While the Big Ten Conference has been absent from the College Football Playoff the past two seasons, the conference once again enters the 2019 college football season with multiple national championship contenders.

First, though, every team in the Big Ten will have to navigate a conference schedule that presents difficult challenges during the year.

Since the Big Ten switched to East and West Divisions prior to the 2014 college football season, the Ohio State Buckeyes have represented the East in the Big Ten Championship Game three times, including each of the past two seasons. Michigan State (2015) and Penn State (2016) have been the other East participants in the title game. On the West side, Wisconsin has made the most appearances with three, while Iowa (2015) and Northwestern (2018) have been the other teams to emerge from the West after the regular season. Ohio State defeated Northwestern in the title game last season, and the Buckeyes just missed out on a playoff spot at No. 5 in the final rankings.

The East has become one of the most competitive divisions in college football, with the Michigan Wolverines also becoming a consistent presence since Jim Harbaugh took over as coach ahead of the 2015 campaign. A playoff contender could very well come out of that division, but you cannot discount the West either; the West division appears to have multiple teams that could be on the cusp of a breakout year that results in a Big Ten title game appearance.

How will it all play out? Scroll up to see our regular season record predictions for every Big Ten team.