On the heels of Big Ten Network analyst Tom Dienhart releasing his Big Ten power ranking for the 2014 season, The Big Ten OT has released the first batch of power rankings for this year’s conference. The Big Ten OT is an independent site covering the Big Ten, with Andy Coppens of Madtown Badgers launching it this summer. Having worked with Andy before, he asked for me to be a part of the voting panel for his site’s Big Ten power rankings this fall. I took him up on the invite and encourage you to check out the power rankings and more this fall.
The members of the voting panel are:
Andy Coppens – Big Ten OT & MadTownBadgers (@AndyOnFootball & @MTBadgers)
Kevin McGuire – Nittany Lions Den (@KevinOnCFB & @TheNLD)
Paul Dalen – CornNation (@paul_dalen & @CornNation)
Ross – Black Heart Gold Pants (@RossWB and @BHGP)
Joshua Henschke – Maize ‘N Brew (@JoshuaHenschke)
Phillip Rossman-Reich – Lake The Posts (@RiseNU & @LakeThePosts)
Kevin Recio – On the Banks (@OTB_SBNation & @KevRecio)
Ken Kohl – The Buckeye Battlecry (@The_BBC)
Andy – The Daily Gopher (@yorka1982 & @TheDailyGopher)
Hondo Carpenter – Spartan Nation (@Spartan_Nation)
With the season now just days away from getting started, the preseason rankings have been assembled. Not surprisingly, Penn State is ranked fourth in the Big Ten by the group, and there seems to be much agreement with how the east lines up from the top to bottom. Michigan State takes the top spot with all seven first-place votes, a result that was surely influenced by Braxton Miller being lost for the season at Ohio State. The Buckeyes follow in second, and Michigan stays ahead of Penn State by 12 points.
As it turns out, the preseason ranking of the east division lined up exactly as I have ranked it. I am somewhat optimistic about Penn State if they manage to stay healthy, but I think for now fourth place in the east seems fair until we see just what Michigan looks like and how the James Franklin era gets started with depth concerns.
Also, the west division looks identical to my ranking of the division as well. Wisconsin is my division favorite, followed by Iowa, my sleeper pick in the Big Ten.
Check out the power rankings before the season starts, and remember to check back every week to see how the panel views Penn State in relation to the rest of the East division.
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