Kirk Herbstreit thinks a Big Ten longshot could make some noise during the 2024 college football season.
During last week’s appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit was asked to pick some College Football Playoff dark horses from a Power Five conference. Focusing on the Big Ten, the broadcaster wondered if Penn State could finally get over the hump with improved wide receivers.
With the Big Ten expanding to 18 teams, Herbstreit believes the schedule will play a huge factor in which teams can make noise. He speculated that Iowa could cause a stir behind a healthy Cade McNamara.
Herbstreit also mentioned one truly surprising possibility.
“Someone is going to come out of that conference that you really didn’t expect,” Herbstreit predicted. “Whether that’s an Iowa, whether it’s — who knows — [Dylan] Raiola at Nebraska. Whoever has the most manageable schedule. Rutgers has a schedule that’s, by Big Ten standards in this Big Ten world that we’re in, they can make a little bit of a run.”
While Rutgers must welcome Washington, USC, and UCLA into the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights avoid Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon. Wisconsin is their only opponent who notched a winning record in the conference (5-4) last season.
Despite going 3-6 in Big Ten play, Rutgers registered its first winning season since 2014 when finishing 7-6. However, the program has notched double-digit victories twice in over a century.
Herbstreit merely mentioned Rutgers in passing amid a list of other more realistic possibilities. He also named Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Missouri as more feasible CFP candidates.
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