ESPN Split Between Michigan, Ohio State To Win Big Ten

So many people believe the Big Ten will come down to the last regular season game between Michigan and Ohio State.

The CBS Sports eight-person panel was split right down the middle between Michigan and Ohio State when they tried to predict who would win the Big Ten. 

It appears ESPN feels the same way, other than this was a two-person panel predicting the Big Ten. 

On Thursday, Adam Rittenberg and Tom VanHaaren of ESPN came out with an article breaking down the Big Ten conference. They looked at the top newcomers, the biggest holes to fill, predicting the MVP and the team to win the conference. 

Adam Rittenberg said it was a toss-up to him, but he ultimately chose the Buckeyes to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game. 35-17. 

However, Tom VanHaaren chose Michigan to three-peat in the Big Ten. He also has Iowa winning the West and the Wolverines winning with a final score of 35-17. 

I flipped a coin between Michigan and Ohio State, and Michigan won best two out of three. I could see arguments for both teams with Ohio State focusing this offseason on competition because of the two losses to end the season and wanting to exact revenge on Michigan. But the Buckeyes are breaking in a new quarterback, and Michigan returns a ton of starters from last season. I'm going with the Wolverines taking their third straight Big Ten title for the first time in their history.

One other note is that VanHaaren picked Blake Corum to win the MVP award in the Big Ten. Rittenhouse picked Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. VanHaaren believes Harrison Jr. is the most likely MVP winner, but Corum should be right in the mix as long as he stays healthy.

I agree the league MVP is very likely going to be Harrison, but Corum is going to be in the mix. He was injured at the end of last season and spurned the NFL to return to Michigan for another season. The run game will always be featured in this offense and Corum has another really good offensive line to run behind. He had 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022 and there's no reason he can't have similar success in 2023.

Michigan kicks off its season on Sept. 3 at noon against East Carolina.