2024 Big Ten Football Team Previews and Week 1 Power Rankings

Week 1 Big Ten Football Power Rankings

The college football season is finally here. Powerhouses Ohio State and defending national champion Michigan welcome to the Big Ten, the quartet of Washington, Oregon, UCLA, and USC. Here’s a look at each team in the eighteen-team league and where they stack up in week one.

During college football season, I will be releasing Big Ten Power Rankings weekly. Betting tidbits are courtesy of Evan Abrams at the Action Network.

Week 1 Big Ten Power Rankings

Tier 1 - College Football Playoff Contenders

Ohio State senior quarterback Will Howard started 27 games for Kansas State.

1. Ohio State

AP Ranking: (No. 2)

Last season: (Overall: 11-2, Big Ten: 8-1)

This week: Akron

The Buckeyes are national title contenders, but they will have to work their way through an expanded Big Ten conference, while also dealing with road games against Oregon, Penn State, and a season finale against defending national champion Michigan. Ohio State reloaded through the transfer portal, picking up several players, including: safety Caleb Downs (Alabama); quarterback Will Howard (Kansas State); and running back Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss). The team also will be running new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s offense. Whether Kelly can get the Buckeyes’ offense humming will depend on improving Howard’s accuracy (never surpassing 61.3 % completion rate at Kansas State). The Buckeyes are massive 50.5 point favorites against Akron.

2. Oregon

AP Ranking: (No. 3)

Last season: (12-2, 8-1)

This week: Idaho

The Ducks have a sour taste in their mouth from last season, failing to get past the Huskies and into the College Football Playoff. This season, expectations are high once again for Oregon. Odds have the program’s win total at 10.5. To get to 11 wins, the Ducks will have to take two of three from Ohio State, at Michigan, and at Wisconsin. It’s not the toughest schedule in the conference, but still difficult nonetheless. Starting for the Ducks at the quarterback position is Dillon Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma. Gabriel earned first-team All-Big 12 honors, passing for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Expect a blowout in the team’s opener against Idaho.

3. Penn State

AP Ranking: (No. 8)

Last season: (10-3, 7-2)

This week: at West Virginia

The primary storyline for Penn State the past two seasons has been whether they can get past Ohio State or Michigan to qualify for the CFP. With CFP expansion, the Nittany Lions may finally get their shot at competing for a national championship. Quarterback Drew Allar is one of the best in the Big Ten. The hype is well-deserved after he threw for 25 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. But for Penn State to be a true national title contender, it will need production from other positions besides quarterback. Notably, wide receiver is an area of concern. The team’s offense struggled to make big plays downfield last season, and lost one of its top wideouts, KeAndre Lambert-Smith to Auburn.

4. Michigan

AP Ranking: (No. 9)

Last season: (15-0, 9-0)

This week: Fresno State

The defending national champions are in contention to repeat. It does not matter that the team’s head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback J.J. McCarthy are now in the NFL. As Brian mentioned in his early game preview of Washington’s game against Michigan, the team boasts future NFL cornerback Will Johnson, along with one of the best defensive tackle duos in the country in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. The team also returns senior running back Donovan Edwards. He will undoubtedly be the focal point of the offense as head coach Sherrone Moore and Jim Harbaugh protege is expected to keep on running the ball down opponents’ throats.

Washington Football: Michigan Preview

Tier 2 - Outside, Looking In

5. Iowa

AP Ranking: (No. 25)

Last season: (10-4, 7-2)

This week: Illinois State

Will Iowa have an offense this season? The team failed to score a point in both the Citrus Bowl and the Big Ten Championship game last season, and it’s not clear that any improvements have been made for this season. Notably, head coach Kirk Ferentz has not exactly been hyped up about the team’s starting quarterback Cade McNamara¹:

To be fair, Iowa’s defense is elite. The team returns eight starters from last season. And this is a defense that held 11 opponents to less than 17 points last season. Watch out for senior defensive back Sebastian Castro who earned 2nd-team All-Big Ten honors last season, and is a preseason 2nd-team AP All-American.

