Welcome back sports fans as we finish up our pre-season strength of schedule analysis. We’ve gone through 24 conferences in the last 100 days or so, and it’s time for the cream of the crop. The 18-team Big Ten conference now houses both teams from last year’s championship game. In addition to Washington (14-1 last year), the conference added 12-2 Oregon (lost to Washington twice including the Pac-12 championship), 8-5 Southern Cal, and 8-5 UCLA. They clearly, along with the SEC, were the winners in this latest round of conference realignment (which, honestly, may not be finished yet, but still). The only wish I had while reviewing the 2024 schedules is that it would be nice if the 8 teams that don’t play a non-conference game away from home would challenge themselves just a bit more. That said, even the team with the easiest schedule is just 65th (there are 68 Core 4 which are the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, the SEC, and Notre Dame).
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In the table below, (F) indicates an FCS Foe, (G) indicates a Group of 5 opponent, (P) indicates a member of the Pac (1)2 who were Power 5 last year but playing at a Group of 5 level this year, (4) indicates a non-conference Core 4 battle, and (N) indicates a neutral site game. Without further ado, I am proud to present the 2024 Big Ten:
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Southern Cal Trojans (1) | 8-5 (26) | 10.99 (1) | (45-32/.584) Notre Dame (4), Utah St (G), Wisconsin, Purdue, Rutgers, Nebraska | (61-25/.709) LSU (4N), Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Washington, UCLA | 106-57 (.650) |
| Northwestern Wildcats (2) | 8-5 (53) | 10.21 (3) | (37-26/.587) E Illinois (F), Duke (4), Miami OH (G), Indiana, Wisconsin | (67-27/.713) Ohio St (N), Michigan, Illinois (N), Washington, Maryland, Iowa, Purdue | 104-53 (.662) |
| UCLA Bruins (3) | 8-5 (57) | 10.17 (5) | (48-31/.608) Fresno St (G), Indiana, Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Southern Cal | (51-31/.622) LSU (4), Hawaii (G), Penn St, Rutgers, Nebraska, Washington | 99-62 (.615) |
| Oregon Ducks (4) | 12-2 (8) | 9.56 (6) | (59-33/.641) Idaho (F), Boise St (G), Michigan St, Ohio St, Illinois, Maryland, Washington | (42-24/.636) Oregon St (P), UCLA, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin | 101-57 (.639) |
| Washington Huskies (5) | 14-1 (3) | 9.56 (7) | (51-27/.654) Weber St (F), E Michigan (G), Northwestern, Michigan, Southern Cal, UCLA | (47-31/.603) Washington St (PN), Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana, Penn St, Oregon | 98-58 (.628) |
| Michigan Wolverines (6) | 15-0 (1) | 9.35 (10) | (65-40/.619) Texas (4), Fresno St (G), Arkansas St (G), Southern Cal, Minnesota, Michigan St, Oregon, Northwestern | (33-19/.635) Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio St | 98-59 (.624) |
| Michigan St Spartans (7) | 4-8 (30) | 9.24 (11) | (45-42/.517) Prairie View (F), FAU (G), Ohio St, Iowa, Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers | (47-20/.701) Boston College (4), Maryland, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois | 92-62 (.597) |
| Minnesota Golden Golphers (8) | 6-7 (56) | 9.22 (12) | (52-37/.584) Rhode Island (F), North Carolina (4), Nevada (G), Iowa, Southern Cal, Maryland, Penn St | (42-24/.636) Michigan, UCLA, Illinois, Rutgers, Wisconsin | 94-61 (.606) |
| Illinois Illini (9) | 5-7 (71) | 8.99 (16) | (51-36/.586) E Illinois (F), Kansas (4), C Michigan (G), Purdue, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan St | (42-23/.646) Nebraska, Penn St, Oregon, Rutgers, Northwestern (N) | 93-59 (.612) |
| Iowa Hawkeyes (10) | 10-4 (19) | 8.99 (17) | (58-33/.637) Illinois St (F), Iowa St (4), Troy (G), Washington, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Nebraska | (37-27/.578) Minnesota, Ohio St, Michigan St, UCLA, Maryland | 95-60 (.613) |
| Wisconsin Badgers (11) | 7-6 (69) | 8.98 (19) | (48-33/.593) South Dakota (F), Alabama (4), W Michigan (G), Purdue, Penn St, Oregon, Minnesota | (38-27/.585) Southern Cal, Rutgers, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska | 86-60 (.589) |
| Penn St Nittany Lions (12) | 10-3 (10) | 8.65 (26) | (54-37/.593) Bowling Green (G), Kent St (G), Illinois, UCLA, Ohio St, Washington, Maryland | (34-30/.531) West Virginia (4), Southern Cal, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota | 88-67 (.575) |
| Purdue Boilermakers (13) | 4-8 (46) | 8.53 (30) | (46-30/.605) Indiana St (F), Notre Dame (4), Nebraska, Oregon, Northwestern, Penn St | (38-37/.507) Oregon St (P), Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio St, Michigan St, Indiana | 84-67 (.556) |
| Indiana Hoosiers (14) | 3-9 (65) | 8.20 (36) | (53-49/.520) W Illinois (F), FIU (G), Charlotte (G), Maryland, Nebraska, Washington, Michigan, Purdue | (31-20/.608) UCLA, Northwestern, Michigan St, Ohio St | 84-69 (.549) |
| Ohio St Buckeyes (15) | 11-2 (6) | 8.18 (37) | (59-53/.527) Akron (G), W Michigan (G), Marshall (G), Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan | (34-18/.654) Northwestern (N), Michigan St, Oregon, Penn St | 93-71 (.567) |
| Maryland Terrapins (16) | 8-5 (37) | 7.82 (50) | (50-40/.556) Villanova (F), UCONN (G), Michigan St, Northwestern, Southern Cal, Rutgers, Iowa | (34-30/.531) Virginia (4), Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn St | 84-70 (.545) |
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights (17) | 7-6 (34) | 7.64 (57) | (48-42/.533) Howard (F), Akron (G), Washington, Wisconsin, UCLA, Minnesota, Illinois | (32-31/.508) Virginia Tech (4), Nebraska, Southern Cal, Maryland, Michigan St | 80-73 (.523) |
| Nebraska Cornhuskers (18) | 5-7 (81) | 7.46 (65) | (40-46/.465) N Iowa (F), Colorado (4), UTEP (G), Illinois, Rutgers, UCLA, Wisconsin | (36-28/.563) Purdue, Indiana, Ohio St, Southern Cal, Iowa | 76-74 (.507) |
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That’s it for this episode and for the pre-season. Look for the next post this Friday because there are 8 games coming on Saturday in an exciting Week 0. The season is just hours away and the GCR will be ready. Thank you for reading and especially for sharing with others, G
