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B1G Thoughts: Can Maryland win eight games again or are they in rebuilding mode?
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Whether it’s new coaches, a new conference, or losing a star quarterback, these programs are in rebuilding mode for the 2024 season.
Every week after the Big Ten games, we will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024, there are a bunch of storylines to follow. Check out the I-80 Football Show for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
Ryan Day and Ohio State are all in for the 2024 season. Is Oregon a national championship contender, or will they stumble in their first Big Ten season? How do the former members of the Big Ten West fair in the new divisionless format? Over the next few weeks, B1G Thoughts will track all these storylines and more as the Big Ten hopes to win back-to-back national championships.
This week: the teams in Rebuilding Mode.
Maryland is entering 2024 coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons and three straight seasons with at least seven wins. With division-less football and not having to play Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State every season, Maryland should be in a better position to succeed long-term, but there is still a cap to their success with the Big Ten adding marquee programs like Oregon and USC and a Washington program that has shown it can build a winner.
This season, in particular, Maryland is in line for a step back — especially after losing four-year starter Taulia Tagovailoa. They have a potential star in running back Roman Hemby, but there are questions at quarterback and the other skill positions. Plus, they lost all five starters on the offensive line. Maryland should have a feisty defense again, but without a top-ten defense, they are going to struggle against a schedule that features Oregon, Penn State, USC, and Iowa.
Maryland could find a way back to being a consistent eight-win team, but this is a rebuilding year as they transition into a new era with a new quarterback under center.
Michigan State is in full rebuild after firing coach Mel Tucker and hiring former Oregon State head coach Jonathon Smith. Smith is a proven program builder, taking a down Oregon State program and winning 10 games with them in 2022. Smith signed up for a full-scale rebuild, especially on defense where the Spartans have had one of the worst pass defenses for the last three years.
Smith brought with him Aiden Chiles — a former top 100 quarterback who impressed in limited playing time last season with the Beavers. Of any team on this list, I have the most faith in Michigan State entering mid-tier or even top-tier contender status and eventually making the 12-team playoff. 2024 and 2025 will be used to set the foundation for that eventual growth, and to at least try and exert its dominance against lesser programs while it finds its footing under its new staff.
The conference did them no favors with Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, and Michigan on its schedule. This is not a year for wins; It’s a year for culture building and finding talented players to take the program back to a respectable level.
Minnesota should have had the Purdue run to a Big Ten West division crown, but instead, it was derailed in three straight seasons by an injury to a star player and an inability to conquer the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Now, Minnesota is in a full rebuild looking to onboard a new quarterback, replace defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, and figure out its style. Are they going to continue to be an offense led by a bellcow running back, or can they drop back and pass with new talent in the wide receiving corps? Minnesota will be led by running back Darius Taylor and wide receiver Daniel Jackson, but they are another program that got no favors in the scheduling department, having to face North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan, USC, and Penn State.
P.J. Fleck has raised Minnesota’s floor, and he’s a good enough coach to resist Minnesota entering bottom-feeder status, but this transition would feel a lot better if they could’ve capitalized on their chances to win the West over the past three to four seasons.
UCLA is a complete unknown heading into 2024. They’re entering a new conference with fewer resources than expected after being forced to pay some of its Big Ten earnings to fellow University of California system school, Cal-Berkeley. They also have a first-time head coach after Chip Kelly departed the program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. On top of that, the Bruins’ best unit last season was their defense, but former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is now at USC.
There is not much to go on to predict how UCLA will handle its transition to the Big Ten, but it’s fair to say they are in the worst position of the four newcomers. UCLA went the route of hiring a well-known Alum in Deshaun Foster, but he has never led his own program, and despite hiring Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, there is a real chance they regret not hiring an established head coach.
This will be a rebuilding season as Foster learns how to be a head coach, Bieniemy transitions back to working with college kids, and UCLA tries to find its footing in a conference where they have to travel to Nebraska and Iowa in November.
Follow The I-80 Football Show on YouTube: @JordanW330
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Connect with me on Twitter: @JordanW330
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Continue reading...
