Can anyone challenge Michigan football for Big Ten title?

The Big Ten in recent history, was dominated by Ohio State and Urban Meyer. Fortunately, Ryan Day has been unable to sustain its historical dominance, primarily due to Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines’ recent success.

Michigan football has won the last two Big Ten titles and looks to three-peat and make another run to the College Football Playoffs. I would say there are three teams in the Big Ten that have a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten Championship and here are two others besides Michigan football that Wolverines fans need to worry about.

Anyone who says Michigan football isn’t the most complete team in College Football is lying. Michigan has a dominant defense, #1 in scoring defense, letting up less than 6 points a game. The Wolverines have one of the best offensive lines in college football and have for the past several years. Running behind the experienced and big O-Line, are Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, both top-5 running backs in the Big Ten. J.J. McCarthy has improved in his second year starting and is undoubtedly a top 2 QB in the conference. Roman Wilson has been having a breakout year, already grabbing six touchdowns in four games. The Big Ten runs through Michigan football, and the Wolverines should be the favorite to win for the third straight year.

James Franklin has probably been his best Penn State team since the Saquon Barkley era. The Nittany Lions are quarterbacked by Sophomore standout Drew Allar, who has 900 yards and 8 touchdowns in 4 games. Nick Singleton and Kayton Allen lead the backfield for Penn State, both with over 200 yards this season. Penn State’s defense has been nothing short of great, allowing just under 9 points a game. Penn State’s chance to prove themselves will be week 8 in Columbus, at Ohio State.

Ryan Day has not been able to keep the Ohio State Buckeyes at the top level like his predecessor, Urban Meyer. Even with losing two-year starter and Heisman finalist, C.J. Stroud, backup Kyle McCord has played relatively well even with his inexperience. McCord has just over 1,000 yards, and six touchdowns through four games in 2023. The biggest setbacks for Ohio State are their secondary and their run game. Junior running back TreVeyon Henderson, who has dealt with injuries all three years at Ohio State, has seemed to regress every year. He no longer has the speed and breakaway talent he had as a Freshman and Sophomore. The Buckeyes need their run game to improve if they hope to win a Big Ten title again, and beat Michigan football for the first time since 2019.