2014 Big Ten Power Rankings – Fall Camp
It is finally August and college football teams are gearing up for fall camp. That means it is time to put out our first 2014 Big Ten Power Rankings. Let me explain one thing first. This is not a prediction of where the teams will finish at the end of the year. It is a ranking based on how strong or weak I think a team is heading into fall camp. With that being said, let’s jump right in.
East Division
1. Ohio State – The Buckeyes are the class of the Big Ten heading into 2014 after going 24-2 over the last two seasons. Ohio State returns Braxton Miller at quarterback and could have the best defensive line in the country.
2. Michigan State – The defending champs return QB Conner Cook and RB Jeremy Langford on an offense that finally found their footing midway through last season. However, the Spartans have some holes to fill on the defense.
3. Penn State – The Nittany Lions are not at the same level as the Spartans or Buckeyes, but they are the best of the rest in the East division. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg is poised to take the next step in his development.
4. Michigan – This is not your father’s Wolverine’s team. Michigan enters the year with a QB “controversy” as Devin Gardner will try and hang on to his starting job. Will Michigan’s offense have the firepower to keep up with the rest of the East?
5. Maryland – The Terrapins may be the most underrated team in the East. QB CJ Brown finished 3rd in the ACC in total offense in 2013, despite losing his top two receivers in the 7th week. Both Stephon Diggs and Deon Long are expected to be healthy in 2014 and give the Terps a shot at having one of the most explosive offenses in the Big Ten.
6. Indiana – The Hoosiers will have one of the conferences best offenses in 2014 led by quarterbak Nate Sudfeld, wide receiver Shane Wynn, and running back Tevin Coleman. The bigger question is can their defense be serviceable enough for their offense to matter. If the Hoosier defense can show improvement over last year’s numbers, this team will be dangerous.
7. Rutgers – The Scarlett Knights return nine players from their starting offense including quarterback Gary Nova, but is this really a good thing? Nova has battled consistency issues throughout his career. Rutgers also is replacing two thirds of its defense.
West Division
1. Wisconsin – The Badgers will do what the Badgers do best, run the ball and play defense. Gary Anderson’s squad will hope that running backs Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement will cover up the issues they have at QB and the loss of receiver Jared Abbrederis.
2. Nebraska –The Huskers lose plenty of talent on offense, but they do return Tommy Armstrong, who went 7-1 at quarterback when Taylor Martinez got hurt, along with All-Big Ten receiver Kenny Bell and running back Ameer Abdullah. Defensive end Randy Gregory will anchor the defense.
3. Iowa – The Hawkeyes enter the season with high expectations for quarterback Jake Ruddock. The run game should be strong, however Iowa does have to replace their entire linebacking corps.
4. Northwestern – The Wildcats had every break go against them in 2013. They do return a lot of talent on offense, and finally got a break when running back Venrick Mark received a medical hardship waiver. The defense is lead by safety Ibraheim Campbell.
5. Minnesota – In Jerry Kill’s fourth year expectations are high, but the Gophers still have questions to answer about the offense. The defense will also miss the presence of defensive linemen Ra’Shede Hageman in the middle.
6. Illinois – The Fighting Illini doubled their win total from 2012 in 2013. Continued improvement this year will depend on how well Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt plays at quarterback. If he lives up to the hype, Illinois could shoot up this list.
7. Purdue – The Boilermakers are coming off a historically bad year in 2013 and there seems to be little to point toward massive improvement in 2014. However there is talent on offense as quarterback Danny Etling, receiver DeAngelo Yancey, and running back Raheem Mostert form a very explosive three-headed monster. The Boilers lose their best two defenders in Ricardo Allen and Bruce Gaston.
Sammy Jacobs is a 2009 graduate from Indiana University with a degree Sports Communication and Broadcasting. He started the Indiana football website Hoosier Huddle in July of 2013. Currently he is working on a Masters Degree in Physical Education at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. You can follow him on Twitter @sammyj108. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and a voter for the Nagurski Award.
