RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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CHICAGO -- The Big Ten arrives at media days on top of the world as the undisputed king of college sports -- three straight football national titles, plus men's and women's basketball crowns -- and 18 programs with a dynasty to defend.
The conference doesn't appear to be slowing down, particularly on the football field. Schools are pouring record amounts of money into their rosters and making top leadership changes to keep up with the sport's new world order. Schools outside the Big Ten footprint are trying to keep up, too. The SEC is doing its best to change the narrative by bending the storyline.
"Whoever wins the national championship doesn't define who has the best conference," former Alabama coach Nick Saban said last week.
Inside the Big Ten, four new coaches will take the stage at media days at the Hilton Chicago. That's what happens when Indiana , once the losingest program in the sport, goes undefeated and wins the national championship. While the Cinderella story was fascinating for viewers, it was also a harsh wake-up call for the middle and bottom of the Big Ten. Now, everyone expects to win a title in this new age of NIL and the transfer portal. The old rules no longer apply. Five-star players and homegrown talent are no longer prerequisites to win it all in the sport.
Will the Big Ten eat itself as the talent deepens across its 18 programs, or is this just the beginning of a championship dynasty for the conference?
Let's take a look at each of the 18 programs and the burning questions facing them this week in Chicago.
Can Katin Houser sustain the Illini's solid QB production?
Illinois took on the personality of Luke Altmyer, but now that the program's record-breaking quarterback is gone, how will the Illini perform after the school's first back-to-back, nine-win seasons?
East Carolina 's Katin Houser steps in at quarterback, but he's not the type of runner that Altmyer was for the Illini. He'll get help with a loaded backfield, but he'll also have four new starters along the offensive line. Illinois will go as far as Houser can carry them, and until we see him in action in Barry Lunney Jr.'s system, coach Bret Bielema will face sharp questions about the outlook this fall.
Did Indiana reload for another CFP push?
Indiana -- Indiana! -- won the national championship last season as the first 16-0 team in major college football history. That's still strange to say. Even so, the story is no longer how the Hoosiers flipped the script from the losingest program in college football to national champions. That's nice and will be remembered forever, but now we can start wondering whether Curt Cignetti will remain at the top of the mountain.
It's not quite a Moneyball approach in Bloomington, but the annual transfer additions just make sense. Replacing Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza with one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country, TCU's Josh Hoover, was yet another master stroke. Hoover has recorded nearly 10,000 yards in his career, but has a history of turnover problems. Adding receiver Nick Marsh was also huge.
We're not projecting a Big Ten title for Indiana, but we're curious to hear how Cignetti handled the offseason and whether his approach changes this fall.
Iowa faces a rebuild on defense after losing seven of its eight All-Big Ten players. The good news is Phil Parker is still the defensive coordinator, and coach Kirk Ferentz seemingly always gets the best out of his roster, no matter the issues. He's won eight games or more in five straight seasons and enters the fall as the winningest program in the CFP era to never reach the playoff.
Quarterback will again be a big question after the departure of former South Dakota State star Mark Gronowski, the winningest QB in NCAA history. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski will battle for the QB1 spot in fall camp.
Can Malik Washington 's leap and a retooled offense save Mike Locksley?
Mike Locksley is facing the end of the road. Back-to-back 4-8 seasons, including eight straight losses a year ago, have the eighth-year coach in win-or-die mode at Maryland .
The good news for Locksley is that he returns a lot of talent, including quarterback Malik Washington, thanks to a bump in NIL money for the roster. Clint Trickett steps in as offensive coordinator after a solid run at Jacksonville State . The defense wasn't great last season, particularly against the run, but Locksley and Co. did a good job of keeping the stars on campus rather than losing them to the portal.
Locksley can sell the youth movement to fans, but they need to see progress after last season's meltdown.
Can Kyle Whittingham lift Michigan into contender status?
It's about time we talk football at Michigan. It's been a rocky offseason in Ann Arbor. The Sherrone Moore era is finished, and athletics director Warde Manuel is in his final days, but lost in the news is Kyle Whittingham and his Wolverines. The roster is talented, yes, but Whittingham's steady hand -- a signature at Utah -- is sure to lead to positive results in his first season.
What has us most excited is the addition of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who will try to propel quarterback Bryce Underwood , the former No. 1 recruit, into superstardom. Beck's offense is a quarterback's dream. Whittingham was a proven winner at Utah, so does this team have the makings of another? What does he like best about his new team?
Can Pat Fitzgerald rebuild the trenches and make the Spartans relevant?
After a 10-win season in 2021, Michigan State bet on Mel Tucker and lost big. The Spartans have been lost in the Big Ten wilderness ever since, but they're turning to a familiar name to lead them back to civilization. Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is now leading the program. Fitz interviewed for several jobs in the offseason, impressing athletic directors with his plans in the NIL era, and Michigan State landed him to lead one of the nation's biggest rebuilding jobs at a very p...
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