2019 Big Ten Preview

East Division

PlaceTeamWin-Share (Conf)Record (Conf)Rating
1Michigan
Wolverines
8.6 (5.8)9-3 (7-2)4.56
1Ohio St Buckeyes9.7 (6.7)10-2 (7-2)4.78
3Penn St
Nittany Lions
8.7 (5.9)9-3 (6-3)4.57
3Michigan St
Spartans
8.6 (5.9)9-3 (6-3)4.55
5Maryland
Terrapins
5.0 (2.4)6-6 (4-5)3.75
6Indiana Hoosiers6.1 (3.4)5-7 (2-7)3.80
7Rutgers
Scarlet Knights
4.2 (2.4)4-8 (1-8)3.50

West Division

PlaceTeamWin-Share (Conf)Record (Conf)Rating
1Wisconsin
Badgers
7.7 (5.0)9-3 (6-3)4.35
1Purdue
Boilermakers
6.6 (4.6)8-4 (6-3)4.03
3Iowa Hawkeyes7.6 (5.1)7-5 (5-4)4.21
4Nebraska
Cornhuskers
6.5 (4.3)7-5 (4-5)4.02
4Northwestern
Wildcats
6.3 (4.1)6-6 (4-5)4.04
6Minnesota
Golden Gophers
5.4 (3.4) 5-7 (3-6)3.67
7Illinois
Fighting Illini
5.6 (3.3)5-7 (2-7)3.70

Championship Game

Michigan over Wisconsin

**Michigan and Wisconsin win tie-breaker by virtue of H2H over Ohio St and Purdue**

Notes

After several years of falling short to Ohio St, Michigan finally beats them. However losing a few other games will keep them out of the playoffs, despite being Big Ten Champs (beating Wisconsin in Champ game). Think this is the year for Michigan, just not the year for the Big Ten. Ohio St drops another game (road games against Nebraska and Northwestern and games against Penn St, Wisconsin, and Michigan St. It’s not an easy schedule for first year coach Day. Purdue has a banner year, but is still a year away from really competing with the Big Boys consistently.

No playoff berth for Big Ten this year, but Michigan makes it to Rose Bowl. Ohio St to the Cotton Bowl. Both top 10/15 teams. Penn St, Michigan St, and Wisconsin as top 15/20 teams and Purdue as a top 25 team. 10 bowl teams.

Bowl Projections

TeamBowl Projection
MichiganRose Bowl (NY6)
Ohio StCotton Bowl (NY6)
Penn StHoliday Bowl
WisconsinCitrus Bowl
Michigan StOutback Bowl
PurdueTax Slayer Bowl
IowaRedBox Bowl
NebraskaNew Era Pinstripe Bowl
NorthwesternQuickLane Bowl
MarylandArmed Force Bowl

Big 10 Coach Rankings

  1. Mark Dantonio – Michigan St
  2. Urban Meyer – Ohio St
  3. Scott Frost – Nebraska
  4. James Franklin – Penn St
  5. Jeff Brohm – Purdue
  6. Jim Harbaugh – Michigan
  7. Paul Chryst – Wisconsin
  8. Kirk Ferentz – Iowa
  9. PJ Fleck – Minnesota
  10. Pat Fitzgerald – Northwestern
  11. Tom Allen – Indiana
  12. DJ Durkin – Maryland
  13. Chris Ash – Rutgers
  14. Lovie Smith – Illinois

Simplified Football New Years Day Bowl Predictions

We have posted the Top 25 Rankings, and each conference prediction.  Here is the College Football Playoff and New Years 6 bowl projections:

Playoffs:

Orange Bowl – #1 Clemson v #4 Washington

Cotton Bowl – #2 Alabama v #3 Penn State

 

New Years Day Bowls:

Rose Bowl – #8 Ohio St v #9 Stanford

Peach Bowl – #11 UCF v # 12 FSU

Fiesta Bowl – #7 Auburn v #10 Wisconsin

Sugar Bowl – #5 Oklahoma v #6 Georgia

 

