Big Ten preseason media poll overwhelmingly favors Ohio State in 2017
The Buckeyes are big favorites to win the Big Ten's East division as well as the conference title
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The Big Ten doesn't do an official preseason poll like other Power Five conferences at their respective media days. So it's been up to to votes tallied through Cleveland.com to do the conference's work instead.
This year's preseason poll has a familiar team at the top: Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are overwhelming favorites -- B1G favorites, you might say -- to take the Big Ten East title and win the conference championship game. Ohio State garnered 34 first-place votes for the East and 29 votes for the Big Ten championship over three different opponents.
Penn State, last year's Big Ten champion, had seven first-place votes for the East, while Michigan received a single first-place vote. Here's how the entire East division is being projected ...
Big Ten East (First-place votes)
1. Ohio State, 260 points (34 )
2. Penn State, 231.5 (7)
3. Michigan, 192 (1)
4. Michigan State, 128
5. Indiana, 114
6. Maryland, 100.5
7. Rutgers, 38
Similar to Ohio State, Wisconsin is the big favorite to win the conference's West division with 259 total points and 31 first-place votes. Northwestern and Nebraska were the only other teams to receive first-place votes.
Big Ten West (First-place votes)
1. Wisconsin, 259 points (31)
2. Northwestern, 219 (5)
3. Nebraska, 176.5 (2)
4. Iowa, 164.5
5. Minnesota, 131
6. Purdue, 57
6. Illinois, 57
And here's how the various voters projected the Big Ten Championship Game would play out ...
Ohio State over Wisconsin (22)
Ohio State over Northwestern (5)
Ohio State over Nebraska (2)
Wisconsin over Ohio State (3)
Wisconsin over Penn State (1)
Penn State over Wisconsin (4)
Michigan over Wisconsin (1)
Ohio State made the College Football Playoff last season despite not even making it to the Big Ten Championship Game. The Buckeyes were then blanked by Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal matchup. Though it's hard to imagine an 11-2 season as a "rebuild" of any kind, the 2017 Buckeyes should be even better. Picking them to take the conference title was, as a certain famous half-Vulcan would say, "logical."
