College football preview: Big Ten Conference

Ohio State won last season's national championship, is the favorite to do so again in 2015, and just might stand atop preseason, in-season and end-of-season polls for as long as Urban Meyer remains motivated to create a present-day dynasty at the flagship program in his home state.

Suffice it to say: With the Buckeyes leading the charge, the rest of college football no longer has the Big Ten Conference to kick around.

Jim Harbaugh is back at Michigan, where he once cockily guaranteed a rival victory against Ohio State — and delivered, by the way — and then, after a few seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, returned to the Football Bowl Subdivision with grand plans of remaking his alma mater into a national power.

Meanwhile, at Michigan State, a perennial championship contender has been built on the backs of defense, careful offense, determination, coaching and log-sized shoulder chips. Mark Dantonio and the Spartans look toward Ann Arbor and think: See you in October, fellas.

James Franklin has breathed life into Penn State, reeling in top-ranked recruiting classes to go with the near-boundless energy only a coach who won nine games at Vanderbilt can provide. Wisconsin's conveyer belt of success will continue under Paul Chryst, who will be only too happy to embrace the meat-and-potatoes style first espoused by his boss, Barry Alvarez.

Nebraska — the five-time national champions, still the winningest college football program of the last four decades — has made a coaching upgrade of the highest order, replacing cantankerous Bo Pelini with cool-and-collected Mike Riley; behind the latter's grandfatherly façade lies a cutthroat competitor, let alone one of the nation's best coaches at maximizing his roster's talent.

The Big Ten's résumé touts the defending national champions, with the same program standing as the current gold standard in the sport; a program, Michigan, with every built-in advantage possible teamed with an elite hire; the nation's most underrated and overlooked program in Michigan State; a return-to-glory-days program in Penn State; an annual Rose Bowl threat in Wisconsin; and in Nebraska, a program quietly driven by a now-or-never mentality and the right coach at the right time.

This is not the Southeastern Conference, which houses more teams capable of winning the national championship. Nor is this the Pac-12 Conference, which carries a greater degree of depth. This is simply the third-best conference in college football, and those aware of the Big Ten's recent past — and the slings and arrows that came with annual disappointment — can speak to the growth seen within its doors during the past three seasons.

The Big Ten is back in the national conversation, if only as a result of Ohio State's national title. The future might bring a true renaissance.

• PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH

(With 1-128 ranking)

EAST

1. Ohio State (No. 1)

2. Michigan State (No. 9)

3. Penn State (No. 28)

4. Michigan (No. 64)

5. Maryland (No. 71)

6. Rutgers (No. 76)

7. Indiana (No. 95)

WEST

1. Nebraska (No. 22)

2. Wisconsin (No. 24)

3. Minnesota (No. 34)

4. Iowa (No. 60)

5. Northwestern (No. 82)

6. Illinois (No. 102)

7. Purdue (No. 112)

• BEST CASE, WORST CASE

Each team's range of possibility

Ohio State

Best case: Ohio State gets past the Spartans, beats the Wolverines by a couple dozen, claims another Big Ten title, dominates a team from the SEC in a national semifinal and crushes its championship-game opponent to take back-to-back national titles, and is motivated through the offseason by what Urban Meyer perceived to be a lackluster effort in the third quarter of a 56-10 victory against Indiana on Oct. 3.

Worst case: All goes swimmingly until a loss to Michigan State on Nov. 21. Worse yet — and this is truly the worst of the worst case — the Wolverines pull the upset to cap the regular season.

Michigan State

Best case: The Spartans avenge last season's bitter loss by winning in Columbus, which catapults Michigan State to a Big Ten title and into the College Football Playoff.

Worst case: Losses to Oregon, Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan.

Penn State

Best case: Penn State's overall talent — though young, and somewhat unproven — overrides any concerns about depth and experience, leading the Nittany Lions to a 10-win regular season and a second-place finish in the East Division.

Worst case: Continued issues along the offensive line stymie the offense and waste the defense, as PSU barely ekes into bowl play with six wins.

Michigan

Best case: Wins against Ohio State and everybody else, no points allowed on defense all season, a national championship, a world championship and so on and so forth.

