by Sean Szymczak
And in the blink of an eye, the 2023 Big Ten Football season has come to an end.
Michigan raised the trophy for the 3rd straight year and are focused on the CFP against Alabama. Virtually every other team is already starting to shift focus to 2024, with coaching moves and transfer additions/losses already underway.
In our penultimate power rankings of the 2023 season, we sneak a peak into bowl games and the off-season while acknowledging what each team did (or didn’t) accomplish this year.
The Floor Slap’s Bowl Season Big Ten Power Rankings
1) Michigan (13-0, 10-0 B1G)
Last: W 26-0 vs Iowa in B1G Championship
The Wolverines are the undisputed #1 team in college football. A matchup against Florida State would have meant a trip to the national championship for Michigan. It would have been an ugly, defensive, 16-3 type win, but a win nonetheless. Instead, Michigan must face the surging Crimson Tide. The Alabama defense shut down Carson Beck and the Georgia offense after they scored on their opening drive. They will be a tough test for JJ McCarthy and the Wolverine offense. Plus Jalen Millroe is unlike any quarterback Michigan has played this season. It should be a great matchup in the Rose Bowl.
Bowl Game: Alabama vs Michigan (-1.5) in CFP at the Rose Bowl, Monday January 1st at 5pm EST on ESPN
2) Ohio State (11-1, 8-1 B1G)
Last: L 24-30 at Michigan
The Buckeyes are a couple questionable calls (or no-calls) by the refs or a missed blocking assignment away from knocking off Michigan and being in the playoff. Instead, Ohio State must suit up against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. They’ll likely be without a litany of familiar faces, most notably Kyle McCord. The QB hit the portal along with 10 other teammates and others may sit out the game as they start the draft process. A lot of change appears to be coming to Columbus with Ryan Day prepared to be more aggressive in the transfer portal than he’s ever been. It’s going to be a wild couple months for Ohio State, especially when you consider the interest Jim Knowles, Brian Hartline, and other assistants are sure to draw. As for their game against Missouri, it’s really going to be a game to assess the young talent. A huge storyline will be who gets the start at QB – Devin Brown or freshman Lincoln Kienholz? Whoever it is will have an opportunity to stake their claim as the 2024 starter (or impress some other QB-needy teams).
Bowl Game: Missouri vs Ohio State (-2.5) in the Cotton Bowl, Friday December 29th at 8pm EST on ESPN
3) Penn State (10-2, 7-2 B1G)
Last: W 42-0 vs Michigan State
Penn State hired Kansas OC Andy Kotelnicki to replace Mike Yurcic after their demolition of Michigan State in Detroit. I think it’s a slam-dunk hire. Kotelnicki took a Kansas offense that was one of the worst in all of college football and transformed them into one of the nation’s best & most well-balanced units over the past two years. He utilizes a plethora of different formations & pre-snap movement to keep defenses on their heels and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers. It’ll be exciting to see what he can do with Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, & Kaytron Allen. Until then, Penn State will have to lean on their dominant defense to beat Ole Miss. The Rebels have struggled against quality defenses this season and will get Penn State’s best shot.
Bowl Game: Ole Miss vs Penn State (-4.5) in the Peach Bowl, Saturday December 30th at 12pm EST on ESPN
4) Iowa (10-3, 7-3 B1G)
Last: L 0-26 vs Michigan in B1G Championship
The Big Ten Championship went exactly as any Big Ten fan should have expected. But winning the West did give Iowa a tasty little matchup against Tennessee (somehow still ranked??) in the Citrus Bowl. The Vols’ offense has been far from great all year long, but their front will make life difficult for Deacon Hill. Win or lose, not much seems to be changing for the Hawkeyes as we start looking ahead to 2024. Cade McNamara is returning and they only graduate a handful of guys on defense and along the offensive line. And per usual, there should be minimal departures/arrivals via the transfer portal.
Bowl Game: Iowa (+7) vs Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl, Monday January 1st at 1pm EST on ABC
5) Northwestern (7-5, 5-4 B1G)
Last: W 45-43 at Illinois
The Wildcats capped off an inspiring regular season in an electric rally against Illinois. That win shut the door on Illinois’ post-season hope and set the stage for a matchup against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. With Cam Rising returning for a 7th year in 2024, Bryson Barnes announced his transfer and will miss the bowl game. Nate Johnson is likely to start. This one will come down to how well Northwestern can defend the run and the play of Ben Bryant.
Bowl Game: Utah vs Northwestern (+7.5) in the Las Vegas Bow, Saturday December 23rd at 7:30pm EST on ABC
6) Maryland (7-5, 4-5 B1G)
Last: W 42-24 at Rutgers
Maryland’s 5-game skid in the middle of the season had Maryland’s pose-season in flux, but a dominant win over Rutgers set the Terps up with a nice matchup against Auburn. This the 3rd of 4 matchups the Big Ten has against the SEC and could help the conference’s image as we transition into a new era of the sport. Taulia Tagovailoa should have plenty of opportunities against this secondary, but it’ll be interesting to see what guys on the fence of the NFL Draft decide to do. Roman Hemby, Beau Brade, Ruben Hyppolite, & many others could go either way.
Bowl Game: Auburn vs Maryland (+2.5) in the Music City Bowl, Saturday December 30th at 2pm EST on ABC
7) Wisconsin (7-5, 5-4 B1G)
Last: W 28-14 at Minnesota
Wisconsin overcame their inexcusable performance against Northwestern a few weeks ago and closed the season out with two straight wins – including a decisive win over their rival. The Big Ten is favored in only one of their matchups against the SEC and Wisconsin is the biggest underdog at +10.5. But the outlook for this game likely hinges on if Jayden Daniels plays. The Badgers simply don’t have anyone on defense that can keep up with Daniels. But Braelon Allen could feast on this Tiger defense. It could be a more interesting game than many people think.
