2016 was a Banner year for the Big 10. Last year they fell off slightly as they lost a lot of talent. However we think 2018 they will bounce back. Ohio St will be their normal top 10 self under Urban Meyer, Michigan should bounce back with a lot of gained experience from a rebuilding year, Michigan St should also be improved again. Penn St has recruited very well the last several years and they have done very well in developing their players, with a returning 2 year starter at QB, look for Penn St to have a big year now that they have talent close to the level of Ohio St and Michigan. Wisconsin is very experienced returning their OL, which is almost entirely 2 and 3 year starters and features several All-American candidates. Essentially what Clemson’s DL did, is what Wisconsin’s OL did in returning to school and foregoing the NFL draft. All 5 of those teams could make a run at the top 10, and I think there is a good chance that at least 3 of them will finish there with the other 2 likely in the top 15. The middle of the pack Big 10 has also improved the year with 6-12 being good enough to make a bowl, or even a run at the top 25. Unfortunately not all of them will be able to, and you’ll likely see 1-2 that are good enough to be bowl eligible, not be.
Big Ten Predictions:
East
Team – Record (Conf) / Win-Shares (Conf) / Rating
- Penn St – 11-1 (8-1) / 9.39 (6.64) / 4.99
- Ohio St – 10-2 (7-2) / 8.77 (6.18) / 4.63
- Michigan – 9-3 (7-2) / 8.20 (5.81) / 4.77
- Michigan St – 9-3 (6-4) / 7.22 (5.02) / 4.40
- Maryland – 7-5 (4-5) / 7.06 (4.81) / 4.13
- Indiana – 6-6 (4-5) / 6.01 (3.81) / 3.96
- Rutgers – 2-10 (0-9) / 3.50 (1.75) / 2.91
West
Team – Record (Conf) / Win-Shares (Conf) / Rating
- Wisconsin – 10-2 (7-2) / 8.80 (6.05) / 4.84
- Northwestern – 7-5 (4-5) / 6.39 (4.40) / 4.16
- Nebraska – 6-6 (4-5) / 6.68 (4.33) / 4.18
- Purdue – 5-7 (4-5) / 5.23 (3.48) / 3.84
- Iowa – 6-6 (3-6) / 6.60 (4.2) / 4.12
- Minnesota – 6-6 (3-6) / 6.02 (3.62) / 3.85
- Illinois – 5-7 (2-7) / 5.22 (2.90) / 3.42
Penn State v Wisconsin in the Champ Game with Penn State winning the rematch. Wisconsin, Ohio St finish in top 10 with Michigan, Michigan St finishing in the top 20. 11 Bowl Eligible teams.
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