Michigan won the league last year, but Ohio State enters the 2022 college football season as the overwhelming Big Ten favorite. Ferentz just re-upped his contract and will have a talented, veteran team this upcoming season. For the first time in nearly a year, Penn State adds another commitment to the board for the Class of 2024. Last year, Michigan State soared from 2-5 to a transfer-fueled 11-2. Maryland does travel to Ann Arbor in Week 4, but it will face a rebuilding Michigan defense, which could help matters. They miss Penn State and Ohio State but have to play Wisconsin, Nebraska and Michigan on the road along with home dates versus Iowa and Michigan State. Ryan Day's team still finished 11-2 last year and returns All-American quarterback C.J. Michigans third consecutive playoff appearance and Big Ten title could finally be capped with a national title for Jim Harbaugh, although a matchup with Georgia going for the first national title three-peat in nearly 90 years is no easy hurdle to clear (Minnesotas run from 1934-1936 is the last three-peat national title run in the FBS). The Wolverines rushed for a league-best 214.4 yards per game last season. Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports. It helps that Iowa gets Michigan at home, but facing the Wolverines and Buckeyes in one season isnt exactly cause for celebration. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports. They open with Notre Dame, play Wisconsin and Iowa, to go along with the rest of the schedule. Meaningful? Wolverines' fans always get excited about five-star cornerbacks, and Johnson (Grosse Pointe South, Mich.) is the next in line. Will either Minnesota or MSU surge in the standings? The Buckeyes have won eight straight in the series, and the Badgers haven't won in Columbus since a 24-13 shocker in 2004. 7566. Though the frontline talent is at a level that Maryland can win games against some quality teams, Im still not sold on the depth and physicality the program will need to be consistently competitive in the Big Ten. USA TODAY - Bryant Crews 1h. With the stroke of midnight and the calendar flipping over, the Buckeyes once-promising 2022 campaign ended instantly in 2023. Early Big Ten Football Predictions for 2022 East Division 1. That's going to be tough. Michigan football might not go back to the playoff in 2022, but dont expect a big dropoff from the Wolverines. The schedule doesn't let up at any point once the non-conference slate is over and there are a few 50-50 games that may not going in the Wildcats' direction. Sep 17, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema walks off the field after the loss against the Maryland Terrapins at Memorial Stadium. Oct 23, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions offensive lineman Rasheed Walker (53) and linebacker Jesse Luketa (40) and safety Jaquan Brisker (1) and safety Jonathan Sutherland (0) walk on the field for the coin flip prior to the game Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium. The word: What are the outside expectations for the Badgers in 2022? This article was gathered automatically by our news bot. There is a good chance this is the next top-10 perhaps top-five showdown in the series. Highs will include a home win over Iowa while the lows could feature a road loss to Illinois for Jeff Brohm's group. Without knowing how two-deep depth charts are going to shake out, we'll take a stab anyway at way-too-early final record predictions for every team in the conference entering the offseason with a caveat these will be amended after spring practice and just before games kickoff in the fall. The defense, however, was as good as any unit in the country. If the Nittany Lions create one break and catch a fortunate bounce, they'll be in the picture. That means there are few Buckeyes who have actually experienced beating their rival on this 2022 team. WebAll that plus Josh revisits 5 more bold predictions from the preseason. There are a lot of questions across the Big Ten Conference, in the final season before USC and UCLA join the fray. It almost always comes down to The Game, and the Wolverines revived the rivalry with a 42-27 victory last season. Thats the question that holds they key to Iowas potential in 2022. March 1, 2023 12:56 pm CT. College football writers are taking notice of the Longhorns loaded returning roster. Football. It opens at Boston College, goes to Temple, and plays Iowa and goes to Ohio State in back-to-back weeks. Florida was very lucrative to the Oklahoma Sooners in the class of 2023. The hiring of Luke Fickell by Wisconsin is expected by many to lead the Badgers quickly back to the top of the Big Ten West. Big Ten football order of finish predictions for 2022 season from Phil Steele. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the result will flip in 2022. Thompson played in 15 games at Texas, where he had 30 TDs and nine interceptions. The Spartans have won the last two in the Paul Bunyan Trophy series, and Tucker hasn't backed down from the Wolverines at all. Michigan looks to repeat but Ohio State is coming back with a vengeance. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said those schools can help "carry some weight" for the Big Ten. The word: There's a chance Northwesterncould lose eight straight Big Ten games, if the Wildcats aren't careful next season, after a promising three-win stretch following a calendar-opening loss to Nebraska. Will Michigan defend their crown? Michigan won the league last year, but Ohio State enters the 2022 college football season as the overwhelming Big Ten favorite. Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. No other Big Ten coach that begins the season is in imminent danger, though a nine-loss record certainly could change that. Penn State opens the season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Purdue. Will it be Tommy DeVito or Artur Sitkowski under center when Week 1 rolls around? To close October, Michigan aims for revenge on rival Michigan State. This past season saw Ohio State not win the Big Ten for the first time in five years, withMichigan surprising everyone, finally acting like an American football team for once. Up front, OSU returns three starters plus Matthew Jonesa very regular player over the last two seasons. You'll now receive the top Buckeyes Wire stories each day directly in your inbox. The Nittany Lions lost a lot of talent in the NFL draft, and will have to restructure a defense that was in the bottom third of the conference last season. By Sam Marsdale Aug 11, 8:56 AM. Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports. Ibrahim and Henderson will be sharing the spotlight with Wisconsin bruiser Braelon Allen, who powered his way to 1,268 yards and 12 scores in his first college season. Akron Zips. With plenty of time to change our minds, as were currently in the thick of winter conditioning, here are our far-too-early Big Ten power rankings. Ohio State was as close to beating Georgia as anyone came last season but a missed field goal haunted the Buckeyes all offseason. 4 days. New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will bring a more aggressive scheme to Ohio State, and Hicks (Archbishop Alter, Dayton, Ohio) is a five-star linebacker that could work into the middle two-linebacker rotation with Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg. MORE:SEC predictions| Big 12 predictions |Bowl projections|2022 All-America team. Wins: Wyoming, Virginia,Chattanooga, Purdue,at Northwestern, Losses: at Indiana, at Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, at Nebraska, Michigan State, at Michigan. Losing Adrian Martinez via transfer to Kansas State wont help matters in 2022, but perhaps Scott Frost has the pieces outside the quarterback position that could help the Huskers get over that hump. And if these projections prove to be accurate, there will be a good number of Big Ten teams taking part in a bowl game next season, and it could be another year with two playoff bids. Below is a look at the bowl projections and playoff picks before all the fun begins for the 2022 season. Thank you for visiting Win Big Sports Network and wbsnsports.com. However, the appeal isn't solely about the Buckeyes' superstar trio. He completed 63 percent of his passes in 10 games for 2,407 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Not since 2010-13 has OSU gone Win or lose that first game, the Boilermakers could be in a good spot in 2022. Where is Ohio State? Henderson averaged 87.6 yards with five rushing TDs in six games against ranked opponents last season. Ohio State is 7-3 in New Year's Day Six bowls, too. Sign up for the WolverinesWire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning, #Michigan has an incredible track record with edge rushers under Jim Harbaugh. The defense improved last season and will have to continue that upward trajectory. 10: Washington State at WisconsinSept. MORE: Futures odds and best bets for Big Ten. Well know more after the early-season contest against Ohio State. The word: Bowl hopes for Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights may come down to the regular-season finale at Maryland, unless Rutgers is able to beat a Big Ten rival as an underdog in the previous weeks. Penn State Washington State quarterback Cam Ward has opted to return to school in 2023, and this should be a down-to-the-wire fight in Pac-12 country. This will no doubt be a Big Noon Kickoff Game and it could be a conference championship preview. But will Penn State have what it takes to make another New Years Six berth after winning the Rose Bowl last season? Still, a return to Indianapolis would be a welcomed sign for Wisconsin. Following a 5-0 start last season, Penn State tumbled to six losses in the last eight games. Illinois won't be favored in any of those and the see-saw non-league battle versus Virginia will be a considerable challenge given the strength of quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Will there be another shakeup this season? And while quarterback Spencer Petras will be better with another year of seasoning, hes not the type that is going to put the team on his shoulders and win games against the more athletic and talented teams out there. Stec is a multiple sport athlete, playing both football and basketball at Jacobs High School back home and his junior season was his first with the football team. That weight is on the big stage, and Ohio State is all-but penciled in to get back to the CFP in 2022. The thing about college football is that its entirely impossible to pin down. 18:12-36:45 Big Ten East Wins: Illinois State, Washington State, New Mexico State, Illinois, at Northwestern, Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota, Losses: at Ohio State, at Michigan State, at Iowa, at Nebraska. Northwestern went 3-9 that season, then surged to 7-2 with a West Division crown in 2020. follow. #GoBlue, Cant wait to see what he does in his first year at #Michigan! 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