Previewing Big Ten Conference football going into the 2024 season.
The Big Ten Conference has expanded in college football once again. This time, they are going out to the West Coast as Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington are joining the conference to make the total 18 and do away with divisions. There are a lot of intriguing storylines in the Big Ten this year that will be broken down into two parts. Let’s take a look at the Big Ten preview for 2024!
Illinois Fighting Illini
2023 Record: 6-7 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: 7th in B10 West (3-6 in Conference)
After star running back Chase Brown left for the NFL, Illinois took a step back in 2023. They started the season poor, going 2-4 before ending the season 6-7. The rushing attack went from 56th in yards per game in 2022 to 97th. Meanwhile, the defense took a huge step back, allowing 30 points per game (13 PPG allowed in 2022).
Looking ahead to 2024, the offense will have to rely on the run game as 33 percent of the receiving production is gone with Isaiah Williams moving on to the NFL. Kaden Feagin will be the lead back after running for over 400 yards in his freshman year and averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Illinois is likely to finish in the bottom third of the league. They play both Michigan and Oregon on their schedule but should be able to win two of their three non-conference games.
Iowa Hawkeyes
2023 Record: 10-4 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: 1st in B10 West (7-2 in Conference)
Last year the Iowa offense was horrid. They finished 130th in scoring offense with only 15 points per game. After five games, starting quarterback Cade McNamara was hurt and out for the season. Meanwhile, the team’s leading receiver (tight end Erick All) only had 299 yards and only played in seven games. In seven of the last eight games, the Hawkeyes did not score over 20 points. Because of that, Tim Lester takes over as offensive coordinator after serving as a senior analyst with the Green Bay Packers last season.
Yet despite the offense’s struggles, the defense helped lead Iowa to the Big Ten Conference Championship football game.
In 2024, McNamara returns to lead this newly revamped offense that should be more aggressive. Even if it is, it’s hard to see the offense being that much more dynamic, so the defense will have to lead again.
Iowa’s defense lost Cooper Dejean, their top cornerback, so the defense must retool the backend. There is a favorable schedule with Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State missing. The games still may be hard to watch, but they could end up again in the top third of the conference.
Maryland Terrapins
2023 Record: 8-5 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: 4th in B10 East (4-5 in Conference)
The season started out strong in 2023 with five straight wins to start the season. However, after a loss to Ohio State, they would drop four straight games. It was another season led by Taulia Tagovailoa where Maryland started strong but struggled to end the season. The rushing game also regressed as Roman Hemby went from 989 yards in 2022 to 680 yards in 2023. Against ranked teams in 2023, Maryland allowed over 39 points per game and only scored more than 20 points just once.
The offense may change in 2024, as Billy Edwards Jr takes over at quarterback. Edwards is a skilled runner and should provide another element in the Maryland offense. Edwards will have help with Hemby returning, along with receiver Kaden Prather who had over 600 receiving yards last year. The schedule has an early game against Michigan State. If Maryland were to win that game, they could have another season where they could start out strong. However, I am afraid they will struggle to the end with playing USC, Oregon, Iowa, and Penn State in the second half of the season.
Michigan Wolverines
2023 Record: 15-0 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: Big Ten Champion (9-0 in Conference)
Michigan had controversy all year but that did not stop them from going undefeated and winning the national championship. They won their third straight conference championship and were able to continue the winning streak against Ohio State. As we saw in the NFL draft, Michigan lost a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. Their starting quarterback, leading rusher, and leading receiver are all gone. On defense, they lost both starting linebackers and the leader of the defense, Mike Sainristil.
Even with losing all that in the NFL draft, they can still compete for top three in the conference. They return Donovan Edwards at running back, and the defense still has a ton of talent. Will Johnson is thought to be the leading corner in the country and they have a top tandem at defensive tackle with Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham. The team will need to rely on the defense and running even more to start the season with a new quarterback under center. An early visit by Texas will really show if the Wolverines are ready to compete in 2024 with new coach Sherone Moore.
Minnesota Gophers
2023 Record: 6-7 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: 6th in B10 West (3-6 in Conference)
Minnesota started off last season with a great win against Nebraska, but struggled throughout the season. Talented freshman running back Darius Taylor started out strong with 529 yards in a three game stretch but then was hurt throughout most of the season. Meanwhile, the passing game continued to struggle. That is two straight years where Minnesota has finished in the bottom 15 in passing yards per game.
