The SEC may be labeled by many as the toughest around with Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee — Florida and Texas A&M are bound to rebound this season too.
But the Big Ten Conference is no slouch, and some may think it’s the best football conference around. Michigan is back, after winning the Big Ten two years in a row. Ohio State is always in the College Football Playoff picture, and Penn State is always rated extremely highly to begin the season. Wisconsin and Minnesota are two other teams that appear to be on their way up and will challenge for the West this season.
Tom Fornelli with CBS Sports ranked all the Big Ten teams by strength of schedule entering the 2023 season.
Fornelli believes Michigan has a favorable schedule this season and he has the Wolverines slated in the No. 9 spot.
The Wolverines played one of the easiest nonconference schedules in the country last season, and it worked out well, so why change things up? While it’s a little harder this year, I wouldn’t anticipate home games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green as major obstacles. Outside of the season finale against Ohio State, the Wolverines could be favored by at least three scores in every home game. They also get a favorable West draw with Nebraska, Minnesota and Purdue, though the Nebraska and Minnesota games are on the road in consecutive weeks.
Michigan absolutely has a favorable schedule this year — especially at home. However, the Wolverines have a few challenging away games such as Nebraska and Minnesota in back-to-back weeks. The maize and blue also go to Penn State, but it will not be a night game, which makes the enviroment a little better for Michgian. Plus, the Wolverines travel to East Lansing to take on MSU — rivalry games can always be crazy.
With this being the last season for the four-team playoff, this feels like another year the Wolverines could be back in it.
Here is how Fornelli ranked the Big Ten teams by SOS:
- Minnesota
- Purdue
- Michigan State
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Rutgers
- Ohio State
- Nebraska
- Michigan
- Northwestern
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Penn State
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