A new era in the Big Ten begins Tuesday as coaches and players from the league’s 18 teams descend on Indianapolis for media days, which runs Tuesday through Thursday.
By the preseason looks of things, one of the conference’s four new arrivals is set to crash the party in a major way, while members of what was once the West division might really struggle in what is now a crowded, cramped field with the conference ditching divisions.
During the offseason, 247Sports rolled out SEC positional rankings: Quarterback, skill talent, offensive line, defensive line and the secondary. Meanwhile, CBS Sports did an exhaustive ranking of the top coaches.
We’ve compiled the results into the below table, which will give Big Ten fans a convenient preseason guide to where every team is strong — or weak.
| Team | QB | Skill | OL | DL | LB | DB | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 15 | 18 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 10 |
| Indiana | 10 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
| Iowa | 14 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Maryland | 16 | 12 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 13 |
| Michigan State | 8 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 7 |
| Michigan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| Minnesota | 12 | 14 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| Nebraska | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Northwestern | 17 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 16 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Penn State | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Purdue | 11 | 16 | 11 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 17 |
| Rutgers | 18 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 12 |
| UCLA | 13 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
| USC | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| Washington | 5 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
For more, you can check out the full rankings articles for each, with explanations:
Big Ten QB Rankings: Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel at No. 1, Nebraska frosh Dylan Raiola in top 10
Big Ten Skill Rankings: Ducks will soar at RB, WR; why Illinois is dead-last
Big Ten OL Rankings: Rocky transitions in store for UCLA, Washington at o-line?
Big Ten DL rankings: Good luck finding a better national DT tandem than Michigan’s
Big Ten LB rankings: Iowa Hawkeyes again have elite LB corps (surprise, surprise)
Big Ten secondary rankings: ‘Silver Bullet’ secondary will be scary for opponents
Big Ten coach rankings: Ohio State’s Ryan Day recaptures No. 1
