The 2024 college football season will kick off this month with Week 0 starting the season off in just 23 days. However no Big Ten teams will play until Week 1 with Rutgers, Minnesota, and Illinois playing on Thursday night as Rutgers faces Howard, Minnesota faces North Carolina, and Illinois faces Eastern Illinois. On Friday Michigan State and Wisconsin start their seasons; Michigan State takes on Florida Atlantic and Wisconsin faces Western Michigan. On Saturday the favorites start their season with Penn State facing West Virginia, Ohio State has Akron, Michigan will face Fresno State, and Oregon will face Idaho in their first game of the Big Ten. Other new members are Washington, UCLA, and USC; UCLA faces Hawaii, and Washington plays late-night against Weber State, finally on Sunday night USC will face LSU in the Trojans’ first game as a member of the Big Ten.
Predicted Standings
Ohio State Buckeyes 11-1 (8-1)
Oregon Ducks 11-1 (8-1)
Penn State Nittany Lions 11-1 (8-1)
Michigan Wolverines 10-2 (8-1)
Iowa Hawkeyes 11-1 (8-1)
USC Trojans 9-3 (7-2)
Wisconsin Badgers 7-5 (5-4)
Nebraska Cornhuskers 7-5 (5-4)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 7-5 (5-4)
Washington Huskies 7-5 (4-5)
Minnesota Golden Gophers 5-7 (3-6)
Maryland Terrapins 6-6 (3-6)
Michigan State Spartans 5-7 (3-6)
Purdue Boilermakers 4-8 (3-6)
Illinois Fighting Illini 3-9 (1-8)
Northwestern Wildcats 3-9 (1-8)
UCLA Bruins 3-9 (1-8)
Indiana Hoosiers 3-9 (0-9)
Top 10 Offensive Players
10.) Running Back – Nicholas Singleton – Penn State Nittany Lions
Singleton is entering his Junior season with Penn State, in 26 games he has rushed for 1,813 yards on 327 carries with 20 touchdowns; he has 2,206 yards from scrimmage with 23 touchdowns. Last season he finished with 752 yards on 171 attempts with eight touchdowns; he had 1,060 yards from scrimmage and ten total touchdowns. He finished seventh in the Big Ten in rushing attempts, tenth in yards, and tied for fifth in touchdowns.
9.) Running Back – Darius Taylor – Minnesota Golden Gophers
Taylor is entering his sophomore year, in six games last season he rushed for 799 yards on 138 attempts, he had five touchdowns; he finished the season with 891 yards from scrimmage. He finished eighth in the Big Ten in rushing yards, 12th in attempts, and tied for 12th in rushing touchdowns.
8.) Tight End – Colston Loveland – Michigan Wolverines
Loveland is entering his junior year in 2024. In his first two seasons, he played in 29 games hauling in 61 passes for 884 yards and six touchdowns. Last season in Michigan’s Championship run he played in 15 games catching 45 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns. He finished tied for 16th in receptions, 13th in yards, and tied for 16th in touchdowns.
7.) Running Back – Kyle Monangai – Rutgers
Monangai is entering his fifth season, he has played in 41 games rushing for 1,943 yards on 413 attempts with 14 touchdowns and 2,120 yards from scrimmage. Last season in 13 games he ran for 1,262 yards on 242 attempts with eight touchdowns and 1,340 yards from scrimmage. He finished second in rushing attempts in the Big Ten last season, first in yards, and tied for fifth in touchdowns.
6.) Running Back – Quinshon Judkins – Ohio State Buckeyes
Judkins is a transfer from Ole Miss where in his first two seasons he played in 26 games rushing for 2,725 yards on 545 attempts with 31 touchdowns; from scrimmage, he had 3,006 yards. Last season he ran the ball 271 times for 1,158 yards with 15 touchdowns; he finished with 1,307 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns. He would have finished first in rushing attempts in the Big Ten, third in yards, and second in touchdowns.
