Indiana Football: Predicting the Big Ten standings for 2020
By Adam Childs
Indiana Football: Big Ten Predictions
Big Ten East
Rutgers – Record 0-10
Wins – None
Loss – Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin
Rutgers was bad last year, really bad. They were so bad that their quarterback and leading running back decided it was better to redshirt then play the rest of the year. The Scarlet Knights fired Chris Ash after getting thumped by Michigan last year and brought in former head coach Greg Schiano.
Schiano has hit the ground running on the recruiting trail but he won’t see the fruits of his labor yet. Rutgers will put up more of a fight this year but they are still not very good and we just can’t see them winning any games this year.
Maryland – Record 2-7
Wins – Northwestern, Rutgers
Loss – Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan Wisconsin, Illinois
The Terrapins showed they could score some points early in 2019 but then they just fell apart. Injuries didn’t help and they should be helped by the return of Jeshaun Jones, who busted onto the scene as a freshman two years ago. He was lost last year to a torn ACL but is back and will help bring some explosiveness on the offensive side of the ball.
The probably for Maryland like so many of the bottom teams in the Big Ten is how well will their defense play. They struggled for much of last year and honestly look like they quit in a lot of games. It doesn’t help matters that they are stuck in the Big Ten East. There just aren’t a lot of wins for them this year. They may win more than two games but I think their ceiling is four and that might be pushing it.
Michigan State – Record 4-5
Wins – Northwestern, Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska
Loss – Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Minnesota
It was a terrible year in 2019 for the Spartans. Armed with one of the best defenses in the conference they thought they would be able to compete. Instead after squeaking out a win against Indiana they just completely fell apart and couldn’t stop anyone.
Their offense was horrible and their defense just continued to get worse as the season went on. They then lost Mark Dantonio abruptly resigned right before national signing day and left the Spartans scratching their heads. They brought in Mel Tucker from Colorado and he like Schiano is doing a great job recruiting but it will be a few years before we see that come to fruition.
The good news for Michigan State fans is they can’t be any worse at quarterback as Brian Lewerke couldn’t do much of anything in the last two years. Rocky Lombardi will take his place and will look to lead the Spartans back to the top of the Big Ten.