Preseason
Ohio State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference with Wisconsin and Illinois second and third, respectively by the Media. Ohio State running back Chris Wells was chosen as the Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the year while fellow Buckeye linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the Preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the year.
Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller will enter his final season, while Michigan's Rich Rodriguez will begin his first in Ann Arbor.
In a given year, each Big Ten team will play eight of the other Big Ten teams. Thus for any given team in a given year, there are two others which will not be competed against. Below is the breakdown of "no-plays" for 2008:
Team—Does not play
- Illinois—Michigan State, Purdue
- Indiana—Michigan, Ohio State
- Iowa—Michigan, Ohio State
- Michigan—Indiana, Iowa
- Michigan State—Illinois, Minnesota
- Minnesota—Michigan State, Penn State
- Northwestern—Penn State, Wisconsin
- Ohio State—Indiana, Iowa
- Penn State—Minnesota, Northwestern
- Purdue—Illinois, Wisconsin
- Wisconsin—Northwestern, Purdue
Read more about this topic: 2008 Big Ten Conference Football Season