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Whether it’s new coaches, a new conference, or losing a star quarterback, these programs are in rebuilding mode for the 2024 season.
Every week after the Big Ten games, we will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024, there are a bunch of storylines to follow. Check out the I-80 Football Show for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
Ryan Day and Ohio State are all in for the 2024 season. Is Oregon a national championship contender, or will they stumble in their first Big Ten season? How do the former members of the Big Ten West fair in the new divisionless format? Over the next few weeks, B1G Thoughts will track all these storylines and more as the Big Ten hopes to win back-to-back national championships.
This week: the teams in Rebuilding Mode.
Maryland
Maryland is entering 2024 coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons and three straight seasons with at least seven wins. With division-less football and not having to play Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State every season, Maryland should be in a better position to succeed long-term, but there is still a cap to their success with the Big Ten adding marquee programs like Oregon and USC and a Washington program that has shown it can build a winner.
This season, in particular, Maryland is in line for a step back — especially after losing four-year starter Taulia Tagovailoa. They have a potential star in running back Roman Hemby, but there are questions at quarterback and the other skill positions. Plus, they lost all five starters on the offensive line. Maryland should have a feisty defense again, but without a top-ten defense, they are going to struggle against a schedule that features Oregon, Penn State, USC, and Iowa.
Maryland could find a way back to being a consistent eight-win team, but this is a rebuilding year as they transition into a new era with a new quarterback under center.
Michigan State
Michigan State is in full rebuild after firing coach Mel Tucker and hiring former Oregon State head coach Jonathon Smith. Smith is a proven program builder, taking a down Oregon State program and winning 10 games with them in 2022. Smith signed up for a full-scale rebuild, especially on defense where the Spartans have had one of the worst pass defenses for the last three years.
Smith brought with him Aiden Chiles — a former top 100 quarterback who impressed in limited playing time last season with the Beavers. Of any team on this list, I have the most faith in Michigan State entering mid-tier or even top-tier contender status and eventually making the 12-team playoff. 2024 and 2025 will be used to set the foundation for that eventual growth, and to at least try and exert its dominance against lesser programs while it finds its footing under its new staff.
The conference did them no favors with Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, and Michigan on its schedule. This is not a year for wins; It’s a year for culture building and finding talented players to take the program back to a respectable level.
Minnesota
Minnesota should have had the Purdue run to a Big Ten West division crown, but instead, it was derailed in three straight seasons by an injury to a star player and an inability to conquer the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Now, Minnesota is in a full rebuild looking to onboard a new quarterback, replace defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, and figure out its style. Are they going to continue to be an offense led by a bellcow running back, or can they drop back and pass with new talent in the wide receiving corps? Minnesota will be led by running back Darius Taylor and wide receiver Daniel Jackson, but they are another program that got no favors in the scheduling department, having to face North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan, USC, and Penn State.
P.J. Fleck has raised Minnesota’s floor, and he’s a good enough coach to resist Minnesota entering bottom-feeder status, but this transition would feel a lot better if they could’ve capitalized on their chances to win the West over the past three to four seasons.
UCLA
UCLA is a complete unknown heading into 2024. They’re entering a new conference with fewer resources than expected after being forced to pay some of its Big Ten earnings to fellow University of California system school, Cal-Berkeley. They also have a first-time head coach after Chip Kelly departed the program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. On top of that, the Bruins’ best unit last season was their defense, but former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is now at USC.
There is not much to go on to predict how UCLA will handle its transition to the Big Ten, but it’s fair to say they are in the worst position of the four newcomers. UCLA went the route of hiring a well-known Alum in Deshaun Foster, but he has never led his own program, and despite hiring Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, there is a real chance they regret not hiring an established head coach.
This will be a rebuilding season as Foster learns how to be a head coach, Bieniemy transitions back to working with college kids, and UCLA tries to find its footing in a conference where they have to travel to Nebraska and Iowa in November.
Follow The I-80 Football Show on YouTube: @JordanW330
Subscribe to the podcast: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
Connect with me on Twitter: @JordanW330
Follow I-80 Football Show on Instagram: @I80FootballShow
Continue reading...