In a down year for the Big Ten, no one claimed a marquee non-conference victory, as Ohio State got hamblasted at home by Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners, Michigan State dropped one at home to Notre Dame , and the Nebraska lost at home to Northern Illinois . College Football Playoff contenders Penn State and Ohio State fell by the roadside with losses to Michigan State and Iowa , and no one was quite buying the wisconsin .
The Big Ten managed a 7-1 bowl season record, with only Michigan dropping their postseason appearance. But the sting of conference champion Ohio State’s omission from the playoff undermines that strong showing.
There were more storylines than just the big boys, though! Purdue rebounded in a big way under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm, the Northwestern overcame an early blowout loss at Duke to surge to yet another 10-win season, and the spectacle of PJ Fleck at Minnesota kept the rest of us busy in the meantime.
Off Tackle Empire is reviewing a different Big Ten team’s season every day. Stay tuned for all the updates!