B1G lands four in Coaches Poll

Both divisions of the Big Ten are equally represented in the coaches’ preseason poll, but count the voters among those expecting the East to be the stronger division. In the first edition of the Coaches Poll, released Thursday, Ohio State and Michigan State led the way for the Big Ten and gave the league two representatives in the top 10. The No. 6 Buckeyes were the only team in the conference to receive a first-place vote, which helped push them somewhat comfortably ahead of the No. 8 Spartans in terms of voting points.

Leading the charge for the Big Ten West was Wisconsin, which perhaps was somewhat of a surprise as it checked in at No. 14 to open the season. The Badgers have some questions to answer heading into August, but the coaches unofficially backed them as the pick to win a wide-open division race ahead of No. 22 Nebraska.

Those were the only four Big Ten programs to sneak into the first poll, though Michigan and Iowa were knocking on the door and both Minnesota and Northwestern received votes.

The poll doesn’t have much all that much value beyond getting a general sense of how the coaches see the race playing out this fall, as the poll doesn’t factor into playoff selection. Heading into the season, a Big Ten squad wouldn’t be among the four teams to play for the national championship, based on these rankings. Based on the numbers, the voters put the league on equal footing with the Big 12 with four programs in the initial Top 25, trailing both the Pac-12 (six) and the pace-setting SEC (seven).

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