The clock continues to wind down towards the Big Ten season opening weekend of Oct. 24 and things are starting to heat up.
From injuries to projections and preseason accolades to teams working on last minute adjustments before Game Week, things have been picking up quite a bit in the Big Ten.
It is finally football time in the Big Ten
Raise your hand, and be honest, are you surprised that we are at this point?
For weeks, all Big Ten programs and its fans could do was sit and watch, as the likes of the ACC, SEC and Big 12 had been filling Saturdays with games and impressive results.
But, now the stage clears a bit for the Big Ten and it begins Friday, Oct. 23, when Illinois invades Camp Randall Stadium for a date with ranked Wisconsin. The rest of the Big Ten will kick off Saturday, Oct. 24 and will play eight games in eight weeks barring any cancellations due to Covid-19.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the favorites to return to Indianapolis and claim the Big Ten Conference title for a fourth straight time.
And why not?
Quarterback Justin Fields, who is expected to be a Heisman hopeful, returns, along with quite a bit of firepower.
Outside of Ohio State, many believe Wisconsin, who lost quarterback Justin Coan to a foot injury, and Minnesota, who returns talented receiver Rashod Bateman, to challenge for the Big Ten West divisional title.
Preseason accolades roll in
The Big Ten Conference recently announced its 2020 football preseason honors on the Big Ten Network, which featured four All-Americans and eight former All-Big Ten selections. Members of the media selected the 10-member preseason list.
Ohio State led the way with three honorees on the East Division list, starting with Wyatt Davis, a returning consensus All-American, who opted back in this season. Joining him on this year's East Division preseason list was quarterback Justin Fields and cornerback Shaun Wade, who also opted back in at Ohio State.
Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye and Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth rounded out the East Division selections.
A total of four schools have representation on the West Division preseason list, with Minnesota earning two nods in wide receiver Rashod Bateman and quarterback Tanner Morgan.
Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher, Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore and Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn round out the West.
The 2020 Big Ten preseason honors list features two recipients conference individual awards from a season ago in Fields (the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year) and Bateman (the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year). Fields and Bateman were also 2019 first-team All-Big Ten selections, joining second-team selections Paye, Davis and Freiermuth, as well as third-team honorees Fisher and Wade.
Getting to know you
The Big Ten will see two new head coaches this season at Michigan State and Rutgers.
Mel Tucker takes over at Michigan State for Mark Dantonio, who retired after 13 years, and Greg Schiano returns to Rutgers to replace Chris Ash, who was fired four games into last season.
A year ago, Tucker, who served as a grad assistant at Michigan State under Nick Saban, was 5-7 in his only year at Colorado.
Schiano returned to Rutgers after eight years away from the program. He led the Scarlet Knights to a 68-67 record and six bowl games from 2001-11. He was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach in 2012-13 and Ohio State defensive coordinator from 2016-18.
Injuries continue to hit programs
From Penn State to Wisconsin to Indiana to Nebraska and across the Big Ten landscape, injuries have already taken their toll on several programs.
Penn State will be without one of its premier players and Heisman Trophy darkhorse when they invade Bloomington Saturday as the program announced Journey Brown may miss the 2020 season due to an undisclosed condition. The redshirt junior is currently receiving treatment for an undisclosed condition.
"Journey Brown is being treated for a medical condition discovered during the offseason and will potentially miss the 2020 football season,'' a statement released by PSU reads.
A season ago, Brown started 10 games for the Nittany Lions, rushing for 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 129 carries. He rushed for 202 yards in the Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis.
Against the Hoosiers last year, Brown rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown.
A year ago, Jack Coan led Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl, but he is out indefinitely after injuring his foot in a non-contact drill. The senior has undergone surgery, and during a Zoom call on Oct. 18, Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said Coan remains with the program.
"When a guy gets hurt, you think he's gone. Jack is with us every day and he's involved. He's not acting as a coach, he's acting as a leader of this team. Guys look to him for that," Chryst told the media.
The Hoosiers of Indiana will be without defensive back Marcellino Ball (knee) and safety Raheem Layne (undisclosed) when the season kicks off Oct. 25.
Minnesota will be without linebacker Braelen Oliver (undisclosed), who is out indefinitely.
Nebraska cornerback Braxton Clark (shoulder) is out, as is JUCO transfer Omar Manning, a wide receiver, who has missed time due to injury and personal issues.
For Illinois, offensive lineman Blake Jeresaty (shoulder) is out, and Purdue wide receiver Jackson Anthrop aims to get back onto the field after shoulder surgery. .
What streak will end first?
With no fans allowed in the stadiums due to Covid-19 restrictions, Nebraska's record 375-game sellout streak is shelved. In addition, Michigan will have fewer than 100,000 fans in attendance for the first time since 1975.
With that said, there are a total of four streaks that could end during the 2020 Big Ten season.
Ohio State enters with the nation's third-longest active home winning streak at 20 games. The Buckeyes also hold the second-longest road streak at seven.
For Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights hold the nation's longest road losing streak of 13 games in a row and the nation's longest conference losing streak at 21.
You have to believe that as crazy as 2020 has been this year, those streaks could come to an end, right?
We're coming to your city
ESPN announced College GameDay will be in Minnesota this weekend, as the Golden Golphers and Michigan square off for the Little Brown Jug.
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