The Big Ten conference will see its biggest season ever, thanks to the addition of four teams from the former Pac-12. The Washington Huskies, Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, and UCLA Bruins enter the conference. October 5 will even see an in-conference National Championship rematch between Washington and the Michigan Wolverines.
Michigan will have a new head coach in Sherrone Moore after Jim Harbaugh departed for the NFL. The Ohio State Buckeyes could be the ones to capitalize on a change at the top of the conference, as they are currently listed as the favorites to win the Big Ten, followed by Oregon.
Here are each Big Ten team's regular-season win totals, conference and national championship odds and ESPN betting expert Joe Fortenbaugh's best future bet as we head into the season.
Odds accurate as of publication. For the most up-to-date odds, visit ESPN BET.
Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, SEC, American
Coming up: Mountain West (Aug. 13), C-USA (Aug. 14), MAC (Aug. 15), Sun Belt (Aug. 16), Independents (Aug. 17)
Fortenbaugh's favorite: Michigan Wolverines No Playoffs (-145)
Apologies to my good friends in Ann Arbor, but I just don't see it happening for the Wolverines this season. 15 starters are gone from last year's championship team-which includes quarterback J.J. McCarthy-not to mention a Hall of Fame coach in Jim Harbaugh. On top of that, the schedule features three underdog spots by my count (vs. Texas, vs. Oregon, at Ohio State) as well as a daunting October 5 road trip to Washington. A three-loss team could very well make the 12-team playoff, but a three-loss Michigan wouldn't have much to point to on their resume in terms of high-profile wins.