It’s never too early for a “way too early” Big Ten power ranking! Things will change. Players will hurt the portal, players will transfer in, and injuries will happen but for the most part, we have a pretty good understanding of rosters after National Signing Day and so much transfer portal movement.
In each part of this series, we will unveil where each of the 18 teams in the new look conference begins. We started at No. 1 with the revamped Ohio State Buckeyes. Then, the Oregon Ducks come in at the second spot. Coming in at No. 3 were the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines, who are in a bit of a transition period.
At No. 4, we unveiled the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are returning a lot of talent from their 2023 roster. Then we made way for the old reliable, the Iowa Hawkeyes. At No. 6, another new addition to the conference, the USC Trojans. Next up at No. 7, the Wisconsin Badgers came in, followed by the Washington Huskies at No. 8 in the ranking.
Coming in at No. 9, another pretty consistent program with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They come into the 2024 season as a real wildcard. Speaking of wildcards, there may not be a bigger one than the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They come in at No. 10 on the ranking.
Following Nebraska is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at No. 11, coming off a bit of a breakout season in 2023 under head coach Greg Schiano. A team in transition, but an exciting one, is the Indiana Hoosiers. At No. 13 is the Michigan State Spartans, who are another team in transition. Then you have the Purdue Boilermakers at No. 14 who enter the second year under former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.
On offense, there are a lot of familiar faces returning to West Lafayette. The hope is that quarterback Hudson Card takes a nice step forward in year two, as well as leaning on running back Devin Mockobee. The offensive line should be a strong suit for the team, returning three starters in center Gus Hartwig, offensive guard Marcus Mbow, and right tackle Mahamane Moussa. Left tackle Corey Stewart was a big get in the transfer portal as well, coming over from Ball State.
Walters will be counting on a good blend of development and transfer acquisitions to help take the unit to the next level. They are led by sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman, who was dynamic as a freshman. In 12 games, Thieneman recorded 106 total tackles and six interceptions.