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2021 Big Ten football season preview: Predicted order of finish, best players, breakout stars

By Richard Kimball

Quarterback C.J. Stroud, here making a throw in practice last week, played in three games without throwing a pass last season.Ohio State Football Training Camp
Quarterback C.J. Stroud, here making a throw in practice last week, played in three games without throwing a pass last season.Ohio State Football Training Camp /
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Ohio State has won the last four Big Ten titles, can anyone take their crown or will the Buckeyes claim the throne for the fifth straight year?

COVID played a key role in the 2020 college football season and there probably wasn’t a conference that was affected by it more than the Big Ten, from almost not having a season, to having their conference winner finish the regular season with just five games played. But all of that is behind us now, for the most part, and we can hopefully have a normal, and full, season of football

But with everything going back to the way it was pre-pandemic, what should we expect from the Big Ten Conference in 2021?

Well, The Ohio State Buckeyes are the clearcut favorite as they are not only the reigning Big Ten champion but the four-time reigning conference champion. And despite the loss of quarterback Justin Fields, the Buckeyes should not miss a beat on offense as C.J. Stroud steps in to take the keys of Ohio State’s high-scoring offense. And following close behind the Buckeyes in the East Division are Penn State and Indiana.

The Nittany Lions started 2020 with five straight losses but were able to storm back, winning their final four games, giving themselves much to build on for this season. While the Indiana Hoosiers were one of the teams that beat Penn State and was one of the conference’s best defenses a year ago.

In the middle of the East, are the three “M’s”: Michigan, Michigan State and Maryland. And the status of these three programs seems to be swapped. Michigan is hovering around mediocrity and average, Michigan State seems to be a sinking ship, and Maryland looks to finally be living up to all the talent they’ve been recruiting. Oh, and then there’s Rutgers.

So, let’s flip sides now to the West division.

Northwestern has been at the top of the division two of the last three seasons, but in that middle season, they were at the very bottom. So the question stands: can they maintain consistency or will they slip down in the standings again? Following behind the Wildcats, are the usual teams: Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Last season, Wisconsin finished just a game above .500, but shouldn’t repeat that this time around. Iowa was…well, they were Iowa. You know, you never really know what you’re going to get from the Hawkeyes until the season starts to play out. And then there’s Minnesota. In 2019, everyone was rowing the Golden Gophers’ boat, but 2020 humbled Minnesota and its fan base, making 2021 a make or break year for them.

You also have the Nebraska Cornhuskers who just have not been able to find their footing in the Big Ten and are starting to become a failed state. And then you have Illinois and Purdue, two schools that show flashes of brilliance from time to time but never seem to be able to put it all together.

Big Ten football predicted order of finish

East Divison

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes
  2. Penn State Nittany Lions
  3. Indiana Hoosiers
  4. Maryland Terrapins
  5. Michigan Wolverines
  6. Michigan State Spartans
  7. Rutgers Scarlet Knight

West Division

  1. Wisconsin Badgers
  2. Iowa Hawkeyes
  3. Minnesota Golden Gophers
  4. Northwestern Wildcats
  5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  6. Purdue Boilermakers
  7. Illinois Fighting Illini

2021 Big Ten Championship Game: Ohio State vs Wisconsin

This seems to be a common trend as these two teams have met in three of the last seven Big Ten title games, with Ohio State winning all three of those matchups. And this time around, things will not be any different as the Buckeyes win their fifth straight Big Ten Championship.