There is some bragging to be done.

The Big Ten has placed itself squarely at -- or at least near -- the top of college football. The league has appeared in the first three College Football Playoffs. James Franklin revitalized Penn State.

Urban Meyer is the gold standard at Ohio State. Jim Harbaugh isn't far behind at Michigan. Kirk Ferentz is the dean of FBS coaches at Iowa. Mark Dantonio is a year removed from a Big Ten title at Michigan State.

It seems like 100 years ago when critics said elite players would never play in the cold of the Rust Belt. They couldn't be more wrong these days.

A new TV deal kicks in this year that will promise schools an average for $40 million per year -- for starters. Fox is dancing a jig over having the rights to an increased inventory. That includes another epic Ohio State-Michigan game.

We're going to be watching a lot of Big Ten football this season. But first, we're going to be hearing a lot about it beginning Monday the conference's media days.

1. It wasn't a fluke at Penn State: The conference's best player (Penn State's Saquon Barkley) for the conference's best team (at least in 2016) won't be there. Neither will his fine quarterback (Trace McSorley). Who's marketing this thing, James Franklin? Well, yes. The Penn State coach says he only brings seniors to the media days as a reward.

Here's a consideration: Show the media, your fans and future recruits how you won that Big Ten title. Barkley and McSorley were good enough to stare down Ohio State in front of 80,000 people, why not a few hundred media who badly want to say/write good things about you.

No, it wasn't a fluke. Penn State won its first outright Big Ten title, and it still doesn't seem like it. Ohio State went to the playoff instead of the conference champs. The Nittany Lions lost a stirring Rose Bowl to USC. Already, the Buckeyes are being picked as 2017 champs.

But the Nits' accomplishment cannot be undervalued. We have to completely change what we think of Franklin. He now has more Big Ten titles than Harbaugh and eight other conference coaches.

Penn State has a tough crossover game with Iowa as well as having to go to Ohio State and Michigan State. PSU isn't going away in what a lot of folks think is the best division in football.





2. Buckeye rebound: Urban Meyer beat Michigan (again), made the playoff and did nothing to dent his reputation as the best coach not named Nick Saban.

No one saw the skunk job against Clemson coming. For the first time in 295 games, the Buckeyes were shut out in one CFP Semifinal. Worse than that, there was some humiliation to go with it. Meyer was immediately motivated, remaking the offensive staff and promising a goose egg will never happen again.

Ohio State will be favored again in the Big Ten. It will probably run fairly easily through the league. But when it really matters, J.T. Barrett must be better, (new offensive coordinator) Kevin Wilson must be behind it, and the Buckeyes must get to the national championship.





3. The obligatory Harbaugh mention: Word has it Harbaugh will have somewhat of a major announcement when he steps to the podium on Tuesday. It's always something with Michigan's coach, isn't it? This year it will be less about winning the Big Ten. The Wolverines take a step back in 2017, probably no more than a third-place team in the Big Ten East.

There are only five returning starters, one on defense. Wilton Speight probably isn't a difference-making quarterback. The running game averaged 5 yards per carry once in the last seven games. Aside from budding star Rashan Gary, there seems to be a lack of playmakers on defense.

Aside from the spring trip to Rome, what will there be to talk about in Chicago? Somehow Harbaugh will find a way to make news.

4. Coaching turnover: Nine Big Ten coaches have yet to open their third seasons at their current schools. That list includes Harbaugh, Nebraska's Mike Riley, Wisconsin's Paul Chryst, Rutgers' Chris Ash, Illinois' Lovie Smith and Maryland's D.J. Durkin.

The Big Ten rookies include Jeff Brohm at Purdue, Tom Allen at Indiana and P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. Brohm takes a step up from Western Kentucky. Allen was the popular choice to replace the embattled Wilson. Fleck is the "Next Big Thing" at Minnesota. With his youth, style and energy, he'll certainly be the next big thing at these media days.

5. Jim Delany, staunch defender of the amateur model: The Big Ten commissioner played for Dean Smith. His conference includes some of the most respected academic schools in the country. Delany speaks fondly of when players were given $15 a month in laundry money -- and they were happy to get it. But c'mon, a $20 million bonus for conference commissioner? Safe to say, when USA Today reported that figure recently, pay-the-players advocates were jumping on their soapboxes.

This is one of the most powerful figures in college athletics who has defended amateurism to the hilt. Delany said, in 2013, "If Johnny Manziel was playing Arena Football tomorrow, what's his jersey worth?" Um, south of $20 million, maybe?

Delany will be asked about his eight-figure windfall while in Chicago.