Minnesota will benefit from a healthy Taylor; and hopefully, transfer QB Max Rosmer can breathe life into the passing game. The defense will have to replace Tyler Nubin who leaves a big hole in the secondary. It will be an uphill climb to become bowl eligible with a difficult schedule that includes Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, and USC.
Ohio State Buckeyes
2023 Record: 11-2 Overall
Conference Finish: 2nd in B10 East (8-1 in Conference)
Ohio State had to replace C.J. Stroud in 2023 and Kyle McCord statistically had a good season with 3,170 yards and 24 TDs to only six interceptions. However, he did not do what all Buckeye fans wanted – to beat Michigan and win the Big Ten. The offense did drop in scoring and yards, yet were still in the top 50.
Ohio State is going all in heading into the 2024 season. They have brought in two of the top transfers in safety Caleb Downs out of Alabama and running back Quinshon Judkins out of Ole Miss. They also brought in a new quarterback in veteran Will Howard who should bring more of a running threat. Chip Kelly is the offensive coordinator and with two top backs, we should see a different type of offense in 2024. The main question is it enough to beat the likes of Oregon and Michigan. Ohio State will be one of the favorites to win the conference, and head coach Ryan Day may not survive if they don’t.
Rutgers Scarlett Knights
2023 Record: 7-6 Overall
Conference Finish: 5th in B10 West (3-6 in Conference)
Rutgers started 2023 with three straight wins, and through eight games, the Scarlett Knights were 6-2. Then with games against Ohio State and Penn State, they finished the regular season with four straight losses. The offense really ran through talented running back Kyle Monangai, who had over 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns. The passing game struggled with Gavin Wimsatt. In five of the last 10 games, the offense did not score over 20 points.
Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis will be the new starting quarterback, his ceiling could be limited in this offense. The offense will be centered around the run in order to grind out games.
The good news is that Rutgers avoids Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon on the schedule this season. Rutgers will likely finish in the bottom half of the conference, but could get to a bowl game yet again.
UCLA Bruins
2023 Record: 8-5 Overall
2023 Conference Finish: New to Big 10
UCLA started strong last season before finishing the regular season losing three out of four games. The defense only allowed two teams to score more than 30 points, but the offense struggled at times with four games under 10 points. Quarterback play struggled throughout the season. However, the offense did have two rushers with over 800 yards in TJ Harden and Carson Steele.
The Chip Kelly experience is over after he left for the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State. Deshaun Foster now takes over as head coach, bringing in Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator.
In the spring game, UCLA displayed a quick passing game to get the ball out quick to avoid pressure. Veteran quarterback Ethan Garbers will lead the offense with freshman phenom Dante Moore transferring to Oregon.
The starting schedule will be tough for a new coaching staff with a three game stretch of LSU, Oregon, and at Penn State. UCLA may struggle early on but later in the season they can pick up some momentum against a much easier schedule.
USC Trojans
2023 Record: 8-5 Overall
Conference Finish: New to Big 10
USC had high hopes of a college football playoff berth in 2023. However, after their 6-0 start, the season fell apart. The scoring defense fell from 81st to 117 in 2023. Caleb Williams had to carry the Trojans offense, and against better teams he just could not keep up. There was a stretch where USC gave up over 40 points in five out of six games.
Because of their defensive struggles, USC brought in D’Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator. Lynn has spent nine years in the NFL and the last two with the Baltimore Ravens as a defensive backs coach. While Williams is gone at quarterback, fans saw a preview of things to come in Miller Moss.
Moss led the offense to 42 points against Louisville with 372 yards and six touchdowns. In 2024, Moss will have a talented trio of receivers in Duce Robinson, Zachariah Branch, and Makai Lemon.
We will see early if the USC football team can hang in the Big Ten conference. They open against LSU and have games at Michigan and at home vs Penn State.
Brandon Haye
Brandon grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and works as a health insurance data analyst. He has no children, but two fur babies - Squirt and Brownie. He and his wife, Katie, spend their time playing poker and enjoying time with their pups. Brandon is a huge Michigan Wolverine and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He at one time was in 77 fantasy leagues and loves the game of football. Brandon started writing for The Leauge Winners in 2021.