It used to be that the Big Ten conference would publish preseason awards. That went the way of rationale discussions in this country though, so Cleveland.com picked up the effort. Now, instead of a preseason favorite and offensive and defensive players of the year coming from Chicago, it now comes by way of a poll conducted by Cleveland.com of several writers in the conference.
And even though the COVID-19 pandemic has the sports world turned upside down, that tradition continued this past week, with a familiar outcome when it comes to which team is favored to take home the Big Ten title.
Yes, your Ohio State Buckeyes are an overwhelming favorite to win the Big Ten East and eventual conference title. In fact, the Buckeyes received 33 of 34 first-place votes from the panelists voting in the poll. It was the same margin for both the Big Ten East and conference titles. The team receiving that other first-place vote was Penn State. We’re guessing it was someone in Pennsylvania or somehow related to James Franklin.
Final tabulations currently being completed by @nwbaird. 10th annual https://t.co/hoxCxOa1X8 Big Ten football preseason poll will be out in the morning. Thanks to all of our fine voters from around the conference.
— Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) July 31, 2020
It was a little less clear in the West division. Wisconsin came out on top, but Minnesota was a close second, receiving just five-less first-place votes.
So how did all of the voting break down?