Phil Steele drops preseason Top 25: Reigning B1G West champ Northwestern not included

Northwestern won seven games in 2020, claimed a second B1G West crown in three seasons and defeated Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, but it wasn’t enough to land the Wildcats in Phil Steele’s Top 25. Pat Fitzgerald’s squad has been disrespected again.

Recently, the college football preseason magazine guru unveiled his preseason Top 25 for the 2021 campaign. Five teams from the B1G made the cut, but Northwestern was not one of those.

Ohio State, which won a fourth-straight B1G title and played in the national championship last year, earned the B1G’s only spot in the Top 10. Wisconsin, Penn State, Indiana and Iowa all were included in the Top 25, as well.

The Nittany Lions were the B1G’s only team to finish with a losing record to crack the rankings.

Here’s a look at Steele’s complete preseason Top 25 for 2021:

#1 Oklahoma

#2 Alabama

#3 Ohio State

#4 Clemson

#5 Georgia

#6 Texas A&M

#7 Notre Dame

#8 Iowa State

#9 Washington

#10 Cincinnati

#11 Wisconsin

#12 North Carolina

#13 USC

#14 Penn State

#15 Utah

#16 Miami

#17 LSU

#18 Indiana

#19 Oregon

#20 Texas

#21 Arizona State

#22 Louisiana

#23 Iowa

#24 Coastal Carolina

#25 TCU

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB