Skip to main content
michigan logo

Michigan football picked to win Big Ten in 2023 Cleveland.com media poll

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•07/25/23•

CSayf23

Jim Harbaugh
(Photo by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Michigan Wolverines football has won the Big Ten each of the last two seasons, and head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s crew is the favorite to do so again, according to 37 voters who participated in the Cleveland.com media poll ahead of the 2023 campaign. U-M hasn’t won three straight Big Ten titles since 1990-92.

Twenty seven media members picked the Wolverines to win the conference championship, while eight chose Ohio State and two went with Penn State. Those three programs occupied all of the first-, second- and third-place votes in the East.

The Cleveland.com media poll has correctly picked the Big Ten champion three of the last 12 years. Last season, the pool of voters chose Ohio State as the unanimous champion. The Buckeyes finished second in the East Division, losing to Michigan in the last game of the regular season, 45-23.

RELATED
• All-American RB Blake Corum on ‘hungrier than ever’ Michigan team, ideal playing weight, Heisman Trophy
• Will Michigan have the nation’s best offensive line in 2023? A Joe Moore Award committee member weighs in

Since the poll began in 2011 (after the Big Ten did away with its own poll), this is the third time Michigan has been chosen as the Big Ten favorite, with 2012 and 2019 being the other occurrences. The Wolverines did not win the league either time.

Each voter chose the Big Ten East Division winner as the Big Ten champion. In the West, Wisconsin collected 20 first-place votes, totaling 233 points, while Iowa received 16 first-place tallies (232 points). Five teams received second-place votes in the West: Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Nebraska.

Michigan avoids playing Wisconsin and Iowa in cross-divisional games, while Ohio State will travel to play the Badgers and Penn State is scheduled to host Iowa. The Maize and Blue will also host Ohio State, likely giving voters more confidence that they’ll beat the Buckeyes.

Writers who participated in the poll voted 1 through 7 in both divisions, with first-place votes counting for seven points, second-pace tallies worth six points and so on.

Here are the full results:

2023 Cleveland.com Big Ten preseason media poll results

BIG TEN EAST
1. Michigan (27 first-place votes) 248
2. Ohio State (8) 226
3. Penn State (2) 192
4. Maryland 143
5. Michigan State 105
6. Rutgers 74
7. Indiana 48

BIG TEN WEST
1. Wisconsin (20 first-place votes) 233
2. Iowa (16) 232
3. Minnesota (1) 176
4. Illinois 152
5. Nebraska 116
6. Purdue 89
7. Northwestern 38

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREDICTIONS
Michigan over Wisconsin (15)
Michigan over Iowa (11)
Michigan Minnesota (1)
Ohio State over Iowa (4)
Ohio State over Wisconsin (4)
Penn State over Iowa (1)
Penn State over Wisconsin (1)

You may also like