Every summer since 2007 I have created an intricate set of college football predictions for each upcoming season.  This year is no exception, as I will be using my blog over the next few hours to publish my 17th annual college football preview guide which will contain 19 entries in all. The records below reflect each team’s predicted regular season overall record followed by their conference record.  These records include conference title games for the two division champions but exclude bowl games which will be previewed later on in a separate column on this blog.  The teams marked in bold font are the ones predicted to gain bowl eligibility.  Without further ado, here are my predictions for the Big Ten in 2024, which may legitimately be able to challenge the SEC for conference supremacy this season.

1	Ohio State (12-1, 8-1)– conference champion/CFP # 2 seed

Last Year’s Record: 11-2 (My 2023 prediction: 12-1)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Linebacker

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Michigan (November 30)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Oregon (October 12)

Bottom Line: Yes, I do realize that I incorrectly called for the Buckeyes to win the national title last season when they fell just short of the CFP, but Ohio State and their title hopes have even more going for them in 2024 than they did last season. First off, the only reason OSU failed to make it to the College Football Playoff last year is that they lost to Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines in the Big Game for the third straight season. Now, Ohio State’s “Michigan problem” has seemingly gone by the wayside, as Jim Harbaugh has departed the Wolverine program along with 18 of the 22 players who started for the UM last season. Michigan will be still be decent in 2024, but OSU should be heavily favored to exact revenge on the Wolverines this season, especially with that game being played in Columbus this November. Meanwhile, Ohio State returns 16 starters from 2023 (up from last year’s number of 14) including stud running back Treveyon Henderson and 5 of the top 7 tacklers from a defense that ranked third nationally. The Buckeyes will be breaking in a new quarterback in Kansas State transfer Will Howard, but he will have plenty of time to build chemistry and cohesion with his new offense, as Ohio State starts the season with five matchups that they should be favored to win by more than 20 points apiece. In fact, the only game in which Ohio State will likely be favored by less than a touchdown is their October 12th matchup in Eugene against the Ducks. I am predicting that OSU actually loses that one, but if they do, they should still have a great opportunity to get revenge on Oregon in the conference title game and subsequently clinch a first round bye in the College Football Playoff. Convention wisdom says Georgia should be preseason # 1 in 2024, but I am one that doesn’t like to follow the sheep in my preseason predictions. Instead, give me the Buckeyes to win their first national title in a decade this season.

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1	Oregon (11-2, 8-1)- conference runner-up/CFP # 5 seed

Last Year’s Record: 12-2 (My 2023 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Defensive Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Ohio State (October 12)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Michigan (November 2)

Bottom Line: I am predicting that Ohio State is the official Big Ten champion in 2023, but Oregon also has a # 1 next to its name because I am projecting them to be the the top team in the Big Ten standings entering the conference title game. The Ducks bring back 17 starters, from a team that was 2 or 3 plays away from playing in the College Football Playoff last season. They also bring in the top QB transfer in the country in former UCF and Oklahoma star Dillon Gabriel. Ultimately, the Ducks will have one of the best offenses in the country this year, which is why I think they will certainly earn a bid to the first-ever 12 team playoff this December. However, the Ducks’ defense has just enough question marks, especially with the loss of leading tackler Evan Williams, for me to call for them to fall just short of a Big Ten Championship or National Title in 2024.

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3	Michigan (9-3, 7-2)– CFP # 10 seed

Last Year’s Record: 15-0 (My 2023 prediction: 10-2)

Positional Strength: Defensive Back

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Oregon (November 2)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Illinois (October 19)- the Wolverines barely beat the Illini at home the last time these two teams played in 2022.

Bottom Line: In 2023, Jim Harbaugh finally got over the hump and delivered a long-awaited undisputed national title in Ann Arbor. The question becomes though is where does this program go from here. Harbaugh is gone, as is almost every key player from their national championship squad, including UM’s starting quarterback, leading rusher, best receiver, and top two tacklers. The Wolverines also face a juggernaut of a schedule this season, as Michigan hosts Texas and Southern Cal in the first four weeks of the year and then play both Oregon and Ohio State in the month of November. I am actually calling for Michigan to make the College Football Playoff this year due to the elite talent that still exists in the program and the opportunities to get some marquee home wins throughout the season However, there is a very little chance this team competes for either a national championship or Big Ten title again in 2024.

