Overrated/Underrated: Big-10 Edition

Continuing with my conference outlook following the release of the AP and Coaches polls. I figured why not take a closer look at Oregon’s future conference. This year the B1G has some really strong teams in its conference. Which will only be stronger with the additions of Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA.

Is this the year Jim Harbaugh finally puts it all together? The Wolverines are getting a lot of preseason love, which isn’t uncommon.

If you missed yesterday’s Pac-12 edition, you can view it here. Now let’s move onto the B1G.

AP Preseason Poll

Coaches Poll

Michigan: Overrated

AP Poll: 2

Coaches: 2

Death, taxes and Jim Harbaugh being overhyped to start the season. Here’s the catch though, Michigan doesn’t play anyone until the last three weeks of the season. So the likelihood they go undefeated through September and October is there. But they play @Penn State, @Maryland and Ohio State to finish the season. That stretch right there either keeps them in the top four or it doesn’t. Plain and simple.

Ohio State: Overrated

AP Poll: 3

Coaches: 4

I’ll say overrated, but not by much. One of the biggest criticisms under Ryan Day so far has been Ohio State’s physicality, particularly in the trenches. They have the athletes, but Oregon fans saw first-hand how the Ducks pushed them around in Columbus. By the end of October we will know what Ohio State is. A week 4 visit to Notre Dame then back to back games with Penn State and at Wisconsin to finish October. They might be counting on a win over Michigan to end the season to get back into the top ten, potentially.

Penn State: Underrated

AP Poll: 7

Coaches: 7

It pains me to call a James Franklin team underrated but here we are. The Nittany Lions quietly have a chance at sneaking past Michigan and tOSU because of schedule. Only three tough games this year, hosting Iowa in September, at Michigan in October, host Ohio State in November. They don’t have stacked games and 2 of your 3 toughest games are at home. If you could split the first two then even just play Michigan tough, you could end up right around 5 depending on how things fall.

Wisconsin: Underrated

AP Poll: 19

Coaches: 21

The Badgers made a move this offseason with the hire of Luke Fickell, one of the most coveted coaches in the past few cycles. He will bring toughness and discipline to Madison. And Wisconsin has the schedule to make a run. If you call a road game with Wazzu a tough game, that’s the only test until mid-October. Then they host Iowa and Ohio State in October. The Badgers should win 2 out of those 3 and then coast in November towards a top 10-ish ranking.

Iowa: Overrated

AP Poll: 25

Coaches: U/R

Iowa actually has a favorable schedule. They play Penn State on the road in September. So they’ll lose and have to claw back from there. By the time they might do that, they play Wisconsin in Madison in mid-October. If they somehow get back from that too, the next toughest game is probably finishing the season in Lincoln. I suppose a top 25 finish isn’t lofty expectations, I just don’t think Iowa will end up ranked when it’s all said and done.