive coordinator Phil Longo brings the Air Raid to Wisconsin, a scheme change from what Wisconsin is used to.
Offensively, they return five starters, including junior running back Braelon Allen. They also picked up senior transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who was solid at SMU, throwing for 7,152 yards and 72 touchdowns.
Defensively, they lose former coordinator Jim Leonhard, who Mike Tressel replaces for 2023. They return seven defense starters that will allow the Badgers to have a top defense in the Big Ten.
It should take a few games for the new offensive schemes to work out, but Wisconsin should be in contention to return to the Big Ten championship in December.
No. 2 – Iowa Hawkeyes
Despite having major offensive issues, the defense got Iowa almost to the Big Ten championship after falling short to Nebraska on Black Friday last season. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is back for another year and will look to improve the offensive production they were missing last season.
The Hawkeyes brought in senior transfer quarterback Cade McNamara from Michigan, which should improve that position group greatly. Iowa also returns all five starters on the offensive line, and sophomore running back Kaleb Johnson should play a big role.
On defense, coordinator Phil Parker has to replace a handful of key players on this side of the ball. Despite that, Parker is known for being able to rebuild defense after defense. So the defense should be solid in 2023.
Iowa should be in contention for a Big Ten West title in 2023. Especially if the offense improves and the defense continues being solid.
No. 3 – Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota is going through its biggest makeover offensively in the six years that Head Coach P.J. Fleck has been in Minneapolis. Losing all-time leading rusher Mohamed Ibrahim is a tough loss, but they should be able to replace him with transfer portal pickup Sean Tyler (Western Michigan). Sophomore quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis takes over under center after four-year starter Tanner Morgan is off to the NFL.
The Golden Gophers have a handful of key players to replace on defense from a very successful unit for Minnesota last season. Some players will have to step up for Minnesota to keep up the same success they had only a season ago.
Overall, Minnesota should be able to compete in a wide-open Big Ten West Division again as long as Kaliakmanis can play well and the defense can keep up its success in the past few seasons.
No. 4 – Nebraska Cornhuskers
There is a new era in Lincoln as Matt Rhule takes over as Head Coach after a disappointing five seasons under former Head Coach Scott Frost. There is enough talent for a push for bowl eligibility for the Cornhuskers, but it all starts on offense.
On offense, Nebraska returns seven starters, including senior receiver Marcus Washington and senior running back Anthony Grant. New offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield brought in some transfer portal signees. The projected starter, junior quarterback Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech) is the biggest one.
New defensive coordinator Tony White brings a 3-3-5 base defense from Syracuse that should bring difficulty for opposing teams to contain. The Huskers return seven starters, including its top three tacklers from a season ago.
After six consecutive losing seasons, Rhule is ready to bring Nebraska back to national relevance. Nebraska won’t get there right away but they should be able to get bowl eligibility and possibly compete for the west division.
No. 5 – Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illini got their first winning season since 2011 last season, winning eight games. The only thing this year is that they lost a decent bit in the off-season. Illinois lost defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to Purdue, running back Chase Brown to the NFL, and a few players on defense to the NFL.
However, Illinois does return seven on defense so they could continue the same success that they had last season. Unfortunately for third-year Head Coach Bret Bielema, they will have a new starting quarterback for the third straight season with Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer.
Illinois could have a successful season but needs solid quarterback play and a continuation of good defense.
No. 6 – Purdue Boilermakers
Former Head Coach Jeff Brohm left for the job at Louisville, so they went out and hired Ryan Walters from Illinois. The Boilermakers change from a majority offensive mindset to a more defensive team which could be a big adjustment for Purdue. Texas transfer Hudson Card is the projected starter for the Boilermakers. Card should be able to be the leader of the offense that could surprise a few.
Purdue could get a few wins here and there, but 2023 could be a bit of a disappointment compared to a 2022 trip to the Big Ten championship. Despite that, Purdue should be in contention for bowl eligibility.
No. 7 – Northwestern Wildcats
Lastly, Northwestern is coming off its worst season since 1989, when they went winless. The Wildcats only return three starters from last season after losing offensive tackle Peter Skoronski and running back Evan Hull to the NFL.
The Wildcats have a new defensive play-caller with David Braun from North Dakota State. They should have better defense as they have experience returning from last season.
Overall, Northwestern should get a few more wins than last year, but being unable to attack the transfer portal will hurt the Wildcats in 2023.
This season will be exciting for the Big Ten conference. Many teams improved and with three teams having new head coaches, there should be a great competitiveness between the two divisions.
