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00:00Big Ten Media Day starts on this Tuesday in Indianapolis.
00:08Maybe you've looked at the White River in Indy and you see a floating Oregon duck to
00:13welcome in the West Coast newcomers.
00:15Those four schools that now make the Big Ten an expanded 18 school conference.
00:21That's Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
00:26Big Ten preseason poll released yesterday, where one of those newcomers, the floating
00:31ducks of Oregon, are in second.
00:35Six first place votes, Ohio State expected to win the conference entering 2024, 21 first
00:42place votes.
00:43Penn State checks in at number three.
00:45The reigning national champs and the reigning three-time consecutive winners of the Big
00:49Ten conference, that would be the Michigan Wolverines, come in at number four.
00:54Iowa rounds out the top five.
00:57There is plenty to get to when it comes to the Big Ten this year.
01:01But at the podium today to start off a three-day event in Indy, the best sports hosting city
01:07in this country, here are the six schools at the podium to kick off Big Ten Media Days.
01:13Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, those favorites, Purdue, Rutgers, and Wisconsin.
01:19Storyline for everybody as we go around the Big Ten.
01:24The Buckeyes have invested through the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in Will Howard
01:29at the quarterback spot, Quin Sean Judkins, the running back from Ole Miss, and on the
01:33other side, Caleb Downs, the SEC freshman of the year, makes the leap from Tuscaloosa
01:39at Alabama to Columbus.
01:41Ohio State saw Michigan win a national championship and said, mark my words, never again.
01:48The Buckeyes are fully in as the favorites of the Big Ten this year.
01:52In Oregon, the newcomers, the second-best price.
01:56But allow me for a moment, if you will, to make a point about your family, your religion,
02:03Rutgers football, who checks into the Big Ten preseason poll at number nine, splitting
02:09the half of an 18-member conference at this moment.
02:15Rutgers has never been happier to see a realigned Big Ten, because when Rutgers joined the
02:21conference now a decade ago, they were placed into the Big Ten East.
02:27In that division in football stood Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.
02:33They were always looking up, always with one of the hardest schedules in the conference.
02:39But last year, you started to see some growth in Piscataway, seven wins, a pinstripe bowl
02:45victory against Miami.
02:48And Rutgers has the easiest schedule this year in the Big Ten conference, from any metric
02:53you want to look at, whether it's the ESPN-FBI or the arithmetic that I have done, adding
03:00up all preseason projected win totals of Rutgers' nine Big Ten opponents and saying they have
03:06the easiest one.
03:08And oh, the Scarlet Knights, based on that preseason poll, rank ahead of six of their
03:15nine conference opponents.
03:18Rutgers does not have to face a team that checks into the top five of the preseason
03:24poll.
03:25Rutgers should be able to, finally, after a decade as a Big Ten member, not have to
03:32face a gauntlet this year.
03:35Which brings us to the odds.
03:37Six and a half is the win total for the Scarlet Knights.
03:40The over still has some plus money.
03:43To get to bowl eligibility, it's minus 148.
03:48That's just six plus wins.
03:50Is Rutgers going to win the Big Ten at 150 to one?
03:53No.
03:54Are the Scarlet Knights and Greg Sciano going to make the college football playoff at an
03:5818 to one ticket?
04:00More than likely no.
04:02Is Rutgers going to go over their win total of six and a half?
04:06Yes.
04:07Yes.
04:08Yes.
04:09Is Rutgers going to win eight games?
04:11I also say yes.
04:16Get ready to learn about a Rutgers football program with the reigning Big Ten running
04:20back of the year in Kyle Bunningai that is back this year for the Scarlet Knights as
04:26well.
04:27They had so much talent from one of the elite defenses in the Big Ten Conference a season
04:32ago.
04:34Rutgers is going eight and four throughout this regular season.
04:38If you don't believe me, you haven't been paying attention to what is happening in Piscataway.
04:43Again, it's 150 to one for Rutgers to win the Big Ten Conference.
04:48Are they going to do that?
04:50No.
04:51But will the Big Ten factor, of course, into the national conversation?
04:54Yes.
04:55Ohio State is a college football playoff team.
04:58Oregon is a college football playoff team.
05:01If Penn State does not make the college football playoff, James Franklin's seat in state college
05:07is going to be very warm.
05:09And don't overlook the reigning national champs in the Wolverines as well.
05:14That does it for us on this Tuesday on the Early Line on Sports Grid.
05:18Donnie and I will be back tomorrow, 8 a.m. Eastern Time on Sports Grid.