5.) Wide Receiver – Tez Johnson – Oregon Ducks
Johnson started his college career at Troy playing in 36 games catching 141 passes for 1,809 yards with eight touchdowns; he had 1,680 yards from scrimmage with nine touchdowns. Last season in his first season at Oregon he played in 14 games hauling in 86 passes for 1,182 yards with ten touchdowns. He would have finished first in the Big Ten in receptions, second in yards, and third in touchdowns.
4.) Running Back – Donovan Edwards – Michigan Wolverines
Edwards takes over the Michigan backfield after Blake Corum got drafted. In his first three seasons, he’s played in 38 games rushing for 1,662 yards on 294 carries, and 15 touchdowns; he has combined for 2,376 yards from scrimmage with 18 total touchdowns. Last season he played in all 15 games rushing for 497 yards on 119 carries, he finished with 746 yards from scrimmage. He finished 16th in rushing attempts, 16th in yards, and tied for 12th in touchdowns.
3.) Running Back – TreVeyon Henderson – Ohio State Buckeyes
Henderson has played in 31 games at Ohio State rushing for 2,745 yards on 446 attempts with 32 touchdowns; he has 3,314 yards from scrimmage with 37 touchdowns. Last season in ten games he ran for 926 yards on 156 carries with 11 touchdowns; he had 1,155 yards from scrimmage. He finished tenth in rushing attempts, fourth in yards, and tied for third in touchdowns.
2.) Wide Receiver – Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State Buckeyes
Egbuka will be the top wide receiver for Ohio State. In his first three seasons for the Buckeyes, he has played in 33 games hauling in 124 passes for 1,857 yards with 14 touchdowns; he has 1,969 yards from scrimmage with 16 touchdowns. Last season, he played in ten games going for 1,857 yards on 41 receptions with four touchdowns. Egbuka finished tied for 21st in receptions, 20th in yards, and tied for 16th in touchdowns.
1.) Quarterback – Dillon Gabriel – Oregon Ducks
Gabriel is at third school in his college career. He started at UCF where in 26 games he completed 554 of his 913 attempts for a 60.7 completion percentage, he passed for 8,037 yards with 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Then at Oklahoma, he played in 24 games completing 496 of his 751 passes, good for a 66.0 completion percentage, he threw for 6,828 yards with 55 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Last season in 12 games he completed 266 passes for a 69.3 completion percentage and 3,660 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions. He would have finished second in completions, first in yards, and first in touchdowns in the Big Ten last season.
Top 5 In Conference Games
5.) Ohio State @ Penn State – November 2nd
This game will be a big one if Penn State has any chance of making a run at being not just in the Big Ten Championship but the College Football Playoff. Ohio State has a tough schedule but they have the talent to take care of business. This will be Penn State’s first big game of the season.
4.) USC @ Michigan – September 21st
USC’s first game in the Big Ten will be a big test against the defending National Champion Wolverines. Michigan will look to put a stamp on they are still the defending champs with their first game in the Big Ten of the season.
3.) Oregon @ Michigan – November 2nd
This is a game that whoever wins will likely be fighting against Penn State and Ohio State for a matchup in the championship game. November will be a tough month with Oregon starting it then Ohio State ending it.
2.) Michigan @ Ohio State – November 30th
The game has to make the list. No matter what happens this season, both these teams will be up for this game. Ohio State will look to show they built a powerhouse this season and take care of their rivals while Michigan will look for their third straight win over the Buckeyes.
1.) Ohio State @ Oregon – October 12th
This game will be the biggest game in conference play as these two are the favorites to win the Championship. This will most likely be a preview of the Championship game and could even be a preview of the National Championship.
Preseason All-Big Ten Honors
Offensive Player of the Year – Quarterback – Dillon Gabriel – Oregon Ducks
Defensive Player of the Year – Defensive Back – Will Johnson – Michigan Wolverines
Coach of the Year – Ryan Day – Ohio State Buckeyes
Championship Game Prediction
Ohio State over Oregon 34-31
Ohio State is loaded with weapons, and this is their chance to make a statement, and they will do that. Dillon Gabriel however will go toe to toe against the Buckeyes as he looks to win the Big Ten Championship in their first season, but the Ohio State offense is just too much and narrowly escapes with a win and is the #2 seed in the College Football Playoff.
