Big Ten College Football Preview 2022: Ohio State Or The Field?

Will the Ohio State Buckeyes return to the top of the Big Ten after being upset by their arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines?

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The Big Ten has been in the news cycle often this offseason and not because of its reigning champion nor its biggest national brand. But we're not here to talk realignment– let's dive into the landscape of the Big Ten conference for the 2022 college football season.

As a refresher, the Michigan Wolverines won their first outright conference title since 2003. It got Jim Harbaugh past the criticisms that he couldn't win the conference nor beat his rival Ohio State – both narratives put to bed in 2021. How does Michigan hold up now with the weight of expectation?

Giants Of The Big Ten Once Again

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Eleven wins, a top-five final ranking, and a Rose Bowl win. That's one heck of a season, right?

Not if you're Ryan Day and Ohio State. In the eyes of staff and many fans, 2021 was a disappointment of a year, missing out on a seventh straight Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff (not to mention losing to Michigan for the first time since 2011).

Now, Ohio State's ultra-talented roster returns 73% of their roster production– an unheard of mark for a school that cranks out NFL Draft talent. Back is Heisman frontrunner CJ Stroud, who has the nation's top receiving corps at his disposal. Most notably is Rose Bowl superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who graces Heisman odds boards as well.

The offensive line features a pair of All-America candidates– tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones. They also return stud running back TreyVeyon Henderson, who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 15 TDs as a true freshman last year.

Defense was the Achilles heel of the Buckeyes last season, so they hired one of the nation's top defensive coordinators in Jim Knowels. Knowels has a lot of talent to work with, including corner Denzel Burke and pass rusher Zach Harrison. Ohio State's defense was out-schemed in both losses a year ago (vs. Oregon, at Michigan). There's a clear directive here.

The Buckeyes have a chance to make a statement early in their opening game against Notre Dame and field Michigan at home. However, road trips to Penn State and Michigan State make their schedule a bit tricky.

At the end of the day, it'd be foolish to bet against Ohio State.

Where There's A Goliath, There's A David

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It's no secret that Purdue is the bane of good Big Ten teams' existences for the past few years. In fact, they're 4-5 against Ohio State in their last 10 matchups (note: an Ohio State win was vacated) dating back to 2003.

The Boilermakers return veteran Aidan O'Connell at QB. Another star receiver is off to the NFL (David Bell) and the heir to that spot was supposed to be Milton Wright, but he was waived from the team for not meeting academic standards. However, keep an eye on Broc Thompson, who exploded for 217 yards in the Music City Bowl against Tennessee.

Purdue opens their season on a Thursday night at home against Penn State– a prime setting for Purdue to work their magic. They have road games at Minnesota and Wisconsin, but field Iowa at home. Outside Penn State, their draw from the East division is a cakewalk: Maryland and Indiana.

Don't be surprised to see a 7-0 Purdue team heading into Madison on Oct. 22.

It Doesn't Get Any Worse... Right?

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It wasn't just the 3-9 record; it was the nine single-digit losses and eight one-score losses. Scott Frost has never felt a hotter seat as he once again failed to win more than five games since arriving in Lincoln in 2018.

Nobody in the country had worse luck than Nebraska did last season. They even played Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Michigan down to the wire before dropping each game late.

Frost turned to the transfer portal, where he brought in Texas QB Casey Thompson, TCU star pass rusher Ochaun Mathis, and 14 others. Their transfer class is ranked seventh according to 247Sports' Composite Rankings.

Their first game (vs. Northwestern) is played in Dublin, Ireland, and the Huskers face Oklahoma out of conference. However, the month of November won't be kind to Nebraska – likely when Frost is coaching for his job – as they host Minnesota and Wisconsin, and travel to Michigan and Iowa. Ouch.

Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown

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Finally. That's the word for the Wolverines' 2021 season as they defeated Ohio State, won the Big Ten championship, and landed in the College Football Playoff.

