Big Ten post-spring power rankings: Ohio State over Oregon for No. 1, USC lands in top five

1 While we have seen many teams earn the title of “offseason champions” only to fall flat on their face during the season, it is not likely that Ohio State will suffer such a fate. It’s basically Big Ten title or bust in Columbus. Hell, it’s probably more national title or bust. Ohio State retained most of its key pieces from last season and added to the roster by putting big names in the portal like Alabama’s Caleb Downs and Ole Miss’s Quinshon Judkins. Will Howard was moved to QB but didn’t officially win the starting job because Ohio State has enviable depth at the QB position. The only questions are on the offensive line. two Speaking of programs that had a great off-season, Oregon enters its first season in the Big Ten as a legitimate contender to win the league. Bo Nix has been replaced by lefty Bo Nix (better known as Dillon Gabriel), and he is just one of the impressive transfers Dan Lanning has managed. There is a strong argument that the Ducks are the second most talented team in the league and may be the most talented Oregon team of all time. 3 It may seem unfair to have the current national champions in third place, just a few months away from the parade, but a lot has changed since then. Jim Harbaugh and much of the coaching staff are gone, as are JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum and nearly every offensive lineman in the 734 area code. Still, there is plenty of talent on the roster entering Sherrone Moore’s first season as head coach on time. full, and the Wolverines managed to hold on to some huge defensive pieces that some speculated they could leave in the portal. There may not be a repeat national title on the line, but a fourth consecutive Big Ten title is more likely than many believe. 4 We could be on the cusp of a new era at Penn State — one where the Nittany Lions are no longer in the same division as Ohio State and Michigan and could make the College Football Playoff without winning the Big Ten. Of course, even with that being the case, they are still only fourth in these power rankings, behind a new power program! For the most part, the 2024 version of Penn State won’t be all that different from the 2023 version. The hope is that a year of growth from Drew Allar under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will be enough to take this team to the next level. 5 Last season was a disaster for the Trojans. The team finished 8-5 despite having the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and eventual first-round pick NFL Draft, Caleb Williams. No matter how many miracles Williams performed, he always needed one more to overcome a horrible defense. Lincoln Riley completely overhauled the defensive staff, so we should see improvements there (it would be hard to be worse), but now the question is: How do the Trojans replace Caleb Williams? 6 I’m putting the Huskies in here as a nod to winning the Pac-12 and reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship, but there’s a strong argument to be made: this is too high. The program has been destroyed since the loss to Michigan. Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama and took with him everything that wasn’t going into the NFL Draft. Jedd Fisch comes from Arizona, where his Wildcats surprised many last season, but it’s another transition beyond transitioning to life in the Big Ten. It feels like a reset season in Seattle. 7 We’ve reached the part of these rankings where you could throw these teams into a lottery machine, pick a random order, and almost all of them would be defensible. I’m putting Nebraska at the top not because it’s an annual tradition to get Husker fans’ hopes up, but because the addition of Dylan Raiola gives this offense a ceiling I’m not sure anyone else in this group has. A lot will have to go right for this to happen. True freshman QBs don’t typically come out with guns blazing, but if Raiola lives up to his potential, this team could surprise. At the very least, he should finally get back to a bowl game. 8 Most years, I look at Iowa questioning almost everything about the roster and offensive philosophy before deciding it doesn’t matter because the Hawkeyes will figure out a way to win at least eight games anyway. Ironically, I’m not as confident now that Iowa has replaced offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz with Tim Lester. That’s not because of Lester, but because last year’s third-string quarterback, Marco Lainez, is the only healthy quarterback on the roster right now. There is hope that Iowa will land a transfer soon, but for the most part, the QBs that remained in the portal in May are there for a reason. Oh, and superstar punter extraordinaire Tory Taylor is gone. 9 This is an interesting spot for the Badgers. The first season under Luke Fickell had the expected ups and downs, which were only heightened by injuries to the QB position. This season, the Badgers hope their offense can take another step forward with the transfer of either Tyler Van Dyke or Braedyn Locke. Of course, there’s also the question of whether simply being better will be enough, because the Badgers have a tough schedule. They are scheduled to play Alabama, USC, Penn State and Oregon this year, with trips to Iowa and Nebraska also planned. 