The USA TODAY Sports Network released its 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll on Monday ahead of the conference media days this week in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The pool takes votes from 13 beat writers who cover the conference for USA TODAY. This is the first edition of the poll featuring the 18-team Big Ten as it enters its first season of expanded play. Newcomers Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC are likely to make a major impact on the season, with the Ducks being a heavy title favorite.
Related: Penn State’s 2024 schedule with game-by-game score predictions, 2024 Big Ten media days full schedule
The two teams that met in the national championship game do not even crack the top two, as 2024 represents a year of rebuilding for the Huskies and Wolverines.
It is always challenging to predict the end-of-season standings, especially with the conference entering an entirely new dynamic this year. However, both preseason polls we have looked at so far put Penn State at No. 3 in the conference.
As we near that point, here is a complete 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll courtesy of our colleagues at USA TODAY:
1. Ohio State (8 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (5 first-place votes)
3. (tie) Michigan
3. (tie) Penn State
5. USC
6. Iowa
7. Wisconsin
8. Nebraska
9. Washington
10. Rutgers
11. Maryland
12. Michigan State
13. Minnesota
14. UCLA
15. Illinois
16. Indiana
17. Northwestern
18. Purdue