All 14 football schedules have been released for the Big Big Ten season 2020, with the Michigan Wolverines’ slate largely filled with favorable ratings. Only one new opponent was added in Northwestern, with the Wildcats going 3-9 last year and set to host UM on Nov. 21. (Which also becomes the last week of the regular season).
Where does Michigan’s new 2020 lead steal from a number perspective? Generally seen every year as one of the three or so most difficult in the Big Ten, this trend has broken this time (at least from a statistical point of view) and is now actually running as one of the easiest in the league.
While we determine the strength of the schedule, we keep it as basic as possible and we usually calculate the combined winning percentage of 2019 for all 14 conference teams.
For example, Maryland’s 10 2020 opponents went a combined 84-46 (64.6 winning percentage) in 2019, making the Terrapins the most expensive team of the league this fall. However, one of the few negatives with this method is that it does not take into account where the games are played.
If ever there was a year where location, however, was not of interest to college football, this would be it. Michigan’s schedule currently ranks 10th in the Big Ten, with its opponents going a combined 72-56 in 2019 (56.2 winning percentage).
The only four that check in at UMs are Penn State’s, Ohio State’s, Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s (in that order). The enemies of the Badgers’ 2020 actually compiled a combined loss record in 2019, going 61-64 (48.8 winning percentage) overall.
The three teams that Wisconsin did not face this fall – Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State – went 31-9 last year. Has the Big Ten scheme makers deliberately made the path to a conference title in 2020 a little easier for the big boys, considering the six easiest schemes in the league, all of them belong to a group that is generally seen as the Big Ten’s six best teams – Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin?
Or is it simple mathematical logic that the best squadrons of 2019 will inevitably run lower on the list with this formula? The answer is probably somewhere in between, with the clubs having the eight most challenging schedules below, not expecting to even challenge remotely for the Big Ten crown in 2020.
