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We’re one step closer to the 2021 season.
Tuesday, the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll was released, the first official rankings to come out in August. Next week, the Associated Press will unveil its preseason Top 25.
Five B1G teams were listed in this season’s preseason poll. Here’s where they landed:
- No. 4: Ohio State Buckeyes
- No. 15: Wisconsin Badgers
- No. 17: Indiana Hoosiers
- No. 18: Iowa Hawkeyes
- No. 20: Penn State Nittany Lions
Northwestern and Michigan both received votes but were left outside the Top 25.
After taking a long, hard look at the first preseason poll of 2021, I’ve come away with just a few thoughts. Here are six of the takeaways from Tuesday’s Top 25:
There’s no concern about a drop-off from Ohio State
The saying goes: “Ohio State doesn’t rebuild, it reloads.” Clearly, that’s how coaches feel about the Buckeyes heading into the 2021 season. It doesn’t matter that Justin Fields is no longer under center, Trey Sermon doesn’t occupy the backfield and last year’s entire starting linebacker group is gone.
Ryan Day has earned the respect of his colleagues across the profession, and why not? He’s never lost a B1G game and has led Ohio State to back-to-back conference titles and consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff.
Having a bevy of receivers (led by Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson), a deep running back room and an offensive line that features Thayer Munford and Nicholas Petit-Frere is reason to believe the Buckeyes will be as explosive as ever offensively, regardless of who is taking snaps at quarterback.
Some question marks are still hovering over the defense, but with Haskell Garrett and Zach Harrison anchoring the line and Sevyn Banks and Josh Proctor in the secondary, the Buckeyes still have a lot of talent.
Other coaches see it, too.
Indiana makes more program history under Tom Allen
History is made in Bloomington. Again.
Indiana falling in the No. 17 spot of the Coaches Poll marks the first time the program has received a preseason ranking since USA Today took over the operation in 1991. That’s 30 years without earning a spot in the Top 25.
Everyone took notice of the Hoosiers’ 6-2 season in 2020, with the only losses coming to Ohio State and Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl. They were the darlings of the college football season, putting that stigma as a “basketball-only school” in the rearview mirror.
The next step is for IU to live up to the hype. A great opportunity to do that awaits. The Hoosiers open up the season with a road trip to No. 18 Iowa and return to Bloomington two weeks later to host No. 10 Cincinnati.
Faith in a bounce-back year from Penn State
Penn State is back in the Top 25 despite a forgettable 4-5 campaign in 2020. The Nittany Lions were the only squad in the Preseason Coaches Poll to finish last year with a losing record.
From 2016-19, Penn State hit the 11-win mark three times under James Franklin. He’s established a strong program and culture in Happy Valley. Even though the Nittany Lions struggled last year, there’s still plenty of reason to believe they’ll enjoy a bounce-back year.
Bringing in new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich is the biggest positive of the offseason. He had a full spring and will have an entire fall camp to implement his scheme and system. Franklin told reporters at media day that it will look a lot like the offense Joe Moorhead ran during his time in State College.
Penn State won a B1G title using that system. Just sayin’.
Top 25 showdowns to open the season?
If the USA Today Coaches Poll is any indication of what we’ll see when the Associated Press Poll comes out next week, then the B1G is in store for a pair of Top 25 showdowns in Week 1. Sign me up.
No. 17 Indiana will open the season against No. 18 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. No. 20 Penn State heads to No. 15 Wisconsin in front of a hostile crowd at Camp Randall Stadium. Both games will have B1G and potentially postseason implications.
After so many fumbled snaps out of the league office before the 2020 season, this is a great way for the first full weekend of B1G football to start. It allows all four programs to really open the year with some momentum. Because those two games are crossover contests, the losers can’t be ruled out of the chase for division titles.
Yeah, it’s going to be fun.
Once again, Northwestern is snubbed
Fans of Northwestern are going to gripe about being left out of the preseason Top 25 again. Pat Fitzgerald is probably leaning back in his chair with a grin on his face muttering, “Perfect,” over and over again.
The Wildcats have won two division titles in the past three seasons and are coming off a 7-2 season, which included a victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. What more does Northwestern need to do in order to avoid the Rodney Dangerfield treatment?
For you youngsters out there, that means they “don’t get no respect!”
Sure, Northwestern lost a lot from last year’s team. It has a lot of questions to answer entering the 2021 season. But if Fitzgerald’s team was in the SEC, you can bet it’d be ranked in the Top 20.
Jim Harbaugh’s run in the preseason Top 25 is over
For the first time since his first season in Ann Arbor (2015), Michigan is not included in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. It would’ve been pretty difficult to justify the placement following a 2-4 season that included only wins against Minnesota and Rutgers.
The massive staff overhaul didn’t appeal to coaches and the continued questions about the quarterback room are still very prominent. Maybe this will add a little extra fuel to the Wolverine fire heading into the fall.
Either way, Harbaugh’s run in the preseason poll ends after five years. Michigan will have a chance it belongs in the rankings in Week 2, hosting No. 21 Washington.
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