The Saturday Blitz staff goes on the record with their Big Ten football picks for the 2017 season. Will their be a new conference champion this year?
For what felt likes ages the SEC West was known as the toughest division in football. A few years removed from the string of SEC Championships, it looks like the Big Ten East might have taken over as the most competitive division in football. Four Big Ten teams were named to the top 10 of the preseason coaches poll. The top three, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan all ranked in the top nine schools.
While Wisconsin appears to have a stranglehold on the West, the East will more than make up for the drama and intrigue. The votes are in. Who will be named the Big Ten football champion in 2017?
Big Ten East
| Ohio State | 1 |
| Penn State | 2 |
| Michigan | 3 |
| Michigan State | 4 |
| Indiana | 5 |
| Maryland | 6 |
Fasten your seat belts. The Big Ten East is going to be wild again in 2017. In case you’ve blocked it out of your mind, the division ended in controversy. Penn State defeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. Then, in a stunning turn of events neither the Big Ten champion or the runner-up were invited to participate in the College Football Playoff. Instead, Ohio State, who didn’t qualify for the championship game, received the invitation. They were promptly blown out 31-0 by eventual champion Clemson.
More: Game by game predictions for Ohio State in 2017
That scenario is unlikely to happen again in 2017, but the jumbled finish at the top of the division isn’t expected to get any less messy. Ohio State narrowly edged out the Nittany Lions for the division crown in our ballots. Does that mean Penn State has the fast track to a playoff appearance?
And then there’s Michigan. The Jim Harbaugh effect was supposed to catapult the Wolverines to the top of the conference and eventually into a national championship. Yet Michigan has finished third in his first two seasons at the helm. That’s not bad, but it’s not the program changing success that he was hired to deliver.
Michigan State is one of the harder teams to project entering this season. The egg laid by the Spartans in 2016 was both unexpected and uncharacteristic of the Spartans and head coach Mark Dantonio. It was the first 9-loss season of Dantonio’s coaching career and the first such season at Michigan State since 1982. Led by running back L.J. Scott, they’ll be dangerous this year. It might just be a .500 season in East Lansing, but the rest of the conference better not overlook the Spartans.
Big Ten West
| Wisconsin | 1 |
| Iowa | T-2 |
| Nebraska | T-2 |
| Northwestern | T-2 |
| Minnesota | 5 |
| Purdue | 6 |
| Illinois | 7 |
There was a consensus around one thing in the Big Ten West, and one thing only. Wisconsin is going to win the division in runaway fashion. Saturday Blitz staff named Wisconsin one of two unanimous division winners, along with Southern Cal in the Pac-12 South. That’s right not Alabama, Florida State or Washington received every vote to win their division. But Wisconsin? Really?
Really. The Badgers have a lot of returning pieces that will make them dangerous in 2017 led by quarterback Alex Hornibrook, tight end Troy Fumagalli and receiver Jazz Peavy. However, what separates Wisconsin most from the pack is the tenacity of their offensive line. They love to run the football. Corey Clement, their leading rusher from a season, will be missed, but they’ll plug in the next guy and keep grinding out first downs.
More: Projecting the 2-deep depth chart for Wisconsin in 2017
After the Badgers there was a lot of confusion. Nebraska and Iowa both look to be consistent eight or nine win teams. Even though they’ve fielded some quality teams, Nebraska hasn’t really been dominant since they moved to the Big Ten. The same can be said about Iowa, who has just two seasons of 10 or more wins under Kirk Ferentz since 2005.
Northwestern Wildcats is an interesting newcomer to the fray. They don’t have the talent on their roster to contend with Wisconsin, but they’ve proven themselves to be a relatively disciplined team in the past few seasons. The Wildcats were third in the Big Ten in turnover margin in 2016 and were the third least penalized squad in the nation. They have a sort of “Kansas State of the Big Ten” feel to them. They’ll be solid in 2017 and catch a few teams off guard.
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck made plenty of noise at Western Michigan a year ago, but it figures to be a steep learning curve in the Big Ten. Luckily for him he won’t draw Ohio State or Penn State from the West, but Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin are a pretty big step up from the competition he faced just a year ago.
Big Ten Champion – Ohio State (11 first place votes)
Also receiving votes – Wisconsin (3), Penn State (2)
In a (not) shocking turn of events, the Ohio State Buckeyes have been tabbed the favorites to take home the Big Ten football title in 2017. While they were the heavy favorite, the confidence among the voters is somewhat subdued. Part of that is because the Buckeyes, just like a season ago, have a lot riding on very few games. Three games in particular could determine the finish in the East: Ohio State vs. Penn State, Penn State vs. Michigan, and Michigan vs. Ohio State.
More: 5 bold predictions for Ohio State in 2017
The Buckeyes draw the Nittany Lions at home this year. According to ESPN FPI, that should make them heavy favorites to pull out the win, just like they did a season ago on the road. In a similar fashion, Penn State has been given 73 percent odds of winning at home over Michigan. If those two projections hold, and Michigan can find a way to hold serve at home over the Buckeyes, the top of the conference standings could be a giant mess again in 2017.
No matter what happens, we’re in for some fascinating storylines and even better football. J.T. Barrett will have a real chance at an elusive Heisman Trophy. James Franklin could fully resurrect a dormant Penn State program in just a few years. And then there’s Wisconsin, a top 10 football team that’s receiving little to no preseason hype in the rest of the country.
Be wary of the Badgers this season. Their road to the Big Ten Championship game is relatively light. They avoid both Ohio State and Penn State and get Michigan at home. Even if they drop an unexpected contest along the way, the Badgers are primed for what could become a play-in game for the College Football Playoff. If they take care of business, Wisconsin could very well quietly waltz right into the postseason without much fuss. We shall see.
Next: Rankings the top 50 players in college football in 2017
What do you think? Can Wisconsin finally get over the hump or will the Ohio State juggernaut roll through the Big Ten once more. Could a new face find its way to the Big Ten Championship game and surprise everyone? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.