USA Today released the preseason coaches poll this past week and three teams from the Big Ten were in the top 25: Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa. No real big surprises there. One notable point, MSU was picked #3 in the Big Ten by the media at Big Ten media days in Chicago. There were some who were surprised that MSU was picked ahead of, say, Iowa, although Iowa has a brutal schedule and MSU doesn’t have play Ohio State and gets Penn State at home. Turns out the coaches are more confident in the Hawkeyes going into the season. Below, we’ve pulled out the Big Ten teams from the poll to see how the coaches stack up the conference:
| Rank | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| #6 | Ohio State | 1,126 |
| #8 | Penn State | 988 |
| #21 | Iowa | 257 |
| #27 | Michigan State | 136 |
| #35 | Illinois | 38 |
| #45 | Wisconsin | 6 |
| #46 | Northwestern | 5 |
| #58 (Tie) | Michigan | 1 |
| #58 (Tie) | Minnesota | 1 |
Notables: #23 Notre Dame (194 votes), #51 Central Michigan (3)
I am surprised Northwestern is ranked so highly. In our Big Ten season preview, we picked Northwestern toward the bottom of the Big Ten. The schedule isn’t particularly favorable (@ MSU, @ Iowa, @ Illinois) and they lose QB C.J. Bacher and RB Tyrell Sutton.
Also worth pointing out, Central Michigan gets some preseason cred from the coaches. This is without a doubt the early season litmus test for the Spartans. Dan LeFevor seems like he’s been starting at CMU for 5 years. We should be able to see how the defense really is going against the veteran quarterback.
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