The early-season Big Ten schedule isn’t exactly littered with marquee matchups. Without Michigan and Notre Dame to look forward to, or Ohio State taking on Oklahoma, the schedule is a little bare.

The only semi-intriguing Week 1 games are Northwestern traveling to No. 25 Stanford and Wisconsin at South Florida. Cincinnati visiting Ohio State in Week 2 has my interest, as does Purdue hosting Vanderbilt. Iowa’s annual rivalry game with Iowa State is usually fun in Week 3.

But other than that? Yuck.

So what does this non-conference slate mean? For a league that has been shut out of the College Football Playoff the last two seasons, it’s critical to minimize the slip ups. It doesn’t exactly look good when one of the teams in the conference championship game also lost to Akron and Duke earlier in the season.

So now that the stage is set, here are three things I think we’ll see from the Big Ten in non-conference play:

Which transfer quarterbacks will be difference-makers

The high-profile transfer quarterbacks are the most interesting preseason storyline to me. How will Justin Fields (Ohio State), Hunter Johnson (Northwestern) and Brandon Peters (Illinois) fare in their first games with their new teams?

Sports Betting in Big Ten Country

There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.

21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Ohio State is so good all over the field that Fields doesn’t need to be great right away (but he better be by the end of the season if the Buckeyes want back in the CFP). Can he elevate Ohio State to the CFP and into title contention?

Regardless of how good Peters is, Illinois is what it is. But it would make some of those games normally thought of as cupcakes turn semi-interesting. Illinois has to turn it around eventually, right?

That leaves Johnson, the 5-star transfer from Clemson. Northwestern getting a player of this caliber is a big deal, even if he is a transfer. So what does that mean for the Wildcats? Hopefully a more efficient offense. Losing Justin Jackson hurt last year, and Clayton Thorson had nearly as many interceptions (15) as touchdown passes (17). And yet, the Wildcats figured out a way to reach the conference championship game. While Northwestern has some tough early-season road games, there is potential with Johnson.

We should have a good indicator as to where all these teams stand with their new quarterbacks after the first few weeks.

Bad losses

The league is bound to lay some eggs, like Northwestern did last year. As the Wildcats showed last year, it’s possible to recover and have a nice season.

No, Lane Kiffin isn’t coming into Columbus and taking down Ohio State. Could Cincinnati? Probably not. But some games to keep an eye on are Purdue opening at Nevada, which is a long ways from West Lafayette. Could Wisconsin struggle in its first game post Alex Hornibrook on the road against a USF squad that started 7-0 last season? Maybe.

For the sake of this conference’s reputation, let’s just hope Indiana and Illinois don’t lose to Connecticut, a team that most experts have as the worst in the country.

Oh, and the MAC also finds a way to ruin a Big Ten team’s day. That one is coming, if history has told us anything.

The questions waiting to be answered

I think everyone is excited to watch Michigan’s new up-tempo attack, but is Jim Harbaugh fully committed to this? You just never know with him. The Wolverines may not face the adversity that will truly reveal that answer, but if they do struggle at all, it’ll be fascinating to see how it is handled. It’s obviously a huge season for Harbaugh and Michigan.

Ryan Day checks all the boxes, but a first-time head coach at Ohio State better be ready. Being an interim head coach is good experience, but how will Day add his own flare to this team?

There is a lot of intrigue around the league too other than just at the top. Can Penn State navigate life without Trace McSorely. Can Michigan State score enough to vault that spectacular defense into the national spotlight? Are Minnesota, Nebraska and Purdue ready to take the next steps as their coaches enter their second and third years? Will it be business as usual for the West’s two top programs, Iowa and Wisconsin?

We talk about this stuff throughout the offseason, and we take educated guesses as to what each team will look like. But finally, we’re about to get some answers.