Predicting every Big Ten team’s 2023 wins and losses, final record and the conference champ
Welcome to the 2023 college football season.
Week 0 games took place this weekend with top teams including No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 6 USC picking up win No. 1 on the season.
Wisconsin and the rest of the Big Ten get underway this weekend as out-of-conference play leads into the conference schedule later in the month. For the Badgers and the rest of their Big Ten West counterparts, the season represents a golden opportunity for a trip to Indianapolis before USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington join the conference and divisions are eliminated.
Related: Ranking the toughest road environments to play in after the Big Ten’s new additions
There is a pile of work to come here at BadgersWire leading up to Wisconsin vs Buffalo next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. central. Before we get to that, it’s time to predict wins and losses for every Big Ten team in 2023, plus a pick for the conference championship:
Indiana Hoosiers
Wins: Indiana State, Akron, Rutgers
Losses: Ohio State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue
Record: 3-9 (1-8 Big Ten)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Wins: Northwestern, Temple, Wagner
Losses: Virginia Tech, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, Maryland
Record: 3-9 (1-8 Big Ten)
Michigan State Spartans
Wins: Central Michigan, Richmond, Rutgers, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana
Losses: Washington, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State
Record: 6-6 (4-5 Big Ten)
Maryland Terrapins
Wins: Towson, Charlotte, Virginia, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers
Losses: Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan
Record: 8-4 (5-4 Big Ten)
Ohio State Buckeyes
Wins: Indiana, Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, Notre Dame, Maryland, Purdue, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Michigan State, Minnesota
Losses: Penn State, Michigan
Record: 10-2 (7-2 Big Ten)
Michigan Wolverines
Wins: East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State
Losses: Penn State
Record: 11-1 (8-1 Big Ten)
Penn State Nittany Lions
Wins: West Virginia, Delaware, Iowa, Northwestern, UMass, Ohio State, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Michigan State
Losses: Illinois
Record: 11-1 (8-1 Big Ten) — Big Ten East Champ
Northwestern Wildcats
Wins: UTEP, Howard
Losses: Rutgers, Duke, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois
Record: 2-10 (0-8 Big Ten)
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wins: Colorado, Northern Illinois, Louisana Tech, Northwestern, Maryland
Losses: Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa
Record: 5-7 (2-7 Big Ten)
Purdue Boilermakers
Wins: Fresno State, Syracuse, Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern, Indiana
Losses: Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota
Record: 6-6 (4-5 Big Ten)
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Wins: Nebraska, Eastern Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, Louisiana, Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue
Losses: Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Record: 8-4 (5-4 Big Ten)
Illinois Fighting Illini
Wins: Toledo, Kansas, Florida Atlantic, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State
Losses: Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota
Record: 9-3 (6-3 Big Ten)
Iowa Hawkeyes
Wins: Utah State, Iowa State, Western Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Nebraska
Losses: Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois
Record: 9-3 (6-3 Big Ten)
Wisconsin Badgers
Wins: Buffalo, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota
Losses: Washington State, Illinois, Ohio State
Record: 9-3 (7-2 Big Ten) — Big Ten West Champ
Big Ten Championship
Prediction: Penn State over Wisconsin
A rematch of 2016’s championship game has the same result, unfortunately for Wisconsin fans. It may be a year or two too early for Luke Fickell and the Badgers while Penn State is set to have its best team in more than a decade.