National Champ (Bay Area, CA) – Clemson v Alabama

National Champ = Clemson

2018 Big Ten Preview

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

  1. Penn St – 11-1 (8-1)  /  9.39 (6.64)  /  4.99
  2. Ohio St – 10-2 (7-2)  /  8.77 (6.18)  /  4.63
  3. Michigan – 9-3 (7-2)  /  8.20 (5.81)  /  4.77
  4. Michigan St – 9-3 (6-4)  /  7.22 (5.02)  /  4.40
  5. Maryland – 7-5 (4-5)  /  7.06 (4.81)  /  4.13
  6. Indiana – 6-6 (4-5)  /  6.01 (3.81)  /  3.96
  7. Rutgers – 2-10 (0-9)  /  3.50 (1.75)  /  2.91

West

Team – Record (Conf)  /  Win-Shares (Conf)  /  Rating

  1. Wisconsin – 10-2 (7-2)  /  8.80 (6.05)  /  4.84
  2. Northwestern – 7-5 (4-5)  /  6.39 (4.40)  /  4.16
  3. Nebraska – 6-6 (4-5)  /  6.68 (4.33)  /  4.18
  4. Purdue – 5-7 (4-5)  /  5.23 (3.48)  /  3.84
  5. Iowa – 6-6 (3-6)  /  6.60 (4.2)  /  4.12
  6. Minnesota – 6-6 (3-6)  /  6.02 (3.62)  /  3.85
  7. 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.

2017 Big Ten Preview

 

Big Ten had an outstanding 2016 campaign. Perhaps a bit overrated based on bowl performances, but considering where they have been the last decade it was a win for this historic conference. This year we think you will still have 4 very good teams that are there at the end of the year, but we think the middle and bottom of the conference will be worse. Big Ten has sent a team to the playoffs every year. We don’t think this year will be any different with much of the same cast as last year competing for that spot. Michigan loses a lot but has recruited very well under Harbaugh. Penn St, Wisconsin, and Ohio St return a LOT of players from last years successful teams.

 

For each Conference we will have the Simplified Football predictions (record) with the Projected Win-Shares and rating of each team next to it. We will also have Bowl Projections for each conference.

 

Big Ten Predictions:

East

Team – Record (Conf)  /  Win-Shares (Conf)  /  Rating

  1. Ohio St – 11-1 (8-1)  /  10.06 (7.36)  /  4.93
  2. Penn St – 11-1 (8-1)  /  9.16 (6.49)  /  4.76
  3. Michigan – 10-2 (7-2)  /  8.43 (5.95)  /  4.45
  4. Maryland – 6-6 (4-5)  /  6.02 (4.17)  /  3.90
  5. Michigan St – 5-7 (3-6)  /  4.88 (3.18)  /  3.58
  6. Indiana – 4-8 (1-8)  /  4.91 (3.06)  /  3.78
  7. Rutgers – 3-9 (1-8)  /  4.47 (2.29)  /  3.06

West

Team – Record (Conf)  /  Win-Shares (Conf)  /  Rating

  1. Wisconsin – 10-2 (7-2)  /  8.38 (6.03)  /  4.59
  2. Northwestern – 9-3 (6-3)  /  7.33 (5.08)  /  4.20
  3. Nebraska – 7-5 (5-4)  /  6.44 (4.4)  /  3.87
  4. Iowa – 6-6 (4-5)  /  6.1 (4.02)  /  3.99
  5. Minnesota – 6-6 (4-5)  /  6.72 (4.5)  /  4.04
  6. Illinois – 5-7 (3-6)  /  4.95 (3.27)  /  3.36
  7. Purdue – 3-9 (2-7)  /  3.97 (2.97)  /  3.21

 

Wisconsin wins the West out-right and Ohio St gets revenge on Penn St winning the head to head and the tie-breaker.

 

Championship game – Ohio St beats Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game. It will beat Wisconsin’s 5th Championship game in 7 years. Ohio St’s 3rd.

