The Big Ten is back and for anybody that disagrees with that assertion, you need only to look at last year’s inaugural college football playoff and then the Las Vegas odds to win this year’s national championship.
The Ohio State Buckeyes upset the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl and then blew away the No. 2 Oregon Ducks in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship. The Buckeyes are listed as the favorites to become the second team this millennium to repeat as national champion but first they have to take care of business in the Big Ten. That doesn’t look like it will be much of a problem.
Here is a look at what to expect in the Big Ten for the 2015 college football season.
Best Coach In The Big Ten: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Meyer solidified his reputation as one of the best head coaches in all of college football when he led Ohio State to a national title last season. Now he has his program in position to repeat and win it all again this year. Meyer has won three national titles at two different schools and has posted a 142-26 career-record as a head coach.
Buckeyes fans know that their program has had a lot of quality over the years – including the Jim Tressel years – but they didn’t have that killer instinct like they do now. Big Ten teams used to get labeled as soft when it came to big non-conference showdowns but title has been shed thanks to Meyer’s coaching.
A lot has been made about the arrival of Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and what it will mean to the Wolverines in the long run but right now, there is absolutely no doubt that Meyer is the best head coach in the Big Ten.
Who Will Win The Big Ten: Ohio State
Anybody that questions the Buckeyes as the best team in the Big Ten heading into this season is simply fishing for something that isn’t there. There is absolutely no doubt about where they stand. Ohio State is the outright favorite to win the national title and their road back to the college football playoff begins at home in their own conference.
They can even suffer some serious injuries to their quarterback position – as they did last year – and it wouldn’t affect the odds as they have multiple quarterbacks who can lead them to a National Championship. Who else has that kind of depth?
There are some obvious spots on the schedule that could trip the Buckeyes up but Meyer will have them prepared for Virginia Tech in Week 1 and then back-to-back games versus Michigan State and at Michigan to close out the year. Ohio State’s biggest challenge will be themselves. If they stay focused, there is a very good chance they run the table with a perfect season.
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Sleeper Team To Win The Big Ten: Michigan
It’s almost impossible to think that there can be a sleeper pick that wins the Big Ten but if there is one team that can provide a major shakeup and challenge Ohio State’s perfect record, it might very well be Michigan.
Expectations are high for the Wolverines based in large part on what Harbaugh was able to do when he was at Stanford where he had to rebuild that program from scratch. He has a much better starting point to begin again at the college ranks this time around. Eight wins is definitely a reasonable goal for this Michigan program and there will be a ton of hype and excitement heading into the team’s season finale at home against the Buckeyes. Michigan State and Wisconsin are expected to be good teams but the best sleeper pick in the conference is the Wolverines. If they find a quarterback, they’re going to be back on the map faster than most people think.
