Phil Steele reveals preseason 2023 Big Ten power ratings

In 2022, the Big Ten sent two teams to the College Football Playoff, with both Ohio State and Michigan losing in the semifinal round. In 2023, the conference is looking to have similar success getting teams to the Playoff but will be seeking its first national championship since the Buckeyes won it all in 2014.

Ahead of the season, college football expert Phil Steele releases an extensive preview magazine for the upcoming year. That includes ranking the teams in each conference.

Here is Phil Steele’s Big Ten power rankings ahead of the 2023 season:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes have now lost to Michigan two seasons in a row, leading to a certain amount of anxiety in Columbus. At the same time, Ohio State has otherwise dominated the Big Ten conference, going 31-2 in conference play under head coach Ryan Day since he took over.

One of the most talented teams in all of college football, Ohio State is expected to threaten to win the Big Ten annually. However, the Buckeyes are going to need to do so with a new quarterback throwing to stud wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. after CJ Stroud was drafted in the first round.

2. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan got over the hump in 2021, beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten. Then, the Wolverines followed that up with another great season in 2022. However, in both seasons, Michigan came up short in the College Football Playoff.

In 2023, Michigan will once again be looking to get over a hump, this time in the Playoff. Assuming quarterback JJ McCarthy takes a step forward, the Wolverines are in a great position to do exactly that.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

After winning the Rose Bowl in 2022, Penn State is a popular pick to take a leap forward and compete for the Big Ten crown. That’s largely because of all the young talent that the Nittany Lions are going to be relying on moving forward. That includes players like Nicholas Singleton and linebacker Abdul Carter who already proved themselves as freshmen.

However, more important to Penn State’s success in 2023 is going to come down to quarterback Drew Allar. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Allar was a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, making him one of Penn State’s most exciting quarterback prospects in recent memory.

4. Wisconsin Badgers

Despite going just 7-6 in 2022 and firing head coach Paul Chryst, Steele has high expectations for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2023. Steele even expects the Badgers to be the top team in the Big Ten West ahead of the season.

That’s likely because Wisconsin was able to hire Luke Fickell, who is widely viewed as one of the best young coaches in the game. While coaching Cincinnati in the AAC, he led the Bearcats to the Playoff and has Big Ten experience dating back to his time with Ohio State. With help from the transfer portal, he’s looking to explode on the scene in Madison.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa is one of the most interesting teams in the Big Ten going into the 2023 season. After struggling for the past few seasons on offense, there are new standards for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz to meet this season, which includes averaging 25 points per game or losing his job, though defensive scores do count toward that number.

Along with a couple of high-profile transfers, the pressure on the Iowa offense to finally produce and help out the defense should make the Hawkeyes intriguing if nothing else.

6. Illinois Fighting Illini

In his second season at Illinois, head coach Bret Bielema surprised some people by going 8-5 and finishing second in the Big Ten West. At one point, Illinois was even ranked as high as 16th in the country, before a 1-4 finish to the season.

Now, the trick is whether Illinois can keep up this level of success moving forward or if the 2022 season was a flash in the pan.

7. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Since head coach PJ Fleck took over at Minnesota in 2017, the Golden Gophers have been a steadily tough team to play against, going to and winning four bowl games. The only two years he didn’t make a bowl were his first and then the pandemic shortened season.

In 2023, Minnesota will once again be a tough out and likely be heading to a bowl game out of a tough Big Ten conference.

8. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland continually suffers from the traditional problem of playing in the Big Ten East, where the Terrapins run into several of the conference’s powerhouses like Ohio State and Michigan. Still, this is a talented team that

Mike Locksley has done a good job accumulating talent at Maryland and that’s shown as the team’s record has improved since he’s gotten into the program. Now, the Terrapins are looking to take a leap forward in his fifth season as head coach.

9. Michigan State Spartans

Under head coach Mel Tucker, Michigan State has had an incredibly good season, going 11-2 and winning the Peach Bowl. However, the Spartans have also posted losing records twice. In hindsight, it seems like much of his success was a quick fix thanks to the transfer portal.

However, the portal took away from the Spartans in 2023, with Michigan State losing its starting quarterback, Payton Thorne, and star wide receiver, Keon Coleman, to the portal.

10. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Phil Steele isn’t nearly as high on Nebraska as he is on Wisconsin, despite both being Big Ten West schools who are moving onto a first-year head coach. In no small part, that’s because Nebraska looks like the bigger rebuild after the disastrous Scott Frost era. So, even though Matt Rhule has said all the right things, this won’t be an easy turnaround.

At the same time, this season will likely be forgiven by Cornhuskers fans as Rhule looks to right the ship in Lincoln. Signs of growth and progress would be a good year.

11. Purdue Boilermakers

Yet another Big Ten West team with a new head coach is Purdue. However, the Boilermakers didn’t fire their head coach. Instead, Jeff Brohm left for Louisville.

To replace Brohm, Purdue hired Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters. Despite this, Steele clearly isn’t high on Purdue and expects the team to be towards the bottom of the Big Ten conference in 2023.

12. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana is one of the hardest jobs in the Big Ten. Stuck in the Big Ten East in a state where the Hoosiers are overshadowed in football by Notre Dame, it’s difficult to consistently put a team talented enough to compete with the likes of Ohio State on the field annually.

Head coach Tom Allen flashed the ability to win at Indiana, but after posting two straight losing seasons, things don’t look great for the Hoosiers.

13. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It has been a difficult first decade in the Big Ten for Rutgers, as the team has consistently been ranked lowly among the conference members. However, they have been some signs of improvement under head coach Greg Schiano.

At the same time, Schiano still doesn’t have a team that’s likely to compete anytime soon.

14. Northwestern Wildcats

Over the past two seasons, Northwestern has gone just 2-16 in Big Ten play. Take out the pandemic season, and the Wildcats have gone just 3-24 in the last three full length seasons. Now, head coach Pat Fitzgerald has been suspended following a hazing scandal with more punishment possibly coming.

No matter what happens next for Northwestern, it’s hard to argue that this season is shaping up like a success.