Ten Things about the B1G Ten Ahead of the 2024 Season

We are so close to the start of the college football season. And Oregon enters unfamiliar territory. A new conference full of unique challenges every week. Sprinkled in with a few familiar ones.

We talk a lot about Oregon. After all, we are an Oregon site. But I figured we should take a look at a few things about our new conference ahead of the start of the season. These are just some musings or predictions on some of the various teams. Of course not every team will be included because there are more than 10 teams in the B1G.

1. USC is an absolute wild card this season. They absolutely could be no worse on defense making wholesale changes on that side of the ball. Lincoln Riley lost a generational quarterback which only led them to an 8-5 season. They have holes along the line of scrimmage and questionable depth across the board. They lost to Cal and UCLA last year who wasn’t very good. This year they play LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame and others. Riley caught heat for winning 8 games, what will happen if he wins 6 or 7?
2. Wisconsin might be one team to watch out for this season. Luke Fickell is now in year two as the head coach there after a 7-win season last year. They play Bama, Oregon and Penn State for the tougher games this season. They also have USC in Los Angeles at the end of September which might be a great measuring stick for both teams there. Something tells me Wisconsin will be that tough play you might not expect late in the game.
3. Michigan won’t be as good this season. I mean obviously if you don’t win a national championship, you aren’t going to be as good. But the true measurement I’m talking about is going from 15-0 to not making the playoffs. I think they’ll give Oregon a game, I think they’ll make it tough on Ohio State too. But Ryan Day will get the monkey off his back finally with a win over the Wolverines this season. There’s an argument to be made, Michigan might be 3-2 through September with tough losses to Texas and possibly USC. They might sweep October at 4-0 but then finish 2-2 in November with Oregon and Ohio State losses. 9-4 isn’t bad, but it’s certainly a step down from the 15-0 mark.
4. Minnesota finds themselves at a crossroads. Not long ago everyone was rowing boats and then they got put out to sea with a 6-7 record in 2023. And some bad losses too, like North Carolina, Northwestern, Illinois, just to name a few. They have 4 ranked opponents this year but escape playing Ohio State. Can Fleck improve on that record in ’24? Is 7 wins much better? It will be an interesting watch this year to see what happens in Minny.
5. Penn State is one of my least favorite programs because I really don’t like James Franklin all that much. I get Jimbo Fisher, Lincoln Riley vibes. Beats the teams he SHOULD beat, but never really beats good competition and continues to get praise for doing so. Starting as the No. 8 ranked team, Franklin should get them to 5-0 easily. Anything less is a disappointment in my opinion. Then USC, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Washington all have a shot to make it 5-4. Assuming no slip ups, Penn State will likely finish the season in mid-level bowl game and around 10 wins which will be enough to keep the heat off Franklin.
6. Purdue hired Ryan Walters last year to turn the program around. But unfortunately that resulted in a 4-8 record. His first game was a tough loss to Fresno State and they only played 3 ranked opponents all year. His 2024 class brought in 27 prep commitments and 18 transfers for the No. 30 ranked class in the country. They have 4 ranked opponents this year but the team has more talent. Ironically enough, they play Oregon State the week after Oregon. Walters should win more than 4 games this season, but it’s going to be tough to get above 6 or 7 wins in year two.
7. Iowa is the most boring 10-win team in the country. And that is not debatable. The last two games of the season vs Michigan and Tennessee (Citrus bowl) they lost by a combined score of 61-0. Cade McNamara will be an upgrade at quarterback and Tim Lester replaces Brian Ferentz at OC after Kirk Ferentz fired him. The Hawkeyes should get to 10 wins again and should be better offensively. They finish the season with Nebraska at home which could be a big game for both.
8. Washington is going to be much, much different this season. Michigan lost a ton of talent from last year’s natty squad, Washington lost more. Including a downgrade at head coach and both coordinators. I know we all love to hate on the Huskies but they have 5 ranked opponents on the schedule. And 3 of those are on the road. Who are we cheering for Nov. 2? UW or USC? Tough choice and could be a game that decides some fates.
9. Nebraska is a blue blood that hasn’t won a national championship since 1997. And they haven’t won 10 games since 2012. Matt Rhule inherited a terrible program left by Scott Frost. Apparently it was harder to recruit to Lincoln, Nebraska than Eugene, Oregon. Rhule has elected to name freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola his starting QB. Which will undoubtedly come with some growing pains. I’m not going to lie, I’ll 1000% have my eye on that Colorado vs Nebraska game on Sept. 7. In late October Nebraska plays Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin and Iowa in order. This shapes up to be a team that starts strong then fades as the season ends. I still want them to whoop up on Colorado no matter what though.
10. Michigan State is also under new management. I’m really interested to see the ‘Jonathan Smith’ experiment in East Lansing. I felt he was one of the best pure coaches in the Pac-12 with Oregon State and that turnaround. He did more with less than just about any coach out there. MSU finished 4-8 last season but a scandal forced Mel Tucker’s resignation after two games. Smith signed 21 preps and 24 transfers last year. He lived in the transfer portal at Oregon State which was a huge key to the turnaround there. They do have Oregon, Michigan and Iowa this year but the rest of the schedule is certainly ‘winnable.’ It’s easy to see MSU winning 7, maybe 8, maybe even 9 games (incl. bowl game) this season.