Michael Cohen
College Football and College Basketball Writer
The time has come for the Big Ten to officially welcome its West Coast brethren to the fray as the league will descend on Indianapolis next week for its annual media days event. Once there, select players and coaches from each school will meet with reporters at Lucas Oil Stadium to preview what might be the most anticipated season in conference history.
With 18 teams now gracing its standings, the Big Ten expanded this year’s event from two days to three, beginning on July 23 and running through July 25. Each day features representatives from six programs:
Day 1: Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Day 2: Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA, USC
Day 3: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington
To preview the event, FOX Sports analyzed each team in the new-look Big Ten. Here’s what to expect from Day 2.
[Big Ten Media Days Preview: Day 1]
Iowa
Last year: 10-4 overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Postseason: 35-0 loss to Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl
Head coach: Kirk Ferentz, 26th season, 196-119 at Iowa
Coordinators: Tim Lester (offense); Phil Parker (defense)
Recruiting: No. 32 nationally, No. 9 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: There was a month remaining in the 2023 regular season when interim athletic director Beth Goetz issued a statement saying offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who is the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, would not be retained. By that point, the Hawkeyes’ offense had received plenty of national attention thanks to an impotent passing attack, a rash of injuries at the skill positions and a system that felt ill-equipped for the modern era. Iowa ranked last in the country in total offense (234.6 yards per game), second-to-last in scoring (15.4 points per game) and fourth-to-last in passing (118.6 yards per game), with only the service academies behind them: Navy, Army and Air Force. Forced to find a new coordinator, Kirk Ferentz plucked Lester from an analyst role with the Green Bay Packers. Lester, 47, was the head coach at Western Michigan from 2017-22, the quarterbacks coach at Purdue in 2016 and the offensive coordinator at Syracuse from 2014-15. He can’t do any worse.
Michigan State
Last year: 4-8 overall, 2-7 Big Ten
Postseason: None
Head coach: Jonathan Smith, first season, 0-0 at Michigan State
Coordinators: Brian Lindgren (offense); Joe Rossi (defense)
Recruiting: No. 42 nationally, No. 13 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: The way in which former coach Mel Tucker’s tenure ended at Michigan State — an unsightly cocktail of salacious rumors, off-field scandal and lawsuits — meant there was always likely to be a roster exodus ahead of the 2024 campaign. Nearly 40 players existed via the transfer portal alone, and unfortunately for Smith, who joined the Spartans after an impressive rebuilding effort at Oregon State, the list of departures included some of the team’s most talented prospects: defensive tackle Simeon Barrow Jr. (Miami), defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (Oregon), edge rusher Bai Jobe (Kansas) and safety Jaden Mangham (Michigan). The three players who followed Smith should be plug-and-play starters at critical positions in quarterback Aidan Chiles (No. 8 transfer, No. 2 QB), tight end Jack Velling (No. 147 transfer, No. 11 TE) and center Tanner Miller (No. 419 transfer, No. 25 IOL). But it will likely take another season or two for Smith to stockpile enough talent to contend in the Big Ten.
Nebraska
Last year: 5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Postseason: None
Head coach: Matt Rhule, second season, 5-7 at Nebraska
Coordinators: Marcus Satterfield (offense); Tony White (defense)
Recruiting: No. 18 nationally, No. 6 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Few stats from the 2023 season were more eye-catching than Nebraska’s horrific minus-17 turnover margin, the worst mark among teams from the power conferences and the second-worst mark in the country overall. No other Big Ten program finished worse than minus-8. That Rhule’s team still finished 5-7 overall and suffered five defeats by seven points or fewer speaks to just how good Nebraska’s defense was last season. A huge part of the turnover problem originated at quarterback, where the trio of Heinrich Haarberg, Jeff Sims and Chubba Purdy combined to toss 16 interceptions and fumble 21 times. But Rhule and his staff scored a monumental recruiting victory when they flipped five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola from Georgia the week before the early signing period. Raiola, whose father was an All-American center at Nebraska and whose uncle is the Cornhuskers’ offensive line coach, finished as the No. 21 overall prospect and the No. 3 signal-caller in the 2024 recruiting cycle. He could be a Day 1 starter.