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4	Iowa (10-2, 7-2)- CFP # 11 seed

Last Year’s Record: 10-4 (My 2023 prediction: 10-3)- spot on prognostication for the Hawkeyes last season

Positional Strength: Linebacker

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Wisconsin (November 2)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Michigan State (October 19)- this is a tricky midseason trap game for the Hawkeyes

Bottom Line: In the new 12 team playoff format, the College Football Playoff Committee will almost assuredly try to award teams who play the toughest schedules in the country and come away with only a few losses. However, there will inevitably teams from an elite conferences who also gets CFP bids by winning a lot of games against much weaker schedules. I am predicting Iowa to be one of those teams in 2023, as the Hawkeyes avoid all of the powerhouses except Ohio State (no Michigan, USC, Penn State, or Oregon) in their Big Ten slate this season. Iowa’s defense should be elite again in 2024, and now that a more experienced coordinator is in place on offense, the Hawkeyes should be at least somewhat improved on that side of the football, especially with the return of their starting quarterback (McNamara), entire offensive line, and top six rushers from 2023.

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4	Southern Cal (9-3, 7-2)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2023 prediction: 10-3)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Linebacker

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. LSU (September 1)- this should be the best game of the opening weekend

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Maryland (October 19)- this is a terrible spot for the Trojans as they have to make a cross country trip to College Park right after they play a huge home game against Penn State.

Bottom Line: The Trojans have been the polar opposite of the forementioned Iowa Hawkeyes in recent seasons, as Southern Cal has fielded elite offenses under Lincoln Riley, but they have been abysmal on defense. This season, however, I think things will be drastically different in LA, as USC’s revamped D should be much improved while their offense could take a major step back following the departure of quarterback Caleb Williams, his three best receivers and the Trojans’ top two running backs. All in all, I think USC will be an upper echelon Big Ten team in their first year in the league, but I think they will fall short of the College Football Playoff, due to their offensive inexperience and a brutal schedule that features games against LSU, Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, and Notre Dame.

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6	Penn State (9-3, 7-2)

Last Year’s Record: 10-3 (My 2023 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Wisconsin (October 26)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at West Virginia (August 31)- FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff game produced one of the biggest early season upsets in week 1 last year, as Deion Sanders’ Colorado crew stunned TCU. I am predicting history to repeat itself this year with a big week 1 upset in Morgantown.

Bottom Line: The past two seasons for the Nittany Lions have been both eerily predictable and similar to one another. In both 2022 and 2023, Penn State won all of its regular season games, most of them by comfortable margins, except for their two games each season against Ohio State and Michigan. With those are certainly respectable campaigns, the problem is that none of the four losses against Ohio State or Michigan in ’22 or ’23 were particularly close. The good news for the Nittany Lions is that they don’t have to play Michigan in 2024, and even if they lose to Ohio State on November 2nd, they will almost assuredly qualify for the 12 team College Football Playoff if they win the rest of their games like they have been doing recently. The bad news is that there will be new challengers in 2024 that the Nittany Lions have not had to deal with the past two seasons. Penn State will first have to make a difficult trip to Morgantown to open this season and then later travel to play road games against both USC and Wisconsin. I think Penn State will ultimately find themselves in familiar territory and fall just short of the College Football Playoff again this season.

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7	Wisconsin (7-5, 5-4)

Last Year’s Record: 7-6 (My 2023 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Nebraska (November 23)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Iowa (November 2)

Bottom Line: Luke Fickell’s debut season in Madison was somewhat of a disappointment, as a team that brought back 18 starters from 2022 was not able to improve on its 7-6 mark from the year before. This season the Badgers will once again be experienced and also will be bringing a stud quarterback from the transfer portal in Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke. However, life is about to get much tougher for the Badgers in terms of scheduling, as Wisconsin can no longer rack up wins against a depleted Big Ten West on an annual basis. Instead, Wisky faces a brutal schedule in 2024, where they host Alabama, Oregon, and Penn State and travel to Southern Cal, Iowa, and Nebraska. Ultimately, I think Wisconsin is an improved football team this season, but I don’t believe they will have the record to show for it.

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8	Maryland (7-5, 5-4)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2023 prediction: 9-3)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Southern Cal (October 19)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Minnesota (October 26)

Bottom Line: Last year, I picked the Terps to be my # 3 surprise team in all of the country, and while they didn’t quite live up to my lofty prediction, they definitely exceeded expectations in 2023. Mike Locksley is in the midst one of the great coaching redemption stories of all-time as he has bounced back from being considered one of the worst coaches in all of college football during his three year run at New Mexico from 2009-2011 to authoring a successful five year tenure with the Terps in the Big Ten. Maryland should be solid again in 2024 as they return 8 defensive starters from a top 30 unit nationally last year and bring in one of the breakout quarterbacks of last season in M.J. Morris from NC State. Nevertheless, Maryland still has to play a grueling scheduling in the new Big Ten featuring games against Oregon, Penn State, Iowa, and Southern Cal, while also replacing 4 of their 5 offensive line starters. The Terps are good enough to return to a bowl for the 4th straight season in 2024 but won’t be in the CFP conversation.

