Previewing Big Ten Conference football ahead of the 2024 season.
This is Part 2 of the Big Ten Conference football preview! If you have yet to read Part 1, do that first and then come back here. That being said, here is a preview of the other nine teams and what to expect this season.
Indiana Hoosiers
2023 Record: 3-9
2023 Conference Finish: Last in Big Ten East (1-8 in Conference)
Last year, the Hoosiers struggled on both side of the ball. They averaged only 22.2 points per game while allowing 29.9 points per game. With Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson splitting starting reps at quarterback, neither player was able to show a lot of potential. Both QBs were under 1600 total yards.
Meanwhile, every running backs on the roster rushed for less than 400 rushing yards, with five separate RBs between 200-400 yards.
The Hoosiers’ wide receiver room was led by Donaven McCulley (QB/WR hybrid) with 644 yards on 48 receptions and six Touchdowns. This lackluster season led to the firing of former head coach Tom Allen. The team hired James Madison’s Curt Cignetti this offseason.
Looking forward into this upcoming season, the Hoosiers are bringing in 31 transfers while losing 39. Of the 31 coming in, 13 are from James Madison University following their coach. Combine that with 16 incoming recruits and IU is looking to comeback this year.
2024 Projected Record: 4-8
Michigan State Spartans
2023 Record: 4-8
2023 Conference Finish: 6th in Big Ten East (2-7 in Conference)
Much like IU, the Spartans struggled last year. They started different starting QBs who mustered only 1,100 yards passing and six TDs each. Now, both of those QBs have transferred out. Meanwhile, none of their wide receivers or tight ends recorded over 600 yards. The team’s touchdown reception leader was a three way tie between Montorie Foster, Maliq Carr, and Tyrell Henry (3).
The long bright spot on the offense was redshirt sophomore running back Nate Carter. Carter’s three years of football between UCoon and MSU has led him to putting up 1,781 yards on 375 carries. Add his 46 receptions for 269 yards, and you have a three-down back for the Spartans.
In this upcoming season, new head coach Jonathan Smith will look to build off of what he did at Oregon St. Under Smith, Oregon St. went 8-4 with his run-first offense, although they also had a strong passing game. He’s also bringing along QB Aidan Chiles to run his offense.
Chiles is one of 24 incoming transfers, and among the three coming from Oregon State. Of the 24 incoming transfers, 15 are on the defensive side of the ball.
Looking at all of the moves brought by first year coach Smith, expect the Spartans to surprise this year.
2024 Projected Record: 6-6
Nebraska Cornhuskers
2023 Record: 5-7
2023 Conference Finish: 4th in Big Ten West (3-6 in Conference)
It’s starting to seem like a normal thing to see Nebraska as a middle of the pack type of team. For the fans who want to root for them, it’s disappointing to say that. With only four games scoring over 17 points, Nebraska showed an inability to score last season. The Cornhuskers were the third-lowest scoring football team in the Big Ten. However, their defense was excellent.
The defense allowed an average of 18.3 points per game, fifth-best in the Big Ten. The only teams better were Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa. Those teams finished at the top of the Big Ten in record and include the winner of the Big Ten West (aka, the Big Ten’s Best)
Going into this year, Nebraska is bringing in one of the top (and legacy) freshmen quarterbacks in the nation in Dylan Raiola. Raiola will look to make his name known in the Midwest. He has his eyes set on being the first overall pick of the 2027 (or 2028) NFL draft, and he plans to do that from Nebraska. That means the Cornhuskers will be looking to contend every year with Raiola in school.
Nebraska brings back a strong defense this season, and look to improve the offense with Raiola under center. The team also brings in transfer RB Dante Dowdell from Oregon, and two transfer WRs in Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor. While they will all be learning the playbook, those four players will be adding a good amount of strength to the offense. Nebraska could be a team that will surprise people. Fans should expect them to go to a Bowl Game this year.
2024 Projected Record: 8-4
Northwestern Wildcats
2023 Record: 8-5
2023 Conference Finish: 2nd in Big Ten West (5-4 in Conference)
I’ll be the first to admit that Northwestern shocked me last season. I don’t think many college football fans expected them to finish with an 8-5 record. This was a Northwestern team that ranked 10th in offensive points per game and eighth in defensive points per game last season. That does not scream eight wins to me. Yet looking at their season, you can see that they were kind of lucky in one score games.
Of their 13 games, six were one score games where they went 5-1. Of the seven other games, their point differential was -18.6! So the story for Northwestern was winning one score games for half the season, blowing out bad teams, and getting destroyed by good teams. On average, they lost by 16 points. This Northwestern team was surprising and with unsustainable success.
Next year, I’d expect the football team to move closer to the median in the Big Ten. They had no major moves through recruitment. Meanwhile, their transfer portal has been pretty uneventful, bringing in six players while losing 12. The biggest name coming in Mike Wright from Mississippi State, with the biggest lose being three cornerbacks heading West Virginia(2) and Notre Dame(1).
2024 Projected Record: 6-6
Oregon Ducks
2023 Record: 12-2
2023 Conference Finish: New to Big Ten
It is really easy to look back at the Oregon Ducks 2023 season and be disappointed. After all, both of their loses came from the Washington Huskies. They lost their starting QB, RB, lead WR, their starting center, three DBs, and a defensive lineman. However, they were still a really good team with a focus on running the ball and short yardage passing. They were great on offense and good on defense in 2023, but they were just outscored twice by a team that threw the ball a total of 79 times against them in two games.
In 2024, the Ducks football team are going to be a major threat in the Big Ten. Seriously, this team is set to run the table this year.
