Trend Report: Forecasting the Big Ten in 2024
The essential and only question here: Is this team poised to be better, the same or worse in 2024?
It has always felt like an abrupt transition, going from the nostalgia inherent to the holidays to the hopeful forward-thinking of the new year. I was just doing a bunch of things my family has done for ages, and now I’m supposed to think about all the ways next year will be new and better?
Strange. But, maybe good. It has at least stood the test of time.
So, we’re going to do that in a football context. Yes, we’re just reaching the thick of bowl season, but as someone who didn’t put all that much stock in the predictive value of bowls before, I’m definitely not now when the inactive/opt-out lists are often longer than the starting lineups. In fact, what happens in the non-playoff bowls is far less important for the year ahead than what teams are doing with their rosters and staff in December.
To set a baseline for 2024, here’s a trend report for all of the Big Ten, even the new guys. No fan wants to have a worse season than last year, or even the same season unless their team went undefeated, so that’s the essential and only question here: Is this team poised to be better, the same or worse in 2024?
These are but one man’s opinions, but maybe if this goes well I’ll have earned the title of “trend forecaster” by this time next year.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Counter Read to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.