Big Ten Preview

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Welcome back!

Over last week and this week, I will be previewing each of the conference races, one per day, and giving my prediction on how they will finish.  This is based on a formula that I have devised, and has nothing to do with the power rankings I presented over the last three weeks.  While the power rankings are for how strong each team is, we all know that the schedule each team plays has a huge impact on their overall record.  After the season, I will compare my predictions with the actual results to see how I did.  Let's get to it!

Predicted order of finish:

East Division
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
2. Penn State
4. Michigan State
5. Maryland
6. Indiana
7. Rutgers

West Division
1. Wisconsin
2. Iowa
3. Northwestern
4. Nebraska
5. Purdue
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois

Championship Game: 
Ohio St vs Wisconsin

Conference Champion:
Wisconsin

Key Conference Games: 
Wisconsin @Iowa, Sep 22
Michigan @Northwestern, Sep 29
Ohio St @Penn St, Sep 29
Northwestern @Mich St, Oct 6
Mich St @Penn St, Oct 13
Wisconsin @Michigan, Oct 13
Michigan @Mich St, Oct 20
Wisconsin @Northwestern, Oct 27
Iowa @Penn St, Oct 27
Penn St @Michigan, Nov 3
Northwestern @Iowa, Nov 10
Wisconsin @Penn St, Nov 10
Ohio St @Mich St, Nov 10
Michigan @Ohio St, Nov 24

Key Non-Conference Games:
Maryland vs Texas (Landover), Sep 1
Michigan @Notre Dame, Sep 1
Oregon St @Ohio St, Sep 1
Duke @Northwestern, Sep 8
Colorado @Nebraska, Sep 8
Iowa St @Iowa, Sep 8
Virginia @Indiana, Sep 8
Mich St @Ariz St, Sep 8
Penn St @Pitt, Sep 8
Missouri @Purdue, Sep 15
BYU @Wisconsin, Sep 15
Rutgers @Kansas, Sep 15
TCU @Ohio St, Sep 15
Purdue @Boston College, Sep 22
Notre Dame @Northwestern, Nov 3

Chances to make the Playoffs:
The Big 10 will always be in the playoff conversation, but a lot will depend on how the Ohio State situation plays out.  Wisconsin plays most of their tough conference games on the road (@Iowa, @Michigan, @Northwestern, @Penn St), so going undefeated in the conference will be difficult for them.  Iowa has an easier schedule (only tough trip is to Penn St), so they could challenge Wisconsin, if they can pull off the upset at home (Kinnick Stadium is where undefeated seasons go to die).  Ohio St will be a formidable team, but who knows who the coach will be.  And will they be as successful as they could be if a change is made? Will they rally around the new coach with an usvs them mentality?  And how far will that take them? Michigan has some tough road games as well (@Notre Dame, @Northwestern, @Mich St, @Ohio St), while Penn St has only one tough road game (@Michigan), though they must play both Wisconsin and Iowa out of the West Division.  Any team that goes undefeated is a shoo-in for the playoff, but a one-loss team, depending on who they lost to and how they lost, might not get included (see 2017).

Don't be surprised if...
Iowa pulls off an upset or two and wins the West Division.

I'm not convinced...
Michigan will be as good as most of the media seem to think. Patterson will be an upgrade at QB, but will he be enough? As good as their defense is, he only needs to be adequate on most days.

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me who I have overvalued or undervalued.  Tomorrow, I will preview the ACC.  Until then, may you and your loved ones be blessed!


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