Can the Big Ten Conference take its ultra-competitive top teams back to the College Football Playoff?

That is the chase for as many as five Big Ten teams this year after the conference lost out on a playoff bid last season. Will the Big Ten get back to the final four this fall after a one-year hiatus? The league best bets are Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan, but there are others with enough talent to get there if things fall into place.

A road trip stumble by Ohio State and loss by Wisconsin in the conference title game kept both out of the playoff last season while Michigan’s quarterback issues did the same as the Wolverines finished fourth in the eastern division just ahead of Rutgers.

The new hot face in the conference falls solely upon Scott Frost at Nebraska, replacing last year’s newbies PJ Fleck and Jeff Brohm as the darling to change his program. Will Nebraska take the next step like Purdue or fall back a few paces like Minnesota?

Here are 20 bold predictions for the entire 2018 Big Ten football season.