Big Ten 2023

[Yappi]

EAST
Maryland Terrapins
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Indiana Hoosiers
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan State Spartans
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions

WEST
Illinois Fighting Illini
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Northwestern Wildcats
Purdue Boilermakers
Wisconsin Badgers
Nebraska Cornhuskers

 

[nwwarrior09]

Kind of surprised Illinois doesn't seem to be getting any pre-season love in what's usually a very wide open West division. In year 2, Bert's team went 8-5 with all five losses by single digits. Illinois returns 7 starters from the top scoring defense in the country (yes, better than Iowa). On offense they return three starters on the OL plus a 4th that had a few starts and saw snaps in every game. Have three guys back that saw substantial playing time at WR, including one that caught 80+ passes last year.

I imagine they probably upgraded at QB getting a 4 star QB transfer from Ole Miss. They lost a stud at RB in Chase Brown to the draft, but by year 3 for Bert they ought to be able to plug and chug at RB. They return one RB that ran for over 300 yards as a backup last year, and will also have a bigger back that redshirted as a freshman that they currently have listed at 6'4 240.

 

[nwwarrior09]

I would be surprised if Illinois doesn't go at least 8-4 again. Relative to the other West teams they ought to be pretty good along the lines and I think they'll probably be a little more dynamic offensively with the Altmeyer kid from Ole Miss at QB.

Illinois or Wisconsin wins the division IMO.

 

[eastisbest]

Kind of surprised Illinois doesn't seem to be getting any pre-season love in what's usually a very wide open West division. In year 2, Bert's team went 8-5 with all five losses by single digits. Illinois returns 7 starters from the top scoring defense in the country (yes, better than Iowa). On offense they return three starters on the OL plus a 4th that had a few starts and saw snaps in every game. Have three guys back that saw substantial playing time at WR, including one that caught 80+ passes last year.

I imagine they probably upgraded at QB getting a 4 star QB transfer from Ole Miss. They lost a stud at RB in Chase Brown to the draft, but by year 3 for Bert they ought to be able to plug and chug at RB. They return one RB that ran for over 300 yards as a backup last year, and will also have a bigger back that redshirted as a freshman that they currently have listed at 6'4 240.

Illinois lost a significant part of their coaching staff, including the guy in charge of that defense. I don't think it too surprising people would be hedging their bets.

 

[nwwarrior09]

Illinois lost a significant part of their coaching staff, including the guy in charge of that defense. I don't think it too surprising people would be hedging their bets.

I'm a lot less concerned about their internally promoted new defensive coordinator than I am about Brian Ferentz still being the offensive coordinator at Iowa, or about Wisconsin bringing in an Air Raid/spread offense guy to totally overhaul their offense.

 

[Spartacus1987]

Kind of surprised Illinois doesn't seem to be getting any pre-season love in what's usually a very wide open West division. In year 2, Bert's team went 8-5 with all five losses by single digits. Illinois returns 7 starters from the top scoring defense in the country (yes, better than Iowa). On offense they return three starters on the OL plus a 4th that had a few starts and saw snaps in every game. Have three guys back that saw substantial playing time at WR, including one that caught 80+ passes last year.

I imagine they probably upgraded at QB getting a 4 star QB transfer from Ole Miss. They lost a stud at RB in Chase Brown to the draft, but by year 3 for Bert they ought to be able to plug and chug at RB. They return one RB that ran for over 300 yards as a backup last year, and will also have a bigger back that redshirted as a freshman that they currently have listed at 6'4 240.

They bring a lot back but the guys they lost were their best players and you saw how bad they were when those guys sat out vs Mississippi State. They just do not have the quality depth.

 

[nwwarrior09]

They bring a lot back but the guys they lost were their best players and you saw how bad they were when those guys sat out vs Mississippi State. They just do not have the quality depth.

Their offense stunk, but their defense was still very good. They gave up 19 points, 9 of which came on what should have been a game winning field for Mississippi State followed by a ridiculous kicking team touchdown on the kickoff as time expired.

Odds are the kid that transferred in from Ole Miss will be better than the QB they had. Following the Bert/Wisconsin formula, I would probably bet the really big back that will be a redshirt freshman will be very productive.

