So, I don't claim to be a particularly knowledgeable guy when it comes to football, but I like to think my gut feeling counts as much as the next guy's. Also the offseason is really long and boring, so here's my super early predictions for each team in the Big Ten.
We'll start at the bottom of the totem pole and work our way up, which means we're starting with Rutgers.
Rutgers
Head coach: Chris Ash (3rd year)
Key games: @ Ohio State, @ Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, @ Michigan State
Outlook: Here's the crazy thing: Rutgers has a decent shot of starting 5-1 this season. Their OOC slate is soft as butter, no Washington this year, just Buffalo, Texas State, and @Kansas. Add games against Indiana and Illinois and the only game in the first half of Rutger's season that looks a sure loss is Ohio State. The second half is where the wheels will surely fall off for Chris Ash's would-be feel-good story. Their last six games all look like probable or certain defeats, with only @ Maryland, Northwestern, and Michigan (Michigan has not always played well in Piscataway) being possible upsets for the Scarlet Knights.
Prediction: 4-8, no bowl game, Ash buys himself another year
Illinois
Head Coach: Lovie Smith (3rd year)
Key games: @ Rutgers (no, really), USF, Penn State, @ Wisconsin, Purdue, @ Nebraska
Outlook: I...really don't hold out much hope for Illinois. Lovie Smith has a great NFL pedigree, but he just hasn't shown much sign of making a splash in Champlain.
Prediction: 2-10, no bowl game.
Indiana
Head coach: Tom Allen (2nd year)
Key games: Michigan State, @ Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, @ Minnesota, @ Michigan
Outlook: Indiana opens the season for what seems like the seventeenth time on the road against my own FIU Panthers. Butch Davis has turned the Golden Panthers into a respectable Group of 5 team, so don't be surprised if the Hoosiers begin the season with an L. Virginia and Ball State aren't exactly a murderer's row, expect Indiana to win at least one of those games. While they dodge Wisconsin and Nebraska, their cross-division trip to Minnesota and game against Iowa aren't exactly cakewalks. I think Indiana will get exactly one upset against one of the big dogs.
Prediction: 3-9, no bowl game
Purdue Boilermakers
Head coach: Jeff Brohm (2nd year)
Key games: Northwestern, @ Nebraska, Ohio State, @ Michigan State, Iowa, @ Minnesota, Wisconsin
Outlook: Brohm is turning the Boilermakers around from sadsacks to smokestacks. I fully expect them to make a bowl game again despite their schedule being as tough as it is. The reason why is that their OOC schedule is fairly winnable with 3 home games against Eastern Michigan, Missouri, and Boston College. Expect Brohm to win 3 or even 4 of the key games listed above.
Prediction: 7-5, and they win their bowl game
Minnesota Gophers
Head coach: PJ Fleck (2nd year)
Key games: @ Ohio State, @ Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, @ Wisconsin
Outlook: Boats will be rowed. I expect PJ Fleck to build Minnesota into a team capable of playing just about anyone tough. The Gophers' OOC schedule is winnable, all home games against Group of 5 teams in Fresno State, New Mexico State, and Miami (OH). They also avoid playing any of the tough B1G East teams with the exception of Ohio State. While I don't think this is the year that Fleck takes back the axe for Minnesota and finally beats Wisconsin, I think this will go down as the year when Fleck finally got the boat rowing.
Prediction: 7-5, they win their bowl game
Maryland Terrapins
Head coach: DJ Durkin (3rd year) (sensing a pattern yet?)
Key games: Texas, Temple, Minnesota, @ Michigan, @ Iowa, MSU, Ohio State, @ PSU
Outlook: I'm going to take a leap and say this is the year Maryland starts putting it all together and starts to reap the rewards of a few years of solid recruiting, lots of Underarmor money, and a good coach in Durkin. They'll still lose to Ohio State, but it won't be by 5+ touchdowns. They'll also lose a revenge game to Tom Herman's Longhorns, but outside that, expect them to be competitive.
Prediction: 6-6, lose their bowl game but look decent in the process
Iowa Hawkeyes
Head coach: Kirk Ferentz (48th year)
Key games: Iowa State, Wisconsin, @ Minnesota, @ Penn State, Northwestern, Nebraska
Outlook: Iowa's schedule is frontloaded. They actually begin conference play against rivals Wisconsin, which means we'll know fairly early on in the season who the frontrunner in the West will be. I don't expect Iowa to be great, I don't expect them to be bad. I expect them to be Iowa.
