Who is winning the B1G? How many playoff caliber teams are there? These are our projections for the order of finish in the B1G this season.
I have game by game predictions for every team, so these predictions are mathematically possible. I used the B1G tie breakers to get the order of finish… but there is a log jam at 3-6 in conference play that I struggled to figure out. We’ll just assume I got it right.
Conference record shown in ().
Bottom Feeders
18th: Purdue 2-10 (1-8)
17th: UCLA 3-9 (1-8)
16th: Northwestern 4-8 (2-7)
15th: Michigan State 5-7 (2-7)
14th: Illinois 5-7 (3-6)
These are the bad teams. Will they all be bad? Doubtful. I’m probably underestimating at least one of these teams. That said, if your team plays one of these teams, you’d better win.
Barely Bowl Teams
13th: Maryland 6-6 (3-6)
12th: Indiana 6-6 (3-6)
11th: Minnesota 6-6 (3-6)
10th: Washington 6-6 (3-6)
Bowl eligibility, that’s what we have here. That would be wildly over performing for Indiana, and a massive letdown for Washington.
Good But Not Great
9th: Rutgers 7-5 (5-4)
8th: USC 7-5 (5-4)
7th: Iowa 9-3 (6-3)
6th: Wisconsin 8-4 (6-3)
5th: Nebraska 9-3 (7-2)
This section is a great example of how not all schedules are created equally. Nebraska, Iowa, and Rutgers play a Charmin soft slate. USC and Wisconsin have insane schedules by comparison, including non-con games vs LSU and Alabama (respectively).
Playoff Teams
4th: Michigan 10-2 (7-2)
3rd: Penn State 11-1 (8-1)
2nd: Ohio State 11-1 (8-1)
1st: Oregon 12-0 (9-0)
Michigan is a playoff team if they beat Texas at home in week 2. Which I think will happen. Penn State has a relatively soft schedule, but they are still a great team. And OSU and Oregon are the class of the B1G.
Championship Game:
Oregon vs Ohio State
B1G Champion: Ohio State
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This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene