Hoosier Huddle’s 2024 Pre-Spring Big Ten Power Rankings
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Written by Evan Alvarez
The college football landscape has just experienced one of the biggest changes in its history. 12-team playoffs, the disbanding of the historic Pac-12, and significant realignment to create two brand new super conferences in the Big Ten and SEC. In large part, I believe this realignment helps Indiana, as the new ‘Super Big Ten’ will bring significant revenue sharing dollars to the program – and this new landscape seems to have spurred the Indiana administration to commit more dollars to Indiana Football as well. The old adage of “you gotta spend money to make money” is coming to fruition for IU. The program, the administration, and all of its fans hope it pays off.
Entering the first season of this new era, Indiana has high hopes to compete and start off on a strong note to show the new entrants and existing foes that IU means business. Speaking of new entrants, they include the following schools: Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC. Get your airline rewards programs ready, because we’ll be racking up the miles westbound over the next several years.
Similar to Indiana, these programs are looking to make a splash in the first year of the new Big Ten, but how will it all shake out? The Hoosier Huddle staff hoped to answer that question. Below you’ll find a weighted power ranking of how we believe the Big Ten will finish after the 2024 season ends, along with some blurbs on what to expect from each program. Without further ado, let’s get into it:
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (Weighted Rank of 1.2)
The Buckeyes were ranked as the #1 team amongst our entire staff except one brave contributor (we’ll get to that later). One of our contributors, TJ Inman, cited the following concerning Ohio State: “The Buckeyes return a ton of guys that could have gone pro plus added a lot in the portal. Caleb Downs is outstanding and Will Howard should be a good fit if they just choose to line up and bludgeon teams. I’m not sure the offensive line is elite but they should be highly motivated and ready to return to the top.”
2. Oregon Ducks (Weighted Rank of 2)
Now for that one brave contributor who ranked the Ducks as #1. Sammy Jacobs believes in Oregon because “…they have a great foundation to build on and bring in a good transfer class.” Oregon retained their superstar head coach from the hands of Alabama and added in similarly superstar transfers (notably Matthew Bedford from our very own Indiana O-line along with veteran star Dillon Gabriel at QB to replace the outstanding Bo Nix).
3. Michigan Wolverines (Weighted Rank of 3.6)
Michigan is in an interesting spot. Fresh off a National Championship, they lose star QB J.J. McCarthy along with Head Coach Jim Harbaugh – both to the NFL. However, as our ranking suggests, we believe this won’t deter them much. Michigan boasts a phenomenal recruiting class, a strong and well-funded NIL pool, and maintains a winning culture year over year by promoting Offensive Coordinator Sherrone Moore to Head Coach. They aren’t going anywhere, folks.
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (Weighted Rank of 3.8)
There are not many teams that benefit more from conference realignment than Penn State. Regularly falling short behind Ohio State and Michigan in the standings, realignment now gives Penn State a chance to avoid the gauntlet that is those two teams. Staff contributor Alex Compton says, “I’m higher on Penn State than most…I think lots of people are projecting [Penn State] to take a step back, but I think [Penn State] is ‘next up’ behind OSU and Oregon this year. With an expanded playoff, 10 wins and a berth [for Penn State] is in play to me.”
5. USC Trojans (Weighted Rank of 4.8)
Another newcomer to the Big Ten, USC brings a wealth of history and success to an already historic and successful conference. They may be the team I am personally most excited to see in Big Ten action this season and beyond. Losing a star like Caleb Williams to the draft certainly isn’t the best place to start, but USC has done everything they can to replace him through both a strong recruiting class and excellent transfer class. Lincoln Riley always gets the most out of his offense and while there might be a QB battle in Los Angeles, expect the Trojans to enter Big Ten play blazing hot. Staff writer Alex Compton grouped both Penn State and USC together as teams to watch, citing similarly strong foundations and blue-chip talent for both programs. He expects both teams to “be in play” for the playoff.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes (Weighted Rank of 7.8)
As the first former Big Ten West team to show up in these rankings, Iowa has something to prove. They want to show that they can win against the big boys vs. simply beating up on the Big Ten West, and they may have the personnel to do just that. Staff writer TJ Inman “[likes] Iowa more than most because of their schedule” as they really only have one major test at Ohio State with the remaining games being very winnable.
On the flip side, contributor Alex Compton picks Iowa as one of his teams to disappoint, citing lackluster offense and a disagreement on their strength of schedule vs. TJ given that the floor of competition is higher than ever: “You know the story on offense, and it’s honestly remarkable they have been able to be consistently solid this decade. Cade McNamara returns from injury at QB and the defense should be as good as ever, but without playing against some of the bottom dwellers of the Big Ten for a large chunk of the schedule this season, they will really have to improve on offense to maintain their level of success. The hire of Tim Lester at OC has many Hawkeye fans on edge already, but we’ll see how that plays out. A competent offense could really change things for Iowa this year, but with a tougher league schedule than normal, they’ll have to take a decent jump on O to win 8+ games.”
7. Washington Huskies (Weighted Rank of 8)
Ah, Washington. The team countless Indiana fans were rooting for amidst their championship run led by former Hoosier Michael Penix Jr. in a season that ended as the National Championship Runner-Ups and one of the best seasons in program history. Despite this, Washington lost more than anyone might have expected. Former Head Coach (and former Indiana OC) Kalen DeBoer is now the Head Coach at Alabama and seemingly every skill position and O-line player is either off to the NFL or transferred to another school. TJ Inman sums it up perfectly: “The Huskies lost an immense amount of talent and depth and have not replaced even a fraction of it. I like Jedd Fisch but the schedule is tough and it’s basically a complete start-over in Seattle.”
8. Wisconsin Badgers (Weighted Rank of 8.6)
Hoosier Huddle staff contributor Nate Comp marked the Badgers down as a team that will surprise people, citing that, “[it’s] time to get things rolling under Fickell in year 2.” Fickell is no doubt a fantastic coach and Wisconsin did an excellent job at recruiting this year, ranking 25th overall per 247 Sports Composite Ranking, but faces an immensely difficult schedule. The badgers face off against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, USC in LA, Penn State at home, Iowa in Iowa City, Oregon at home, and Nebraska in Lincoln. WOW! There is talent on this team and Fickell’s culture will continue to grow. If they can get past this beefy schedule, the future will be extremely bright in Madison.
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Weighted Rank of 9.6)
Like Wisconsin, another one of our contributors likes the ‘year-2 jump’, as Sammy Jacobs believes, “…Nebraska has a chance to surprise [due to] year 2 under Rhule and bringing in Raiola.” There is certainly optimism in Lincoln, as the Huskers boast the 23rd best recruiting class per 247 Sports Composite Rankings, led by none other than the #7 recruit in the country per 247 Sports – Dylan Raiola. Raiola comes from a family of Huskers and NFL talent (his dad, Dominic Raiola, went to Nebraska and played in the NFL on the Lions with Dylan’s godfather, Matthew Stafford). There will no doubt be extremely high expectations put on Dylan and this program. Is this the new era of Nebraska football? Will they return to their former greatness? Time will tell.
T-10) Indiana Hoosiers (Weighted Rank of 11)
“I don’t take a backseat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now!”
“Purdue sucks!”
“But so does Michigan and Ohio State!”
New Head Coach Curt Cignetti’s iconic quotes from a few months ago has fans jumping. Has there ever been more excitement for the Indiana University football program? Maybe, the post-COVID year had high expectations. The high-flying teams under Kevin Wilson had NFL talent and were fun to watch. There are other exciting and good years historically to look back on beyond those too, the above is just recent memory, but this feels…different. There’s money behind this program now, significant money, and the schedules will play to the Hoosiers’ favor more than ever before. Indiana has the 25th best transfer class per 247 Sports Composite Rankings, one of the best QB recruits they’ve ever gotten in Tyler Cherry, and a WR room that would make almost any team in the country blush. There’s something building here in Bloomington. Don’t be surprised if this team starts out hot and makes a bowl – times are changing for the Hoosiers!
T-10) Maryland Terrapins (Weighted Rank of 11)
Maryland was the most common team picked to disappoint among our writers. Both myself and Sammy Jacobs are not as confident in Maryland this year, as Sammy mentions, “they lose a ton of talent.” One gigantic talent they lose is star QB Taulia Tagovailoa. It’s concerning when any team loses a 3-year starter who broke program records and brought the team to new heights. What’s next for this program? Their overall recruiting class ranks 49th in the country per 247 Sports Composite Rankings and questions remain at QB as to who can fill Taulia’s shoes. Couple that with a tough schedule (USC, @Oregon, Iowa, @PSU) and they fall in the bottom half of our rankings.
12) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Weighted Rank of 11.2)
Rutgers has surprised many fans over the last several years. Since hiring Greg Schiano, they’ve managed one winning record in 4 years (last year), but they’ve played harder and tougher than anyone could have expected. Always giving teams a battle in the extremely difficult Big Ten East, Rutgers has earned respect and turned it into a winning season (and Pinstripe Bowl victory) during the 2023 season. Schiano-ball seems to be working, as they were both mine and TJ Inman’s picks to surprise in 2024. TJ sums up the Scarlet Knights with his analysis: “I’ll go with Rutgers, mainly because of an established identity and the schedule. Rutgers avoids Oregon, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn state. They get UCLA, Washington, Minnesota and Illinois at home. There’s a real chance they win 8 games.”
13) Michigan State Spartans (Weighted Rank of 12.4)
Maybe the team with the most question marks in the entire Big Ten, Michigan State comes into 2024 after back to back losing seasons and the hiring of a new coach, Jonathan Smith from Oregon State University. Coach Smith brings with him top QB prospect Aidan Chiles from Corvallis to East Lansing, who projects to be the starter at QB. This is a new era of Michigan State football, one that may take a few years to build. Chiles is an x-factor, however, and could easily shrink this timeline to success by 1-2 years with strong play right out of the gate – he certainly has the talent to do so. This will be a team to watch in 2024 and might be the team that possesses the widest range of ceiling to floor among any team in the Big Ten. Their schedule isn’t the toughest, so if things click right away anything can happen, but we’ve also seen how hard it is for a first-year head coach with a young QB to win right away.