 

[nwwarrior09]

Looking at the West division in terms of QBs IMO...

Tier 1
Tanner Mordecai (Wisconsin via SMU via Oklahoma), Hudson Card (Purdue via Texas)

Tier 2
Cade McNamara (Iowa via Michigan), Jeff Sims (Nebraska via Georgia Tech), Luke Altmyer (Illinois Ole Miss), Ben Bryant (Northwestern via Cincinnati via Eastern Michigan via Cincinnati)

Tier 3
Athan Kaliakmanis (Minnesota)

Very transfer heavy. Most of these schools have benefitted from the transfer portal with bigger program backups transferring down or productive players from smaller programs transferring up.

Mordecai fits what Wisconsin wants to shift towards offensively; not sure he'll have much of anything to work with in the passing game. I liked Hudson Card at Texas and could see him having a big enough impact to get Purdue 1-2 big wins. Cade McNamara might be a perfect plug and chug QB for typically offensively inept Iowa.

 

[Omega]

My thoughts are Michigan wins the East and defeats The Fighting Fickells for the Big 10 crown.

 

[Auggie]

Fitzgerald suspended after Northwestern inquiry

Northwestern is implementing several measures to curb hazing within its football program, including a two-week suspension of coach Pat Fitzgerald after an investigation found evidence to support a claim of problematic conduct.

www.espn.com

Did not mention what the allegations were but the intelligentsia schools are driving the hazing train this year so far. Favorite story is the Harvard women's hockey program with their naked skate tradition.

 

[nwwarrior09]

Fitzgerald suspended after Northwestern inquiry

Northwestern is implementing several measures to curb hazing within its football program, including a two-week suspension of coach Pat Fitzgerald after an investigation found evidence to support a claim of problematic conduct.

www.espn.com

Did not mention what the allegations were but the intelligentsia schools are driving the hazing train this year so far. Favorite story is the Harvard women's hockey program with their naked skate tradition.

Any chance this is setting him up to be on the hot seat if Northwestern has another really bad season?

I saw it mentioned on a league preview I watched on YouTube that outside of the COVID year (which was a really good season for Northwestern football), he's gone 7-29 and 3-24 in the Big Ten in the last three "normal" seasons. He is an alum and expectations ought to be tempered some at Northwestern, but the program has been on a very bad track as of late.

 

[Auggie]

Any chance this is setting him up to be on the hot seat if Northwestern has another really bad season?

I saw it mentioned on a league preview I watched on YouTube that outside of the COVID year (which was a really good season for Northwestern football), he's gone 7-29 and 3-24 in the Big Ten in the last three "normal" seasons. He is an alum and expectations ought to be tempered some at Northwestern, but the program has been on a very bad track as of late.

The private smarty pants schools have been trending down the past 10 years or so. Remember when NW, Stanford, & Vandy all had dynamic coaches with big bowl aspirations in the early 2000s? Now all 3 are after thoughts. Stanford refurbed their stadium and now outside of the Cal game there are usually plenty of seats available on game day to even catch USC or Oregon. Vandy is so low they are resorting to gimmicks like having a girl handle kicking duties to generate interest. It appears that NW is heading on the same tact, it is so bad there that they are reducing stadium capacity in their refurb project. Duke & Wake Forest are not fairing much better. Outside of ND NCAA Div I Football is a big state institution business where you have to have resources and the casual fan support that identifies with a school to make it work.

I am sure not too many 5 * guys would be excited about this atmosphere while prepping for the NFL:

 

[Yappi]

That looks like a Tuesday night Akron Zips game.

 

[nwwarrior09]

Can James Franklin get a breakthrough at Penn State this year?

Talent wise they are set up pretty nice for a couple years, although I think next year they'll be better on paper than this year. The schedule IMO is a lot easier this year though. I'm not really seeing any tricky games outside of @ Ohio State and vs. Michigan except for maybe @ Illinois.

Year 10, and their program is well past sanction problems at this point. Kind of feels like he's hit his ceiling if they can't do better than 9-3/10-2 this year and in 2024. I know recently they'd have been in in an expanded playoff, but I think that's far from a guarantee in the near future with USC coming in...even moreso if some other schools like Oregon and Notre Dame that have recruited slightly better than Penn State were to actually also join.