Prediction: 7-5, they lose their bowl game.
Northwestern Wildcats
Head coach: Pat Fitzgerald (13th year)
Key games: @ Purdue, Michigan, @ MSU, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, @ Iowa, @ Minnesota, Nebraska
Outlook: Northwestern is a weird team under Fitzgerald, never quite elite or terrible, but often ranging between mediocre and pretty darn good depending on the season. Their schedule looks like a murderer's row this season, starting with a trip to West Lafayette. Of their key games, I expect they'll win maybe 3 of them, and with an OOC schedule that includes Duke and Notre Dame that may not be enough to get bowl elligible.
Prediction: 5-7, no bowl game.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Head coach: Scott Frost (1st year)
Key games: Colorado, @ Michigan, @ Wisconsin, @ Northwestern, @ Ohio State, MSU, @ Iowa
Outlook: Those are some tough road games. Nebraska is probably the most intriguing team in the Big Ten in 2018 thanks to new hire Scott Frost, who some believe won a national championship last season with his undefeated UCF team. I don't think Frost can completely turn around Mike Riley's mess of a team in one season, particularly against such a tough schedule, but expect them to compete in most games and get at least one signature upset (here's to them upsetting Michigan in Ann Arbor).
Prediction: 7-5, win their bowl game
Michigan Wolverines
Head coach: Jim Harbaugh (4th year)
Key games: @ Notre Dame, Nebraska, @ Northwestern, Wisconsin, @ MSU, Penn State, @ Ohio State
Outlook: I wrote a thread a while back where I said Michigan has a chance to go 5-7 in 2018 due to their tough schedule. I don't actually see them doing that poorly however. I do see them losing at least one game they shouldn't, and I see them losing to Ohio State and Michigan State again.
Prediction: 8-4, lose their bowl game, Harbaugh on the not-quite-hot-but-kind-of-hot seat
Michigan State Spartans
Head coach: Mark Dantonio??
Key games: @ Arizona State, @ Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, @ Nebraska
Outlook: With the recent scandal engulfing Michigan State, it's far from a sure thing that Dantonio will be scowling on the Spartans' sideline in 2018. It's hard therefore to give any kind of prognostication on the Spartans' outlook next season. If Dantonio stays, expect more of the same: a solid, at times elite team that can play any team (except one coached by Saban) tough but falls short of absolute glory. If Dantonio is gone, all bets are off. I don't see MSU being a sexy enough destination for any high quality coach, at least none that are currently available.
Prediction: 9-3 if Dantonio is still coach, ?? otherwise
Penn State Nitanny Lions
Head coach: James Franklin (5th year)
Key games: @ Pitt, Ohio State, Michigan State, @ Michigan, Wisconsin
Outlook: While they've lost runningback Saquon Barkley and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, Penn State returns one of the best Big Ten quarterbacks in Trace McSorley. Additonally, their OOC schedule is once again soft (Pitt being the only real challenge) and they get most of their toughest games in Happy Valley, the exception being Michigan. I believe the Big Ten East title will come down to the game with Ohio State once again.
Prediction: 10-2, no Big Ten title, but a NY6 bowl game win
Wisconsin Badgers
Head coach: Paul Chryst (4th year)
Key games: @ Iowa, Nebraska, @ Michigan, @ Northwestern, @ Penn State, Minnesota
Outlook: The Badgers are returning essentially their entire offensive line plus their starting quarterback and one of the best returning runningbacks in the nation in Jonathan Taylor, and their defense should be nasty once again. Even so, their schedule is no joke, and I don't see the Badgers ending the regular season 12-0 again.
Prediction: 10-2, Big Ten title game appearance, lose to whoever wins the East, win their bowl game
Ohio State Buckeyes
Head Coach: Urban Meyer (7th year)
Key games: @ TCU, @ Penn State, Nebraska, @ MSU, Michigan
Outlook: I think we all know more or less what our team's strengths and weaknesses are going into next season. While we can't be sure who the quarterback will be, odds are whoever Meyer decides on will be excellent. Runningback is also not a concern, nor is the defensive line (for now). Where our trouble may lie is in the linebackers, the O-line, and the secondary. The last is the greatest concern with the unfortunate departure of Kerry Coombs. Expect to lose at least one game this season, possibly two, but certainly no more than that.
Prediction: 11-1, Big Ten title game, playoff berth
