There’s no perfect team in college football. There may be an undefeated team each season, but each team has weaknesses that could show up on a given night and bite them in the behind.

Alabama, after all, has already been bitten by the injury bug. Trevor Lawrence, meanwhile, is on pace for 30 interceptions! (Clemson may be as close to perfect as there is).

So what is each Big Ten contender’s most glaring weakness?

Ohio State: The first-year coach

Nothing against Ryan Day, but there has to be some sort of learning curve, right? Like you don’t pass the baton from Urban Meyer and just keep winning Big Ten titles. Right? We’ll see. That’s really all you can point to right now, with all of Meyer’s recruits still in the program. Remember when Bruce Weber took Illinois basketball to the national title game? It was with Bill Self’s players! The point is that Day has all the talent he needs to win the Big Ten, but he’s never done this before. And that’s not his fault. You have to be a first-year coach sometime. Most do it at a smaller school without expectations. Day doesn’t have that luxury.

Michigan: The Ohio State conundrum

Michigan doesn’t really have any weaknesses, if it can stay out of its own way. But until it can beat Ohio State, that monkey is going to be planted firmly on Michigan’s back. The pressure is going to be immense this season, as it is all lining up perfectly for the Wolverines. Talented quarterback in the right system, great offensive line, great defense, great schedule (with three biggest rivals all at home). But Michigan hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2011. That last game of the regular season is going to be looming. Anything Michigan does up until then won’t be enough, because it won’t matter if it loses that game. That’s a lot of pressure.

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.

Michigan State: The offense

If that 7-6 loss to Oregon in the Redbox Bowl wasn’t just the perfect encapsulation of last season for the Spartans. The defense holds the potential No. 1 pick to seven points, and it isn’t enough? Michigan State scored 32 points total in its last four games.

Brian Lewerke needs a bounce-back season. He was pretty good in 2017, but he had 11 interceptions and eight touchdown passes in 2018. The offense has nine starters back, so there is hope that experience will lead to a few more points. If the Spartans solve that side of the ball, they can absolutely win the league.

Penn State: The quarterback

Tommy Stevens was supposed to succeed Trace McSorley, but he transferred to Mississippi State to play for Joe Moorhead. So now the Nittany Lions are left to rely on sophomore Sean Clifford. He was 247Sports’ No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2017 — ahead of Wisconsin starter Jack Coan and Minnesota starter Tanner Morgan. So he can obviously play. But it’s a big ask to carry the No. 15 team in the country when you have no meaningful experience. Now say this about Clifford, he has performed well when given the chance. Let’s see if he can lead a talented team on the road against Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State.

Nebraska: The roster

If you think about it, Nebraska is getting a lot of hype for a team that went 4-8 last season and returns just 13 starters. Does that sound like a team ready to compete for a Big Ten title? Well, great quarterback and a great coach, so they’re certainly a contender. The problem could be, what if the rest of the roster isn’t that good? In terms of the rest of the Big Ten, are they really elite anywhere other than quarterback? I’d argue no. But that quarterback and that very favorable schedule (no Michigan, Michigan State or Penn State, plus Ohio State at home) means they can pull this off.

Wisconsin: The schedule

Wisconsin has a lot going for it this year. It has a Heisman candidate at running back. It has a solid receiving core that should help along an inexperienced quarterback. It has a good defense. But where it could run into trouble is that it drew the top three teams from the East Division in its crossover games. It would be nice to see Indiana, Maryland or Rutgers, but instead it faces Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. Plus it has preseason West favorite Nebraska on the road.

Iowa: The weapons

Nate Stanley is back at quarterback, but the Hawkeyes lost their three leading receivers, including No. 8 overall pick TJ Hockenson. Iowa is great up front, with a potential top 10 pick on the offensive line (Tristan Wirfs) and the defensive line (AJ Epenesa). But do they have the playmakers to win big?

Northwestern: The offense

It’s not been great in the past, and that hasn’t held the Wildcats back. They won 10 games in 2015 despite averaging a Big Ten-low 19.5 points per game. So it certainly can be done. But how many 14-10 games can they win? Hunter Johnson is going to be exciting, but the Wildcats lost five seniors from a unit that already wasn’t very good. Let’s see what Pat Fitzgerald can do with a 5-star recruit at quarterback.