Ohio State the unanimous pick to win Big Ten per B1G media poll

Unlike many other conferences, the Big Ten doesn't officially sponsor a preseason media poll for football. But that doesn't mean that one doesn't exist. Our friends at Cleveland.com commissioned a preseason poll of 40 writers around the league, and the Buckeyes came out looking mighty strong. Ohio State is a unanimous choice to not just take the Big Ten East division, but win the entire conference.

Having the defending national champions as the heavy favorite to win the conference isn't a surprise, given how much Ohio State returns from last year's championship team, as well as the lack of an obvious other contender for the throne, outside of Michigan State, who was a unanimous choice for second in the Big Ten East.

Of course, the media doesn't have an excellent record of picking the champion. After Braxton Miller was injured last year, the media re-voted, and Michigan State emerged as the new favorite to win the league. We know how that turned out.

Here is the full table. We want to talk to the people who think Minnesota is going to win the Big Ten West, by the way.

East

1. Ohio State 280 (40)

2. Michigan State 240

3. Penn State 186.5

4. Michigan 163.5

5. Maryland 95.5

6. Rutgers 78

7. Indiana 76.5

West

1. Wisconsin 272 (32)

2. Nebraska 231.5 (5)

3. Minnesota 197 (3)

4. Iowa 158.5

5. Northwestern 125

6. Illinois 77

7. Purdue 59

Big Ten championship game

Ohio State over Wisconsin (32)

Ohio State over Nebraska (5)

Ohio State over Minnesota (3)

Big Ten champs

Ohio State (40)