In an 18-team league, there will always be teams with no conceivable path to conference contention or even respectability.
Particularly in the NIL/portal era that rewards the well-funded, Northwestern, Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin have little chance of a bowl or a winning season, let alone a finish in the top half of the Big Ten.
Purdue got robbed of its two best players by the rich. Tight end Max Klare bolted for Ohio State in the portal while favorite son Dillon Thieneman left for Oregon to continue his NFL development.
Maryland lost quarterback Billy Edwards in the transfer portal to Wisconsin, although they did pick up UNC defensive lineman Joel Starlings, 6-4, 320 and Florida State wide receiver Jordan Scott in the portal, 6-7, 225.
They do get a break from the schedulers, missing Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State, facing Washington, Nebraska and Michigan at home.
After making a bowl three seasons in a row under Mike Locksley they slumped badly in 2024 to 4-8, 1-8 in the Big Ten.
The indignities pile up at Northwestern. They'll play their first five home games this year at a temporary facility, Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, then two at Wrigley Field.
Medicine field is a 34-year-old baseball stadium that holds 10,923 people.
The Wildcats had the 18th-best offense in the conference last season but hope to improve that with former SMU starter Preston Stone. They lost tackle Josh Thompson to LSU and second team all-conference cornerback Theran Johnson to Oregon.
Running back Cam Porter, 5-10, 213 from Cincinnati, returns for his senior season after rushing for 501 yards in 2024, 4.0 yards a carry. Head coach David Braun brought in inside linebacker
Yanni Karlafitis from the Boilermakers to shore up the defense.
Wisconsin's problems start with the schedule. In Luke Fickell's third year the Badgers face a gauntlet, at Alabama, at Michigan, Ohio State, at Oregon, Washington, at Indiana, Illinois, at Minnesota.
They face nearly every team in the top half of the league, most of them on the road. "Badger of Honor," a UW website, calls it "a nightmare schedule."
"Bucky's 5th Quarter" called it "a recipe for disaster."
Fickell sent his two best players to the NFL draft in offensive tackle Jack Nelson and safety Hunter Wohler.
Badger fans find some hope in Jeff Grimes taking over at offensive coordinator from Phil Longo, but the schedule is daunting.