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9	Nebraska (8-4, 5-4)

Last Year’s Record: 5-7 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Defensive Line

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Colorado (September 7)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Wisconsin (November 13)

Bottom Line: Shockingly, the Cornhuskers have still not qualified for a bowl game since 2016, as this former national powerhouse has been in quite a rut. And while I have mistakenly called for several breakout seasons from Nebraska over the past eight years, I do think the Cornhuskers find a way back to a bowl game in 2024. First of all, the Huskers schedule sets up about as good as one could hope for in the Big Ten, as they avoid Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan and will potentially be favored in their first seven games of the season! They also bring back 17 starters from 2023 while also bringing in the # 1 quarterback recruit in the country in Dylan Raiola. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect Nebraska to challenge for a Big Ten title anytime soon, but a return to respectability should be on the horizon for the Huskers.

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10	Rutgers (6-6, 4-5)

Last Year’s Record: 7-6 (My 2023 prediction: 4-8)

Positional Strength: Running Back

Positional Weakness: Wide Receiver

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Washington (September 28)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Michigan State (November 30)

Bottom Line: If they don’t build a statue in East Piscataway for Greg Schiano at the conclusion of his coaching career, then it will be a crime. No one has done more for one program than this man who took one of the worst programs in FBS history to five straight bowl games in 2000’s and then came back to rebuild the program again in the early 2020’s. Keep in mind that Rutgers was one of first two teams ever to play organized college football in 1869, and in their entire history, they have only won seven bowl games. Believe it or not, Schiano has been the coach for six of the those wins including last year’s Pinstripe Bowl upset over the Miami Hurricanes. In 2024, I think Rutgers will continue to have success on the gridiron. They return 16 starters from last year’s squad, including their top running back, best receiver, and six of their top seven tacklers, while bring in the talented Athan Kaliakmanis from Minnesota to take over at quarterback. They also avoid Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon in conference play. I don’t think this team has the talent to ascend much higher in the bigger and more brutal Big Ten, but another 6 or 7 win season seems very doable for Schiano’s crew.

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10	Michigan State (6-6, 4-5)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2023 prediction: 5-7)

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Washington (September 28)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Michigan State (November 30)

Bottom Line: There has never been a two and a half year college coaching tenure that rose as high and fell as far as Mel Tucker’s stint at Michigan State. After leading the Spartans to win in a New Year’s Six Bowl in his debut season in 2021, he was fired mid-season just a year and half later amidst a controversial phone sex scandal. The good news is that Sparty made one of the best hires they possibly could in the offseason by bringing in Jonathan Smith from Oregon State where he took the worst program in Power 5 to three straight bowl games from 2021-2023. Smith definitely has his work cut out for him in East Lansing, as the Spartans are coming off back to back losing seasons and must replace all three quarterbacks that threw a pass for them last year. Still, this team has enough talent and experience, especially defensively, to emerge as a surprise bowl team in 2024.

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10	Illinois (6-6, 4-5)

Last Year’s Record: 5-7 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Michigan (October 19)- the Illini almost knocked off the Wolverines on the road the last time these two teams played in 2022.

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Northwestern (November 30)

Bottom Line: Bret Bielema has alternated between five and eight win seasons in three years in Champaign, and I think this season the Illini finish in between those two relative extremes this season. First of all, they have quite a bit coming back from last season, as they return 13 starters including their talented transfer quarterback Luke Altmyer and their top three tacklers from 2023. They also have most of their winnable conference games at home including matchups against Purdue, Minnesota, and Michigan State. I think Bielema ultimately finds a way to get this team back to a bowl game this season.

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13	Northwestern (6-6, 3-6)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2023 prediction: 3-9)

Positional Strength: Defensive Line

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: at Washington (September 21)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Purdue (November 2)

Bottom Line: The Wildcats were one of the best feel good stories in all of college football last year, as they turned a messy offseason scandal that led to the firing of the longest tenured coaches in the country into a surprise 8-5 campaign that culminated in an upset bowl win over Utah. There is bound to be some regression in Evanston this season, as Northwestern loses its starting quarterback as well as its top receiver and tackler. Still, the Wildcats have enough returning experience at other positions, including stud running back Cam Porter, that I am calling them to return to a bowl game in 2024.