10 Is Rutgers a sneaky underdog in the Big Ten this season? Many are asking! OK, maybe it’s just me and a few others asking, but the Knights flew under the radar last season, finishing 7-6 and winning the Pinstripe Bowl. And they did it without any passing games to speak of. Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis won the starting QB job this spring, and while he may not be a huge upgrade at the position, any production in the passing game could see this program reach the postseason in consecutive years for first time since 2013-14. 11 I have doubts when it comes to the Terps in 2024. Part of my brain is worried that Maryland will no longer have the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards, Taulia Tagovailoa. But the other part says maybe that’s not the worst thing? Tagovailoa was a volatile commodity. Maybe finding a little more consistency at the position will help. However, it remains to be seen if NC State transfer MJ Morris is the player to deliver it. 12 It was an off-season of change in East Lansing, Michigan. There has been an exodus of players, as typically happens when there is a regime change, but the Spartans lost some key contributors on the portal defense this spring. There’s a difference between losing backups and players who are expected to start. That said, Jonathan Smith brought a lot with him from Oregon State, including QB Aidan Chiles. As things stand now, I can see the 2024 season going in multiple directions for Sparty. t13 Illinois hopes to bounce back from an internally disappointing season in 2023, as it failed to return to a bowl game. Surprisingly, the Illini had one of the best offenses in the Big Ten last year (their 24.2 points per conference game ranked fifth), but the defense let the team down. Illinois enters the summer optimistic that the offense can improve from last year, but there are still questions on the other side of the ball as the unit lost its best player, Johnny Newton, to the NFL. 14 David Braun had one of the most impressive debuts in the country last season, leading a Northwest team that was left for dead with an 8-5 record. Although Braun had a full off-season to build the program in his image this winter, I wonder how realistic it is to expect an encore. The QB situation is fluid and the Wildcats will play their home games at their practice field while they await construction of a new football stadium. We’ll see if this team continues to thrive amidst the chaos. 15 Last year was the first time Minnesota didn’t appear in the AP Top 25 or CFP Rankings at least once since the 2018 season, when the Gophers finished 6-7. Was this an isolated case after steady improvement under PJ Fleck or the start of a trend? The hope is that transfer QB Max Brosmer can reignite an offense that averaged just 18.8 points per game in Big Ten play last season. On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi left to join Jonathan Smith’s staff at Michigan State, adding a bit of mystery as to what we can expect from the Gophers in that department this year. 16 History suggests that the transition to a new league is difficult for most, and while there are questions about every newcomer to the Pac-12, UCLA is the one I have the least confidence in. Chip Kelly left to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and Deshaun Foster is a head coach for the first time, although he is quite familiar with the UCLA program. This program lost a lot of key personnel – on and off the field – this offseason, and there are a lot of questions that need answers before ranking the Bruins higher. 17 Ryan Walters’ first season didn’t go as well as expected. He went 4-8 after inheriting a team that had gone 8-6 in 2022. Then he had to watch some of his best players — receiver Deion Burks and edge rusher Nic Scourton — leave through the portal. The good news is that Hudson Card is back for his second season at quarterback, and the belief is that a second attempt at Walters’ defensive scheme will lead to an improvement in a defense that allowed 30.4 points per game. 18 There are reasons to be optimistic about Indiana football. Curt Cignetti’s track record at IUP, Elon and James Madison suggests he knows how to build a program. He brought in many key players from James Madison, and the Hoosiers landed one of the MAC’s most prolific QBs, Kurtis Rourke from Ohio. There are enough ingredients in Bloomington to make you wonder if the Hoosiers could be a surprise package this season, but it still seems like a long shot. Someone has to be ranked at the bottom for now.