B1G Media Days has come to a close in Indianapolis, meaning the next step in the offseason process is fall camp. And our always-insightful predictions, of course.

We gave coaches and players a chance to talk about the upcoming season, providing insight as to why each team believes they can win their division this year. But some are in a much better spot than others, no matter how convincing some of the arguments might have been.

Now that B1G Media Days are in the rearview mirror, we’re revealing our predicted order of finish for the 2021 B1G football season:

Spenser Davis, News Writer

East

  1. Ohio State
  2. Penn State
  3. Michigan
  4. Indiana
  5. Maryland
  6. Michigan State
  7. Rutgers

West

  1. Wisconsin
  2. Iowa
  3. Northwestern
  4. Minnesota
  5. Purdue
  6. Illinois
  7. Nebraska

B1G Championship: Ohio State over Wisconsin

I think Ohio State and Wisconsin are clearly the best teams in their respective divisions and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve each clinched a berth in Indianapolis well before the final week of the regular season. Ohio State doesn’t need an explanation — the Buckeyes should improve throughout the year and are already the class of the conference to begin with. Wisconsin’s defense could be the best in the nation and the Badgers’ offense should be much improved in 2021. Elsewhere, I’m expecting a bit of a resurgent season from Michigan and the biggest disaster yet from Nebraska.

Paul Harvey, News Writer

East

  1. Ohio State
  2.  Penn State
  3.  Indiana
  4. Michigan
  5. Michigan State
  6. Rutgers
  7. Maryland

West

  1. Iowa
  2. Northwestern
  3. Wisconsin
  4. Minnesota
  5. Nebraska
  6. Purdue
  7. Illinois

B1G Championship: Ohio State over Iowa

Yes, the Buckeyes are breaking in a new QB, but that new QB is stepping into arguably the best opportunity possible. NFL-caliber offensive tackles, a bona fide QB guru in head coach Ryan Day, and possibly the best and deepest wide receiver room in the country. Penn State’s outlook remains positive, and the same goes for Indiana. But the East – and the B1G – is still the Buckeyes to lose. In the West, it should be another crazy ride with a handful of teams having a realistic shot at the division. When that happens, I’ll take Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeyes by a hair. Can they give Ohio State a challenge? That’s a different story.

Connor O’Gara, Senior Columnist

East

  1. Ohio State
  2. Michigan
  3. Indiana
  4. Penn State
  5. Maryland
  6. Michigan State
  7. Rutgers

West

  1. Iowa
  2. Wisconsin
  3. Minnesota
  4. Northwestern
  5. Nebraska
  6. Purdue
  7. Illinois

B1G Championship: Ohio State over Iowa

I mean, is it boring? Yeah. Is it something we should all assume will happen until this 4-year streak ends? Probably. Obviously a lot of that depends on C.J. Stroud becoming the next great quarterback in Ryan Day’s offense. That’s not a given, though it feels like as good of a bet as any this year. The fact that Ohio State has the best 1-2 punch at receiver in America with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, along with such a talented defensive line, should make the Buckeyes an overwhelming favorite to make it 5 in a row.

I’ll take Iowa as the team who dominates the most in the trenches, which really feels like the determining factor in the West winner on a yearly basis during the Playoff era. The Hawkeyes should still be dominant up front on both sides of the ball. Zack VanValkenburg should solidify that defensive line in the post-Daviyon Nixon era. And think about this. Spencer Petras wasn’t particularly good in 2020. Maybe that was partially because of the weird offseason. If he can elevate his game, Iowa will be the team to beat in the ever-up-for-grabs West.

But will they beat Ohio State? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Dustin Schutte, Managing Editor

East

  1. Ohio State
  2. Penn State
  3. Indiana
  4. Michigan
  5. Rutgers
  6. Maryland
  7. Michigan State

West

  1. Wisconsin
  2. Minnesota
  3. Iowa
  4. Northwestern
  5. Illinois
  6. Nebraska
  7. Purdue

B1G Championship: Ohio State over Wisconsin

Someone is going to have to prove to me that they can dethrone Ohio State before I start picking against the Buckeyes. We thought the Buckeyes ran like a well-oiled machine under Urban Meyer, but Ryan Day seems to have improved on that thanks to an impressive recruiting run and landing some dynamite transfer players. Yes, Ohio State replaces a lot, especially defensively, but it’s still the most talented team in the East.

Wisconsin may have finished 4-3 a year ago, but I suspect that the return of Jake Ferguson, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor will be a huge advantage for Graham Mertz in his second season as a starter. Plus, the Badgers are always solid up front on the both sides of the ball — a key to winning the B1G West.

The B1G Championship Game will run like a typical Wisconsin-Ohio State title bout: the Badgers keep it interesting, but ultimately the Buckeyes flex their muscle.