Ohio State is the favorite to win the newly expanded Big Ten Conference for the first time in four years, according to the annual preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com and released this week. The Buckeyes, the favorites to win the championship, received 21 of 27 first-place votes heading into what has been billed as a trying season for head coach Ryan Day.
Big Ten newcomer Oregon wasn't far behind, coming in second in the football rankings and receiving the other six first-place votes, while Penn State edged out defending national champion Michigan and Iowa rounded out the top five in the 2024 poll.
Fellow Big Ten newcomer USC finished sixth in the rankings this season, while other new West Coast schools finished lower, with Washington at 10th and UCLA at 15th.
This season marks the first time in the College Football Playoff era that the Big Ten Conference will drop the divisional system and the conference will expand to 18 teams, making it the largest in the nation and the largest in history.
The number in brackets is the first place vote.
- Ohio State University (21)
- Oregon (6)
- Pennsylvania State University
- Michigan
- Iowa
- U.S.C.
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Rutgers
- Washington
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Michigan State University
- Indiana
- Purdue
In the media poll, Ohio State received a total of 480 points and an average ranking of 1.22, while Oregon received a total of 448 points and an average ranking of 1.81.
Penn State and Michigan were in a close race for third and fourth place, with the Nittany Lions receiving 418 votes and an average ranking of 3.52, while Michigan received 411 votes and an average ranking of 3.78.
USC's average ranking was 6.19, Washington's was 10.26 and UCLA's was 14.41.
(Cleveland.com)
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