Their toughest game of the season will be their matchup hosting Ohio State on October 12. This very well could be the preview of the Big Ten Championship football game. Oregon saw what they did last year, saw the players they lost in the NFL draft and the transfer portal, and still look like they’re winning the offseason!
The Ducks are bringing in sixth year QB Dillon Gabriel and second year QB Dante Moore to solve the loss of Bo Nix. Losing both Bucky Irving and Dante Dowdell, they’re looking to fill that hole with James Jordan and incoming transfer Jay Harris. If that’s not enough, they’re making up for losing Troy Franklin to the NFL by bringing in Evan Stewart. This team is looking to improve on defense by bring in six defensive backs. If you’re a Big Ten football fan whose team will be playing the Ducks, good luck!
2024 Projected Record: 12-0
Penn State Nittany Lions
2023 Record: 10-3
2023 Conference Finish: 3rd in Big Ten East (7-2 in Conference)
What can I say besides Penn State is going to be Penn State? They had two RBs in the Big Ten top 10 in rushing yards last year and both will back for 2024. When it comes to passing, Drew Allar was had the fourth-most passing yards in the Big Ten. Allar has been hyped up since he was in high school as one of the top QBs in the nation, but he has yet to show it. Meanwhile, Nicholas Singleton was supposed to be the next great Penn State RB in the same tier as Saquon Barkley, but he’s also been less than expected. Yet none of that mattered.
Penn State only lost three games last year, to Ohio State, Michigan, and Ole Miss.
Next year, Penn State is goin to be Penn State. They’re going to run the ball better than most teams, they’re going to be effective passing the ball, and they’re going to be one of the better defenses in the Big Ten. I don’t know what else to say about them and this season.
2024 Projected Record: 11-1
Purdue Boilermakers
2023 Record: 4-8
2023 Conference Finish: 5th in Big Ten West (3-6 in Conference)
As a lifelong Purdue Boilermaker fan and former student, I will attempt to keep my bias out of this preview. If my bias was talking, I’d tell you that the eight losses last year were because of the refs taking over the game and purposely making Purdue lose. Putting my bias aside, I can tell you that Purdue lost eight games because their secondary was atrocious!
The Boilermakers let opposing teams score an average of 30 points per game against them. The three best players in the secondary were Dillon Thieneman (a true freshman), Sanoussi Kane (drafted by the Ravens), and Cam Allen. Purdue’s issue was that there was no depth in the secondary. Because of that, they ended up playing a WR at CB in October and November. The defensive line was arguably the best in Big Ten football, however, with Nic Scourton leading the Big Ten with 15 sacks and Kydran Jenkins finishing third with 7.5.
Purdue may have the biggest shift in the transfer portal, throughout the Big Ten this offseason. The Boilermakers bringing in 18 transfers while losing 29 players.
Their biggest adds are are three WRs, four offensive linemen, five defensive lineman to fill the void of Scourton leaving, and CBs Nyland Green and Kyndrich Breedlove. Not to mention, a recruiting class highlighted by the top CB in this class Terrion Grant, while also recruiting four four-star prospects and 22 three-star prospects. Head Coach Ryan Walters saw that the secondary was a big problem and made that the focus of the offseason. Nylan Green is a big add for Purdue, and this recruiting class of 27 features eight players in the secondary.
2024 Projected Record: 6-6
Washington Huskies
2023 Record: 14-1
2023 Conference Finish: New to Big Ten
Welcome to the Big Ten, Huskies! I hope last year’s run into the College Football Championship game was everything you could have hoped for! As a Boilermaker fan, I understand how exciting it is to make the Championship game and fall short to a juggernaut of a team. Last year’s season was a perfect send off for Michael Penix Jr. (drafted No. 8 overall), Rome Odunze (drafted No. 9 overall), Troy Fautanu (drafted 20th overall) Ja’lynn Polk (drafted 37th overall), and to (now Alabama’s) head coach Kalen DeBoer!
While it’s amazing how many players made the next stage of their professional careers, it leaves massive holes across the Washington roster. Not to mention, the Huskies are also losing 30 players in the transfer portal.
New head coach Jedd Fisch is coming from Arizona and bringing his passing game to the Big Ten. Last year, Arizona passed 463 times at a 54.5 percent rate, compared to 386 rushing attempts. That passing rate would have been the second-highest in the Big Ten last year, behind Maryland’s 55.6 percent.
Knowing who Washington lost and who’s coming in, I think the Huskies will continue Jedd Fisch’s pass-happy offense with Will Rodgers (former Miss. St. QB) at the helm. I doubt they will have the same success as last year. With that said, this team feels like a Bowl Game team even if all things go wrong.
2024 Projected record: 8-4
Wisconsin Badgers
2023 Record: 7-6
2023 Conference Finish: 3rd in Big Ten West (5-4 in Conference)
Wisconsin played well last year, but very few players stood out. Tanner Mordecai had just over 2,000 yards passing, Braelon Allen led the team in rushing without a 1,000-yard season, and the best receiver was Will Pauling with twice as many yards as any other player on the team. Of those three, only Will Pauling is still in school. Overall, this team was good, not great.
2024 will be an interesting year for the Badgers. There’s no RB that stands out as much as Allen did. If anything, Chez Mellusi is looking to take back the starting role that Allen ate up the last three years.
Mellusi has been the RB2 in Wisconsin for years playing behind Allen. He will look to make his name known as he’s entering his last year in college football. There will also be a change at QB, as the Badgers bring in Tyler Van Dyke from Miami to replace Mordecai.
Over the last three years starting at Miami, Van Dyke has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for almost 7,500 total passing yards. He should be a solid replacement for Mordecai and could very well be an improvement. While this team did play very well last year, I do think they’ll take a small step back this year.
2024 Projected Record: 5-7
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.