That guy with the blue hat emblazoned with a maize M is Jim Harbaugh. You might recognize him from his days as an NFL quarterback, or the San Francisco 49ers’ former head coach.
He’s the guy that led Stanford back to relevance, and the 49ers back to the Super Bowl, and now, as the unquestioned most-talked-about coaching hire of the offseason, he’s the Michigan Man charged with leading the once-mighty Wolverines back to prominence.
An hour to the northwest in East Lansing, Mark Dantonio has Michigan State primed to take the next step toward national
prominence.
In Wisconsin, new coach Paul Chryst has inherited a talented roster, and Lincoln, Nebraska couldn’t have sent a clearer message to fans and new coach Mike Riley by firing predecessor Bo Pelini after a string of nine-win seasons: It’s time to become national title contenders again.
And in State College, Penn State’s football program captured the victory against NCAA overreach, can go to bowl games, reap
the full abundance of second-year coach James Franklin’s recruiting tenacity, and talk legitimately about contending again just three years after being left in some estimations worse than dead.
These are storylines fit for perhaps the best college football conference in the nation which, an argument can be made now, the Big Ten is. Three of the teams mentioned above — Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin — have legitimate major bowl hopes. Penn State isn’t that far off, and neither is surging Minnesota. And with the prickly perfectionist Harbaugh on the sidelines, who would dare count out Michigan?
So why, then, is the national focus when it comes to the Big Ten — and the BCS, for that matter — focused solely on Columbus, Ohio?
Because, of course, it should be.
The Big Ten is all about Ohio State again in 2015, and the rest of the conference should be so thankful. Not because they’re absorbing most of the spotlight. But because they deserve it.
A year ago, the national discussion around the Big Ten centered solely on how mediocre it could get, on how it couldn’t hold a candle to the SEC’s blend of aura and toughness. Then, in the Sugar Bowl they bloodied the sport’s best heavyweight, Alabama.
Because even after that, few thought these Buckeyes could match lightning quick Oregon step-for-step in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game a week later. Then, the Ducks never stood a chance, with the Buckeyes and star running back Ezekiel Elliot wiping them out, 42-20.
What’s scary is, the Buckeyes did all that a season before coach Urban Meyer really thought his team would be the nation’s best. He always had 2015 circled. And man, does he have a team coming back.
It can be argued — and some in East Lansing and State College might — that he has the three best quarterbacks in the conference. Sophomore J.T. Barrett lost just one game last season and was in the Heisman discussion when he went down for the season with a broken ankle Nov. 29 against Michigan.
Cardale Jones, of course, is the tall, quirky, cannon-armed junior whose only three career starts came in the Big Ten championship game, Sugar Bowl and CFP championship. The Buckeyes offense scored 122 points in those games against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, and Jones went 46 for 75 for 742 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Then there’s Braxton Miller, a senior who was twice named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year before missing last season after a second shoulder surgery. Miller will move to H-back, a hybrid receiver/tight end spot that could make him one of the most dangerous open-field threats in the conference again.
Elliott, a sophomore, might be the best running back in the nation, scoring four times to seal the national title game. Michael Thomas and Jalin Marshall are big-play threats at receiver. The offensive line is huge.
Maybe it’s time to mention what really might be the strength of the team.
Defensively, Joey Bosa is arguably the most effective defensive end in the nation, but senior tackle Adolphus Washington creates as many headaches for opposing offensive coordinators. Darron Lee, Joshua Perry and Raekwon McMillan may be the best trio of linebackers in the nation, and the Buckeyes can go three teams deep in the secondary.
Sure, there are questions. Meyer has to pick the right quarterback, because in the eyes of a nervous fan base, there is no room for error with the best backup in the nation on the roster. And being the heavy favorite is far different than being the heavy underdog. Ohio State has to learn to play with the target.
That said, they do that every year in the Big Ten, but this time, they have a more talented Big Ten to navigate.
The Buckeyes sure will be ready to prove they belong again, but the Spartans and Cornhuskers and Badgers and Nittany Lions and Wolverines are hoping to show them just how vicious the monster they created can be.
(Collins is a sports columnist for Times Shamrock)