Indiana Football: Hoosiers making moves in early Big Ten Power Rankings

Michigan State is in a crossroads right now. They once again struggled last year and then Mark Dantonio abruptly resigned right before national signing day. The Spartans brought in Mel Tucker from Colorado and he may be good for them, but they have to figure out how to score points as their offense has been horrible the last two years. Combine that with their defense struggling again last year and it turns the Spartans into just an average team.

The Boilermakers had to deal with a lot of injuries and some bad losses (see Nevada) last year but still played some teams very tough. They gave Indiana everything they wanted in their double-overtime game. Purdue looked like a trendy surprise team last year but couldn’t seem to handle the pressure. The spotlight is off them again and could mean they could sneak up on some teams this year. But to do that they are going to have to play better defense.

Illinois turned their season around last year when they upset Wisconsin and was a surprise bowl team. They return starting quarterback Brandon Peters who has finally gotten a chance to play after transferring from Michigan. Lovie Smith might finally have this team going in the right direction but let’s see if they can do it two years in a row.

Iowa is a tricky team to rank. They are one of the toughest teams to beat at home but are more vulnerable on the road. They did win 10 games last year and ended up ranked 16th in the country but it didn’t seem like they could win the big game. They lose their three-year starting quarterback in Nate Stanley so it will be interesting who can step up. They are a team that could have definitely used spring practice.

Indiana gets the nod ahead of some of the other teams because they return three skilled players that are some of the best in the conference. Michael Penix Jr., Stevie Scott, and Whop Philyor could be the best trio in all of the Big Ten. Scoring shouldn’t be a problem for the Hoosiers, it will be if they can stop anybody. If they can improve their defense and Penix Jr stays healthy this team could be looking at a rare 10 win season.