Bowl Game: Wisconsin (+10.5) vs LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl, Monday January 1st at 12pm EST on ESPN2
8) Rutgers (6-6, 3-6 B1G)
Last: L 24-42 vs Maryland
Rutgers’ magical season came crashing back to ground after a 6-2 start, losing their final 4 games by an average margin of 20 points. They are still going to a bowl game which is a massive step forward in Schiano’s 3rd year. Any Rutgers fan in the world would have signed up for a 6-6 season at the beginning of the season. But the way the defense wore down towards the end of the season and Wimsatt’s lack of improvement as a passer over the course of the year made this season feel like a bit of a letdown. Rutgers could very well go after a QB in the transfer portal, but their NIL situation will likely keep them from attracting any of the top guys. Luckily for the Scarlet Knights, their defense has plenty of time to rest up before their matchup against Miami – a very winnable game. Despite the continued frustrations around this offense, a bowl win & winning record could provide Rutgers with some much needed momentum heading into 2024.
Bowl Game: Rutgers (+4.5) vs Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, Thursday December 28th at 2:15pm EST on ESPN
9) Illinois (5-7, 3-6 B1G)
Last: L 43-45 vs Northwestern
Illinois came up short in a shootout against Northwestern which left them short of the postseason. Despite a season that was largely a disappointment given some of the preseason expectations for this defense, the Illini played a lot better in the back half of the season. John Paddock will move on after a magical run to end the season, but Luke Altmyer showed some glimmers of talent throughout the year. It’s a shame we won’t get to see one more appearance out of Paddock – I think everyone would have rather seen Illinois in a bowl game over Minnesota. At least they would make it entertaining.
Bowl Game: none
10) Nebraska (5-7, 3-6 B1G)
Last: L 10-13 vs Iowa
Nebraska missed out on a bowl game after a a Purdy INT set up the game-winning FG for Iowa. That game encapsulated the entire season for the Huskers. Their defensive turnaround was nothing short of miraculous and they should continue to get better next season. But OC Marcus Satterfield will be on a short leash heading into next year, as many Nebraska fans already want him gone. Expect the Huskers to be aggressive in the portal, particularly on the offensive end. Satterfield has already met with Kyle McCord, so a new QB addition is likely at the very least.
Bowl Game: none
11) Purdue (4-8, 3-6 B1G)
Last: W 35-31 vs Indiana
Ryan Walters’ first season got off to a rocky start, but the Boilermakers never lost their energy. They ended up winning two of their final three games with Hudson Card playing his best, cleanest football of the season. He’ll need to take a big step forward with Devin Mockobee the only notable returner at the offensive skill position players. The defense should continue to adapt to Walters’ versatile 3-4 scheme and improve next year, but by how much will depend on the decisions of guys like Kydran Jenkins and Sanoussi Kane.
Bowl Game: none
12) Minnesota (5-7, 3-6 B1G)
Last: L 14-28 vs Wisconsin
With the exception of a controversial upset over Iowa, Minnesota’s season did not really have any high points. With the departure of OC Kirk Ciarrocca, QB Tanner Morgan, RB Mohamed Ibrahim, and their entire interior line, the offense limped through what should have been a manageable schedule. Tyler Nubin had a special season, but the Gophers defense struggled to stop much of anything outside of him. The season ended up 5 straight losses and PJ Fleck’s seat is starting to get a little warm heading into 2024. QB Athan Kaliakmanis has transferred, leaving a massive question mark at the position. But Minnesota’s new NIL fund has managed to retain WR Daniel Jackson and RB Darrius Taylor. It’s hard to know what to expect out of the Gophers heading into next season.
Bowl Game: Bowling Green vs Minnesota (TBD), Thursday December 26th at 2pm EST on ESPN
13) Michigan State (4-8, 2-7 B1G)
Last: L 0-42 vs Penn State
We don’t need to recap Michigan State’s season – everyone knows how miserable their performance on the field was. The defensive front kept them in some games, but their pass defense was still lost and their offense faced the same issues as 2022. The good news is I love their head coach hire – Oregon State HC Jonathan Stewart. He had 13 years experience as an offensive assistant – notably as Washington’s OC & QB Coach during their CFP run – before taking over at Oregon State in 2018. Stewart took over a program that had won 7 games in 3 years before his arrival and turned it completely around, winning 25 games over the past 3 years. QB Aidan Chiles is rumored to be following him which would be great news. But there is sure to be a lot of player turnover for Jonathan Stewart and his new staff to manage.
Bowl Game: none
14) Indiana (3-9, 1-8 B1G)
Last: L 31-35 at Purdue
Indiana shelled out over $15m to buy Tom Allen out of his contract after another bad season. However, the Hoosiers were more competitive than the past couple years. Led by Aaron Casey and Andre Carter, Indiana’s defense showed some flashes while Brendan Sorsby surged late in the year and gave the Hoosiers some hope for the postseason. Sorsby is hitting the portal which once again leaves QB in flux, but Indiana also nailed their next head coaching hire with Curt Cignetti. He had nearly 30 years of experience as an offensive assistant, notably at Alabama & NC State, before turning around programs at IUP, Elon, and most recently JMU. Cignetti is bringin a lot of energy to the program, but Indiana fans will need to demonstrate a lot of patience, as Indiana is probably the biggest rebuild in the power conferences.
Bowl Game: none