One of these four teams will win the Big Ten football title in 2024
This will be the first season of the new Big Ten football conference and here are the four teams capable of bringing home the championship in 2024.
The era of the super conferences has begun. Or at least it will in about six months. The Big Ten football conference is one of those and the 18-team league will commence this fall with the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington.
The schedule is going to be important going forward. When you play Big Ten football games and where is going to matter. The schedule is as balanced as it can be with some rivals but look no further than Michigan football which will play USC, Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State this season, not to mention Texas in a non-conference game.
It's a brave new world of Big Ten football and looking ahead to 2024, here are four teams with the best chance to raise the Big Ten championship trophy.
Michigan Wolverines
Let's start with the "defending" Big Ten football champions. I gave that some emphasis because the best teams from the Pac-12 merging, it's hard to call anyone the defending champion. It's a completely different league.
But the Wolverines have dominated the 14-team Big Ten football conference for the past three seasons losing just one game at Michigan State in 2021. For reference, they also led that game by 16 points. Yes, Jim Harbaugh is coaching in the NFL now. He also took defensive guru Jesse Minter with him and J.J. McCarthy is prepping for the NFL draft along with 17 former Michigan Wolverines.
A ton of talent walked out the door. But Sherrone Moore has done a great job of keeping projected first-round picks Will Johnson, Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and Colston Loveland. Donovan Edwards is another star that will be back for Michigan football. The defense will be stout and the offensive line, despite graduating its top six players, should be among the Big Ten's best.
The schedule is a bear with a road trip to Ohio State. The Wolverines host Oregon and USC, as well as Michigan State, but they have a trip to Washington. With the top two teams getting a bid to the Big Ten championship, Michigan could lose at Ohio State and still reach the title game. The Wolverines need to beat Oregon though or Ohio State, or they won't repeat as Big Ten football champs.