 

 

That makes 9 bowl teams for the Big Ten

Rose Bowl – Ohio St (Playoff)

Fiesta Bowl – Penn St

Peach Bowl – Michigan

Citrus Bowl – Wisconsin

Outback Bowl – Northwestern

Holiday Bowl – Nebraska

Pinstripe Bowl – Minnesota

Armed Forces Bowl – Maryland

Foster Farms – Iowa

Big Ten Preview and Predictions

For each of the conference Predictions I will put in both the Predicted Finish according to Win-Shares, as well as my own personal predictions (which are largely very similar).

 

B1G Win-Shares

East

 

Michigan – 9.68 (6.85)

Ohio St – 8.7 (6.32)

Michigan St – 7.52 (5.4)

Penn St – 6.77 (4.74)

Rutgers – 6.4 (4.4)

Maryland – 5.67 (3.6)

Indiana – 3.42 (1.91)

 

West

 

Minnesota – 7.06 (4.53)

Nebraska – 6.73 (4.46)

Northwestern – 6.79 (4.39)

Wisconsin – 6.47 (4.32)

Purdue – 6.53 (4.23)

Iowa – 6.35 (4.0)

Illinois – 6.53 (3.85)

 

Michigan over Minnesota in the Big Ten championship.

 

The class of the Big Ten once again lies in the East with Ohio St, Michigan, and Michigan St with those 3 battling it out for the division title. Things are about as murky as they can get in the west. With very little separating last place Illinois from first place Minnesota. The Formula says that the West is WIDE OPEN, and any of the 7 teams could win that West division crown. Formula has Minnesota winning it.

 

Simplified Football Predictions

East

 

Ohio St = 10-2 (8-1)

Michigan = 11-1 (8-1)

Michigan St = 9-3 (7-2)

Penn st = 7-5 (5-4)

Rutgers = 4-8 (2-7)

Indiana = 4-8 (2-7)

Maryland = 3-9 (1-8)

 

West

 

Iowa = 8-4 (5-4)

Wisconsin = 7-5 (5-4)

Nebraska = 7-5 (5-4)

Northwestern = 7-5 (4-5)

Minnesota = 7-5 (4-5)

Illinois = 6-6 (4-5)

Purdue = 6-6 (3-6)

 

Ohio St over Iowa in the B1G Conference Championship game.

 

SF has really flipped things up with our predictions in the Big 10. Diverting vastly from the formula. We have Ohio St beating Michigan and thus winning the East and beating the West in the Conference championship, but by virtue of their loss to OU, missing out on the Playoffs. SF has Iowa winning the 3 way tie-breaker between Wisconsin and Nebraska to win the West crown. Should be a very tight race in the West.

 

That is 9 bowl teams for the Big Ten with Illinois and Purdue missing out.

 

Rose Bowl – Ohio St

Cotton Bowl – Michigan

Outback Bowl – Michigan St

Holiday Bowl – Iowa

Music City Bowl – Penn St

Pinstripe Bowl – Wisconsin

Foster Farms – Nebraska

Quick Lane – Northwestern

Heart of Dallas – Minnesota

Week 7 Match Ups

Last week went 4-2, brings total on season to 17-13.

Had 6 games picked for the week, but wasn’t able to publish picks yesterday, so I will leave off the Stanford over UCLA pick as it’s a day late, and add the FSU v Louisville Game.

