The Big Ten has just one year remaining in its current form before it welcomes in its new west coast additions, and it’s going to be an interesting season.
Michigan and Ohio State will once again be battling for dominance. Michigan returns some key players in RB Blake Corum, who may be a Heisman contender, and QB JJ McCarthy. Ohio State’s star signal-caller has left for the NFL, but WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. joins RBs Treveyon Henderson and Miyan Williams for what is sure to be yet another dominant year for the Buckeyes.
The Iowa Hawkeyes will be looking to pull themselves out of last year’s offensive slump with the addition of former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara. They consistently bring one of the best defenses in the conference to the field, but their offensive woes have cost them big-time — and I’m not just talking about the gambling.
Northwestern returns to the field amid scandal under new leadership, hoping to improve from last year’s one-win season (there really is nowhere to go but up). Purdue and Illinois both lost their starting QBs to the NFL Draft, but Illinois brings in former Ole Miss Rebel Luke Altmyer as their new signal caller in the hopes that he can keep up the momentum that the Illini found at the end of last season.
Taulia Tagovailoa returns to the Maryland Terrapins, giving them plenty to be optimistic about this season. The cousin of the Dolphins’ starter, Tagovailoa showed out in some big games last year, and may be able to take the Terps over the top this time around.
Penn State is another team to be reckoned with as we head into the 2023 season, ranking in the top 10 in multiple polls. With Drew Allar now at the helm, is it finally the Nittany Lions’ year to beat one of the big dogs in the Big Ten West?
Indiana, Rutgers, and Michigan State won’t expect much out of their seasons this year. Nebraska enters a rebuilding phase under new leadership with a Georgia Tech transfer coming in at quarterback, and Wisconsin is catching some eyes as they rank in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls.
Here’s everything you need to know before Big Ten football is back on the field.
Preseason Media Poll results
B1G West
Michigan Wolverines: No. 2 in AP; No. 2 in Coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes: No. 3 in AP, No. 4 in Coaches
Penn State Nittany Lions: No. 7 in AP, No. 7 in Coaches
Maryland Terrapins: Unranked
Michigan State Spartans: Unranked
Indiana Hoosiers: Unranked
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Unranked
B1G East
Purdue Boilermakers: Unranked
Minnesota Golden Gophers: Unranked
Illinois Fighting Illini: Unranked
Iowa Hawkeyes: No. 25 in AP, unranked in Coaches
Wisconsin Badgers: No. 19 in AP, No. 21 in Coaches
Nebraska Cornhuskers: Unranked
Northwestern Wildcats: Unranked
Preseason Win Totals from DraftKings Sportsbook
B1G West
Michigan: Over 10.5 (-120), Under 10.5 (+100)
Ohio State: Over 10.5 (-105), Under 10.5 (-115)
Penn State: Over 9.5 (-140), Under 9.5 (+120)
Maryland: Over 7.5 (+110), Under 7.5 (-130)
Michigan State: Over 5.5 (+145), Under 5.5 (-165)
Indiana: Over 3.5 (-145), Under 3.5 (+125)
Rutgers: Over 4.5 (+105), Under 4.5 (-125)
B1G East
Purdue: Over 5.5 (+145), Under 5.5 (-165)
Minnesota: Over 7 (+110), Under 7 (-130)
Illinois: Over 6.5 (-125), Under 6.5 (+105)
Iowa: Over 8 (-165), Under 8 (+140)
Wisconsin: Over 8.5 (-145), Under 8.5 (+125)
Nebraska: Over 6 (-150), Under 6 (+130)
Northwestern: Over 3 (+100), Under 3 (-120)
Michigan:
The Wolverines reached the College Football Playoff semifinals last year before falling in a thriller against TCU. Jim Harbaugh seems to think that they won’t just get back there this year, but that they will win it all. Michigan returns Heisman hopeful Blake Corum, who missed the last few games of the 2022 season with an injury. Quarterback JJ McCarthy comes back for another year as well. With plenty more returning starters on both sides of the ball, its championship or bust for Michigan this season.
Ohio State:
OSU has fallen from glory in recent years — well, against Michigan, at least. The Buckeyes have failed to win The Game and advance to the Big Ten Championship for two consecutive years now, and you can bet they’ll have that date circled on their calendar all year. OSU reached the CFP semifinals last season with CJ Stroud at the helm, but an unproven QB coming in raises all sorts of questions. However, there are plenty of future NFL-ers on this Buckeyes team, and they should be able to compete at the highest level this season.
Iowa:
The Hawkeyes enter this season just barely sneaking into the Top 25 in the AP Poll after going 8-5 in 2022 and shutting out Kentucky in their bowl game. Is it deserved? The Hawkeye defense is a very solid unit (although they did allow 54 points in a single game last year). They have just received quarterback Cade McNamara as a transfer from Michigan. Iowa faces Penn State and Iowa State as early challenges, but they’ll avoid Michigan and OSU this year, which could make for a 10-win season if all goes right.
Key Transfers
QB Cade McNamara: Michigan to Iowa
EDGE Josaiah Stewart: Coastal Carolina to Michigan
LB Ernest Hausmann: Nebraska to Michigan
WR Dante Cephas: Kent State to Penn State
QB Tanner Mordecai: SMU to Wisconsin
QB Luke Altmyer: Ole Miss to Illinois
QB Jeff Sims: Georgia Tech to Nebraska
WR AJ Henning: Michigan to Northwestern
Best bets
Maryland over 7.5 wins (+110)
I like the Terps a lot this year. Tagovailoa showed some real big-game guts last year. The Terrapins went 7-5 during the regular season in 2022 and won their bowl game against NC State. Two of their five losses — including one to Michigan — were decided by a single score. They grabbed some solid receivers out of the transfer portal, and while their young offensive line may cause some concern, their offense should continue to improve under head coach Mike Locksley. They face Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, but they proved last year that they’re able to hang with the bigger dogs of the conference, and they should be able to dispatch of the rest of their schedule to grab eight wins this season.
Penn State under 9.5 wins (+120)
Penn State doesn’t have the easiest path to ten wins this season. They take on Ohio State and Michigan, and they either have to win one of those or win out the rest of their schedule to reach double digits. James Franklin’s squad went 10-2 last year with an experienced Sean Clifford at the helm. This is a young team, which isn’t necessarily a negative thing, but can mean that the big games may catch them on their heels.
The 2023 Big Ten champion will be… Michigan
The Wolverines return just about every significant piece of last year’s bulldozing unit, and those early cupcake games on their schedule will allow them to ease into the season and make fixes before it truly counts. Michigan travels to Columbus for The Game this year, but they’ve done it before. If Corum stays healthy, the Wolverines will be headed to the Big Ten Championship Game to face either Iowa or Wisconsin, and will emerge victorious.