6. USC

AP Ranking: (No. 23)

Last season: (8-5, 5-4)

This week: LSU (Las Vegas)

Like its rival Notre Dame, it’s hard to tell whether USC’s AP Rank is a result of its name brand, or an actual true indication of how good this team actually is. The Trojans’ defense was bad last season. Remember Dillon Johnson’s 256-yard and 4-touchdown performance against USC that ended former defensive coordinator’s Alex Grinch’s tenure in Los Angeles? USC head coach Lincoln Riley brought on an entirely new defensive staff, led by defensive coordinator D‘Anton Lynn from UCLA. One of Lynn’s best weapons is junior defensive tackle Bear Alexander who Brian pegged as a “clear NFL prospect.” The Trojans open up their season as six-point underdogs to LSU. The Trojans are a dismal 5-26 straight up against the spread as an underdog. The last time they won a game straight up as an underdog of six points or more was on Nov. 12, 2016, vs. Washington when Sam Darnold beat Jake Browning.

A Preview of Washington's Big Ten Clash Against USC

Tier 3 - Question Marks, But Bowl Bound

When will UW be back in CFP contention?

7. Washington

Last season: (14-1, 9-0)

This week: Weber State

I’m tempted to bump Washington above Iowa, but there are just too many question marks for the Huskies headed into this season. We know quarterback Will Rogers is good, but how good? We know that the team has experience in the secondary, but how about the team’s defensive line? Speaking of the trenches, the offensive line is the team’s biggest question mark, with zero returning starters from last season. There is plenty to be excited about for last year’s national runner-up. Transfer junior running back Jonah Coleman is going to be good. He already has familiarity with new head coach Jedd Fisch’s offense from his time with Fisch in Arizona, which may enable Coleman to relieve some of the pressure off of the rest of the offense as it learns the offense early on this season.

8. Wisconsin

Last season: (7-6, 5-4)

This week: Western Michigan

Wisconsin has never reached the College Football Playoff, but has finished in the AP Top 12, three times in the past eight years. They are an under-the-radar program under second-year head coach Luke Fickell. The team returns 12 starters from last season, five on offense and five on defense. Senior left tackle Jack Nelson who stands at 6-7, 315 lbs anchors an experienced offensive line. Nelson is an NFL prospect who allowed only two sacks in 343 pass-block snaps last season. One of the questions on offense for the Badgers is the run game. The team is hoping senior running back Chez Mellusi steps up after seeing his 2023 season cut short by a leg injury. On defense, one Badger to watch is senior linebacker Jake Chaney who is the team’s leading returning tackler.

9. Nebraska

Last season: (5-7, 3-6)

This week: UTEP

Like Fickell at Wisconsin, Matt Rhule is also entering his second season as head coach at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have not been to a bowl game in seven years. This drought is kind of insane when thinking of the history and pedigree of the Nebraska football program. There is reason for optimism though. The team returns 16 starters from last year’s team. One of the returning starters to watch is sophomore running back Emmett Johnson who appeared in all 12 of Nebraska’s games last season, and rushed for 411 yards and two touchdowns as part of a three-running back committee. Nebraska’s first six games are against: UTEP; Colorado; Northern Iowa; Illinois; and at Purdue. It’s not far fetched to think this team could be 6-0 and ranked by the time they play Rutgers in October.

10. Rutgers

Last season: (7-6, 3-6)

This week: Howard

Brian and I went in-depth on Rutgers last month on the Wait For It Seattle Podcast. Our analysis of Rutgers is at the 12:23 mark:

Wait For It Seattle, Ep. 5

Three things to know about Rutgers:

1. Senior running back Kyle Monangai is a beast. He played in all 13 games last season for the Scarlet Knights, tallying 1262 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

2. Offensive line is a worry for Rutgers. The team returns three senior offensive lineman, but it is unclear whether there is enough depth to support the team’s passing attack.

3. Speaking of passing attack, senior transfer Athan Kaliakmanis will be the signal caller for Rutgers. He played for offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca at Minnesota.

Tier 4 - Teams Looking to Climb

Quashon Fuller is one of Maryland’s top players on defense / @quashonfuller

11. Maryland

Last season: (8-5, 4-5)

This week: Connecticut

The Terrapins are running a streak of three-straight seasons of seven wins or more. But this year, it may be a challenge to continue that streak, especially given star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa’s departure and the expanded Big Ten conference. This season, the Terapins’ primary strength is the defense’s front seven which includes senior defensive end Quashon Fuller who garnered All Big-Ten honorable mention honors last season. On offense, junior running back Roman Hemby is an NFL prospect. He is proven runner and receiver and is capable of being a solid blocker.

