Big Ten Football: 5 storylines to follow at 2019 Big Ten Media Days

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Chris Ash of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights coaches Kevin Wilkins #99 against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter at HighPoint.com Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

1. Coaches on the hot seat

Three Big Ten coaches enter the upcoming season clearly on the hot seat.

Indiana’s Tom Allen, Illinois’ Lovie Smith and Rutgers’ Chris Ash are all facing critical seasons and need to get their teams to bowl eligibility by the end of November.

Allen has gone 10-15 with the Hoosiers and the program hasn’t finished with a winning conference record since 1993. Smith has a 4-23 conference record over the last three years and the Fighting Illini’s defense finished dead last in the league in scoring, rushing and total defense in 2018. The Scarlet Knights have gone winless in Big Ten play two of the past three seasons and are riding an 11-game losing streak.

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Rutgers has one conference road win in three years under Ash and plays at Iowa, Michigan and Penn State this fall.

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