Jon Joseph Moderator No. 1 Share Posted February 11 (edited) Friend NJ Duck, always on the posting ball, has posted on the B1G predictions thread, the Win totals for B1G football teams in 2024. The SEC totals were listed by Fans Duel. Ducks Wire Zach Neel only identifies the odds as 'coming from Las Vegas.' Regardless, unlike the majority of 'expert predictions, here the rubber meets the road. The 'House' is taking bets on these numbers. Will a team go Over or Under its predicted win total? A few thoughts. 1st - Is the B1G the new 'cannibal conference?' 7 of 18 teams are not projected to qualify for a bowl game: Purdue, Minnesota, UCLA, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Indiana. This is far less than the 13 bowl games projected for the SEC. Why? Yes, there is a disparity in talent between the two conferences as is evident year after year when the SEC leads in the total number of players drafted by the NFL. However, the reason fewer B1G teams will go bowling in large part is because B1G teams play 9 and not 8 conference games. Can't schedule out-of-conference (OOC) in the B1G like you can at Ole Miss. The Rebels, predicted to win 9.5+ games, play three cupcakes at home with the toughest OOC opponent being Wake Forest. Missouri is predicted to win 9.5 games. These Tigers play Murray State, Buffalo (Bulls not Bills,) Boston College, and UMass OOC. It's not every SEC team is ducking a tough OOC foe, A+M plays Notre Dame, Texas plays Michigan, and Alabama plays Wisconsin. However, the easy-peasy 4-win OOC scheduling option is not available for B1G teams. More cannibalism? Wisconsin at 6.5 wins and Maryland, Nebraska, USC, UW, and Iowa all at 7.5 wins? I believe the odds-makers are too pessimistic here. I think one or more of these teams will at least be 'spoilers' in the B1G this season. Six SEC teams have win totals of 9.5 or better. Four B1G teams have win totals of 9.5 or better, Michigan, Penn State, OREGON, and Ohio State. OBD and Ohio State, a predicted Battle of the Os, at 10.5 wins have the same odds as the Georgia Bulldogs at 10.5. Georgia is the only SEC team with a win total of more than 9.5 wins. At the very top, the B1G is predicted to be as successful as the top SEC teams. Oregon's 2024 Strength of Schedule is ranked the 13th most difficult by ESPN's SP+. Ohio State's schedule did not make the early top-15 most difficult schedules list. It's going to be B1G fun! Win totals released for all Big Ten teams in 2024 college football season - Yahoo Sports SPORTS.YAHOO.COM A look at all of the win totals for teams in the Big Ten Conference going into the 2024 college football season. Edited February 11 by Jon Joseph 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 2 Share Posted February 11 The Fighting Illini, on the Ducks 2024 schedule, is the 7th B1G team projected to miss out on a bowl game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 3 Share Posted February 11 Here us my 2 cents on this tOSU has the talent and soft enough schedule to finish 12-0 in the regular season. They will hit Autzen in full stride with their focus on showing OBD's that they are the top dog(s) in the BIG! The Ducks will give the Buckeyes everything they can handle and then some. Neither team will be penalized for a close loss in a great game......... Oregon certainly has the talent to finish the regular season 11-1. Will they? The Buckeyes and road trips to Ann Arbor and Madison will be stiff challenges. My guess is 10-2. OBD's do not overlook any team...... Michigan and Penn State will probably be 10-2. Neither team has a difficult schedule in the conference. Michigan will have a big time battle with Texas. (Advantage Texas?) Penn State will be tested hard in Morgantown. No other teams will crack this top 4 in the BIG. As long as 10-2 gets OBD's a CFP invite then personally I hope PSU or Michigan finish second. Battling tOSU in the BIG Title game will take its toll on any team. Injuries and fatigue could weaken any team. Remember their wont be a 3 week rest between these games. Other than the Ducks, no former PAC school will be a CFP challenger in 2024. The Ducks cannot let the huskies spoil the party. The putrid dogs need a thrashing in Autzen. Go Ducks....... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDuck No. 4 Share Posted February 11 anOSU always plays a soft schedule. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Author Moderator No. 5 Share Posted February 11 On 2/11/2024 at 2:34 PM, TexasDuck said: anOSU always plays a soft schedule. Ohio State opens the 2025 season on 8/30/25 with a game vs Texas. (TX is playing in Ann Arbor in 2024 and in Columbus in 2025!) In 2025, tOSU will play 7 and not 8 home games. The Buckeyes will be on the road against Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin and will play Penn State (and UCLA) in The Shoe. The Buckeyes do not play the Trojans until 2026 when the two will play 3 seasons in a row with the 2026 game in LA. In 2025, Oregon goes on the road to play Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State (White Out!), Rutgers, and UW. 2026 OOC, Ohio State plays at Texas. In 2027 the Buckeyes play Alabama and return the favor in 2028. 3 cupcakes OOC in 2024 but not in the following 3 seasons. Ducks OOC - 2025 OK St, 2026 at OK St, 2027 at Baylor. Quality opponents but not Texas and Bama. Ohio State's 2024 schedule is easier than Oregon's, no doubt, but not so down the road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