12. Michigan State

Last season: (4-8, 2-7)

This week: FAU

This is a team that Washington fans will oddly be familiar with. The Huskies beat the Spartans at home in 2022 and then in East Lansing in 2023. The Huskies have also beat the Spartans’ new head coach, Jonathan Smith, in 2023 and 2022, when Smith was the head coach at Oregon State. Smith brought six of his assistants with him to Michigan State, along with a handful of transfers from Corvallis. The team is in a rebuilding phase and hopes that transfer sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles from Oregon State grows into the focal point of the Spartan's’ offense.

13. Northwestern

Last season: (8-5, 5-4)

This week: Miami (Oh.)

Like Rutgers, Brian and I went in-depth on Northwestern in our podcast. Our analysis begins at the 26:30 mark:

Wait For It Seattle, Ep. 4

Three things to know about Northwestern:

1. Head coach David Braun is coming off of an impressive first-year campaign, leading the Wildcats to an 8-5 record and a Las Vegas Bowl win over Utah. Braun earned Big Ten coach of the year honors last year.

2. The team returns 12 starters, including senior running back Cam Porter who is in his fifth season. Porter is a hefty 220 lbs and will be complemented by the shiftier junior Joseph Himon II.

3. Northwestern’s home field is a temporary lakeside facility in Chicago that will hold 15,000 fans. They will host five home games at this facility and then play both Ohio State and Illinois at Wrigley Field in November.

14. UCLA

Last season: (8-5, 4-5)

This week: at Hawaii

Expectations are low for the Bruins after a decent 8-win campaign in 2023. The oddsmakers have UCLA’s win total at 4.5 this season, which is its lowest win total mark since 2008. Senior quarterback Ethan Garbers will be leading the offense. Garbers started six games (appeared in 11 games) for the Bruins last season, totaling 1136 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Does his name sound familiar? Garber was at Washington for his freshman year during the 2020 COVID season before transferring to UCLA. The Bruins have one of the toughest schedules in the country, including a three-week run of at LSU, Oregon, at Penn State. They then will close the season with five November games: at Nebraska, Iowa, at Washington, USC, and Fresno State. Even Fresno State won’t be an easy game.

15. Minnesota

Last season: (6-7, 3-6)

This week: North Carolina

Like the Bruins, the Golden Gophers have a brutal schedule. They have a three-week run against Iowa, at Michigan, USC, they then close the season in November with three of their final games on the road, with the home game being against Penn State. On offense, one player to watch is senior wide receiver Daniel Jackson who earned second-team All Big-Ten honors last season. On defense, the team returns four experienced players in its front seven, including senior defensive tackle Jalen Logan-Redding and senior defensive end Danny Striggow.

16. Purdue

Last season: (4-8, 3-6)

This week: Indiana State

A trend is emerging with the bottom of the Big Ten rankings: brutal schedules. The Boilermakers host Notre Dame and have a road game against Oregon State in their non-conference schedule. In the Big Ten portion, they have road games against Wisconsin and Ohio State, they also have home games against Oregon and Penn State. Senior quarterback Hudson Card returns after a so-so junior season where he passed for 2387 yards, 15 touchdowns, and threw 8 interceptions. He will need to improve his 58.8 % completion percentage for Purdue to be competitive.

17. Illinois

Last season: (5-7, 3-6)

This week: Eastern Illinois

Just two seasons ago, the Fighting Illini were an eight-win team. Last season, Illinois took a step back, failing to qualify for a bowl game. The team returns 11 starters and should see improvement offensively under second-year offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. Leading Illinois on offense is junior quarterback Luke Altmeyer. He is a dual-threat quarterback that needs to cut on his turnovers. Last season he tallied 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. On defense, keep your eye out on NFL prospect, senior outside linebacker Seth Coleman. Ric Seritella at AllAccessFootball.com describes him as a “high-motor edge player with excellent bend.”

18. Indiana

Last season: (3-9, 1-8)

This week: FIU

My in-depth analysis on Indiana can be found at the below link:

A Preview of Washington's Big Ten Clash Against Indiana

Here are three things to know about Indiana:

1. Curt Cignetti is Indiana’s new head coach. Cignetti won league titles in his first three seasons at James Madison, and then won 19 games in the past two seasons when JMU transitioned to FBS.

2. Senior transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke is a former MAC offensive player of the year and brings a wealth of experiene to an offense only returning three starters from last season.

3. Junior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt from James Madison is the team’s best NFL prospect. He has immediate familiarity with Cignetti’s offense and is expected to be an impact player for the Hoosiers.

1. https://x.com/IowaEverywhere/status/1823055347306713426