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9 thoughts on “2014 Big Ten Power Rankings – Fall Camp”
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MAXIMIZE YOUR EDGE
Interesting. I’ve got:
East
OSU
MSU
Mich
Terps
PSU
Rutgers
Indy
West
Wisc
Iowa
Neb
NW
Minn
Ill
PU
I also have Indiana jumping Rutgers and Northwestern jumping Nebraska in the standings due to schedule differences.
I think both OSU and Wisconsin are a little overrated this year. With Wisky it’s going to be tough replacing nearly their entire front 7. If they recruited high like a Bama or LSU it would be a different story. But in the Badgers case, experience is harder to replace. I lean Iowa in that division. I look for Michigan State to win the other division. But it could be close either way.
I tend to agree here with GS. Ohio State may still be able to sleepwalk to win that division based solely on the fact that they have a solid defense and a competent offense. I think OSU has more offensive troubles than we think, even with a healthy Braxton (which is not always the case – if there were a bet today I could take at Even money for him to start every game, I’d be on the other side).
Yes Brax is in his 3rd year, but keep in mind it is also the 3rd year for these coaches and defensive coordinators to scheme against him and (try to) scheme him out of the game. Of course, a QB with his talent with his feet will never be completely out of it. I think he will need to rely on his supporting cast much more, which I’m not blown away with.
I agree completely on Wisco with GS.
Now, with that said, I still think both of these teams have a very likely chance to win their division. I’m just not as high on them ATS overall as some others may be.
Also keep in mind that OSU loses essentially their entire OL. If any of the upperclassman that are slated to see time struggle, you are then dipping into a pool of freshman. Yikes.
On paper the DL is great, but they actually underperformed statistically quite a bit last year for the talent and competition they faced. Replacing Shazier is also going to be tough. He accounted for something like 20 more tackles for losses than the entire LB corp combined. Even if you have talent waiting in the wings, replacing that won’t happen. So, they will be good, it’s just a matter of how good I suppose, and I’m leaning towards the opposite side.
It’s hard to ignore OSU’s 24-2 record the last 2 years. But those 2 losses came at the end of last season. The Buckeyes also lost some key players. Ryan Shazier, Roby, Hyde and Cory Brown were all exceptional players and winners. Their secondary could be the worst in many years. I think they’ll get burned by the better QB’s in conference. Their OL is a mess. They have one lone lineman returning. And he’s switching positions at tackle. Again, the Buckeyes lost 3 great linemen to graduation. Including All-American Mewhort. The dropoff in protection will most likely be like night and day. And an even bigger reason why Braxton Miller may not make it through the season without some kind of injury. Miller had a very stable backup last year in Kenny Guilton. And now he’s gone. If Miller gets injured this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost 3 or 4 games.
You all make valid points. No team is complete in the league. Everyone loses something. The reason I have OSU 1 and MSU 2 right now (and that can change) is because of what Miller and the Dline bring to the table. Concerns over the OLine are on spot as Urban Meyer spent much of his time at Media Days talking about it. MSU has questions too. They lose a ton on defense. I am also not sold on the offense. They found their groove last season, but also they had some ugly performances.
In the West, it’s wide open but given the talent Wisconsin brings back I had to give them the nod first. They are far from a perfect team as well. Iowa’s schedule is set up to enter their two big games at the end of the year 10-0. I am still trying to figure out how Minnesota scores points.
I think your power rankings are as good as any and I wouldn’t quibble with them except to say that in the West Division, particularly, it’s wide open in terms of who can win it between Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and even Northwestern. No one is dominant and I, too, am skeptical of Wisco’s losses in the trenches. Badgers will be stout, as always, but beatable. And I have the game against LSU circled Week 1 as I think the Tigers have the talent to thump them in a nationally televised game ….
Nebraska really took a hit this weekend with suspensions and injuries to some key players. They’ll lose 3 possible starters on defense.
I heard some news coming down tonight that Braxton Miller reinjured his throwing shoulder. The same one he had surgery on. They say he threw a pass and then crumbled without any contact. Hearing it’s possible he’ll redshirt. At any rate, their conferences chances go way down along with NC chances if he can’t play. I’m also curious to see how far that Navy line drops..