Big Ten football: Early conference power rankings for 2020
6. Indiana Hoosiers
Considering Indiana hasn’t seen the team win eight games in back-to-back seasons since the late-1980s, it might shock some to see the Hoosiers this high. However, there’s good reason to be high on what this team could be. Not only are they coming off of a nice campaign but they have a lot of optimism to compete well in Big Ten football this season also.
Michael Penix Jr. was electric when given the keys to the offense and is the surefire starter in Bloomington now. Good news for him, he also has some solid weapons at his disposal, including Whop Philyor, who had a 1,000-yard receiver season in 2019. With a solid defense, not only should the Hoosiers take care of business against lesser teams but they might give some of the top dogs in the conference a scare.
5. Wisconsin Badgers
It’s safe to say Paul Chryst has earned the benefit of the doubt in Madison as, no matter what’s happened, the Badgers have consistently been in the mix or have won the Big Ten West. But man, it’s hard to look at this team and not think it might be a down year by Wisconsin standards — or at least that they might struggle.
Not only is there a likely quarterback battle brewing between Graham Mertz and Jack Coan but whoever is the starting signal-caller won’t have Jonathan Taylor or Quintez Cephus to lean on and the offensive line has fewer proven commodities than in many years while the defense has key departures to contend with as well. Again, Chryst has earned our trust but he has a tough job ahead in the 2020 season.
4. Michigan Wolverines
As if it wasn’t already sufficiently warmed, Jim Harbaugh is on the hot seat in the biggest way yet at Michigan. The Wolverines have consistently fallen short of expectations and, to make matters worst, the task at hand for the 2020 season may be the toughest yet for the once-savior in Ann Arbor.
There should be some stability on the Michigan defense with Aidan Hutchison ready to star and that unit should be this team’s leader in the charge for victories. However, questions about whether Dylan McCaffrey or Joe Milton will start at quarterback loom and, more importantly, whether or not either player is enough to finally give the Wolverines offense a spark.