The 2016 college football season is nearly here, and it is time to mentally prepare for the grind that will accompany Big Ten football on a weekly (or even daily) basis. There is some beautiful about the gridiron action on display in the conference, but after a wild 2015 campaign, expectations appear to be even higher for some teams at the top of the league.
To be fair, Ohio State's expectations could not have been higher in 2015 and, frankly, the Buckeyes underachieved. Elsewhere, though, Iowa and Michigan State were pleasant surprises compared to preseason hype, and even Michigan took a giant leap forward in Jim Harbaugh's first campaign.
As this particular slate approaches, the great majority of national focus has been on the Big Ten East, and we will follow suit. The two most talented teams in the league live on that side of the ledger and, with Michigan State's recent level of success, the Spartans are always in the mix.
It will be interesting to monitor how things shake out during the course of the campaign and, before we going, it must be noted that schedule matters. Will Wisconsin finish with the fifth-best record in the conference? Maybe not, because the Badgers have to navigate a seven-week stretch with games against LSU, at Michigan State, at Michigan, Ohio State and at Iowa. Still, Wisconsin's returning squad is very nice, and in terms of a power ranking, they shouldn't be punished for schedule.
Now, let's get to the list, with full expectation of streaming hate in the coming hours and days.
Big Ten Power Rankings: Preseason (final 2015 rank in parentheses)
- Ohio State (?' 1)
- Michigan (?' 2)
- Iowa (?")
- Michigan State (?" 3)
- Wisconsin (?' 1)
- Nebraska (?' 4)
- Penn State (?")
- Minnesota (?")
- Northwestern (?" 4)
- Indiana (?" 1)
- Maryland (?' 1)
- Illinois (?" 1)
- Rutgers (?' 1)
- Purdue (?" 1)
