Hi-def and big screens are no one’s friend, even for the beautiful people who star in movies. You don’t want to study yourself too closely in the mirror, especially if it’s one of those makeup mirrors. Yikes.

Flaws. We all got ’em. … Well, maybe not Marvin Harrison Jr.

But yeah, life is filled with imperfections. And nothing gets fixed without first being acknowledged.

So let’s take a trek around the Big Ten and pick some scabs.

Going from the B1G’s highest ranked team down its projected cellar dweller, here’s the biggest issue each program will have to overcome:

Michigan: Self distraction

Jim Harbaugh says he plans to get better, not bitter from the 3-game suspension his administration self-imposed on him. Whether he was actually on-board with the plan to try to appease the NCAA infractions committee isn’t certain. What is certain is that Michigan butchered the issue when it couldn’t reach agreement with the NCAA on the initial 4-game vacation plan. Now the issue will hang over the program all season long.

Michigan will be fine for its 3 non-conference cupcakes, but there’s no assurance Harbaugh will get NCAA credit for missing those games. There’s also no assurance of when the governing body will finish its investigation; Harbaugh may have to file an appeal to stay on the sideline for the Wolverines’ expected national title run.

Meanwhile, opposing fans will enjoy trashing the Wolverines as cheaters. It just adds fuel for the opposition for a team already with a target on its back as the 2-time B1G defending champ.

Ohio State: Ryan Day’s glass ceiling

Until he wins a national title, Ohio State fans will wonder if he can.

Never a head coach before taking over full-time for Urban Meyer in 2019, Ryan Day remains an unknown variable despite a 45-6 record.

In 2021, the team with the best offense in the country didn’t even make the CFP. Michigan has administered back-to-back double-digit thumpings. Then last year, in the CFP semis vs. Georgia, a butchered final drive left a 50-yard FG attempt, allowing the Bulldogs off the hook en route to a 2nd straight national crown.

Now, the former OC/QB coach is at a loss to pick CJ Stroud’s successor at quarterback. Kyle McCord or Devin Brown? Day spent most of August suggesting he’d have to flip a coin or play both guys. Unsettling? Marvin Harrison Jr., your thoughts?

Sitting on Ohio State’s first 2-game losing streak since 2013, Day will again lead the Big Ten’s most talent-laden team in 2023. Just about all entities that rank such things have OSU in the top 5 in the country in talent, well ahead of B1G East rivals Michigan and Penn State. Big expectations come with that. So far, Day hasn’t meet them. Is something missing from the coaching DNA?

Penn State: Defense, front and center

Yes, Penn State is thin on experienced receivers and has a new starting QB.

But it lost veteran defensive tackle PJ Mustipher along with Sean Clifford off last season’s 11-2 squad, and the middle of the otherwise stellar defense counts as the biggest issue for the Nittany Lions.

Coordinator Manny Diaz has speed, skill and crazy athleticism on the edges and in the secondary. The deep roster offers all that in waves.

Now, the big guys on Diaz’s defense will have to play big. That’s the missing link.

There is reason for optimism. Several experienced reserves/part-time starters are back, including Hakeem Beamon, Dvon Ellies, Coziah Izzard and weight-room freak Jordan van den Berg. Zane Durant is back for his true sophomore season. Young middle linebackers Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King are back after a solid season sharing the job.

That interior group got brutally gashed 1 time in 2022, giving up 418 rushing yards to Michigan. That’s 1 too many if Penn State wants to break through for its first CFP appearance.

Wisconsin: Culture shock

Newcomers have flown into Madison from all over. Luke Fickell arrived from Cincinnati to take over as head coach. New OC Phil Longo came from North Carolina. QB Tanner Mordecai brings his Southern drawl from SMU. Another dozen transfers arrived from far and wide, Boston to Los Angeles.

The returning players, at least those on offense, had to turn in their smashmouth playbooks for something called an “Air Raid” attack.

Anticipation is at a fever pitch at Wisconsin, which seemed overdue for a makeover despite its Midwestern sensibilities. But they say change is hard, and this is a lot of moving parts.

Iowa: Where did all the LBs go?

Phil Parker knows how to reload a defense. He’s proven that time and again.

But even he will be challenged to avoid a drop-off in the wake of LBs Jack Campbell and Seth Benson leaving a 222-tackle void from a year ago. Jay Higgins (39 tackles in 2022) will man the middle, and Parker will seek to elevate Sebastian Castro, Kyler Fisher and others to flank him.

But the run defense (2.83 ypc, 2nd in nation) and scoring defense (13.3 ppg, 2nd) might take a hit — and the Hawkeyes might not deliver quite as many.

Maryland: Offensive line

Taulia Tagovailoa was the victim of most of the B1G-high 43 sacks Maryland gave up last year. In rushing, the Terps were 7th in the league in both yards per game (141.3) and yards per carry (3.92).

Improve those numbers, and Maryland might finally crack the AP top 25 for the first time in Tagovailoa’s tenure, which begins its 4th and final season Sept. 2 vs. Towson. Gottlieb Ayedze, a 6-5, 300-pound transfer from Frostburg State, might help. Or … reaching for an in-state D-II lineman might indicate that Mike Locksley and company are desperate.

Illinois: Secondary expectations

New DC Aaron Henry must find replacements for all-B1G safety Sydney Brown and all-America cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who combined for 9 of Illinois’ nation-leading 24 interceptions in 2022. Also gone are DBs Kendal Smith and Jartavius Martin, who combined for another 8. In fact, only 7 of those picks came from returning players.

