The Big Ten, a key member of college football's recent conference realignment and a likely beneficiary of an expanded playoff, is now home to 18 schools after relocating west, and with the annual media day now over, it's time to check out the league's preseason football rankings.
more: Read the full ESPN rankings | AP Poll by Phil Steele | B1G Rankings
With less than a month until kickoff, let’s take a look at where the Big Ten power rankings currently stand, according to ESPN’s Power Index computer analysis model.
18. Indiana. Curt Cignetti is projected to win 5.3 games this season, with a 44.9% chance of making a bowl game despite outscoring opponents by an average of 2.4 points.
17. Michigan State University. Jonathan Smith has been brought in to plug some of the holes in the defense and the team is expected to win 4.8 games while scoring an average of one point less than their opponents.
16. Illinois. Similarly, Illinois is looking for defensive replacements while maintaining its offensive prowess, but the index projects it to win just 5.3 games.
15. Minnesota. A new quarterback may be what the Gophers need after a lackluster season last year, but the computer projects them to win by just 5.3 points and be outscored by just 0.4 points from the field.
14. Purdue University. Currently facing the worst bowling percentage in the Big Ten Conference at 30 percent and winning just 4.5 games, the Boilermarks lost key personnel to the portal but do have quarterback Hudson Card back.
13. Northwestern. David Brown won eight games last year but is projected to fall to 5.5 wins by this metric, averaging 1.3 points better than his opponents.
12. Maryland. With a new face at quarterback, the Terrapins are projected to win 6.6 games and be outscored by 4.1 points from the field.
11. Rutgers University. Eight starters return, the defense is in good shape and a change at quarterback is expected to reinvigorate a sluggish passing attack, and the Knights are projected to win 7.2 games.
10. Nebraska. Despite the return of a strong core of run defense and the debut of five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, the Cornhuskers are projected to win 6.5 games this season.
9. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) While the ranking is somewhat surprising given the Bruins lost a ton of players and coaches, the computer has UCLA favored over opponents by 4.9 points and projected them to win 5.5 games.
8. Wisconsin. The computer projects the Badgers to win 6.5 games in Luke Fickell's second year as head coach, giving them just a 57.4 percent chance of making a bowl game.
7. Iowa. This team should once again be one of the most potent defenses in college football, but ESPN projects them to win just 7.0 games, and it remains to be seen whether Tim Lester can revive this offense.
6. Washington. After an exodus of players from the Huskies' CFP finalist team a year ago, new coach Jedd Fisch has seen a lot of transfer activity under his direction and is projected to win 6.4 games per game in analytics.
5. University of Southern California Lincoln Riley is projected to win by 7.1 points, well below expectations after bringing in Danton Lin to resuscitate this defense, but the Trojans are projected to outscore opponents by 11.1 points.
4. Michigan. The defending college football champions announced new players and a new coach, are projected to win 8.3 games and have just a 7.3 percent chance of winning the Big Ten title but a more favorable 28.5 percent chance of making the expanded playoffs.
3rd place: Pennsylvania State University. The other team expected to benefit from the new playoff system, the Nittany Lions, should win 10 games and have a 59.1% chance of making the CFP, according to ESPN's criteria.
2. Ohio State University. Ryan Day should win 10.2 games with a roster full of returning stars and top transfers, making him the favorite to avenge a three-game losing streak to Michigan.
1. Oregon. The newcomers are the favorites to win in Indy, projected to win 10.8 games and have a 76% chance of beating the Buckeyes and making the College Football Playoff.
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