Blue White Illustrated

2 0 1 9 K I C K O F F S P E C I A L im Harbaugh dispensed with the false modesty when asked last month about the consensus view of his team as the favorite to win the Big Ten champi- onship in 2019. A lot of coaches would pre- fer not to have a target affixed to their back before preseason practice has even begun. Those coaches might use their podium ap- pearance at Big Ten media days as an op- portunity to play up, say, the absence of a proven long snapper or the transition to a new equipment manager. Not Harbaugh. The fifth-year Michigan coach didn't seem the least bit fazed by the media's anointment of his team as the league's best. "I think that's where I would pick us," he said. Michigan is set to return 13 starters, including quar- terback Shea Patterson and five key players from a de- fense that gave up only 275.2 yards per game last season, second-fewest in the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion. The Wolverines went 10-3 and were in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff until suffering a 62-39 loss at Ohio State in the regular-season finale. Their re- cent history, coupled with their champi- onship pedigree, makes them a strong bet to contend this coming fall. And there's one other factor that can't help but raise expec- tations: They're from the East Division. The Big Ten East has been the dominant division ever since the league scrapped its oft-mocked Leaders and Legends align- ment and split its teams into more geo- graphically coherent groupings in 2014. The East has gone 5-0 in the Big Ten Champi- onship Game, and its flagship programs – Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State – have put together a collec- tive 42-16 record against West Division op- ponents during the five seasons in which the East-West split has been in place. Michigan State is the only one of those four teams that doesn't have a winning record against the West. Take the Spartans out of the equation, and the East's record is 35-9. To be sure, the West has enjoyed its suc- cesses, especially Wisconsin, which has gone 53-15 overall since 2014 and has won five bowl games, including the Cotton and Or- ange. West Division teams have also played spoiler the past three years. In 2016, un- ranked Iowa stunned undefeated, second- ranked Michigan, 14-13, helping knock the Wolverines out of the College Football Play- off race. A year later, the Hawkeyes did it again, scuttling Ohio State's CFP hopes with a 55-24 upset over the third-ranked Buck- eyes. Last season, it was Purdue's turn to BEASTS EAST Led by a quartet of traditional college football powers, the East Division has ruled the Big Ten since its inception. But is the West starting to close the gap? | J OF THE LOWERING THE BOOM Robert Windsor sacks Wisconsin quarter- back Jack Coan in Penn State's 22-10 win over the Badgers last season. Since 2014, the Lions have gone 11- 3 against West Divi- sion opponents. Photo by Steve Manuel B I G T E N R E P O R T

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