The Big Ten has put a team in the College Football Playoff for three consecutive years, and the conference is in good shape to send its champion to the playoff in 2017.
The conference's best teams have plenty of reasons to be excited for the fall, and there's a lot of optimism about the mid- and low-tier teams. But this is college football, and nothing's guaranteed — there are plenty of questions surrounding each team.
MORE: Reasons to be excited, skeptical about ACC teams
Here's why we're excited (and skeptical) about each Big Ten team:
Penn State
Reason to be excited: You saw the Rose Bowl, right? Even though the Nittany Lions lost, the future is promising. Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley are two early Heisman candidates, and Penn State should be the preseason Big Ten favorite.
Reason to be skeptical: The Nittany Lions haven't had expectations this high since James Franklin arrived to restore the program. It took about a month for the young core to jell, and the 2017 Big Ten schedule has Penn State playing Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State in three consecutive weeks. The Nittany Lions need their playmakers to show up for the entire season to survive that stretch.
Ohio State
Reason to be excited: The most important piece for Ohio State is staying put: quarterback J.T. Barrett. He'll have one more year to prove himself — granted, he's 26-4 as a starter — and he'll be supported in the run game with Mike Weber. Not much should change on offense for the Buckeyes.
Reason to be skeptical: The Buckeyes' underclassman exodus to the NFL Draft continues. In 2016, Ohio State lost nine starters to early entry; this year, the total is six. The Buckeyes recovered nicely from the loss, but will Urban Meyer be able to do it again? The losses of Curtis Samuel, Raekwon McMillan and Malik Hooker could really hurt Ohio State when Oklahoma comes to town in Week 2.
Michigan
Reason to be excited: Quarterback Wilton Speight returns and the running back corps, including Chris Evans, Ty Isaac and Karan Higdon, should only get better. Add that offensive core to another top 5 recruiting class, and the Wolverines shouldn't see a dropoff in talent even with several key starters leaving.
Reason to be skeptical: The offensive line is a big question mark. The group struggled to contain Florida State's pass rushers in the Orange Bowl, and three starters are gone (Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, Ben Braden). Can the reserves (and possibly a freshman or two) step up and protect Speight?
Michigan State
Reason to be excited: Brian Lewerke looked promising in the few games he played in 2016, and he'll surely be an upgrade at quarterback for the Spartans. Plus, recruiting hasn't slowed down for Mark Dantonio, a good sign that the 3-9 season was an anomaly.
Reason to be skeptical: Just about every other position needs improvement. The once-intimidating defense was below average in conference play in 2016 (ninth in rush defense, seventh in pass defense, last in sacks, 12th in opponent third-down conversions) and the defensive line loses Malik McDowell to the NFL Draft. Can Dantonio shore up the defense for 2017?
Wisconsin
Reason to be excited: The Badgers' 2017 schedule is much friendlier than in 2016, and that'll favor a team with 15 returning starters, including quarterback Alex Hornibrook and their two leading receivers (Jazz Peavy, Troy Fumagalli).
Reason to be skeptical: The Big Ten's best secondary is taking a huge hit. Vince Biegel, T.J. Watt, Leo Musso and Sojourn Shelton are all leaving for the NFL Draft. That leaves Jack Cichy, who was injured halfway through the season, as the main returner.
Nebraska
Reason to be excited: In his third season, Mike Riley gets a chance to prove that the Huskers can play with the Big Ten big boys. Nebraska has road games at Oregon and Penn State, and home dates with Ohio State and Wisconsin. With the improvement shown from Year 1 to Year 2, there's a lot to like about Riley's system and the Huskers' chances moving forward.
Reason to be skeptical: Losing Tommy Armstrong Jr. is going to be a big blow for the Huskers' offense. Tulane transfer Tanner Lee and Patrick O'Brien will compete for the starting job and both have little in-game experience.
