Big Ten Football: 2015 preseason power rankings
Jan 1, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; The Michigan State Spartans celebrate the win over the Baylor Bears in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Bears 42-41. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
It’s here. OK, well in just a number of hours it’ll be here, but college football is finally back. In just a couple of days, you’ll be able to see your favorite Big Ten football team in action and we will finally be able to find out a lot of things about the conference early on.
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Wisconsin will be playing Alabama to start the season this weekend and it’s going to be high exposure for the Badgers who are under new leadership and looking to make an impression in the national spotlight. A year ago, they fell just short against LSU on the same national stage.
Nebraska will be traveling to South Beach to take on the Miami Hurricanes in week three. While this may not be a blockbuster matchup, the Hurricanes are solid competition and the Cornhuskers need a confidence-booster.
Minnesota will be taking on No. 2 TCU to begin the year on Thursday. The Golden Gophers may not stand much of a chance on paper, but if they can even keep it close, the Big Ten will get some love from the national media — for once.
Northwestern will host Stanford in week one and travel to Duke in week three. That’s a lot of academic prowess on the gridiron to start the season. It will also be a tough test for the Wildcats who have chosen a new starting quarterback.
Lastly, Michigan State will play host to Oregon in week two in a rematch from last season’s early-season contest between the Spartans and Ducks. If the Spartans can win, they will be on the fast track to an unbeaten record by the time they face Ohio State on Nov. 21.
Let’s take a look at the preseason Big Ten football power rankings as voted on by Spartan Avenue‘s seven quality writers.
Next: No. 14 Illinois-No. 12 Indiana