SiriusXM Big Ten Radio Preseason Football Power Rankings

Pete Pistone and the rest of the SiriusXM Big Ten Radio team will unveil power rankings each week of the college football season. Check out their 2021 pre-season power rankings below, and start listening to SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372) on the SiriusXM app now.

It has been a wild and wooly off-season but finally the Big Ten is ready to kick off a new season. Here’s how the SXM Big Ten Radio team voted to rank the teams heading into the start of the 2021 Big Ten Football season:

1. OHIO STATE

The prohibitive favorite to win the Big Ten but the bigger question is what can the Buckeyes do this year in the College Football Playoff?

NEXT: @Minnesota (September 2)

2. WISCONSIN

The Badgers need to have quarterback Graham Mertz be closer to the guy that opened up last year’s season for the offense to click.

NEXT: Penn State (September 4)

3. INDIANA

Tom Allen’s team won’t surprise anyone this year after Indiana’s stellar season a year ago. Can they take another step forward in 2021?

NEXT: @Iowa (September 4)

4. IOWA

A six-game winning streak last year had many believe Iowa was the best team in the West. The Hawkeyes will have a chance early on to prove whether there is carryover in 2021.

NEXT: Indiana (September 4)

5. PENN STATE

Quarterback Sean Clifford has another new offensive coordinator and system to learn. If things click the Nittany Lions could have a pretty potent offensive attack.

NEXT: @Wisconsin (September 4)

6. MICHIGAN

A new season but the same questions in Ann Arbor – can Jim Harbaugh finally get the Wolverines back to being one of the upper echelon teams in the conference?

NEXT: Western Michigan (September 4)

7. MINNESOTA

Some believe this Minnesota team is better than the one PJ Fleck had in 2019. If so the Golden Gophers will be right in the thick of things in the West.

NEXT: Ohio State (September 2)

8. MARYLAND

Mike Locksley has made some strides since getting to College Park. Terrapin fans are hoping for a bigger step forward in 2021.

NEXT: West Virginia (September 4)

9. NEBRASKA

It has been a tumultuous off-season for Nebraska and Scott Frost has to hope what transpires on the field this year finally lives up to the lofty expectations he’s had since taking the job.

NEXT: @Illinois (August 28)

10. NORTHWESTERN

The defending West champs aren’t getting much love in the off-season to repeat. Pat Fitzgerald likes it that way but Northwestern has some holes to fill.

NEXT: Michigan State (September 3)

11. MICHIGAN STATE

Mel Tucker’s second season has hope attached to it for moving the program forward. There is realistic reason for optimism based on some at least mild success last year.

NEXT: @Northwestern (September 3)

12. PURDUE

Staying healthy has been a challenge in West Lafayette. There are some talented players at Purdue but Jeff Brohm’s team also has a lot of unknowns in 2021.

NEXT: Oregon State (September 4)

13. RUTGERS

Year two in Greg Schiano’s return to Piscataway has the potential to put another couple wins on the board.

NEXT: Temple (September 2)

14. ILLINOIS

Brett Bielema returns to the Big Ten to replace Lovie Smith hoping to replicate his conference success when he was at Wisconsin.

NEXT: Nebraska (August 28)