Matt Rhule explains how Nebraska football will grow & learning through failure
Penn State
Last year: 10-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Postseason: 38-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl
Head coach: James Franklin, 11th season, 88-39 at Penn State
Coordinators: Andy Kotelnicki (offense); Tom Allen (defense)
Recruiting: No. 15 nationally, No. 3 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Franklin earned rave reviews for luring the innovative Kotelnicki away from Kansas to become Penn State’s sixth offensive coordinator in the last decade. Kotelnicki’s predecessor, Mike Yurcich, played an important role in identifying and landing five-star quarterback Drew Allar from Ohio, but the offense never quite clicked on the field, especially when it came to the vertical passing attack. Allar ranked tied for 77th out of 99 qualified quarterbacks in yards per attempt last season (6.8), and the Nittany Lions finished tied for 109th in passing plays of 20-plus yards (30). Generating explosive plays is one area where Kotelnicki excelled during his three seasons at Kansas from 2021-23. The Jayhawks improved from 112th in passing plays of 20-plus yards during Kotelnicki’s first season to 14th in his second and tied for 24th in his third. The only power conference teams with more 40-yard scrimmage plays than the Jayhawks (24) last season were LSU (30), Oregon (27), USC (27), North Carolina (26) and Oklahoma (25). Perhaps the sixth time will be the charm for Franklin.
UCLA
Last year: 8-5 overall, 4-5 Pac-12
Postseason: 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl
Head coach: DeShaun Foster, first season, 0-0 at UCLA
Coordinators: Eric Bieniemy (offense); Ikaika Malloe (defense)
Recruiting: No. 91 nationally, No. 18 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: The unexpected departure of head coach Chip Kelly to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State left the Bruins rudderless in early February, long after college football’s coaching carousel is typically completed. A quick pivot to promote running backs coach DeShaun Foster — who himself had briefly left for a job with the Las Vegas Raiders — offered some much-needed stability in the form of a familiar face and program legend, with Foster having earned All-America honors at UCLA in 2001. His biggest challenge will be finding ways to upgrade the roster at a program where recruiting has proven surprisingly difficult given the local talent pool and resources at hand. The Bruins’ last five recruiting classes prior to the coaching change ranked 37th, 61st, 32nd, 33rd and 40th nationally — numbers that are roughly on par with Big Ten counterparts Rutgers and Minnesota. That’s not the kind of company UCLA wants to be keeping. Foster has his work cut out for him.
USC
Last year: 8-5 overall, 5-4 Pac-12
Postseason: 42-28 win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl
Head coach: Lincoln Riley, third season, 19-8 at USC
Coordinators: Josh Henson (offense); D’Anton Lynn (defense)
Recruiting: No. 17 overall, No. 5 in the Big Ten for 2024
Key storyline: Riley’s decision to stick with embattled defensive coordinator Alex Grinch after the Trojans finished 121st in scoring (34.4 points per game) during the 2022 campaign proved an incorrect choice. The 6-0 start in 2023 quickly eroded as Grinch’s unit surrendered 48 points to Notre Dame, 34 to Utah, 49 to California and 52 to Washington before Riley made a change. Snagging Lynn from crosstown rival UCLA seems like a shrewd choice for Grinch’s replacement. Lynn, who worked in the NFL from 2014-22, transformed the Bruins from the 87th-best defense before he arrived to the 10th-best unit last season. His group finished second nationally against the run (80.8 yards per game) and 14th in scoring (18.4 points per game). Lynn added several key pieces to USC’s roster through the transfer portal: safety Kamari Ramsey (No. 63 transfer, No. 6 S); inside linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (No. 91 transfer, No. 5 LB); defensive lineman Nate Clifton (No. 124 transfer, No. 11 DL) and safety Akili Arnold (No. 209 transfer, No. 12 S).
Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.
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