 

[Auggie]

Can James Franklin get a breakthrough at Penn State this year?

Talent wise they are set up pretty nice for a couple years, although I think next year they'll be better on paper than this year. The schedule IMO is a lot easier this year though. I'm not really seeing any tricky games outside of @ Ohio State and vs. Michigan except for maybe @ Illinois.

Year 10, and their program is well past sanction problems at this point. Kind of feels like he's hit his ceiling if they can't do better than 9-3/10-2 this year and in 2024. I know recently they'd have been in in an expanded playoff, but I think that's far from a guarantee in the near future with USC coming in...even moreso if some other schools like Oregon and Notre Dame that have recruited slightly better than Penn State were to actually also join.

Franklin is a rock solid recruiter but his game day management is arguably one of the weakest by any national title contender coach.

 

[nwwarrior09]

Franklin is a rock solid recruiter but his game day management is arguably one of the weakest by any national title contender coach.

The problem IMO is he doesn't recruit quite well enough to make up for the sometimes questionable game day management.

Talent wise he has them pretty solidly (expanded) playoff caliber, but there's a decent gap between them and the Oregon and Notre Dame talent level teams. There's a substantial talent gap between them and the 4-5 heavyweights that are consistently in the title conversation.

 

[AEW Champion]

I haven’t thought much about it yet, but I’ll go with Michigan over Penn State in the East, and Illinois over Wisconsin in the West.

 

[cjb5656]

Ohio State will roll to the B1G championship and to the playoffs.

 

[LELL]

Ohio State will roll to the B1G championship and to the playoffs.

I sure hope so! Go Buckeyes!

 

[Auggie]

Saw on interesting bit on social media yesterday, rank the B1G schools in non-sports specific related topics. Some of these were all over the map depending on what is important to the person ranking, in particular location and alumni engagement. Here are a couple and my top 5 in each:

Academics:

1. Northwestern
2. Michigan
3. Wisconsin
4. Illinois
5. Ohio State

Location:

1. Michigan
2. Northwestern
3. Ohio State
4. Minnesota
5. Maryland

School Spirit:

1. Nebraska
2. Ohio State
3. Wisconsin
4. Iowa
5. Penn State

Alumni Engagement:

1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Purdue
4. Michigan
5. Wisconsin

Nickname/Mascot/Logo/Colors:

1. Purdue
2. Wisconsin
3. Michigan State
4. Ohio State
5. Minnesota

By the way they did this for all the major conferences and the most banter was on the ACC. A lot of back and forth on who was best academically and location. You can make a case that Duke, UNC, UVA, & Ga Tech are all very close in academic ranking. Also would you prefer the sun and fun of Miami over the hip mid town location of Ga Tech? Or the historical area of UVA?

 

[SWGA Fan]

Kind of surprised Illinois doesn't seem to be getting any pre-season love in what's usually a very wide open West division. In year 2, Bert's team went 8-5 with all five losses by single digits. Illinois returns 7 starters from the top scoring defense in the country (yes, better than Iowa). On offense they return three starters on the OL plus a 4th that had a few starts and saw snaps in every game. Have three guys back that saw substantial playing time at WR, including one that caught 80+ passes last year.

I imagine they probably upgraded at QB getting a 4 star QB transfer from Ole Miss. They lost a stud at RB in Chase Brown to the draft, but by year 3 for Bert they ought to be able to plug and chug at RB. They return one RB that ran for over 300 yards as a backup last year, and will also have a bigger back that redshirted as a freshman that they currently have listed at 6'4 240.

WHY is everybody SOOOOOO negative for the Nitty Leons?

 

[Auggie]

Just read one national guy's opinion that if Maryland was in the west they would probably be one of the faves this year. He said after Penn State they are the most happy with the elimination of Divisions. He likes Locksley as a recruiter and calls him a lite version of James Franklin. If he can get more than just the 1 or 2 4 *s out of the DC/MD/VA blue chippers pool once Divisions are gone he might have a 9-3 season which could be a huge boom to this program.

 

[nwwarrior09]

I agree. Maryland would be very competitive if in the current West division.

