Five Big Ten West story lines

Big Ten football is back!

Ohio State enters the season not only as the defending national champion but also as the first unanimous preseason No. 1. To many, it is the obvious pick to win the Big Ten West. The conference is actually looking a bit sexy … well, as sexy as a pair of khakis can be.

Ohio State’s offense was so efficient at getting touchdowns that Sean Nuernberger hitting only 13 of 20 field goal attempts didn’t matter last season. Now, this is to say that the 2016 and 2017 Michigan football teams will be out of the conversation.

There has been nothing so wrong with the Big Ten that the right coaches couldn’t fix, and that’s what the league now has with its bellwether franchises. As great as the Michigan vs Michigan State rivalry is, the other conferences have interstate rivalries, even if they aren’t as historic and entertaining.

Pitino has big expectations for the Gophers this year.

While those two coaches provide the most compelling theater – can’t wait until the postgame handshake November. 28 – it’s worth noting that Harbaugh’s rebuilding won’t happen overnight, and that Michigan State is already sitting in Michigan’s big-boy chair.

“Ohio State is obviously the alpha dog in the Big Ten, the favorite to win, and Michigan, with Jim Harbaugh coming in, is getting all the hype”, said Cook, who was MVP in both the B1G Championship Game and the Rose Bowl during the 2013 season.

Head coach Richard Pitino announced the Gophers’ non-conference schedule Monday, meaning the full 2015-16 basketball schedule has now been set.

Alex & Jesse are getting ready for some obligatory B1G-MAC football this season. Iowa needs to shake its malaise and get back in the business of being Top 25 timber.

Ezekiel Elliott is the nation’s top running back and Joey Bosa is drawing comparisons to J.J. Watt on the defensive side of the ball.

Then everything changed. The Buckeyes went on to win the remainder of their games and, eventually, a national title with two different quarterbacks – both have now taken over for Braxton Miller.

Three members of the Maryland men’s golf team were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch list Wednesday.

Even before the games begin, some key teams ran into tough luck during camp. Adding Rutgers takes the history of the conference to 1869; the beginning of college football. Now, the Spartans have a big question at linebacker to pair with concerns at cornerback.

Christian Hackenberg is a quarterback with a big arm. Will Adams’ dual-threat skills translate to the FBS?

Jerry Kill has done a remarkable job during his five-year tenure in Minneapolis, transforming a program that was utterly aimless under Tim Brewster into a consistent victor. The team’s experience level doesn’t suggest a miracle turnaround in 2015. Ohio State will most likely curbstomp Wisconsin again and we’re going to have to send a Hazmat team to decontaminate Columbus from all the smug. This won’t settle the “who’s better?” conference debate, but this rare treat between the SEC and Pac-12 will provide ammunition for one group of fans. Nebraska, meanwhile, hasn’t lost a season opener since 1985. The Paul Chryst era in Madison may get off to a phenomenal start.