THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 129
Redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett split time with the departed Cardale Jones last year, but is the clear choice under center for Ohio State
in 2016 after closing out the 2015 campaign by accounting for 559 yards of offense and five touchdowns in wins over U-M and Notre Dame.
PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL
West Falling Behind:
The West Division is 0-2 in championship games since the new align-
ments started in 2014, with Ohio State blowing out Wisconsin in 2014
and Michigan State squeaking past Iowa last year.
Michigan's resurgence and Ohio State's continued dominance on
the recruiting trail could make it tough to trump the East for the fore-
seeable future, especially if the Spartans continue to hang around and
Penn State returns to glory.
Wisconsin should be solid under Chryst and Iowa has bounced back
under Ferentz, but there's not a program in the West that screams "pe-
rennial contender." Nebraska's fade from relevance (at least for now)
continued with losses to lowly Purdue and Illinois last year.