Worst case: The process begins with seven losses.

Maryland

Best case: The Terrapins are one of the surprise teams in the Big Ten during a nine-win regular season.

Worst case: Maryland finishes tied with Indiana at the bottom of the East Division.

Rutgers

Best case: Once again, Rutgers and Kyle Flood impress their new conference peers by winning eight games.

Worst case: The Scarlet Knights cruise through non-conference play but win just once against Big Ten competition.

Indiana

Best case: Indiana reaches its season bowl game in 20 years.

Worst case: The Hoosiers fail to win a game in league play.

Nebraska

Best case: The Cornhuskers ride a coaching upgrade and a fairly smooth schedule to 11 wins and a date with Ohio State in the conference title game.

Worst case: Four losses.

Wisconsin

Best case: Paul Chryst's arrival makes the offense even more productive, believe it or not, and the Badgers wear another West Division crown.

Worst case: Wisconsin wins eight games, but those four losses come against Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota — the only four opponents with a pulse on its schedule.

Minnesota

Best case: Discounted in the preseason, Minnesota beats Nebraska and Wisconsin to take the division.

Worst case: Six wins and a bowl berth wouldn't be the end of the world, but the Golden Gophers are capable of much more.

Iowa

Best case: Iowa makes its random push into a national ranking, winning 10 games during the regular season and entering the mix for a January bowl.

Worst case: The Hawkeyes win just four games.

Northwestern

Best case: Pat Fitzgerald finds a quarterback. Instead of 4-8, the Wildcats go 8-4.

Worst case: Instead of 8-4, the Wildcats go 4-8.

Illinois

Best case: Despite playing one of the tougher conference schedules, the Illini are able to win eight games and finish third in the division.

Worst case: The Tim Beckman era ends with a nine-loss thud, but it does end.

Purdue

Best case: Bowl eligibility would mark a huge step forward in Darrell Hazell's third season.

Worst case: The Boilermakers win just once in September and not again the rest of the way.

• PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

The best at each position:

Offense

QB: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State

RB: Corey Clement, Wisconsin

WR: DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State

WR: Jordan Westerkamp, Nebraska

TE: Josiah Price, Michigan State

OL: Taylor Decker, Ohio State

OL: Pat Elflein, Ohio State

OL: Jack Allen, Michigan State

OL: Tyler Marz, Wisconsin

OL: Jack Conklin, Michigan State

Defense

DL: Joey Bosa, Ohio State

DL: Maliek Collins, Nebraska

DL: Anthony Zettel, Penn State

DL: Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State

LB: Darron Lee, Ohio State

LB: Vince Biegel, Wisconsin

LB: Joshua Perry, Ohio State

CB: Will Likely, Maryland

CB: Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minnesota

S: Vonn Bell, Ohio State

S: Michael Caputo, Wisconsin

Specialists

K: Brad Craddock, Maryland

P: Sam Foltz, Nebraska

RET: Will Likely, Maryland

• BEST UNITS

Position by position

Quarterback: Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a former Heisman Trophy-worthy quarterback, Braxton Miller, playing wide receiver.

Running back: Ohio State. The gap widens if you count a number of hybrid players who contribute in the running game.

Wide receiver and tight end: Ohio State and Penn State (tie). Adding Miller into the mix gives the Buckeyes another pass-game option, while Penn State's young group, led by DaeSean Hamilton, is set to flourish as a result of last season's experience.

Offensive line: Michigan State. This is the best offensive line of Mark Dantonio's tenure, with a pair of All-America contenders at the two most crucial spots — left tackle and center.

Defensive line: Michigan State. That the Spartans tout the league's best lines is reason to think this team can beat Ohio State and win the conference title.

Linebacker: Ohio State. Once the program's greatest concern, linebacker play is now one of the Buckeyes' unquestioned strengths.

Secondary: Ohio State. There's a hole to fill at one cornerback spot, but Ohio State brings back talent and experience, not to mention another crop of impressive recruits.

Special teams: Maryland. Just having Brad Craddock separates Maryland from the rest of the conference. Adding a strong return game, speared by cornerback Will Likely, gives the Terrapins a well-rounded group.