Iowa
Reason to be excited: Akrum Wadley is one of the Big Ten's best rushers, and he's back after a 1,081-yard season. He'll be a focal point of the offense in 2017.
Reason to be skeptical: Kirk Ferentz has had one 10-plus win season in the past seven years (12-2 in 2015), and thanks to a large pay raise and contract extension through 2025 he'll be around a lot longer. History says 2017 will be another middling year.
Minnesota
Reason to be excited: P.J. Fleck injected life into a Western Michigan program that was 1-11 in 2013. Imagine what he can do to a Minnesota team that went 9-4 with a bowl win in 2016 and a slew of talented coordinators.
Reason to be skeptical: What will happen to the players involved in the alleged sexual assault in 2016? The team seems fractured over the university's role in the suspensions, and plenty of them are upset at Tracy Claey's firing. Fleck will have his hands full trying to put together a unified team.
Northwestern
Reason to be excited: The core of this team — quarterback Clayton Thorson and running back Justin Jackson — had impressive years in 2016, putting their names in the Wildcats' record books. Nine offensive starters will return, so there's a lot to like about Northwestern's experience in 2017.
Reason to be skeptical: Can the Wildcats be consistent? They had impressive wins over Pitt and Duke, took Ohio State to the very end, but dropped games to Western Michigan (which doesn't look so bad now) and Illinois State. The 2017 schedule has its challenges, but Northwestern could easily drop a game or two that they shouldn't lose, such as to Bowling Green or a road game at Maryland.
Maryland
Reason to be excited: DJ Durkin hit the ground running on the recruiting trail in his first year as head coach. According to 247Sports, Maryland has the No. 4 recruiting class in the Big Ten (and No. 18 in the nation) in 2017, its highest-ranked class since 2004, when it was No. 17. That's a lot to like for a team that has to compete with Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State on and off the field every year.
Reason to be skeptical: The Terps have one of the nation's toughest schedules and will have to steal a game as an underdog if they want another bowl appearance under DJ Durkin. A Week 1 matchup with Texas kicks off a schedule that features games against the top four Big Ten teams: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State. Ouch.
Indiana
Reason to be excited: With Tom Allen at the helm, defense is going to be a huge focus for the Hoosiers. He's already done great work in Bloomington, taking the team from No. 117 to No. 57 in scoring defense. That should only improve in 2017 with Tegray Scales and Rashard Fant returning for one more year.
Reason to be skeptical: The offense produced huge numbers, but also had some glaring weaknesses. Indiana turned the ball over 29 times (17 interceptions by Richard Lagow) and there wasn't a great second running option behind Devine Redding. With Redding gone, who will step up? And will new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord stick with the fast-paced spread offense? Plenty of questions here.
Illinois
Reason to be excited: Lovie Smith is bringing in a solid recruiting class, with several JUCO players who could contribute right away. The non-conference schedule is tame and the Big Ten East crossover games aren't as terrible as they could be (Rutgers, Indiana, Ohio State).
Reason to be skeptical: The Illini still have a ways to go to catch up with the rest of the Big Ten. The last time Illinois beat Michigan or Ohio State was in 2009, and the last win over a ranked Big Ten team since 2007. It'll be a while for Lovie.
Purdue
Reason to be excited: The offensive-minded Jeff Brohm will bring excitement to the Boilermakers' offense and has a track record with developing record-setting quarterbacks. His work with David Blough will be fun to watch.
Reason to be skeptical: Purdue's schedule does it no favors, with non-conference games against Louisville and Missouri. Year 1 will be rough for Brohm regardless of the miracles he works on offense.
Rutgers
Reason to be excited: The Scarlet Knights play Purdue and Illinois in crossover games in 2017, giving them a good chance they'll notch their first Big Ten win since 2015.
Reason to be skeptical: The Big Ten East schedule provides no breathing room, and a non-conference game against Washington makes it likely Rutgers will struggle to match its 2016 output in Chris Ash's second year.
