Big Ten football media days officially kick off Tuesday in Las Vegas. And while other conferences conduct an official media poll to pick the preseason order of finish, the Big Ten scrapped that years ago. But never fear, the preseason prognostications have been kept alive thanks to other media outlets, most notably Cleveland.com, which has now spearheaded a poll for 15 years.
The results were as close as any I can remember in recent years, but after 25 media members were polled from around the conference, Penn State was picked to win the Big Ten championship with 11 first-place votes. As we mentioned, it was close, though, with Ohio State finishing second, just one first-place vote behind the Nittany Lions and with total poll points totaling 435 to 431.
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Penn State has gotten a lot of preseason buzz this season, mainly because it returns a lot of veteran players at key positions, including Drew Allar at quarterback and the tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton at running back, both of whom eclipsed 1,000 yards in 2024. The defense should also be a very good one with key skill returning and now under the guidance of former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
If Penn State can pull it off, it’ll be the first time it has taken home the Big Ten title since 2016. Oregon — last year’s conference champion — was picked to finish third, followed by Illinois (4), and Michigan (5). The Ducks got three first-place votes, and the Wolverines got one (no truth to the rumor that it was Connor Stalions). The Illini didn’t receive a first-place vote.
Here’s a look at the entire preseason Big Ten order of finish predictions from the Cleveland.com poll:
|
Rank |
Team (1st place) |
Points |
Average Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 1 |
Penn State (11) |
435 |
1.60 |
|
No. 2 |
Ohio State (10) |
431 |
1.76 |
|
No. 3 |
Oregon (2) |
405 |
2.80 |
|
No. 4 |
Illinois |
353 |
4.88 |
|
No. 5 |
Michigan (1) |
346 |
5.16 |
|
No. 6 |
Indiana |
305 |
680 |
|
No. 7 |
287 |
7.52 |
|
|
No. 8 |
277 |
7.92 |
|
|
No. 9 |
269 |
8.24 |
|
|
No. 10 |
216 |
10.36 |
|
|
No. 11 |
Minnesota |
192 |
11.32 |
|
No. 12 |
159 |
12.60 |
|
|
No. 13 |
135 |
13.60 |
|
|
No. 13 |
Rutgers |
135 |
13.60 |
|
No. 15 |
134 |
13.64 |
|
|
No. 16 |
Maryland |
91 |
15.36 |
|
No. 17 |
Northwestern |
65 |
16.40 |
|
No. 18 |
Purdue |
39 |
17.44 |
We’ll have coverage of Big Ten media days when things get rolling on Tuesday and through the rest of the week. It’s about to get a lot of fun, and there are only a few weeks before we get to buckle up on this ride called college football season again.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Where Ohio State fell in Cleveland.com preseason Big Ten football poll
