Ohio State Football: The state of Big Ten football, ranking the programs
With the 2019 Ohio State football season behind us, now is an excellent time to examine the Big Ten Conference and rank each program.
The Big Ten Conference as a whole is as good as it has been in years. The ‘Urban Meyer effect’ is in full swing now as each program in the Big Ten had to do its best to try to keep up with Meyer’s program building abilities. And by trying to do so, the Big Ten is in a much better position today than it was eight years ago.
We will breakdown each program into five categories. Elite, good, average, below average and bad. Rankings will be based on past success, coaching staff, facilities and recruiting.
We are determining the overall health of each program versus just the simple wins and losses from a season ago. With that being said let’s get started beginning with the one elite program.
Elite Program
No. 1 The Ohio State University
The Buckeyes get the nod as the only elite program in the Big Ten. Ryan Day proved to be an extremely competent head coach as they made the College Football Playoff in the first season under his watch. The facilities are second to none in the country, and with the third ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2020 Ohio State looks to stay at this level for a long time to come.
Good Programs
No. 2 Penn State University
Coach James Franklin has the Nittany Lions as borderline top 10 team in college football every year. Finishing second to Ohio State this past season in the East Division, and beating Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, makes this past season a success.
With the No.14 ranked recruiting class in 2020 and good to excellent team facilities in Happy Valley, Penn State is a program that is in good health.
No. 3 University of Michigan
Michigan is a program that despite its lack of success against Ohio State is a very solid program. Jim Harbaugh is a very good coach and recruiter.
Finishing the season third in the Big Ten East, the Wolverines continue to recruit at high levels. Their recruiting class ranks second in the Big Ten and No.11 overall.
No. 4 University of Wisconsin
Coach Paul Chryst has continued Wisconsin’s run of success after being named head coach in 2015. The Badgers earned a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game in 2019 after a 10-2 record during the regular season.
While recruiting is always an issue at a place like Wisconsin, the coaching staff does a tremendous job of coaching up a bunch of three star players and developing a formidable team out of them. The No. 25 overall recruiting class in 2020 ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
No. 5 University of Iowa
Head coach Kirk Ferentz is one of the best coaches in all of college football. 20 seasons of sustained success at a place like Iowa is an impressive accomplishment.
Much like Wisconsin, Iowa takes three-star prospects and molds them into a tough, well-rounded football team. Iowa just built a brand new practice facility which should help them in the future when it comes to recruiting.