Every year, some unsuspecting college football teams exceed expectations.
On Thursday, college football insider Brad Crawford compiled a list of teams that he thinks can do just that in 2023.
Three of the teams on Crawford’s list hail from the Big Ten: Rutgers, Wisconsin and Penn State.
Ohio State and Michigan have absolutely dominated the Big Ten field over the last few seasons, but Crawford feels these three teams have the best chance to give these powerhouse programs a run for their money.
Here’s Crawford’s rational for each team:
- Rutgers
If the Scarlet Knights want to be one of the Big Ten’s surprise teams in 2023, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt must be a difference-maker at the most important position on the field. Wimsatt’s the highest-rated signal caller Rutgers has ever signed and Greg Schiano’s move to name him the starter midway through the year came as a bit of a surprise. Wimsatt went 0-5 as the Scarlet Knights’ starter and completed just 44.8% of his passes for 757 yards. Rutgers’ coaching staff made it clear they were taking the training wheels off Wimsatt last season and allowed him to learn on the fly as a second-year player.
- Wisconsin
Did the Badgers make this coaching cycle’s top hire? We’ll know quickly if that’s the case at Wisconsin, who’s now led by Luke Fickell. He’s responsible for the Group of Five’s only appearance ever in the College Football Playoff and he posted a school-record number of NFL Draft selections that season. Now, imagine what he’s going to be able to do with better talent in Madison. Fickell garners respect in the Big Ten and hired North Carolina’s Phil Longo to call plays. The ground and pound will be there with returning star Braelon Allen, but the Air Raid is taking over. The Badgers’ quarterback room is transfer-rich with SMU’s Tanner Mordecai leading the charge.
- Penn State
Hype is building around this Nittany Lions team during the preseason. Penn State welcomes back a pair of standout freshmen ballcarriers and former five-star quarterback Drew Allar, who assumes the starting title, gives the program its first elite signal caller under James Franklin. Getting through Michigan and Ohio State is the primary task at hand for Penn State, who won 11 games last season but failed to conquer the Wolverines or the Buckeyes. 247Sports analyst Josh Pate recently penned Penn State as his sleeper to watch in the national championship race.
Check out the full list here: