The Big Ten Has a Depth Problem at the Top of the College Football Playoff Race

After winning three straight national championships, the Big Ten seemed like they were fully in control of the sport in its entirety. However, through the first seven weeks of the season, the Big Ten is looking the weakest it has been since the start of the NIL/transfer era.

Well, maybe that’s not the case. The bottom and middle of the conference are the best they’ve been in years. Penn State, Maryland, and Michigan State are the only winless teams in conference play, but each could compete with most other mid-level power-conference teams.

More than that, many teams have taken massive steps forward and catapulted themselves into fringe playoff conversations. Bob Chesney has taken UCLA from the bottom of the Big Ten to the AP Top 10, Northwestern has capitalized on increased alumni support and has found themselves back in the rankings, and teams like Wisconsin and Purdue have recovered from the bottom-feeder status that they had been in the last few seasons.

While the depth has improved, I’m struggling to find a real contender in the Big Ten. Ohio State is currently the highest rated team in the polls, but is anyone convinced by what they’ve done? The offense is Jeremiah Smith and pray, while the defense has improved, but isn’t as good as the prior two seasons. Now with Julian Sayin likely out for the season, the Buckeyes don’t feel like contenders.

Indiana has looked incredibly flawed, and the conference really looks like theirs for the taking, but they did just lose at home to the same Ohio State team I just complained about. The Hoosiers offense feels so predictable and Turbo Richards hasn’t been able to get anything going against any run defense with a pulse. I’d be beyond shocked to see Indiana defend their national title.

From there, it’s really a mess for the Big Ten. Oregon was supposed to be in that upper echelon, but they’re clearly not very good, so who even is the third best team?

UCLA is ranked the third highest, but their offense already had enough question marks before the Nico Iamaleava injury, and those concerns have only grown stronger in their tough win over Wisconsin.

Then you have USC and Iowa. If you combined USC’s offense with Iowa’s defense (and overall toughness) you’d have a real contender. Unfortunately, in reality we have an incredibly soft USC squad, and Iowa team that cannot pass the ball.

Defense has been king in the Big Ten this year, and that’s led to some very ugly performances across the board. Until someone proves that they have an offense that can contend with other top offenses in the SEC, I’d be pretty shocked to see the Big Ten come home with their forth straight CFP Championship.