The beginning of 2024 College Football the season is upon us and in preparation for kickoff, ESPN launched its Preseason Power Rankings for the Big Ten Conference.
As we discussed previously, this year will be the first season since the conference expanded to 18 teams. This is the first time the league has expanded since the 2014 season, when the Big Ten added Rutgers and Maryland to its ranks.
The Cornhuskers joined the conference effective July 1, 2011, when the Big Ten unanimously approved Nebraska’s request to join. Then-athletic director Tom Osborne uncertainty cited in the future of the Big 12 as the reason for the change.
“There was a lot of uncertainty in the Big 12. We felt like this was a stable league that would be here for a long time.”
Nebraska will kick off the 2024 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 31, when the Huskers host the UTEP Miners at Memorial Stadium. Start time is scheduled for 2:30pm CT on Fox.
You can find ESPN’s Big Ten Power Rankings below.
18. Purdue Boilers
17. Michigan State Spartans
16. Indiana Hoosiers
15. UCLA Bruins
14. Wild Cats of the Northwest
13. Illinois battling Illini
11. Minnesota Golden Squirrels
10. Washington Huskies
Get more Rutgers news, analysis and opinion on Rutgers Wire
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
7. Badgers of Wisconsin
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6. USC Trojans
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5. Iowa Hawkeyes
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Get more Michigan news, analysis and opinion on Wolverine Yarn
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
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2. Oregon Ducks
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1. Ohio State Buckeyes
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Where Nebraska stands in ESPN’s preseason Big Ten Power rankings