B1G New Additions Offseason Thread

[847badgerfan]

Do they have to pay UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD too?

[CatsbyAZ]

I'd put Washington at 7-5 (worse case,) to 9-3 next year.

L's - @Oregon @PSU, TTUN

Toss Up's - @Iowa, USC

W's - Weber, Eastern, WSU, NW, @Rutger, @Ind, UCLA

Rutgers is going to be pretty solid next year.  I would not count them as an automatic win.

Way-too-early rankings from Yardbarker have Washington as high as #12. Which I think is ridiculous. Their assessment:

“With coach Kalen DeBoer bolting for Alabama, several Huskies entering the transfer portal as a result and star receiver Rome Odunze and running back Dillon Johnson declaring for the NFL Draft, everything — and seemingly everybody — is up in the air at Washington. Now, regardless what the Huskies look like come August, and with new hot-shot coach Jedd Fisch in charge, they're probably good enough to rate among the top half of the new-look Big Ten, but maybe too early to predict a CFP repeat.”

I don’t know how a program can lose so much — in Washington’s case coaching and especially all the departing star power on offense — and be considered Top 25. Much less #12. Washington is too unproven across the roster to expect much. This is definitely a case of a team generating too much hype based on their recent success.

My projection: 6-6

3-1 or 4-0: Weber State, Eastern Mich, Washington State, Northwestern

1-3: @Rutgers, Michigan, @Iowa, @Indiana

2-2 or 1-3: USC, @Penn State, UCLA, @Oregon

[OrangeAfroMan]

Sounds like a hedge to me.  Good teams tend to stay good in a 2-year sample.  Bad team tend to stay bad in a 2-year sample.
Laziness?
Cowardice?

Ho-hum.

[CatsbyAZ]

Here’s one of those articles we see after most every change – how under new coach DeShaun Foster there’s “a different energy at UCLA now.” And as a younger, player’s oriented coach there’s “a stark contrast from how distant the program felt for recruits over the previous six seasons.” How post-Chip Kelly, “the Bruins have charted a different blueprint.”

Much like Kenny Dillingham taking over Arizona State, there’s badmouthing the former coach (Herm Edwards) for the sake of hyping the younger coach’s youth and energy as a promise for a brighter future.

In Chip Kelly’s case, what’s bemoaned is his well-known lack of effort and enthusiasm for recruiting, which, as DeShaun Foster takes over, has left a very shallow Bruins roster: “Under Kelly, only Clemson was offering fewer scholarships than UCLA among FBS teams, yet perhaps most damaging to his roster construction was how late the Bruins were getting involved in recruitments. By the time UCLA threw its name in the hat for a recruit, it was already three or four steps behind. In two short months, the pace has seemingly picked up — more than 70 high schoolers in the 2025 class hold UCLA offers and nearly two dozen official visits are on the calendar…”

Good luck to coach DeShaun Foster: “The 44-year-old Foster has yet to coach a game, of course, so there are still many questions left to answer about the on-field product, especially considering the quality and depth of the Big Ten. Yet it's clear the former Carolina Panthers star running back has, at the very least, provided a reinvigorating jolt to a team that desperately needed some electricity off the field.”

I’m plenty critical of Washington in this thread, but UCLA is transitioning into the Big Ten with notably less to work with across the roster.


https://twitter.com/BlairAngulo/status/1785387120074641513

[847badgerfan]

Seems like a good start.

[GopherRock]

Jedd Fisch is the prime example of failing upwards. When he was the OC here he royally screwed up Adam Weber's throwing motion.

[FearlessF]

[FearlessF]

Big Ten Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2024

Oregon
“They’re a playoff contender and can battle anyone in the new league."

"Watch out for these guys this season because [offensive coordinator] Will Stein and [quarterback] Dillon Gabriel make a lot of sense together. When you look at how Stein developed guys at UTSA, Gabriel already having a lot of game experience, they could really light a fire."

"Where the program has really evolved is the front seven on defense. They’re as talented and well-coached as any of the Big 2 schools [Ohio State and Michigan] at these positions, and they can get after it. That’s Lanning’s fingerprints on the program."

"Of the four schools coming into the league from the Pac-12, this is the most complete and dangerous.”


UCLA
“They’re going to be really interesting to watch in the next few seasons. I think that Chip [Kelly] lost his taste for the head coach position and what it takes these days, from the executive side of it to the new rules and the portal. [DeShaun] Foster wants to be there and wants to lean into the energy of the city, for sure."

"[Offensive coordinator Eric] Bieniemy back in college will be interesting to watch."

"It’s too early to tell what that roster will do this season, but they’re trying to fire up the brand and get the alumni and boosters into NIL and get the energy up. It’s been a really quiet and forgettable program for a long time in recruiting.”


USC
“Lincoln [Riley] screwed up and held on to a bad situation with his DC a season too long, but hiring [D’Anton] Lynn from across town was a smart move. Kind of a can’t beat him, hire him situation."

"Expect improvement schematically overall with the new system, and they’ve upgraded in the secondary. They’ll be better than under [Alex] Grinch."

"Obviously they’re replacing Caleb [Williams], but the bigger question is if they can get both lines playing better. They can ease the new QB in if they’re protecting him, and if they’re getting push on the defensive side. They didn’t look anything like the old USC glory teams in the trenches the last few years.”


Washington
“Obviously, they’re going to be a completely different program entering the Big Ten in every way you can imagine. Nothing about last season is going to carry over, except maybe the expectations after what Kalen [DeBoer] put together."

"[Jedd Fisch’s] work at Arizona compares a lot to what he’s got to deal with this year. He’s got a young, new staff at a lot of key positions and a roster with no direction and identity. They’ll probably take it on the chin this season because of their schedule, but Jedd knows how to build a long-term recruiting plan, and clearly Washington supports NIL and the portal."

"They’re not going to make the playoff this year or next year, but he’s a really smart pick for a rebuild.”

[FearlessF]

However, per a report, people on the Trojans side have been attempting to get out of the game since Lincoln Riley was hired.

“USC tried for nearly 2 years to find a way out of a contract to play LSU in Las Vegas because Trojans coach Lincoln Riley didn’t want the game, multiple sources told Saturday Down South,” Hayes said.


“As late as last fall, after Jen Cohen was hired away from Washington to be the new USC athletic director, the USC administration was still trying to get out of the game, including offering other opponents to LSU, sources said.”


USC making the move over to the Big Ten is a big deal for FOX, especially with Riley’s resurgence of the program. But having them play their first game since moving from the Pac-12 televised on the Disney side meant FOX attempted to get the Trojans out of the game too.

“At one point, Fox Sports got involved and tried to further the process,” Hayes said. “The network wasn’t enamored with the idea of USC’s first game as a Big Ten member broadcast by rival ABC/ESPN.”


Riley and LSU’s Brian Kelly share the same agent, Trace Armstrong. Hayes reports he got involved in the process too, hoping to convince Kelly to change his mind about playing the game.

Ultimately, there was no luck. LSU and USC will be in Las Vegas to open up the 2024 season in what should be one of the more exciting matchups on the calendar.