It’s a new era of Big Ten football with the addition of four Pac-12 programs, and the league swelling to 18 teams also means the end of divisions. It’s a free-for-all with the top two teams meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten Championship game Dec. 7.
Michigan beat Big Ten newcomer Washington for the 2023 national championship, but neither crack the top two in this season’s USA TODAY Sports Network Big Ten preseason media poll.
Here is the 2024 projected order of finish as determined by 13 beat writers who cover the league for the USA TODAY Sports Network.
1. Ohio State (eight first-place votes)
2. Oregon (five first-place votes)
3. (tie) Michigan
3. (tie) Penn State
5. USC
6. Iowa
7. Wisconsin
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Rutgers
11. Maryland
12. Michigan State
13. Minnesota
14. UCLA
15. Illinois
16. Indiana
17. Northwestern
18. Purdue
Poll participants: Nathan Baird, IndyStar; Frank Bodani, York (Pa.) Daily Record; Alec Dietz, The Register-Guard (Eugene); Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star; Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press; Joey Kaufman, Columbus Dispatch; Bill Rabinowitz, Columbus Dispatch; Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier; Michael Niziolek, Bloomington Herald-Times; Zach Osterman, IndyStar; Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press; Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register