  1. Northwestern 17 – Iowa 14
  2. Michigan 24 – Michigan St 17
  3. Alabama 31 – Texas A&M 28
  4. LSU 24 – UF 17
  5. Notre Dame 38 – USC 28
  6. FSU 28 – Louisville 17

Week 6 Top Match-Ups

2 Weeks ago I was 3-3 which brings me to 13-11 on the season.

This weeks games:

  1. Clemson 24 – Georgia Tech 17: In a defensive battle Clemson is able to run the ball against GT and come out on top in this rivalry game.
  2. Michigan 17 – Northwestern 10: In a game that pits 2 of the better defensive teams, both with little offense, expect a very low scoring game. Michigan continues to impress in this game and comes up victorious.
  3. West Virginia 30 – Oklahoma St 28: In what will be the biggest defensive battle in the Big 12 this year, WVU is able to a tenacious OK St pass rush to win.
  4. Florida 24 – Missouri 17: Florida continues their assent to the top of the SEC East and is able to get a little more offense than Missouri in this game.
  5. Florida State 31 – Miami 21: Florida State is able to control the line of scrimmage and keeps the ball on the ground against Miami. The key will be turnovers. FSU has less turnovers than Miami.
  6. California 28 – Utah 24: Cal upsets Utah on the road, as Utah struggles to stop the Cal passing attack.

Week 2 Top Match-Ups

Last week was a very good start to the season getting all 6 games correct. This week there is only 5 match-ups, and one of them is a stretch to include in this. But there are 3 match-ups including Ranked teams, and 1 match-up of Group of 5 teams that could end up impacting the Playoff race.

 

Notre Dame @ Virginia

  • Notre Dame looked mighty impressive last week dismantling the Texas Longhorns. Virginia looked the opposite against UCLA. I included this game as I think there is a mild chance of an upset here with Virginia likely having a bounce-back game and looking better against Notre Dame than they did against UCLA. However in the end Notre Dame is just much more talented than UVA, and should pull away at the end. I do think Virginia’s defense will have some success against Notre Dame with Folston out for the year.
  • Notre Dame 28 – Virginia 14

Oklahoma @ Tennessee

  • I am a lot more bullish on Tennessee than most, and not sold on Oklahoma. Tennessee is more talented and is playing at home. A win here should solidify them as a top 25 team and people will start to talk about them in SEC East Championship circles. I don’t think this will be quite as high Scoring as many do. I think Tennessee out lasts Oklahoma and blasts Rocky Top all around campus all night long.
  • Tennessee 31 – Oklahoma 24

Oregon @ Michigan State

  • This is the biggest game of the day and the one with the most playoff implications on the line. A loss for either team could see them on the outside looking in, but won’t knock either from contention. Oregon is more talented overall, but Michigan State has quite a bit of talent. Both offenses looked very stellar and this should be a different looking game than last years. The score in this game could potentially get out of hand pretty quickly and perhaps approach 100. Although I think both offenses will be slow to start before gaining traction. Look for a very exciting 2nd half. In the end I think Oregon is just too much for Michigan St.
  • Oregon 42 – Michigan St 38

LSU @ Mississippi State

  • First SEC West match-up of the year. I do not think this one will disappoint. I am very high on LSU this year, and not so much for Mississippi State. However looking at the match-up I think Mississippi State matches up well with LSU and with it being at home (MORE COW BELLS??!!) I think Mississippi St could pull the upset. I think MSU’s front 7 on defense will be able to slow down Fournette and the LSU ground attack, which should severely limit what they do on Offense. In close games I like to go with the better QB. Miss St has the decided advantage in that category.
  • Mississippi St 24 – LSU 21

Boise St  @ BYU

  • Most when they see those 2 names would think you are going to get a lot of offense. However with Boise St having the #1 Defense (S&P) in the nation and BYU without QB Taysom Hill, and with Boise St’s offense looking pretty inept against Washington, I think this is going to be a low scoring affair.  This is a very even match-up with both teams having equal talent (slight advantage to Boise St). Both lines are matched up very evenly. I’m going with Boise St in a nail-biter, luck goes away from the Cougars this time as they fail to convert another Hail Mary (and luck stays with Boise St as they squeak out another win).
  • Boise St 21 – BYU 20

Week 1 Top Match-ups

Last year I finished the season 46-23 on my predictions, that is 67% correct. I will look to improve on that this year. This week there is only 1 match-up between ranked teams, however there are several others that are good match-ups and could figure into the Playoff picture (and several more that do not make the top 6).