Henry inherits an awesome front line from old DC/new Purdue head coach Ryan Walters, but he’s going to have to rebuild the back end.

Minnesota: Running back

Recording-setting battering ram Mohamed Ibrahim finally aged out of college ball and Trey Potts defected to Penn State, leaving PJ Fleck professing an intent to get more pass-happy in 2023.

But the Gophers’ identity has been all about clock-eating ball control recently, a style that probably makes the defense look a bit better than it actually is. Even if new starting QB Athan Kaliakmanis is up to the task, not having a security blanket behind him will show. Short-yardage conversions were almost automatic with Ibrahim, and there’s no guarantee transfer Sean Tyler (Western Michigan) or returnees Zach Evans and Bryce Williams can replace that.

If they can’t, there will be ripple effects.

Purdue: Lack of clear WR1

Purdue has produced a 1,000-yard receiver every full season since 2017, and had the top B1G yards/game guy in 2020 with David Bell. From Rondale Moore to Bell to Charlie Jones last year, the Boilermakers have had a top-3 WR in the league for 5 straight years.

But things are changing. Jeff Brohm is gone, replaced by defense-oriented Ryan Walters. New OC Graham Harrell is making tweaks to the offense, which will be guided by Texas transfer Hudson Card in place of departed Aidan O’Connell. Harrell has shifted Tyrone Tracy full-time to the backfield, another sign that Purdue won’t be quite the WR haven it has been.

Portal receiver Corey Gammage from Marshall made a late veer away from West Lafayette and wound up at Central Florida. That leaves returnee TJ Sheffield (46-480-4 in 2022) as the likely WR1. But the succession of B1G superstars at the position might end here — for a season or 2, if not longer.

Nebraska: Inoperable Frost bite

It’s gotta be one of the worst local boy makes bad stories in recent college football history. Scott Frost returned to his alma mater and slowly drained the life out of it over 5 dreadful losing seasons. Did Adrian Martinez just turn the ball over again, or was that a flashback?

By the end, he appeared devoid not just of answers but ideas, and didn’t seem to care. Then he slank away with a bunch of the program’s money.

There’s still plenty of passion and a little cash left in Lincoln, so Matt Rhule has found some players to bring in. Rhule resurrected beaten down programs at Temple and Baylor, but needed 1 ugly year each time before turning the tide. Things will warm up for suffering fans, but maybe not this year.

Michigan State: Identity crisis

Mel Tucker transformed Michigan State via the transfer portal in 2021, but maybe he overdid it. It’s hard to build continuity with massive roster turnover, and the reshuffling hasn’t produced an ace the likes of Kenneth Walker III since the Spartans topped out 2 years ago at 11-2.

The running game regressed mightily last year, and 2-year starting QB Payton Thorne and top receiver Keon Coleman transferred out after that 5-7 campaign. And then there was the tunnel incident.

The shine is off Tucker, anchored in East Lansing by a $95 million contract that has 9 years remaining. The transfer turnstile has 15 players arriving, 16 exiting. A new starting quarterback, presumably Noah Kim, will have to somehow mesh with this hodgepodge of teammates.

Rutgers: Offensive philosophy

Kirk Ciarrocca takes over as offensive coordinator for a program that seemingly has been running a basic high school offense — and not particularly well — since Greg Schiano returned to Piscataway for a 2nd stint in 2020.

Former 4-star recruit Gavin Wimsatt will start at QB despite putrid stats as a part-time starter last year. He didn’t have much to work with, and probably won’t this year, either.

Ciarrocca hasn’t looked like a QB whisperer or miracle worker since 2019 with Minnesota, when Tanner Morgan threw for more than 3,000 yards and the Gophers went 11-2. Since then, he oversaw Penn State’s worse season start ever in 2020, spent 2021 as an analyst at West Virginia and returned to Minnesota to watch Morgan hand off repeatedly to Mo Ibrahim in 2022.

The 58-year-old is changing campuses for a 4th straight season. Not a ringing endorsement. Especially when the landing spot is in New Jersey.

Indiana: Personnel

Indiana got healthy during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (6-2), but has been sickly ever since (6-18).

Tom Allen doesn’t have the players, and won’t be getting enough of them any time soon. There’s a reason the school is known for basketball, and IU doesn’t have the resources to match up on the gridiron in the age of NIL and facilities wars.

Michael Penix Jr. begins his 2nd season as Washington’s QB1, and AJ Barner is at Michigan fortifying its tight end room. Those 2 former Hoosiers will make major contributions to teams ranked in the AP preseason top 10. Allen can’t bring back those types of players through the transfer portal.

It’ll only get worse when Washington and 3 other Pac-12 powers join the B1G next year.

Northwestern: Leadership

New head coach David Braun comes across as likeable, decent and sincere, but his task seems darn near impossible in the wake of the hazing scandal that cost 17-year coach Pat Fitzgerald his job.

Less than a year removed from being an FCS assistant at North Dakota State, he’s been promoted from DC to interim coach before ever spending a game on the sideline for the Wildcats.

He’s convinced a high percentage of players to stay, but it’s still a squad with just 1 win in the past 18 games.

So when we say leadership is the program’s biggest flaw, we’re pointing the finger above Braun.