14) Illinois Fighting Illini (Weighted Rank of 14)
The Illini broke Hoosier fans’ hearts last season with an overtime win to get one win away from bowl eligibility, but fell short after losing the final two games of the season by a combined total of 4 points. As Hoosier fans’ hearts were broken, Illini fans’ hearts ended up being broken as well. So is the ups and downs of a college football season. Regardless, Bret Bielema has done a good job with this Illinois program, nabbing seasons of 5 wins, 8 wins, and 5 wins over the three years he’s been at the helm. He’s produced elite NFL talent and always seems to keep the program competitive. However, conference realignment definitely hurts Illinois. Though they return a significant amount of veterans to the lineup, the jump up from a Big Ten West schedule to a “gauntlet schedule” that many of the Big Ten East teams typically face might be a wake up call for the Illini program.
15) UCLA Bruins (Weighted Rank of 14.2)
The final new entrant to the Big Ten, UCLA, is coming off a 6-year stint with Chip Kelly at Head Coach, who is now the offensive coordinator for Ohio State. UCLA started the Chip Kelly era a bit rocky, but finished with three straight winning seasons, two bowl appearances, and one bowl win. They were ranked as high as 9th during his tenure and now face a new challenge entering the Big Ten ‘Super Conference’ in 2024. At the helm now is UCLA alum and former UCLA RB coach DeShaun Foster, who made a major splash recently with the hiring of Eric Bieniemy, another former RB coach at UCLA (2003 – 2005). Bieniemy was more notably a wildly successful offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and, coupled with the energy a first-year head coach brings in Foster, instantly makes UCLA an extremely intriguing team to watch as the program grows. Despite this energy, optimism, and splash of a hire, staff contributor Nate Comp isn’t sold, citing some real issues for the program: “UCLA [has] no NIL, [their] HC left for an OC job at a conference opponent, [they are] not ready for Big Ten football.” Given these factors, they land near the bottom of our rankings.
16) Minnesota Golden Gophers (Weighted Rank of 14.8)
Minnesota’s 2024 recruiting class is currently top-40 in the nation, ranking 39th per 247 Sports Composite Rankings, as they look to roll on the momentum of three consecutive bowl wins entering this season. Like most former Big Ten West teams, however, things get much harder moving forward. Minnesota’s 2024 schedule includes a non-conference game against UNC at home, followed by a slew of difficult teams like Iowa, Michigan, USC, Penn State, Wisconsin, along with games @Illinois and @Rutgers. These very easily could be 8 losses if things slip away. There is upside, however, as Minnesota brought in transfer QB Max Brosmer from the University of New Hampshire, who led the FCS in passing yards per game and total offense per game last year. We’ve seen the impact QB’s like Brosmer can have on a program – look no further than Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed, who saw similar success in the FCS, led college football in passing for WKU the following year, and carved up the Hoosiers for 329 yards in a narrow IU overtime victory in 2022. WKU finished the year 9-5 with a bowl win – who’s to say Brosmer and Minnesota can’t do the same?
17) Northwestern Wildcats (Weighted Rank of 15.4)
Our very own Sammy Jacobs picked the Wildcats to finish last because, “they lose a lot [of players] and their schedule gets more difficult in 2024.” Sammy is correct, as Northwestern’s schedule includes games against Duke, Washington, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and @Maryland. Though they lost QB Ben Bryant to the draft and questions remain on his replacement, new head coach David Braun did a fantastic job turning around the program to gain 7 wins year over year, capped off with a Las Vegas Bowl win to end the 2023 season. This success earned Braun Big Ten Coach of the Year honors along with the Paul “Bear” Bryant Newcomer Coach of the Year Award. He will undoubtedly look to build upon this success, but the road is rockier than it has ever been for the former Big Ten West Wildcats. Northwestern has their work cut out for them, but also has one of the best coaches around to navigate that rocky road with ease.
18) Purdue Boilermakers (Weighted Rank of 17.6)
Ryan Walters had a tough first year as Purdue’s head coach, finishing with a record of 4-8 as he looks to build the program. Though they boast a strong 2024 recruiting class, ranked 32nd in the country per 247 Sports Composite Rankings, and have one of the best up and coming DB’s in the country in Dillon Thieneman, there are some holes to fill. Columnist TJ Inman evaluates Purdue as such: “The Boilermakers lost key pieces to the portal in Scourton and Burks. Their offense is suspect beyond Hudson Card and the defense is average. The schedule is very difficult with ND and Oregon State in non-conference play and then Oregon, OSU, Penn State and at Wisconsin plus toss up games mostly on the road.” Additionally, we received thoughts from another columnist, Alex Compton, who said, “…Hudson Card is back for his final year which should stabilize things a bit, but after losing their standout edges, things will be tougher. They lost eight players via transfer to Power Four schools (with a list of others as well - like all schools) including two of their best weapons on offense in Deion Burks (Oklahoma) and Garrett Miller (Texas A&M). Former five-star CB Nyland Green from Georgia headlines their incoming transfer class - one that really needs to step up for the Boilers in 2024.”