Looking at the Big Ten race

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Is this going to be the most open that the Big Ten race has been in recent memory, at least since the league decided to shelve “Leaders” and “Legends?

Multiple teams are being touted in the Big Ten West while there are many who are saying that the departures at Ohio State are too much for the Buckeyes to overcome and that a new champion in the East could be crowned.

In short, nine teams between the two divisions have been discussed as having somewhat legitimate claims to divisional crowns by the time the Big Ten regular season ends in late-November.

St. Elmo Steakhouse may not know which fan bases it will be catering to until the last second.

It will be a far cry from last season where the Big Ten West champion, Northwestern, was crowned in the second week of November after a relatively anonymous 14-10 win over Iowa.

The Big Ten East, as usual went down to the final week with Ohio State and Michigan both vying for that top spot after the Wolverines had clinched a share of the league title a week before, but still needed to defeat the Buckeyes to punch their ticket to Indianapolis.

Ohio State saw to it that Michigan would miss Indianapolis yet again with a 62-39 bludgeoning.

The Buckeyes would go on to defeat Northwestern 45-24 in the Big Ten Championship game to secure back-to-back league titles and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Don’t expect things to be as cut-and-dry this season however, especially in the West.

With apologies to the other teams of the Big Ten who likely will not be left standing when it comes to deciding divisional champions (granted, who was talking about Northwestern last year at this time outside of Pat Fitzgerald?), we are taking a look at a few key games in November that could go a long way in determining how this will look once all of the games have been played.

5. Michigan State at Michigan (11/16) – The Wolverines were still rolling on their revenge tour the last time these two in-state rivals played and the scene shifts back to Ann Arbor (Mich.) as the Wolverines get their two biggest rivals at home this season. Mid-November in the upper-Midwest could mean just about anything in terms of weather and this could be a low scoring game with two teams that pride themselves on defense.

4. Penn State at Ohio State (11/23) – The last three games have been decided by a grand total of five points with Ohio State winning the last two games by a point after Penn State held late two-score leads. Penn State has not won in Columbus since 2011, the Luke Fickell interim season. Ohio State will have Michigan the following weekend and while you would never expect Ohio State to look past Penn State, that Michigan game will be weighing heavily and Ohio State cannot let up at any point as history has shown.

3. Iowa at Nebraska (11/29) - The West race could come down to this game if the two teams perform as expected. This game will take place before the rest of the conference plays on the following day so both teams will be doing a lot of watching on Saturday to see how things will shake out. Even with the game being in Lincoln (Neb.) the Hawkeyes have won the last four games and five of the last six.

2. Wisconsin at Nebraska (11/16) – The Badgers will have a lot to say about how the Big Ten West will end up and could seriously derail the coronation of Scott Frost at Nebraska. Wisconsin owns the last six wins in this series but the Huskers have not been the Huskers as of late and records may not mean much. The Badgers will need to find quarterback play while the Huskers will need to find defense.

1. Ohio State at Michigan (11/30) – The Game. Not much else needs to be said. The fact that most people see either Ohio State or Michigan winning the East with Penn State and Michigan State being more of a fringe picks, the trip to Indianapolis and a potential Big Ten berth into the College Football Playoff could rest on this game. If Michigan can’t win this one, when will the Wolverines ever win? If Ryan Day is able to get the win in his first try against the Wolverines, the angst from up north will only be stronger.

Offensive player of the year: There are a lot of players who could throw their hat in the ring for this one and with the Buckeyes bringing in a new quarterback into an offense that shattered records, it has to be difficult to bet against Justin Fields. But you also have a guy named Jonathan Taylor at Wisconsin who is coming off of a 2,194-yard season and had 1,977 yards just a year before. Sometimes it is just easier going with the known quantity and our money is on Taylor rushing for 2,000 yards once again and having a big season and being named the OPOY.

Defensive player of the year: There might not be as many known quantities on this side of the ball as many programs lost top defenders from last season but one guy who is back is Ohio State defensive end Chase Young and while teams will do everything that they can not to let Young beat them, he is good enough to make all of those plans go for naught. If Ohio State can see Young play at/around the level he did in the Penn State game from 2018 on a weekly basis, he is going to get more than a few Heisman votes at the end of the season.

Coach of the year: There is a running joke among Ohio State beat media that they should just give it to Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz every year, because they do. Okay, he has only won it four times, but Ohio State has not seen a head coach win it since Earle Bruce won in 1979. That ends this season when Ryan Day earns coach of the year honors after leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title.

On the hot seat: It might be difficult to gauge who has the hotter seat right now between Chris Ash at Rutgers and Lovie Smith at Illinois. The fact is that both programs are in bad shape in terms of the win column but does either program have an answer if they make a move? Illinois seems to be less likely to make a move after giving Smith a two-year extension in December and just unveiling some major football facility upgrades. Ash on the other hand has been at Rutgers for three full seasons, with this being his fourth and has won three league games and gone oh-fer in two of those years. Plus, Greg Schiano is sitting on the sidelines right now and you have to think there are some people that would love to reunite Schiano with the Scarlet Knights.

That means that Ohio State and Wisconsin will meet in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game for the third time. Ohio State will continue its streak against the Badgers at Lucas Oil and will run off to a 35-20 win over the Badgers as JK Dobbins will lead an impressive ground game against a Badgers defense that has no answer for the 1-2 punch of Dobbins and Justin Fields. The Badgers will keep the game close around halftime but the Buckeyes will just have too much firepower and depth for a Badger team that will have its lumps from a brutal run in the Big Ten West.

The Buckeyes sitting at 12-1 will get a bid to the College Football Playoff and will face Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl.