STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Saquon Barkley was overwhelmingly voted by Big Ten writers as the preseason player of the year, but his defending conference champion Penn State squad was not predicted to repeat.
The writers instead chose Ohio State as the conference favorite.
The Big Ten did away with its official preseason poll years ago, so for the past seven seasons a group of conference beat writers, spearheaded by Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com, have formulated an unofficial poll to take its place.
The bad news for Penn State fans? Well, 29 of 38 voters picked the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions and Badgers each received four votes, while Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines picked up one vote. The good news for Penn State fans? Not once has this preseason poll correctly picked the Big Ten champion since it started in 2011. Also, Barkley secured 30 of 38 first-place votes, including my vote.
Ohio State was picked to win the conference four times in the past five years, but the 2013, 2015 and 2016 conference favorites in the preseason then saw Michigan State, Michigan State and Penn State take the conference crown those years. It's a testament to the wide-open nature of this conference, something Penn State was able to break into last season as well.
The projected order of finish in the East Division, with Penn State projected to finish second behind the Buckeyes, looks like this:
BIG TEN EAST
1. Ohio State, 260 points (34 first-place votes)
2. Penn State, 231.5 (7)
3. Michigan, 192 (1)
4. Michigan State, 128
5. Indiana, 114
6. Maryland, 100.5
7. Rutgers, 38
(first-place votes equal more than 38 because of some ties for first)
I am among those voters who picked Ohio State and Penn State to have a tie in the final standings. However, I then gave the nod to the Nittany Lions for returning to the Big Ten title game where I predicted the same matchup and the same result as last season.
While the Buckeyes certainly have a lot of star power of their own, headlined by a nasty defense and quarterback J.T. Barrett, who finished second in the preseason offensive player of the year balloting behind Barkley, I'm not so sure any defense will be able to drastically slow down this Penn State offense should it stay healthy. Make no doubt about it I give the Buckeyes the upper hand on defense, and the d-line for the Nittany Lions will have a lot to prove should the Lions be able to make it back to Indianapolis. But, with a better offensive line than one year ago, an explosive tight end and two Heisman candidates in Barkley and Trace McSorley, who secured two first-place votes to finish third in the preseason offensive player of the year voting, it's tough to pick against this Penn State team.
If we're looking for consistency from the conference beat writers it was certainly found at the bottom of the ballot where all 38 voters picked Rutgers to finish last in the East Division.
The preseason offensive player of the year voting is as follows:
BIG TEN PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State RB, 103 points (30 first-place votes)
2. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State QB, 59 points (5)
3. Trace McSorley, Penn State QB, 30 points (2)
4. Justin Jackson, Northwestern RB, 25 points (1)
5. Mike Weber, Ohio State RB, 2 points
5. L.J. Scott, Michigan State RB, 2 points
5. Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin QB, 2 points
5. Rodney Smith, Minnesota RB, 2 points
9. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin TE, 1 point
9. Simmie Cobbs, Indiana WR, 1 point
9. Jamarco Jones, Ohio State LT, 1 point
My order of finish for the top three was Barkley, Barrett and McSorley. Expect McSorley and Barrett to go head to head in a lot of the award circuits this summer and winter for the title of the conference's top quarterback.
BIG TEN WEST
1. Wisconsin, 259 points (31 first-place votes)
2. Northwestern, 219 (5)
3. Nebraska, 176.5 (2)
4. Iowa, 164.5
5. Minnesota, 131
6. Purdue, 57
6. Illinois, 57
My projected finish in the West:
1. Wisconsin
2. Northwestern
3. Iowa
Tie Nebraska
5. Minnesota
6. Purdue
7. Illinois
PRESEASON BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1. Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State DE, 61 points (11 first-place votes)
2. Josey Jewell, Iowa LB, 59 points (12)
3. Rashan Gary, Michigan DE, 23 points (3)
4. Tegray Scales, Indiana LB, 19 points (4)
5. Jerome Baker, Ohio State LB, 12 points (2)
6. Sam Hubbard, Ohio State DE, 11 points (2)
7. Jack Cichy, Wisconsin LB, 10 points (1)
8. Maurice Hurst, Michigan DT, 9 points (1)
9. Marcus Allen, Penn State S, 9 points
10. T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin LB, 7 points (1)
11. Nick Bosa, Ohio State, DE 4 points (1)
12. Godwin Igwebuike, Northwestern S, 2 points
13. Steven Richardson, Minnesota DT, 1 point
13. Blessuan Austin, Rutgers CB, 1 point
My order of finish for the top three was Jewell, Lewis and Baker.