The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 125 West Division 1. Wisconsin (10-2 overall, 8-1 Big Ten): Last year's 4-3 campaign was a dis- appointment in Madison, but the Badgers are expected to bounce back strong with the return of redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz, All-Big Ten first-team (media) tight end Jake Ferguson and perhaps the next great Badger running back in freshman Jalen Berger (led the team with 301 rushing yards last year). Wisconsin's defense has finished among the nation's top five in three of the last four years and will be stout once again, while a schedule that sees Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern all come to Camp Randall makes UW the favorite to win the West. 2. Iowa (9-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten): The 2021 Hawkeyes will be a typical smash- mouth, Kirk Ferentz-coached team that features an outstanding ground game led by one of the Big Ten's best backs in sophomore Tyler Goodson (762 yards in 2020) and yet another lights-out defense after it finished eighth nationally last fall. Quarterback play (redshirt sophomore Spencer Petras completed just 57.1 percent of his passes last season) and a grind of a schedule that contains trips to Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska will likely prevent them from emerg- ing as West Division champs. 3. Northwestern (8-4 overall, 5-4 Big Ten): The fate of the Wildcats' 2021 sea- son will reside on the arm of South Carolina sophomore transfer quarterback Ryan Hilinski, who will take over for the graduated Peyton Ramsey after the latter helped lead Northwestern to the 2020 Big Ten West title. Redshirt freshman safety and Associated Press first-team All-American Bran- don Joseph is back to headline the defense, but head coach Pat Fitzgerald's crew doesn't have the offensive firepower (finished 93rd last year in yards per game) to repeat as West Division champs. T4. Minnesota (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten): Head coach P.J. Fleck's squad came back down to Earth last year by going 3-4 after the magical 11-2 campaign of 2019. The results of last year are likely similar to what fans will see in 2021. Redshirt junior running back Mohamed Ibrahim looks to be one of the few Gopher certainties after rushing for 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, with redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Morgan (57.9 completion percentage in 2020) and a defense that finished 72nd in the country seemingly the two biggest stumbling blocks that will prevent the Gophers from competing for the division title. T4. Purdue (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten): The Boilermakers have the pieces in place to have an explosive offense, thanks to the presences of likely starter red- shirt junior Aidan O'Connell at quarterback, redshirt junior running back Zander Horvath and one of the best wideouts in the nation in sophomore David Bell. Purdue's defense has finished 52nd or lower in each of head coach Jeff Brohm's four years on the job, though, and difficult crossover games with Ohio State and Indiana will make it tough for the program to ascend higher than the middle of the pack in the West. T4. Nebraska (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten): Head coach Scott Frost has won five or fewer games during each of his first three seasons in Lincoln, but the 2021 squad should be the best he has had yet. Junior quarterback Adrian Martinez and 6-0, 235-pound USC redshirt sopho- more transfer running back Markese Stepp will give the Cornhuskers a nice one-two punch, though a revamped receiving unit that suffered a crippling blow with the transfer of sophomore Wan'Dale Robinson (a team-high 461 yards in 2020) will continue to make it a slow rebuild for Frost. 7. Illinois (4-8 overall, 2-7 Big Ten): The Lovie Smith era in Champaign came to an end after a 17-39 record, meaning the cupboard is unsurprisingly bare for new head man Bret Bielema. He'll at least have a veteran quarterback to work with in fifth-year senior Bran- don Peters and a third-team (media) All-Big Ten running back in redshirt sopho- more Chase Brown, but those are two of the few bright spots for a program that appears to be on the verge of suffering its 10th consecutive losing season. Ohio State over Wisconsin: If the 2021 Big Ten Championship matchup is indeed Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, it will mark the fourth time in the last eight years that fans will have witnessed that exact showdown in the annual event. Slumps from both Penn State and Michigan last fall have once again made Ohio State the clear-cut favorites in the East, while Wisconsin will be at- tempting to reclaim its spot atop the West after Northwestern emerged victorious last year. The Badgers' dominant defense in 2017 and 2019 limited Ohio State to 27 and 34 points in the two Big Ten title games, respectively, but their offense scored only 21 points each time. The storyline looks to be the exact same in 2021. UW will likely try to control the clock with freshman running back Jalen Berger and its bruising ground game, and as a result limit Ohio State's offensive possessions. The Buckeyes' offense isn't expected to slow down significantly with fresh- man quarterback C.J. Stroud now running the show, though, having finished among the nation's top seven in yards per game each of the last four years. Wisconsin has the talent to hang around with Ohio State until the third quarter and maybe even into the fourth, but superior coaching and players will once again allow the Buckeyes to come out on top. Prediction: Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 20 Big Ten Championship Game Prediction Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson earned first-team All-Big Ten ac- colades in 2020, after posting a team-leading 30 receptions for 305 yards and four touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS