Big Ten football: buy or sell?

Week 1 of the college football season has passed, and many offseason questions have been answered. Who looked good in Week 1, and who could be looking for answers, with meeting expectations looking harder now than it did before?

Buy: USC

USC was one of the biggest wild cards coming into the season, and many questions surrounded the team and their coach Lincoln Riley. The biggest question was how good they would be on defense after they ranked below 120th in yards per game and points per game last year.

They were much better, particularly on the line of scrimmage Sunday night against No. 13 LSU, making some crucial stops and holding the Tigers to 20 points.

Riley has won big in the past with below-average defenses, but this defense under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn passed its first test. Riley is one of the best at developing quarterbacks, and Miller Moss threw for 378 yards Sunday night in his second career start.

His offenses have been at the top of college football every year, and this will likely be the best defense he’s ever had. Their over/under win total in the preseason was 8.5, and they only face three more currently ranked opponents.

Sell: Michigan

Michigan was expected to dip from last year’s national championship. They could still have a good team, but this weekend showed there are still many questions on offense. Alex Orji was expected to step up and start at quarterback, but Davis Warren ended up winning the job.

Donovan Edwards was expected to be a star at running back, but only ran for 27 yards on 11 carries against Fresno State on Saturday.

The defense is good enough to win them games and is expected to be one of the best in the country this year. They play No. 3 Texas on Saturday which will be their first major test this year. Will the questions be answered, or will more be asked? Their preseason over/under win total was 9.5.

Buy: Nebraska

Nebraska, like much of last year’s Big Ten West, had one of the worst offenses in the country. By contrast, they had one of the best defenses in the country. They are led by second-year coach Matt Rhule, who has proven he can build programs after he went from 2-10 to 6-6 year one to year two at Temple, and 1-11 to 7-6 year one to year two at Baylor.

He won 10+ games in year three at both stops. Nebraska went 5-7 last year.

The biggest issue for the Cornhuskers last year was the quarterback position, and they brought in five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola.

He is a true freshman, but he played well in his first start, and he doesn’t have to be great for them to be much better this year. They lost five one-score games and have an easy schedule this year. Their preseason over/under win total was 7.5.

Sell: Dillon Gabriel

Gabriel entered the regular season as the Heisman favorite. He then set an Oregon program record with 41 completions, but it was only for 380 yards at 9.2 yards per completion, and Oregon won an ugly game 24-14 against FCS opponent Idaho.

Gabriel could still have a great season, and he has plenty of talented weapons around him. However, his strength is not his ability to throw the ball downfield, and it’s a large reason why he was run out of Oklahoma in favor of 2023 five-star recruit Jackson Arnold.

It resulted in many short completions on Saturday, and it could make their offense too predictable.

Jacob Rudy is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jar7371@psu.edu.