Big Ten power rankings by returning production for 2024

One thing to keep close tabs on entering a college football season is how many guys are returning to a particular roster. A more experienced roster usually has an upper hand over one lacking experience. Of course, the transfer portal could be a way to mitigate this. Also keep in mind that coaching staffs change all the time. Regardless, we need to dive into what Bill Connelly did over at ESPN last month.

He outlined what every FBS program is bringing back this year, based on percentages. This could be a way to see what teams could be markedly better than the season prior. The other big thing to keep in mind that a well-experienced roster that fails to perform up to expectations could be what causes a long-tenured head coach to be ousted. What Connelly found inside the Big Ten is utterly fascinating.

Here are all 18 Big Ten teams power ranked based on what percentage of their roster is returning.

1. Iowa Hawkeyes (79 percent, No. 9 overall)
2. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (72 percent, No. 13 overall)
3. Minnesota Golden Gophers (71 percent, No. 19 overall)
4. Nebraska Cornhuskers (71 percent, No. 20 overall)
5. UCLA Bruins (70 percent, No. 21 overall)
6. Oregon Ducks (69 percent, No. 25 overall)
7. Wisconsin Badgers (68 percent, No. 30 overall)
8. Penn State Nittany Lions (67 percent, No. 37 overall)
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (65 percent, No. 56 overall)
10. Indiana Hoosiers (64 percent, No. 58 overall)
11. Purdue Boilermakers (63 percent, No. 64 overall)
12. Michigan State Spartans (60 percent, No. 73 overall)
13. Illinois Fighting Illini (60 percent, No. 75 overall)
14. USC Trojans (60 percent, No. 76 overall)
15. Northwestern Wildcats (59 percent, No. 79 overall)
16. Maryland Terrapins (51 percent, No. 103 overall)
17. Washington Huskies (40 percent, No. 126 overall)
18. Michigan Wolverines (36 percent, No. 130 overall)

Shockingly, Iowa returns the largest percentage of its players in the Big Ten at 79 percent. This is the ninth-best mark in the entire country. Rutgers, Minnesota, Nebraska and newcomer UCLA all return at least 70 percent of their players. This could be a sign of good things to come for these five under-the-radar programs. At the bottom, Washington and Michigan return 40 and 36 percent of its players.

What else can we derive from Connelly's findings? Is there any team where this could be an issue?

Power ranking Big Ten based on percentage of returning production

In terms of high returning production, I think this bodes quite well for teams like Nebraska and Rutgers especially. This is Matt Rhule's second season in Lincoln. If all goes according to plan, the Huskers will be back in a bowl game. With Rutgers, Greg Schiano is an institution in Piscataway. He is able to recruit New Jersey and develop the talent in this rich football state. Watch out for Rutgers!

As far as where it could be an issue, I know this will hurt Michigan in a post-Jim Harbaugh world. I also suspect that Maryland could run into challenges, as could Washington. Michigan and Washington may have new head coaches, but Maryland will also be starting a new quarterback. Seeing Taulia Tagovailoa run out of eligibility hurts the Terrapins' relatively low ceiling. This could be a rough year...

Overall, I would say returning production will either make or break teams like Minnesota, who really need to see a good year out of P.J. Fleck, as well as if Lincoln Riley will be able to make his mark in the Big Ten, now in his third season at USC. Teams like Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon don't need top marks, as the talent that is returning is already spectacular. They are better than any metric out there.

After looking at the percentages, I am more bullish on Rutgers and far less on Washington now.