 

  1. Washington at Boise St
    • This figures to be one of Boise States most talented teams ever, on the other side Washington has lost a lot of talent over the last few years. Coach Peterson has his work cut out for him there. Despite being a Group of 5 school Boise State is actually the more talented team. Add that to Boise State being at home and I am going with Boise State in this game.
    • Boise State 32 – Washington 24
  2. Louisville vs Auburn
    • Many expect Auburn to have a very explosive offense this season, despite many of their best on offense being gone. They certainly have the talent to reload and not rebuild. Louisville is rebuilding in Coach Petrino’s image and it will be a project. However they do have some talent (some transferred in) on defense and at least in the first half should be able to slow down Auburn’s attack. Auburn’s defense which has been atrocious in the last few years, has one of the top Defensive Coordinators now, and has recruited very well on that side of the ball.  Louisville does not have many play-makers on offense. Auburn will likely give up a few plays on mistakes and I like this game to be close through the first half. Auburn pulls away in the 4th though.
    • Auburn 34 – Louisville 21
  3. Arizona St at Texas A&M
    • Arizona State is a trendy pick to win the Pac 12 and be a playoff team to some experts. I don’t see it. I have them finishing 4th in the Pac 12 South (behind USC, UCLA, and Arizona). Texas A&M I feel could challenge in the SEC if they continue to improve on defense.  Arizona State was torched at times on defense last year, I see that happening again this year and in this game. Expecting a pretty high scoring game in this one. As both offenses out match the defenses. But with the 12th man behind them I have Texas A&M shocking Arizona State.
    • Texas A&M 45 – Arizona State 35
  4. Texas at Notre Dame
    • This Notre Dame team will surprise a lot of people. They are as talented as the squad that took them to the National Championship game a few years ago. Texas is still in the rebuilding process, but they do have a defense that was pretty good last year and should improve even more this year. The difference in this game however will be Texas’ lack of a QB/offense. After this game Notre Dame fans will be clamoring for Everett Golson at QB as Zaire will likely struggle some against a good Texas defense. However being at home, with more weapons and a better QB and more talent gives Notre Dame the advantage still.
    • Notre Dame 28 – Texas 21
  5. Wisconsin vs Alabama
    • Alabama looks as though they are going to have another juggernaut defense and a power running game, however their QB situation is very unsettled and has lots of question marks. Wisconsin is breaking in a new coach, in previous years it has taken them at least half of the season to start to gel and work together with new coaches, although they adjust pretty quickly. The biggest problem in this game is the match-up for Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s strength (it’s power running game) is exactly what Alabama excels at stopping. I don’t expect Wisconsin to have much room to run in this game and relying on Joel Stave to move the ball against Alabama is not a recipe for success. However Alabama’s offense will keep Wisconsin in the game. Look for a lot of running and a low scoring affair.
    • Alabama 28 – Wisconsin 17
  6. Ohio State at Virginia Tech
    • The game Buckeye fans and players alike have been waiting for all summer. REVENGE. Virginia Tech looked like they had derailed Ohio State’s plans at a National Championship run last year, obviously that proved to not be true as they ran the table and won the National Championship. However i’m sure it still stings in Columbus that Tech upset them at home last year. This year they have to travel to Blacksburg to face what is potentially one of the best defenses in the nation. They have a very solid front 7 that uses a lot of blitz packages to keep offenses on their heels, and perhaps the best Cornerback combo in the nation. Many expect Ohio State to run it all over Virginia Tech. We do not think that will happen, especially with some key WR’s out for Ohio State.  On the other side of the ball is where Virginia Tech has been lacking recently, and this year should be no better. They have not been able to find any consistency on offense in several years. The one thing that will be to their advantage is Ohio State is without perhaps the best defensive player in the nation in Joey Bosa for this game. In the end I expect Ohio State to pull this game out as I just don’t think Virginia Tech will be able to put enough points on the board.
    • Ohio State 24 – Virginia Tech 17