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14	Washington (5-7, 2-7)

Last Year’s Record: 14-1 (My 2023 prediction: 11-2)- while everyone else was picking Oregon, USC, or Utah to win the Pac-12 last year, I correctly picked the Huskies to win the conference crown

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Running Back

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. UCLA (November 16)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. Northwestern (September 21)

Bottom Line: The Huskies will be one of the great mysteries in all of college football entering the 2023 season, as no one knows quite what to expect from a team that played in the National Championship Game last year and then lost its head coach and 21 out of its 22 starters. Washington does bring in an accomplished new coach in Jedd Fisch and a prolific quarterback in Will Rogers, but their schedule does not setup well for them, as most of their winnable games are early in the season when the team will be adjusting to new schemes and personnel. There are just too many new pieces here for me not to call for them to have a disappointing season in 2024.

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15	UCLA (3-9, 2-7)

Last Year’s Record: 8-5 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Offensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Minnesota (October 12)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Northwestern (November 30)

Bottom Line: UCLA joins Washington as one of the two teams that are entering a new and improved league at the worst possible time for their respective program. That is because the Bruins also lost their star head coach Chip Kelly in the offseason and must also deal with the departure of 12 of their starters from a season ago. The new coaching hire of Deshaun Foster also seems underwhelming at best, and this team must somehow try to navigate this rebuilding year with games against LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Iowa, and Southern Cal. Expect a down season for the Men of Westwood in 2024.

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16	Indiana (3-9, 1-8)

Last Year’s Record: 3-9 (My 2023 prediction: 3-9)

Positional Strength: Wide Receiver

Positional Weakness: Linebacker

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. Purdue (November 30)- the Hoosiers are due a win in this rivalry game after three straight losses including a close road loss last season

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: vs. FIU (August 31)- watch out for the Panthers of FIU this season!

Bottom Line: Life has got to be rough for an Indiana football fan. The program hasn’t won a bowl game since since 1999 (a drought 13 years longer than any other Power 5 team), they haven’t beaten Ohio State since 1988, and worst of all, their one breakout season in the past couple of decades was a Covid-shortened 2020, where fans weren’t allowed to attend the games. Former head coach Tom Allen had a decent amount of success in Bloomington, but after three straight losing seasons, he is out and James Madison’s Curt Cignetti takes over. Cignetti did amazing work with the Dukes in their transition to FBS football but winning games in the Big Ten with an inferior squad is a much taller task than doing so in the Sun Belt. The Hoosiers did some decent work in the transfer portal in the offseason, but they still have 18 new starters that have to adjust to new schemes from a new coaching staff. This will undoubtedly be a transition year for Indiana, as Cignetti will need some time to make the Hoosiers competitive in the Big Ten.

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17	Minnesota (4-8, 1-8)

Last Year’s Record: 6-7 (My 2023 prediction: 7-5)

Positional Strength: Offensive Line

Positional Weakness: Quarterback

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. North Carolina (August 29)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Rutgers (November 9)

Bottom Line: I really like P.J. Fleck and his work “rowing the boat” at both Western Michigan and Minnesota. However, I think his Gopher squad really struggles in 2024. First of all, they lost their starting quarterback (Kaliakmanis) to the transfer portal and are replacing him with an FCS guy that will need some time to adjust to Power 4 football. In addition, they probably have less depth than any other Big Ten squad, so any injuries they sustain, especially defensively, will create major issues. Finally, the Gophers face an absolute gauntlet of a schedule in 2024, as they face nine Power 4 bowl teams from last year, including perennial powers such as Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Southern Cal. Now that division play has been eliminated in the Big Ten, Fleck’s crew can no longer take advantage of a weak conference schedule featuring all of the inferior West Division teams like they have in years past. Ultimately, I expect this season to be a rough one in Minneapolis.

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18	Purdue (2-10, 1-8)

Last Year’s Record: 4-8 (My 2023 prediction: 6-6)

Positional Strength: Quarterback

Positional Weakness: Defensive Line

Biggest Predicted Win of the Year: vs. North Carolina (August 29)

Worst Predicted Loss of the Year: at Rutgers (November 9)

Bottom Line: Over the past few years, Purdue’s basketball program has ascended to the upper echelon of the sport while their football program has been on a downward descent. They went from nine wins in 2021 to eight in 2022, and then a lowly four last season. And unfortunately, I am calling for this downward trend to continue in 2024. That is because the Boilermakers return less than five starters on each side of the ball and face a brutal schedule that features non-conference games against Notre Dame and Oregon State and conference games against most all of the big boys in the league, including Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, and Wisconsin. I am not ready to put Ryan Walters in the Norm Chow/Zach Arnett/Will Muschamp camp of guys who are great coordinators but bad head coaches, but it is certainly concerning that a great defensive mind like Walters’ is fielding what is considered by many to be the worst defensive line in the conference this season. Walters did put together a decent recruiting class this offseason, but it is going take some time for those players to positively influence the program. In the meantime, don’t expect much from the Boilermakers in 2024.

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