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BIG TEN WEST
1. Wisconsin (29 first-place votes) 233 points
2. Iowa (5) 202
3. Northwestern 160
4. Minnesota 146
5. Nebraska 91.5
6. Purdue 72.5
7. Illinois 47
BIG TEN EAST
1. Ohio State (34 first-place votes) 238
2. Penn State 192
3. Indiana 169
4. Michigan 144
5. Maryland 79
6. Rutgers 77.5
7. Michigan State 52.5
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Ohio State over Wisconsin (29)
Ohio State over Iowa (5)
OTHER POLL NOTES
• Iowa received votes to finish anywhere from first to fifth in the West. Rutgers was the most polarizing team in the East, picked to finish anywhere from third to last.
• Many voters presumably had to make a choice between Penn State and Indiana for second place in the East. They chose the Nittany Lions by a 23-11 margin on second-place votes.
• Only one voter (cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises) correctly picked Northwestern to win the West in the 2020 poll. Wisconsin and Minnesota were considered the division’s top two contenders, and the consensus vote picked the Wildcats to finish fifth. Instead, they reached the Big Ten championship game for the second time in three years.
Looking back at the poll’s history, here are the favorites and the eventual league champions since the divisional split, the introduction of the title game and the Big Ten shirking a full preseason ranking.
2020: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State
2019: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Ohio State
2018: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.
2017: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.
2016: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Penn State.
2015: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.
2014: Pick: Michigan State. Actual: Ohio State.
2013: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.
2012: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Wisconsin.
2011: Pick: Nebraska. Actual: Wisconsin.
Ohio State football voted overwhelming 2021 Big Ten favorite in cleveland.com preseason poll
Ohio State football was the near unanimous pick to win both the Big Ten East and the championship game in the preseason media poll conducted by cleveland.com.
BIG TEN WEST
1. Wisconsin (29 first-place votes) 233 points
2. Iowa (5) 202
3. Northwestern 160
4. Minnesota 146
5. Nebraska 91.5
6. Purdue 72.5
7. Illinois 47
BIG TEN EAST
1. Ohio State (34 first-place votes) 238
2. Penn State 192
3. Indiana 169
4. Michigan 144
5. Maryland 79
6. Rutgers 77.5
7. Michigan State 52.5
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Ohio State over Wisconsin (29)
Ohio State over Iowa (5)
OTHER POLL NOTES
• Iowa received votes to finish anywhere from first to fifth in the West. Rutgers was the most polarizing team in the East, picked to finish anywhere from third to last.
• Many voters presumably had to make a choice between Penn State and Indiana for second place in the East. They chose the Nittany Lions by a 23-11 margin on second-place votes.
• Only one voter (cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises) correctly picked Northwestern to win the West in the 2020 poll. Wisconsin and Minnesota were considered the division’s top two contenders, and the consensus vote picked the Wildcats to finish fifth. Instead, they reached the Big Ten championship game for the second time in three years.
Looking back at the poll’s history, here are the favorites and the eventual league champions since the divisional split, the introduction of the title game and the Big Ten shirking a full preseason ranking.
2020: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State
2019: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Ohio State
2018: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.
2017: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Ohio State.
2016: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Penn State.
2015: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.
2014: Pick: Michigan State. Actual: Ohio State.
2013: Pick: Ohio State. Actual: Michigan State.
2012: Pick: Michigan. Actual: Wisconsin.
2011: Pick: Nebraska. Actual: Wisconsin.