Now, they have to follow it up. No pressure.

After flirting with the NFL, Jim Harbaugh returns to Ann Arbor down both coordinators and two first-round grade pass rushers (note: David Ojabo was a projected top-16 pick until he injured his leg during his Pro Day). Again, no pressure.

The QB battle between J.J. McCarthy and Cade McNamara will be fun to watch throughout camp and potentially into the season. Perhaps most exciting is the return of superstar-in-the-making running back Blake Corum. He rushed for 11 TDs and 6.6 yards per carry as a sophomore last season behind Hassan Haskins.

It's unrealistic to believe this year's defense will reach the heights of the 2021 unit, but they'll be good again despite returning just three starters. Interior lineman Mazi Smith will be the centerpiece of the defense and will be an All-America candidate this coming season.

One side of the ball Michigan will be totally sound on is special teams, as they return ace kicker Jake Moody.

The Wolverines' schedule is too favorable to expect anything less than nine or ten wins. Their first four weeks are all at home and are against Colorado State, Hawaii, UConn, and Maryland. Penn State and Michigan State visit the Big House before Michigan closes their season at Ohio State.

A Look At The Rest Of The Contenders

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Riley Moss – the nation's top DB– leads what should be another terrific Iowa defense into the 2022 season. The Hawkeyes lose workhorse RB Tyler Goodson to the NFL, but return veteran QB Spencer Petras (for good or ill). Despite pulling both Michigan and Ohio State from the East, Iowa will once again be at the forefront of the Big Ten West.

Penn State made strides to fix their ground game, which buried the team time and time again. In comes budding star Nick Singleton– perhaps the most lauded RB prospect in State College since Saquon Barkley. Also back is veteran Sean Clifford, who was banged up for much of 2021 and he gets a couple terrific pass catchers: returning starter Parker Washington and WKU transfer Mitchell Tinsley. The OL is a unit that needs to take major steps forward.

Michigan State went nuclear under Mel Tucker last season and produced a Heisman finalist at RB, Kenneth Walker. How do the Spartans replace that kind of production? They'll try with Colorado transfer Jarek Broussard. However, without a ground game, can Michigan State trust QB Payton Thorne? The defensive secondary was a liability last season and all five starters are back this season.

Wisconsin was a major disappointment the past two seasons, particularly due to the play of Graham Mertz– a lauded but underwhelming QB prospect. Now a junior, Mertz will be a tangential piece to what Wisconsin wants to do. The most exciting player is Braelon Allen, a 6' 2", 240-pound bruiser who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs as a true freshman. Behind an always-excellent OL, expect Allen to emerge as a star in Madison.

Then There's Everyone Else

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Perhaps the most poised to challenge their division among the remaining teams is Minnesota. Back for his 24th year is Tanner Morgan and star RB Mo Ibrahim, who spent 2021 injured. They also roster All-America candidate John Michael Schmidtz on the offensive line, a unit that loses all four other starters from 2021. However, seven defensive starters return and their schedule is favorable to rack up wins.

Maryland will also be interesting, at least on offense. Taulia Tagovailoa has an array of weapons at his disposal, namely Florida star Jacob Copeland, who transferred in this offseason. However, the odds are stacked against them as they have to traverse the entire Big Ten East as well as Wisconsin and Purdue from the West.

The rest of the field– Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, and Rutgers– are the usual suspects who might be looking at coaching changes towards season's end. Northwestern and Indiana have been good in the recent past, but neither did anything to improve their program since 2020.

2022 Big Ten Standings Projection

East

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Michigan Wolverines
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Michigan State Spartans
5. Maryland Terrapins
6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

West

1. Purdue Boilermakers
2. Iowa Hawkeyes
3. Wisconsin Badgers
4. Minnesota Golden Gophers
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
6. Illinois Fighting Illini
7. Northwestern Wildcats

Big Ten Championship: Ohio State OVER Purdue

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