The Big Ten, for perhaps the first time in years, looks wide open at the top entering 2019. Welcome to the post-Urban Meyer era. The Buckeyes’ former head coach lorded over the league during his tenure, finishing his seven-year Ohio State career with a 58-5 record in conference play.

Meyer’s departure creates somewhat of a power vacuum at the top of the Big Ten. The contenders largely remain the same – Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin. The question is whether someone can use Meyer’s absence to shift the balance away from Columbus.

There are more questions than answers in that regard entering 2019.

Every Big Ten contender comes with a serious flaw or quandary. The offseason proved rather turbulent for the league, especially at quarterback, and it’s created more uncertainty at the top of the Big Ten than we’ve seen since 2011-12 when Ohio State transitioned from Jim Tressel amid NCAA sanctions.

247Sports is previewing each Power Five conference this week to get you ready for the 2019 college football season. Today, we look at the Big Ten and explore what the league looks like in the post-Meyer era.

Three Major Storylines

Can Michigan break through? There might not be a more divisive figure in college football than Jim Harbaugh. From his recruiting sleepovers to his weird chicken takes – they’re a nervous bird – you tend to either love or hate the 55-year-old Michigan man. Lately, those in the hate side of the venn diagram have had plenty of ammo. Harbaugh is 0-4 in his career against Ohio State, twice blowing opportunities against the Buckeyes that would’ve likely led to CFB Playoff appearances. But Meyer is now departed, leaving Michigan a potential path toward the top of the Big Ten East. There are some things suggesting the Wolverines could be the favorite. Shea Patterson provides Michigan perhaps the best QB in the Big Ten. Patterson’s game should be somewhat turbocharged by first-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ spread offense. It helps the Wolverines that the base of that group will be the Big Ten's best offensive line. Defensively, you can never bet against a Don Brown-coached defense, even with some NFL talent departed. Additionally, the other Big Ten East contenders all come with questions. Ohio State will have a new head coach (Ryan Day), set of coordinators and quarterback. Penn State and Wisconsin will both trot out inexperienced signal-callers, and Michigan State’s offense remains a major concern. Put it all together, and this could be Michigan’s best opportunity to break its 14-year streak without a conference title. But, yes, we said that last November, too. The league’s QB reset: Not every Big Ten contender saw a quarterback shift this offseason. Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa are quite happy with their situations. But the rest of the conference is a lot of new. Ohio State will transition from Dwayne Haskins to Georgia transfer Justin Fields. That should be smooth. But let’s not forget Haskins just put together the best single-season passing campaign in Big Ten history. Fields, while immensely talented, is in his first year in Day’s system and is yet to make a college start. Penn State will roll with redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford following likely starter Tommy Stevens’ abrupt offseason transfer. Wisconsin is in a similar situation after expected starter Alex Hornibrook left during the spring for Florida State. The Badgers will likely tab either junior Jack Coan (four career starts) or true freshman Graham Mertz. Northwestern, the defending Big Ten West champions, replaces the long-tenured Clayton Thorson with Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson, a five-star prospect in the 2017 class. Meanwhile, Michigan State must hope senior Brian Lewerke can rebound from an injury-plagued junior campaign. Throw in new QBs at Purdue, Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers and likely Indiana, and there’s an abundance of turnover in the Big Ten. Big Ten East vs. Big Ten West: In the same way Meyer’s departure opens up the Big Ten East, it also creates opportunity for the Big Ten West. No Big Ten West team has won a conference crown since the divisions were rearranged prior to the 2014 season. The games haven’t all been blowouts, but the East has largely dominated. I like Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern, but none of those teams have close to the talent floor the top contenders out East employ. Nebraska is trendy, but I think the Huskers are a year or two away from true contention. The other three are quality teams that should win eight-plus games. But as we’ve seen, it’s hard to scale that talent gap. Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State each rank within the top 13 of 247Sports' 2018 Team Talent Composite; nobody from the Big Ten ranked better than 26th. I think the Hawkeyes could make a run. But even Iowa is replacing a pair of first-round tight ends. That type of production is nearly impossible to replicate. There’s an opportunity for the Big Ten West to emerge as a true challenger to the East over the next few seasons. Just don’t expect that to happen in 2019.

Sleeper Team: Michigan State

Michigan State had a classic case of imbalanced units during a 7-6 2018 campaign. The Spartan defense finished fifth nationally in yards allowed per play, while the offense stumbled to 125th in yards per play. The good news for Michigan State is it brings back the eighth-most experience nationally, per Phil Steele’s experience chart. That gives the Spartans a chance for a surge. And this is a team capable of a quick rise coming off a 7-6 season. The biggest reason for optimism is Lewerke’s health status. Last year, the Spartans averaged 26.2 points per game before Lewerke injured his shoulder in Week 6 win over Penn State. In the time after, they averaged 12.3 points per game. A healthy Lewerke raises Michigan State’s ceiling. Couple that with an offseason staff shift designed to spark the offense, and the Spartans should be significantly better on that side of the ball. The defense should remain smothering given that eight starters return, including the elite d-line combo of Raequan Williams and Kenny Willekes. Let’s not forget, Mark Dantonio’s never produced consecutive seasons with eight or fewer wins in East Lansing. This is a program primed for a bounce back. It helps that the non-conference schedule (Tulsa, Western Michigan, Arizona State) is favorable. If Michigan State can navigate road games at Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan it could again pop up near the top of the Big Ten.

Projected Big Ten East Standings

Michigan Ohio State Michigan State Penn State Indiana Maryland Rutgers

Projected Big Ten West Standings

Iowa Wisconsin Nebraska Northwestern Minnesota Purdue Illinois

Offensive Player of the Year: Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

Defensive Player of the Year: A.J. Epenesa, Iowa

Coach of the Year: Scott Frost, Nebraska

Top Newcomer: Justin Fields, Ohio State

Biggest Riser: Nebraska

Biggest Faller: Northwestern

Most Important Game: Ohio State at Michigan (Nov. 30)

Previous Conference Previews

Monday: ACC