Who are the College Football Playoff contenders in the Big Ten? ESPN’s Greg McElroy has broken down the Big Ten into five tiers, from title contenders to cellar dwellers. His Tier 2 teams are playoff contenders.
Now that the playoff has been expanded to 12 teams, you’d think that tier would have several teams from the power conference. But there are only two.
Michigan Wolverines
Why isn’t defending national champion Michigan in Tier one? McElroy explains, “The problem is this Michigan is not the Michigan that took the field the last two years. So they are in Tier 2 to start the season, which qualifies as a college football playoff contender. They can make the playoff, but I am not confident at this point that they can win the national championship."
“You look at last year’s team and that was a culmination of several years, building up to the moment in which they finally broke down the door, won in the playoffs and then went on to win the national championship,” he says. “So this was a three-year stretch where they peaked. And now, back to the drawing board a little bit as far as rebuilding is concerned.”
Michigan has lost some big pieces from last year’s team. Gone is head coach Jim Harbaugh, who jumped to the NFL and the LA Chargers. Gone is defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and his entire staff, who followed Harbaugh to the Chargers. Gone is strength and conditioning coordinator Ben Herbert, considered a key to Big Blue’s success, also to the Chargers. Gone is QB J.J. McCarthy, drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
McElroy says his opinion of Michigan may change after a Week 2 tilt with Texas. “If they’re just running it right down the middle and pounding the line of scrimmage against Texas, then we will change the narrative very quickly. But right now, I have concerns.
Iowa Hawkeyes
I think they are a college football playoff contender,” the former ‘Bama QB says. “They’ve won two of the last three Big Ten West crowns. They have an elite defense and they play into that defense. They understand how to win in spite of an offense that doesn’t take a lot of unnecessary risks.”
McElroy likes Iowa’s chances to win at least nine games, “If you get nine wins in the Big Ten you’re in the mix. Plus, you look at the Big Ten schedule and I think it’s pretty favorable.”