Urban Meyer has touted the strength of the Big Ten East many times this year, considering it to be one of the toughest divisions in college football.
It took until the final week of the 2015 season to decide who between Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State would represent that half of the conference in the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 5.
When the dust settled, it was Mark Dantonio's Spartans who took care of business against Penn State Nov. 28 to punch their ticket to Indianapolis and take on Iowa. They defeated the Hawkeyes, 16-13, on the heels of an incredible 22-play, 82-yard drive that lasted more than nine minutes and ended with an L.J. Scott touchdown run with 27 ticks left.
Scott and Dantonio are set to return next season in East Lansing, but the Spartans—like Ohio State—are about to lose a wealth of talent following their run in the College Football Playoff.
"Michigan State, that's the top of our conference," Meyer said the Wednesday before the Spartans topped the Buckeyes, 17-14, at Ohio Stadium.
Here's a way too early look at the Big Ten East (teams in alphabetical order) for next season, where everyone is chasing the green and white.
INDIANA
The Hoosiers finished 2015 fifth in the East standings at 2-6 in conference play and 6-6 overall. Kevin Wilson's club defeated Big Ten foes Maryland and Purdue this season, but also lost to Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa each by one possession.
Indiana is set to play Duke in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl Dec. 26, the final game for program stalwarts Nate Sudfield, Jason Spriggs and Nick Mangieri. It is the first postseason action for the Hoosiers since a 49-33 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2007 Insight Bowl.
Running back Jordan Howard, a junior, could also elect to leave college a year early for the NFL Draft. He rushed for more than 1,200 yards and scored nine touchdowns in 2015, his first season in Bloomington following a transfer from UAB. Howard tallied those totals in just nine games as he dealt with an ankle injury.
If Howard returns, though, he'll team up with quarterback Zander Diamont and wide receivers Simmie Cobbs Jr. and Ricky Jones to form a formidable offensive attack — one that pushed Ohio State and others to the brink this year. Defensively, though, is what will define Indiana's season. It always does.
MARYLAND
Maryland fired Randy Edsall after the Terrapins lost, 49-28, at Ohio Stadium Oct. 10. The school hired former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin Dec. 2, to resurrect a program that's struggled in its first two years as a Big Ten member: Maryland finished tied for last in the division this season at 1-7 in Big Ten play and went 3-9 overall.
Durkin is a breath of fresh air on the east coast, but he must do better to keep the talent out there home to give the program a shot at competing for conference titles in the future. Quarterbacks Caleb Rowe and Perry Hills should return to offer the team some considerable playing experience, but simply must be better if Maryland wants to improve in 2016.
The loss of defensive back and Big Ten Returner of the Year Will Likely—who is likely to turn pro after a stellar junior season—will loom large.
MICHIGAN
Jim Harbaugh's first season in Ann Arbor offered a glimpse at why the Wolverines brought their former quarterback home to be head coach. Michigan finished third in the East at 6-2 in conference play and 9-3 overall and is set to take on Florida in the Citrus Bowl New Year's Day.
A freak play against Michigan State and drubbing by Ohio State kept Michigan out of the Big Ten title game, but Harbaugh's revitalization and good vibes surrounding the program moved through a fanbase itching for their team to get back to its winning ways of old.
The loss to Ohio State showed how far Michigan still has to climb to truly get back in the discussion atop the Big Ten, but Harbaugh clearly is a presence that isn't go away anytime soon. The losses of quarterback Jake Rudock and other key senior contributors will leave big holes, but the return of tight end Jake Butt will help immensely in 2016.
MICHIGAN STATE
The 2015 Big Ten champions take on Alabama in the Cotton Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff New Year's Eve. Mark Dantonio has all but perfected the "we don't get respect" as a motivational tactic for his program, as the Spartans eked out victories over Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa to win the conference.
The look of a man on top of the Big Ten.
However, the Spartan depth chart is set to take some huge hits next season. Quarterback Connor Cook, wide receivers Macgarrett Kings and Aaron Burbridge, center Jack Allen and stud defensive end Shilique Calhoun are all seniors. Linebacker Ed Davis should return from a major knee injury, but Dantonio's team will lose a boatload of starts and victories whenever their season ends this winter.
Who fills those holes? Time will tell, but if Michigan State truly wants to earn national respect, it'll have to reload for another run at Big Ten supremacy—not rebuild—in 2016.
OHIO STATE
The same could be said about Urban Meyer's team in 2016. After winning it all in 2014, the Buckeyes had one of the most talented teams in the country this season. However, it didn't yield a conference championship following the loss to Michigan State.
Ohio State still finished 11-1 and 7-1 in conference play, however, and is set to play Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl New Year's Day. A terrific senior class consisting of Taylor Decker, Joshua Perry, Braxton Miller and many others will soon be gone. Steady underclassmen contributors like Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell and more are likely to turn pro after this season.
A complete roster turnover is heading down the pipe at Meyer. With road games at Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State, 2016 will be interesting for the Buckeyes.
PENN STATE
James Franklin and the Nittany Lions finished 4-4 in conference and 7-5 overall in 2015. A date with Georgia in the Taxslayer Bowl Jan. 2 awaits a team that won only increased its regular season win total by one from a year ago in Franklin's second year in Happy Valley.
Top defenders Carl Nassib and Anthony Zettel won't be around in 2016, and quarterback Christian Hackenberg will probably leave early after enduring three seasons behind porous offensive lines and constant offensive coaching turnover.
What's left at Penn State? Franklin has a top-10 recruiting class coming and a budding star at running back with true freshman Saquon Barkley. Improvement in Year 3 is a must.
RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights had a season to forget in 2015. First former coach Kyle Flood tries to amend the grade of a player and serves a three-game suspension. Then star receiver Leonte Carroo was involved in an altercation outside High Points Solutions Stadium following a game and a slew of other players were involved in an on-campus burglary.
Ash is up next at Rutgers.
The end result was a 4-8 season and 1-7 Big Ten record. The solution? Flood is gone, along with athletic director Julie Hermann. Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and safeties Chris Ash is the team's next head coach, bringing a fresh face to a middling program that struggled in its first two Big Ten seasons.
Ash should help push it back to respectability, but first will need to keep some of that eastern talent home if he wishes to compete with the big boys. He'll get his first chance early in 2016, as Rutgers is set to visit Ohio State Oct. 1. A week after hosting Iowa.
The division looks to be top-heavy again, but with some unknowns among the heavyweights of Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan as a result of those teams set to lose a bevy of starters.
How will the new coaches at Maryland and Rutgers do in their first seasons as bosses? Will James Franklin finally win some big games? How long does Kevin Wilson last at Indiana?
We'll see.
