It’s officially preseason polls season! Fans and analysts have already begun to overreact to rankings so that must mean that college football is right around the corner. On Monday, the preseason USA Today Coaches poll dropped and half of a dozen Big Ten programs are represented.
Georgia paced the SEC with nine selections, the Big 12 had five, the ACC had four, and Notre Dame rounded out the top 25. No Group of 5 programs made the initial cut, as expected.
Six Big Ten Teams Land on Initial Coaches Poll
2. Ohio State
The Buckeyes enter 2024 as the favorite to take the Big Ten. Ryan Day has his team gearing up to go all-in on 2024 with a dozen potentially NFL-bound veterans electing to return. The defensive side of the ball is set to be a strength yet again with the likes of transfer Caleb Downs joining an already strong secondary. Ohio State’s defense could have multiple First-Team All-Americans but the focus will be on offense.
It looks like Will Howard may have won the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback job and he will lead a Chip Kelly-called offense. He has a talent one-two punch at running back and a wealth of unproven, highly-rated receivers. It’s “natty or bust” in Columbus and the 2024 edition of the team is well-suited to deliver.
3. Oregon
Right behind the favorite Buckeyes are the newcomers from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon. The Ducks lost two games last year: at Washington by three, and at the Pac-12 Championship to Washington by three. They were nearly there and might have gotten even better for this year. The Ducks went out and got a transfer quarterback of their own in Dillon Gabriel. The southpaw has racked up 14,865 yards and 125 touchdowns in his career. Both of those marks are good for eighth in college football history.
Oregon’s duo of Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson will rival about any receiver duo in the country. Defensively, the Ducks will be led by a couple of names on the preseason awards watchlist like Jabbar Muhammad and Jeffrey Bassa. The Ducks have a favorable schedule and get Ohio State at home. An at-large bid in the expanded College Football Playoff seems to be the floor for this team.
8. Michigan
Despite the recent developments in the sign-stealing scandal, the defending National Champions were ranked eighth in the first Coaches Poll. Aside from Ohio State, Michigan was the only Big Ten program to garner a first-place vote. New head coach Sherrone Moore is not one of the voters, however.
It’s going to be a different season in Ann Arbor. The program lost a number of coaches and contributors from last year’s team. The defense is still expected to be among the best in the nation, led by Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Will Johnson. Each of those three has a chance to be high draft picks come spring. Offensively, there’s been a battle at quarterback between Alex Orji (one career passing attempt) and seventh-year player, Jack Tuttle. Whoever wins will lean on playmakers like Colston Loveland and Donovan Edwards.
9. Penn State
Checking in just behind the Wolverines are the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State has been close but no cigar for most of the James Franklin era. Offensively, they’ll be led by Drew Allar in his second season as the starter. He is expected to take a step from his performance a year ago. The Nittany Lions have a formidable running back duo in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, as they have the last two seasons. Plus, Penn State added Ohio State transfer receiver, Julian Fleming.
Defensively, players like Abdul Carter will be tasked to lead the way again. The Nittany Lions had the third-best scoring defense last year after allowing just 13.5 points per game. They have a bad taste in their mouth after a disappointing Peach Bowl and get Ohio State and Washington at home this year. If Franklin can’t lead his program to the College Football Playoff this year, when?
23. USC
After a large gap, the USC Trojans clock in at 23rd in Lincoln Riley’s third season in southern California. The Coaches Poll must be bullish on the Trojans this year despite losing Caleb Williams. However, the Trojans will be led by Miller Moss at quarterback and Zachariah Branch will finally be unleashed out wide.
The defense was awful for the Trojans last year. USC allowed 34.4 points per game. That number was good for 121th out of 133 FBS defenses. Riley made a change at defensive coordinator and now D’Anton Lynn, who defected from UCLA, leads the way. With the Bruins, Lynn’s defense a year ago was the best against the run and forced the third-most sacks. Needless to say, that will be a major upgrade.
25. Iowa
The final Big Ten team featured on the first Coaches Poll is none other than the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kirk Ferentz is entering season 26 with the Hawkeyes and should have another solid squad. As usual, the defense will be the strength despite losing a handful of stars. Jay Higgins and Sebastian Castro, two popular picks for preseason awards, will lead a unit looking to improve upon last year. Iowa was the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation, only behind Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.
Offensively, Cade McNamara is set to get his shot after suffering an early injury, playing hurt, and then missing most of the year last year. Iowa, despite their offensive deficiencies, could be a dark-horse CFP candidate. The trip to Ohio State on October 5 is the only game on the schedule with a currently ranked program. Even better, Iowa has a bye the week before that one.
Full Rankings
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Georgia (47)
2. Ohio State (7)
3. Oregon
4. Texas (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan (1)
9. Penn State
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. LSU
13. Utah
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Miami (FL)
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. NC State
23. USC
24. Kansas
25. Iowa
Washington (123), Wisconsin (17), Maryland (5), and Nebraska (2) received votes.
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