 

[Spartacus1987]

Just read one national guy's opinion that if Maryland was in the west they would probably be one of the faves this year. He said after Penn State they are the most happy with the elimination of Divisions. He likes Locksley as a recruiter and calls him a lite version of James Franklin. If he can get more than just the 1 or 2 4 *s out of the DC/MD/VA blue chippers pool once Divisions are gone he might have a 9-3 season which could be a huge boom to this program.

I don't see it, they lost ALOT off last years team and they haven't recruited very well to replace what they lost. If last seasons team came back I would agree.

 

[Auggie]

It is the 30th Anniversary of Penn State joining the B1G and the Athletic did a look back on the process to bring them in. The Presidents were all for it but some of the big athletic names were not. Bo Schembechler, then Michigan’s athletic director and football coach was the 1st to go against the Presidents. “Making decisions like that without ever studying it is terrible. Not one athletic director was consulted on this matter.” But most famously Bonny Knight hated the idea. He thought it would hurt the B1G basketball brand, “I’ve been to Penn State, and Penn State’s a camping trip. There’s nothing for about 100 miles.” So both got their Presidents to change their support. Key though was Northwestern. Some in their Athletic Department were worried that they would get bumped for Penn State to keep things at an even 10. Delaney added an amendment to the proposal for admitting Penn State that said no membership vote would happen for at least 3 years to appease them; then their football team got better winning the B1G in 1994 and the talked died.

How Penn State joined the Big Ten: ‘An “A” outcome with an “F” execution’

Penn State began Big Ten football play 30 years ago after a disastrous invitation process. Here's how it happened from those who were there.

theathletic.com

 

[Auggie]

Source: Michigan's Harbaugh facing 4-game ban

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is facing a potential four-game suspension as the school and the NCAA continue to negotiate a resolution to an investigation into the Wolverines' recruiting practices, a source confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

www.espn.com

Not too much pain being inflicted by missing that gauntlet of East Carolina, Bowling Green, UNLV and Big Ten opponent Rutgers.

 

[AEW Champion]

Source: Michigan's Harbaugh facing 4-game ban

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is facing a potential four-game suspension as the school and the NCAA continue to negotiate a resolution to an investigation into the Wolverines' recruiting practices, a source confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

www.espn.com

Not too much pain being inflicted by missing that gauntlet of East Carolina, Bowling Green, UNLV and Big Ten opponent Rutgers.

Another disgrace of a non-conference schedule for the Wolverines. Hopefully it’s taken into proper consideration by the committee this year so they don’t fall to a middlin’ Big 12 squad when it counts.

 

[Omega]

Source: Michigan's Harbaugh facing 4-game ban

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is facing a potential four-game suspension as the school and the NCAA continue to negotiate a resolution to an investigation into the Wolverines' recruiting practices, a source confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

www.espn.com

Not too much pain being inflicted by missing that gauntlet of East Carolina, Bowling Green, UNLV and Big Ten opponent Rutgers.

Pffft! Don't tell Jim Tressell.

 

[SWGA Fan]

Source: Michigan's Harbaugh facing 4-game ban

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is facing a potential four-game suspension as the school and the NCAA continue to negotiate a resolution to an investigation into the Wolverines' recruiting practices, a source confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

www.espn.com

Not too much pain being inflicted by missing that gauntlet of East Carolina, Bowling Green, UNLV and Big Ten opponent Rutgers.

LAUGH all you want, but. UGA has a similar situation this season. Having to play a buncha relative slappies. But consider THIS. If the DAWGS were to stumble a coupla times like they did with UK and MIZZOU in 2022. They had better NOT lose the SEC Championship game, even by ONE POINT, are they probably won't make the four-team playoff.

 

[SWGA Fan]

Another disgrace of a non-conference schedule for the Wolverines. Hopefully it’s taken into proper consideration by the committee this year so they don’t fall to a middlin’ Big 12 squad when it counts.

When they lost in a SQUUUUUEEEEKER to the Horny Toads. They were merely bowing out gracefully. Because Kirby LUUUUUVS taking the hide offin some furry snow creatures from MEEEECHIGAN.